cooking with love

i did a little cooking on sunday and i decided to try my hand at this pasta. i made enough to share with coworkers for lunch and have leftover for me as well. another bonus is i will make it again on friday and take to my advisory board meeting and to the recovery support group that starts this friday. i was able to taste this one and it made me smile. i'm sure i missed out on some of the nuances- i changed the recipe slightly. i used asiago, parmesan, and reggiano, and i used peppered bacon in lieu of pancetta, added roasted pine nuts. but it seemed to work beautifully.

i was reminded again just how much i love food. i love to cook. i love to eat as well, but i'll focus on cooking here today. there is a meditative quality that wraps its arms around me when i am in the kitchen. i lose sight of the repetetive thoughts that usually circle in my head, and i feel i am able to become part of what i am doing. i don't cook because i have to, but i cook because it brings me joy. and when i cook for others, i am able to give them something of myself. the part of me that became connected with what i was doing.

but the best part is that once in awhile, a big smile will come across somone's face as they are eating and i know that i have done something worthwhile.

Rigatoni alla carbonara

Ingredients for 4 persons

400 gr pasta ?Rigatoni

120 gr. Bacon (Pancetta tesa)


3 eggs (uova)


50 gr. Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano)


50 gr. Pecorino Romano cheese


2 gr. Black pepper (pepe nero)


4 spoons extra virgin olive oil (olio extra vergine di oliva)



Cut the bacon in cubes and browne them in a pan with a small quantity of olive oil. Take off the bacon from the pan and put it aside. Beat the eggs in a bowl with two spoons of oil olive, the parmesan and pecorino romano cheese and the black pepper. With this sauce you will dress the pasta and only at the end you will add the bacon so that it will remain crisp.


Curiosity
The difficult things in preparing this recipe are essentially two: choose the right type of bacon and mix rapidly the pasta so to avoid that the eggs curdle. To choose the right bacon trust a roman dealer and ask for ?pancetta tesa? explaining for which recipe you need it. You will find many kinds of ?pancetta? which are not to be confused with the typical english bacon!!! As far as the pasta choice is concerned, we advise the ?rigatoni of Gragnano?.

Gragnano is a place not a trademark, all the pasta made in this village near Naples can be considered the best in the world! If you can?t find it, remember never to buy a pasta with less than 9 minutes cooking time even for spaghetti. These times are synonimous of quality, otherwise the percentage of hard wheat inside the pasta will be so low not to guarantee a good result of your recipe even if the price of the pasta could seem interesting.

 recipe from rome central

today's sound choice is from my next pic in the "back to mine" series-this one from talvin singh. i am an avid lover of acid jazz, and this is a fine example of such. it totally transports me and i firmly believe this composition was made with love. here is dZihan and Kamien with "after".  i believe this particular disc has been discontinued.








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a chill memory

the more things change, the more they remain the same. this is not so very true and yet it is. i have been kickin at my house this weekend, cooking, reading, listening to music, and just being. i have things that need to be done, have worked on a few, but have also just laid back a bit.

i am falling in love all over again with cooking. too bad cleaning up doesn't come along with that, but i can't have everything. (or maybe i really do) this business of chillin has it's advantages. i took a power nap. i saw a couple of films i had been wanting to see. i spoke with a couple of friends. and i am making stuffed squash. i haven't had it in years. it reminds me entirely of my friend nunzio.

nunzio was a character, at the very least. he was smart. he was funny. he was driven and entrepreneurial. he came from a restaurant family in detroit and had moved to chicago in 79 or 80. when we met, he was a barista in an afterhours espresso bar on broadway in chicago. that was a very new idea back then, and he fit in perfectly. he then opened a little cafe further north on broadway called "nunzio's." this is the first place i had his stuffed squash. i had miso for the 1st time there as well. he made great easy food and was able to network like very few people i ever met.

to continue with his saga, he hooked up with my friend medusa and opened a bar a few blocks further on broadway called "the orbit room".(defnitely check these pics out). it was a modern tavern. nunzio  had even driven to michigan to retreive a huge retro neon sign that he had known about to use at that club. it was very 60's, very identifiable, and very urban chic. the sign (and the bar) became so trendy that they were used for a scene in "miami vice" or some other michael mann production.

nunzio then paired up with cal fortis and opened a more upscale restaurant called "angelina." it was in the same space that cafe nunzio had been. it became a huge north shore hotspot and planted him even further on the map. it still stands i believe and is still going strong and a portrait of nunzio's grandmother hangs in the dining room. but a very  sad piece of this tale is that his hiv infection was spreading and was gettting the best of him. i don't believe he was really in a position to enjoy the fruits of his labors. but then again, i don't think that's why he labored. i think he was truly a marketing artist. he loved what he did. and he did what he loved. and i loved him the whole time i knew him. and i never forget his spectacular food that he made. 

Nunzio's Stuffed Acorn Squash (by memory only)

1 squash sliced in half, de-seeded, and  baked at 350 for 40 minutes.
sautee mushrooms, onion, garlic, and zucchini slices in olive oil until al dente.
season to taste with salt, pepper, italian seasoning, red pepper or cayenne..
toss veggie mixture with parmesan and stuff squash.
serve heated (or great for re-heating for lunch, etc)

today's sound choice is yello with "to the sea"

magic love

We've been here before
Like a book I read
In the hall that leads to the door
My words hang in the air
When I spoke to you
I believe it's magic, magic"

i have really gone overboard and decided to have people over on sunday for lunch. i haven't really hosted anything in the 3 years i have lived here. my place is so small(only 716 sq. ft.) and it does not seem conducive to entertaining. but there's a decent sized back yard space, so am planning on using that, grilling a tenderloin, and just going for it. i also think it will be interesting for some different friends to meet each other- having my worlds collide as george costanza would put it and see what happens.

i have invited about 15 people, maybe a few more, some relatives, some from my work, and some from recovery. but i love them all.

it's a big step for me. and i need to start taking those. i thought i would share the menu or actually just get it organized. i still have some things around the house to get done. but i always have a to-do list, so that is no biggie.

cheeses- tallegio, leyden, and manchego (with membrillo)
bruschetta with red pepper and artichoke
homemade chips and tomatillo salsa

grilled tendorloin of beef w/bernaise or horseradish sauce
grilled salmon w/ bernaise or cucumber dill yogurt
grilled asparagus
apple coconut salad
warm red potato salad w/balsamic vinaigrette
quinoa and black bean salad

poppy seed cake w/lemon custard and raspberry preserve filling

cheese pizza for the kids ( and a slip n' slide) and plenty of izze for everyone.

i have been having so much fun planning this. i hope that i can have enough done to allow me time to visit with my guests. my sponsor is coming along with some friends and family, some neighbors, and some people from work. all are people who are integral parts of my life and i am grateful for them.

i hope this finds you having a fantastic weekend. i anticipate that mine will be filled with being busy, cooking with love, and spoiling friends. friendship is the magic love. friendship makes birthdays worth celebrating.

today's sound choice is "magic love" by bent