WELL FED

BUCATINI WITH CLAMS, FENNEL, WHITE WINE & THYME BREADCRUMBS

Looking over the recipe I wondered whether it would be a good idea to add some pancetta.  I mean, what dish isn't made better by the addition of some form of bacon.  I'll give you the answer.  NONE.  In fact, there is a new restaurant here in LA called Animal which is run by two stoner types who had their own Food Network show that lasted about five minutes, and they have bacon in almost everything on the menu.  They have a fantastic whole roasted branzino with a bacon vinaigrette and they even feature this dessert that has bacon crumbled over the top.  It's a sort of high end Kit Kat, with thin, crispy wafers covered in really good chocolate.  Believe it or not, the chocolate and the bacon work really well together.  That whole salty sweet combo, like chocolate covered pretzels.

Anyway, I strongly considered adding bacon, but taking into account that Suzanne Goin wrote the recipe, and chose NOT to include bacon, made me take pause.  The lady won a James Beard award.  If she felt that the dish would have been better with bacon, I'm sure she would have included it.  She herself says in Sunday Suppers at Lucques that she's a lover of all things pork and finds ways to put it in everything.  But why not the bucatini with clams?  Clams plus red onion plus fennel plus pancetta?  I mean how could that not work?  I IMed Jessica to get her thoughts.  She too felt it would work, but wondered if maybe it would be a little "busy."  I can see that.  On my way home, I pondered calling Lucques to get to the bottom of why pancetta is not in the recipe but in the end, I just followed the instructions.  I know food should be improvisational to a degree, and usually I'm not so slavish, but whenever I cook from this cookbook, I tend to follow the recipes methodically.  The book has proven itself over and over again to be very reliable.  Who am I to think I can improve on Ms. Goin's vision?  And yet, as I chopped and sauteed and stirred and reduced, I was haunted ... by bacon.

INGREDIENTS

2 1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs

2 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

1/2 sprig rosemary

2 chiles de arbol, plus 1 teaspoon sliced

2 cups red onion, diced 

2 cups fennel, diced

2 bay leaves, preferably fresh

1/4 cup thinly sliced garlic

1 pound bucatini (you could also use regular old spaghetti or linguini)

3 pounds small Manila clams

3/4 cup dry white wine

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 lemon

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Next, clean the clams by placing them in a large bowl filled with cold water for 10 minutes.  Add a small handfull of cornmeal or a splash of milk to encourage them to spit out any sand.  Every few minutes, give the clams a stir.  Drain and return to the bowl and cover with some ice and refrigerate until needed.

Spread the breadcumbs on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and scatter over 1 tablespoon of thyme.  Using your fingers, toss the breadcrumbs to evenly coat with the oil.  

Place in the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until golden brown.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile heat a large dutch oven over high heat for two minutes.  Pour in the 1/2 cup olive oil and toss in the rosemary sprig and crumble in the 2 chiles de arbol with your fingers.  Let them sizzle in the oil for a minute or two and then turn down the heat to medium.  Add the red onion, fennel, bay leaves and remaining tablespoon of thyme.  Season with 2 teaspoons of salt and several grindings of black pepper. 

 

Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.  Add the garlic and continue to cook for another 3 or 4 minutes until the vegetables are translucent and soft.

Now, season the boiling water with a small handful of salt and drop in the pasta.

Add the cleaned clams to the vegetables and stir to coat well.  Pour in the wine and cover the pot.  Cook until the clams open, about 5 minutes or so. (After a couple minutes, lift the lid, gently stir the clams to help redistribute the heat, and re-cover the pan)

When all the clams have opened, remove the pan from the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer the clams to a large bowl or rimmed baking sheet.  Discard any clams that haven't opened.  If you like, you can remove most or all of the clams from the shells to make it easier to eat upon serving.  Or you can just skip this step.

When the pasta is al dente, RESERVE one cup of the pasta water (I forgot), and then drain the pasta.  Return the dutch oven to medium-high heat, and add the pasta to the vegetables, tossing the noodles well.  Cook 3 to 4 minutes to reduce the juices and coat the pasta.  If the noodles seem too dry, add some of the reserved pasta water.  Add the butter, a big squeeze of lemon juice, the sliced chile, the clams, most of the parsley, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a couple grindings of black pepper.  Toss well and taste for seasoning.

To serve, pile the pasta in a large bowl in on a platter and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs, a little more parsley, and maybe a drizzle of good olive oil.

A word of warning.  Be SURE to save that pasta water.  It's very important.  I totally forgot to do so and as such, my resulting dish wasn't as stellar as it potentially could have been.  Not that there was anything really wrong with it, but the starchy cooking liquid should combine with the white wine, lemon juice and butter to make a light, silky sauce.  My sauce was fine, just not at rich.

Anyway, this is a really nice version of the classic Linguini Vongole, but with little twists that make it, in my opinion a little more interesting.  The addition of the red onion and fennel is a notable improvement over the original, adding two different layers of sweetness as well as giving the dish a little more substance.  The bucatini has a fantastic texture, thick and chewy which contrasts the delicate clams.  It's totally worth seeking out if it's not readily available at your local grocery store.  Then the toasted, thyme scented breadcrumbs finish the dish with a light, crunch.  As you know, I'm a big fan of dishes that have a variety of textures, and this certainly falls into that category.  I still think pancetta might be a welcome addition.  I'll have to give it a try next time, not matter what Suzanne thinks.

This is the kind of dish that needs to be prepared last minute, but it is quite fast to prepare, so if you have guests it's totally the kind of thing were you can be watching over the pasta while guests hang in the kitchen drinking wine and eating cheese and olives.

Serves 4 generously as a main course or 6 as a pasta course

SWORDFISH BAKED IN SICILIAN TOMATO SAUCE

So my New Years resolution to eat fish at least once a week has sort of fallen by the wayside (although I guess most New Years resolutions do).  The thing is, I really do like fish, but I tend not to cook or order it whenever I go out.  I mean if the choice is between braised short ribs or trout, guess which one I'm going to go for?  Usually whenever I crave fish, it's after a bout of debauchery and indulgence.  Pangs of guilt propel me to seek out something a bit more virtuous.

Such was the case this past weekend.  You see it was gay pride here in West Hollywood.  I happen to life only a few buildings up from Santa Monica Blvd. where the parade takes place and the whole general area turns into something resembling Mardi Gras but with more muscle boys in hot pants.  Much of Saturday and Sunday was spent downing cheep adult beverages and then succumbing to drunken cravings for trashy/delicious foods like onion rings, hamburgers, and bacon wrapped hot dogs.  A hangover on Monday required the need of greasy pizza for lunch, to soak up all the poison.  Come dinnertime, I was sooooooo tempted to eat more crap, things I never eat.  I considered boiling a big pot of pasta, soothing carby pasta.  I resisted.  Instead, I did what was right.  On my way home from work I dropped by Bristol Farms and picked up two swordfish steaks and a bundle of broccolini.  The reckless abandon had to stop.  Help me swordfish.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups marinara sauce
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons pine nuts
3 tablespoons currants
3 tablespoons capers
4 anchovies, rinsed and chopped
32 pitted black olives, halved

1 6-ounce swordfish steak per person dining (the amount of sauce will accommodate up to 4 people)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
1 lemon, sliced into wedges

1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

METHOD
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Scatter the pine nuts on a small, rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven to toast, stirring or shaking the pan every so often, until the nuts are golden brown.  Remove the nuts from the oven and let cool slightly.  Alternately you can toast the nuts in a skillet over medium low heat, but you have to turn the oven on anyway, so you might as well do it that way.  Plus I find that toasting nuts in a pan results in uneven browning.

Crank the oven up to 500 degrees F.

In a large, ovenproof skillet, combine the tomato sauce, garlic, pine nuts, currants, capers, anchovies and olives and heat over medium until everything has been warmed through, about 5 minutes.

Season the swordfish steaks on all sides with salt and pepper and then place in the pan on top of the sauce.  Drizzle each steak with about 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil then slide the skillet into the oven and cook for 8 minutes.

To serve, spoon some of the sauce onto plates and top with the swordfish steak.  Squeeze over the lemon juice and shower with the mint.

This is such a great weeknight dinner.  I've made it a couple times.  The first time I really wanted to post it and even took pictures of the preparation but as I cooked I just got too hungry to set up a final photo shoot. As I shoveled food into my face I vowed to make it again, and this time it would be different.  The final results would get documented. 

Anyway, unlike some of the other things I post that require marinating or slow cooking or lots of prep, this really is simple.  The original recipe starts with jarred marinara sauce.  I cannot endorse the use of jarred sauce.  It's just something I don't/won't do.  If you choose to do so I will look the other way and pretend you are using home made that you had stashed in the freezer, which is what I did.  Regardless of the origins of your sauce, when combined with these classic Sicilian ingredients, it's completely elevated and becomes quite substantial.  The flavors are robust and stand up well to the meaty swordfish.  Cooking the fish this way really yields perfectly cooked results.  The spritz of lemon adds some greatly appreciated acid and freshness that cuts through the heartiness of the dish.  As does the mint. 

I served the fish alongside another Nancy Silverton dish that I found on Food and Wine, charred broccolini with anchovies and garlic confit.  Very tasty but not as speedy.  I'm working on a quicker version of it so stand by.  You could just serve it with a mound of fettucini or some similar long noodle and a nice little salad. OR just a salad.  I feel like something involving artichokes would be great too, maybe some baby artichokes that have been grilled, but then that veers this away from a simple weeknight meal and into something a little more time consuming.  Not that that's a bad thing.

Serves 4

SEARED TUNA WITH FREGOLA PUTTENESCA & CAPERBERRY RELISH

For a brief time in my early 20's, I dropped out of college and moved to Salt Lake City.  I quickly met a boy and soon (waaaaay too soon) we got an apartment together.  A short walk from downtown, it was one of those vintage buildings, built in the 20's, still full of original details and charm.  The bathroom had little hexagonal tiles on the floor and the living room still had a niche where a murphy bed was once stored.   The kitchen was narrow and painted the dull off-white every apartment seems to be painted and at one end there was space near a window for a small dining table and a couple of chairs, not that we had any of those things.  Instead dinner would be eaten off a box while watching the tv we'd placed in the murphy bed niche.  At the time I cooked almost exclusively from cans, boxes and packets.  I don't think I ever bought anything from the produce section at the grocery store other than bananas for breakfast.  Rather we ate lots of boxed macaroni and cheese doctored with jarred salsa and/or canned tuna or pasta tossed with a creamy "pesto" sauce from a packet, courtesy of Knorr.  The latter I'd gussy up with a couple spoons full of capers and think I was so very gourmet.  In retrospect I'm not sure it was a good idea, but I loved it at the time.  Of course I also loved Kraft fat free American singles.

I have no idea what ever possessed me to buy capers in the first place.  We never had anything with capers growing up and even in college I can't imagine what I ever would have eaten that would have capers in it.  I was hardly an adventurous eater.  Although it sort of makes sense that I'd like them.  As a child I loved sour, vinegary pickles and capers are sort of in the same family. 

When I came across this recipe in Nancy Silverton's book, Twist of the Wrist, my interest was piqued.  Caperberries were something I was not familiar with.  I mean I've heard of them but never had I tasted them.  I headed to a stylish little gourmet store over on Melrose, near Fairfax and picked up a jar, having struck out at Whole Foods.  So for those who don't know, the caperberry is what the little caper will grow into, assuming they aren't picked.  They look like small green olives with stems and their flavor is reminiscent of a caper but a little different.  First of all the texture has more of a crunch not as soggy, and it sort of tastes like a cross between a caper and a cornichon - subtly briney but with more of a pronounced vinegar taste.  Needless to say, after first tasting one, I was smitten. 

INGREDIENTS
(for the relish)
1/2 small red onion, very finely chopped
1 big clove of garlic, very finely chopped
2 tablespoons capers, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup caper berries, thinly sliced
1/4 cup really good extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley

(for the puttanesca fregola)
2 or 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
a pinch of red pepper flakes (how big a pinch depends on your taste)
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup diced tomatoes in juice
1/4 cup black olive tapenade (store bought or homemade)
1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
1 cup fregola or Israeli couscous
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

(for the tuna)
1 6 ounce sushi grade tuna steak per person
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

METHOD
First make the relish. 

In a small bowl, combine the red onion, garlic, capers, caper berries, parsley, and olive oil.  Stir gently to combine.  This can be made ahead but not too far ahead.  The red onions sort of end up dying everything pink.

Next start the fregola.  Fill a medium pot with water, cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  Once the water comes to a boil, add the fregola (or Israeli couscous) and cook according to the package instructions, making sure to taste about 2 minutes before the package states it should be done.  It might not need as much time as the instructions state.

Meanwhile move on to the puttanesca sauce.  Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until it has softened but not browned.  Add the pepper flakes, stir and cook for another minute or so.  Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and tapenade.  Stir to combine, reduce heat to medium and cook for about 5 minutes, until the sauce has thickened a little.  Turn off the heat and add the parsley and taste, adjusting the seasonings if necessary.  It will likely need salt.

By this point, the fregola should be cooked.  Drain in a mesh colander, reserving about 1/2 cup of pasta water, and then toss in with the puttanesca sauce, stirring to coat everything.  Add several tablespoons full of the pasta water if the sauce seems too thick.

And finally our last component of the meal - the tuna.  Season the tuna on both sides with salt and pepper then slather with a little olive oil. Heat a nonstick skillet over high heat for at least 5 minutes.  It should be really hot.  Swirl in about a tablespoon of olive oil and when it's almost smoking gently lay in your tuna steaks.  Cook for 1 minute and then flip over and cook for 1 more minute.  The steaks should be still nice and rare inside, practically raw.  Immediately remove from pan and set on cutting board while you dish the meal.

To serve, spoon a mound of the puttenesca fregola onto a plate.  Lay the tuna steak over the fregola and then spoon some of the caperberry relish over the fish.  Serve extra relish in a bowl at the table.

So I have written about Ms. Silverton's book before, and gone into my issues with it so I will spare you here.  However I will say that in the book, the recipe instructs you to just use a jar of store bought puttenesca sauce which then gets doctored with extra garlic, pepper flakes, olive oil and parsley.  As I was getting my ingredients ready, I realized that puttenesca sauce is really nothing more that tomato sauce + tapenade.  Isn't that great?  Now I happened to have some homemade tapenade on hand (as I always do), but if you don't you can either buy a jar OR just go ahead and buy the premade puttenesca like Nancy says, but you will have to live with the fact that you cheated.

If you make the puttenesca the way I describe, the sauce  ends up surprisingly robust, which I think comes from the combination of canned diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.  The sauteed garlic, red pepper, and tapenade, flavored with black olives, capers, anchovy adds a richness and depth of flavor.  Stirring the sauce into the fregola is a nice, unexpected twist, instead of a regular old boring noodle or some sort of tubey pasta.  It's such a fun shape.  I feel like it would be great in a simple chicken soup.  Tyler Florence recently made a chicken soup where he used chicken sausage and made little meat balls.  How cute would it be to combine the chicken meatballs and fregola?  I might have to do that.

Complimenting and contrasting nicely with the puttenesca, the caperberry relish adds freshness, a vinegary and sharp flavor that cuts through the tomato, and a pleasing, subtle crunchy texture.  Both the relish and the fregola work well with the tuna in different ways.  But let's be honest, the dish is less about the tuna than what the tuna is served with.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  With such tasteful sides, the tuna doesn't need anything more than salt, pepper, and olive oil and it's perfect.  Whether you sear it as described above, or even grilled it either outdoors on a barbeque or inside with a grill pan, be advised that the dish really is superior if the tuna is cooked to be very rare.  I speak from experience.  I've made this twice - the first time the tuna ended up over-cooked, while the second time, it was still a deep pink through the center and the difference on the overall meal was astounding.  Soooo much better.  The fact that it barely takes any time at all makes it a great candidate for weeknight dining, although it's totally fancy enough to serve to guests. 

Serves 4

PAPPARDELLE WITH SHORT RIB & PORCINI RAGU

A couple years ago I was obsessed with developing a cooking show that was all about creatively repurposing leftovers.  As a kid I hated leftovers and with this show, I wanted to demonstrate how leftovers could be utilized in new ways, expanding on the flavor profiles of the original dish but taking them in a different direction.  But then came along a Food Network show called Quick Fix Meals, hosted by a glassy-eyed nutritionist/soccer mom named Robin Miller.  The concept was essentially the same, but propelled by the boring cliche that in today's busy society who wants to spend all their free time in the kitchen?  Soon thereafter, I lost interest in my project.  Not to say there aren't multiple versions and variations on the same thing all over television, but the more I thought about it, the show seemed to have a pretty limited potential.  I mean how many times can you chop up the remains of last night's dinner and toss it on top of a salad, tuck it into a quesadilla, or turn it into soup or whatever?

The idea of repurposing leftovers resurfaced last weekend as I was braising short ribs for the little dinner party I was hosting.  I purposely made twice the amount of meat that would likely be consumed by my guests and myself, with the intention of having plenty left over.  As I mentioned in my previous post, there are a number of ways one could go with the remaining braised meat, but that one that seemed most appealing to me was to morph it into a ragu to be served atop wide ribbons of pappardelle.

For those of us who only know "ragu" from the jarred sauce one might find at the supermarket, the real thing bears little resemblance.  At it's most basic, a ragu is a very slowly cooked sauce made up of onion, carrot, celery, tomato and some sort of meat meat, be it beef, pork, veal, turkey, or game. The most famous is probably Bolognase.  There is a great article in the LA times all about ragu's that can give far more information than I am capable of.  Do check it out. 

INGREDIENTS
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
2 ribs of celery, sliced into large chunks
2 carrots, sliced into large chunks
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 cup beef stock
1/4 ounce dried Porcini mushrooms
1 (28-ounce) can whole San Marzano tomatoes
1 cup leftover braised short rib meat, stripped from the bones and shredded slightly
1/2 cup milk or cream
1 pound Pappardelle
Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

METHOD
Place the dried Procini mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with 1 cup very hot water and let sit for 15 or 20 minutes.  Once the mushrooms have softened, remove from the water and roughly chop.  Meanwhile, pour the soaking liquid through a strainer lined with 2 layers of paper towel, to remove any dirt or sediment that may have been on the mushrooms.  Reserve the strained soaking liquid.

Place the chopped onion, celery and carrot in a food processor and pulse several times until the vegetables have been finely chopped.

In a large sauté pan or deep pot heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat.  Once the oil is glistening, add the chopped vegetables, thyme and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.  Add the chopped Porcinis and the soaking liquid, give it a stir to combine and cook until the soaking liquid has reduced down.  Next add the beef stock and continue to cook until it's reduced down.

While the stock is reducing, place the whole tomatoes and their juices in the food processor (you needn't bother washing it out first) and pulse until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped.  Add the tomatoes and the short rib meat to the sauté  pan, reduce the heat to medium low, cover and bring to a simmer.  Remove the lid and continue to simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes.  Stir in the milk or cream and simmer for another couple minutes.

While the sauce is cooking, prepare the pappadelle according to the package directions.  Always taste the pasta about 3 minutes before the package claims it will be finished cooking.  In my experience the pasta is always done way before they say it will be.

Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce in the sauté pan tossing with a pair of tongs to coat.  Serve in bowls topped with a few shavings of Parmesan cheese, a light scattering of chopped parsley, and a grinding of black pepper.

So, as much as I loved the short ribs in their original incarnation, I think I might like them better as a ragu.  Might, being the key word.  When combined with the sautéed vegetables, Porcinis, stock and cream, the wine-braised meat forms a robust, earthy sauce with an incredible depth of flavor.  I seriously couldn't stop eating it.  It's so right for colder weather.

Serve 4

SPAGHETTI WITH RICOTTA MEATBALLS

It's funny what inspires me to make certain dishes.  I really want to be the kind of cook who, while perusing the fresh produce at a farmers market, lets the ingredients spark the imagination.  Believe me.  But I just don't feel like I'm there yet.  I don't quite feel confident enough in my skills to see, say, an eggplant and then roll through the options of what one can do with an eggplant and then go from there.  I sort of need to see the finished dish and as such I tend to prefer cookbooks full of glorious color photos.  It's why I watch so much Food Network.  And more than several meal have been inspired by the food I see people eat in movies. 

A couple years ago, after watching Something's Got to Give, which features a totally food porny scene, in which Jack Nicholson, Amanda Peet, and Francis McDormand all gather in Diane Keaton's gorgeous, sun-filled  Hamptons dining to share a casual meal of linguine with clams.  Well after that movie, I simply HAD to make linguine with clams.  This weekend I was consumed with a similar urge.  Mark and I met up with his cousin, her husband and their little 6 year old son to go see Disney's latest glossy, computer animated film Meet the Robinsons at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood.  In 3-D.  A key scene in the film features the kooky Robinson family sitting down to a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs.  The meal ends with a food fight, computer animated meatballs being hurled around the dining room, off the screen and right into audience's faces.  Despite the fact that the spaghetti and meatballs were not real, something about how they were rendered was awfully appealing.  After the movie, in the car on the way home Mark remarked "I'm sort of in the mood for spaghetti and meatballs."  I turn to him, eyes wide and smiled "ME TOO!"

This recipe comes from Susan Spungen's minimally titled book Recipes.  For those who are unfamiliar with her, Ms. Spungen has quite the pedigree.  She was the founding food editor of a little magazine called Martha Stewart Living.  Perhaps you've heard of it.  Her book is really interesting, as it is organized by cooking technique, such as grilling, roasting, baking, etc.  Although now I don't remember what chapter this recipe came from.  One on sauteeing?  I'm not sure.  Either way, what I found enticing about her version of the classic meatball is that fact that it includes an entire cup of ricotta cheese, as well as a cup of Parmesan cheese and 4 to 5 slices of bread soaked in milk.  How could these meatballs not be fantastic?

INGREDIENTS
(For the meatballs)
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground veal
4 to 5 slices white bread, crusts cut off
1/2 cup milk
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup flour
olive oil

(For the tomato sauce)
2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 medium carrot, grated (the carrot adds sweetness, balancing out the acidity in the tomatoes, and grating it allows it to cook down faster)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh marjoram, chopped

(For the spaghetti)
1 pound spaghetti
freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped

METHOD
First make the meatballs.  Tear the bread slices into small pieces and place in a medium bowl.  Pour the milk over the bread and press down so that all the bread gets moist.  Squeeze out any excess milk.  Place the pork and veal in a large bowl and add the bread, the Parmesan and ricotta cheese, beaten egg, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper.  With your hands, mix all the ingredients together until evenly distributed.

Next form the meatballs.  It's a matter of personal taste how large or small you want them to be.  I made about an inch and a half to two inches in diameter.  Since I am kind of anal, to keep them all uniform sized, I used a 1 tablespoon size spring handled ice cream scoop and I used about 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture per meatball. 

I was able to get about 43 meatballs.  But again, the amount depends on how large you want to make them.  Anyway cover the meatballs with cling film and chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.  During this time it would be a good idea to make your tomato sauce.  I happened to have some left over from a really good recipe I'd made a couple nights earlier and will post about at some point in the future, but either way, I'll walk you through the steps.

Pour the whole tomatoes and their juice or sauce or whatever you want to call it into a large bowl.  With your hands, break the tomatoes up into small pieces.  Be careful.  It might splatter.  Don't do this while wearing white.  Meanwhile in a medium pot, heat about a 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium heat.  When the oil glistens, add the onion and the thyme.  Cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions have become soft and translucent.  Add the garlic, grated carrot, some salt and pepper and cook for an addition minute or two.  Then add the tomatoes, stirring to combine everything.  Turn the heat down a little and let simmer for maybe 10 minutes.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.  It will likely need more salt.  Add the chopped marjoram and you are done.

Back to the meatballs.  Remove the meatballs from the fridge.  In a large saute pan (I find nonstick works really well for this) swirl in enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan.  Heat over medium heat until the oil is very hot. 

Dredge the meatballs in a shallow bowl filled with flour and then shake off any excess.  The flour will give the meatballs a nice crust on the outside and helps in preventing them from sticking to the pan.  Add as many meatballs as you can without overcrowding the pan.  You don't want the meatballs touching each other.  Cook the meatballs for a couple minutes until they've gotten golden brown.  Then using a pair of tongs, turn the meatballs and continue to cook until all the sides have gotten some nice color.  Occasionally I give the pan a few shakes back and forth to keep the balls rolling around and to help them keep more of a round shape.

Remove the meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels to drain off any excess oil while you continue cooked the rest of the meatballs.  (I cooked about half the meatballs I made.  Any leftover can be frozen) When all the meatballs are cooked, pour out any left over oil and wipe out the pan.  Pour in the tomato sauce.  Add the meatballs to the sauce and let simmer, covered for about 10 minutes.  This way any juices from the meat can seep out and further flavor the sauce while the meatballs can soak in the sauce.

Meanwhile, cook 1 pound of spaghetti in a big pot of salty, salty water.  When the spaghetti is al dente, drain it in a colander and then toss it in with the meatballs and sauce.  Serve the spaghetti and meatballs in wide shallow bowls, showered with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, a sprinkling of parsley, and a thick slice of warm garlic bread.  I however, served it with toasted rosemary ciabatta bread that I slathered with some amazing black truffle butter that I got from the most beautiful Italian market called Carluccio's in London.  It really makes an otherwise homey dish into something really sophisticated.

I've sort of forgotten how something as simple as spaghetti and meatballs can be so freaking good.  Like eyes rolling back in your head good.  And what I especially love about this version is that it's at once familiar and just a little bit unexpected.  Let's start with the tomato sauce.  It's a very basic sauce.  I did not add red pepper flakes but you could and I might the next time.  Oregano is very typically used in a sauce like this but I thought it would be nice to use oregano's neglected little sister marjoram.  It's similar but different.  A little bit sweeter than oregano but with the same sort of woodsiness.  And now, the meat balls.  Ah, the glorious meatballs.  So light and tender, with great flavor from the fresh herbs and a really nice moistness thanks to the milk soaked bread.  The duo of cheeses are a really nice touch.  The Parmesan adds a salty kick while the ricotta lends a mild, milky flavor and also serves to lighten up the meat, both in texture and taste.  These would be great nestled in a toasted roll and draped with melting mozzarella cheese.  How good would that be?  It's a good thing I have so many meatballs left over.  I may have to make that happen.

If you have issues with veal, I suppose you could switch it out with more pork, chicken, turkey, or just regular ground beef.  But I highly recommend the pork veal power duo.  Not one to advocate any sort of cruelty to animals, rest assured that the veal I used was raised in a posh spa surrounded by meadows in which they could frolic. 

The sauce and meatballs can serve 6 to 8, but you'll need to make more than 1 pound of pasta.

ORECCHIETTE CARBONARA WITH FRESH PEAS & PEA SHOOTS

Last Sunday, rather than going to my local little farmers' market at Melrose Place, Mark, Annie and myself decided to head up to one in Hollywood.  It's much bigger and a lot busier.  Lots of strollers and hipsters as far the the eye can see.  We overheard a fashionably tattooed and disheveled couple chatting up one of the merchants to see if he could "hook us up with some morels."  Ah, Hollywood.  I kept an eye out for ramps and green garlic, although not really knowing what they look like, I didn't find any.  After chowing down on gourmet tamales, Annie wound up with a couple pots of herbs for her little garden, Mark got some hand-made garlic cheddar and I came home with a bag of shucked fresh peas.

And what to do with said peas?  Well peas love mint and peas love bacon.  The last couple times I've done anything with peas I've gone in the mint directions so this time I wanted to pork it up.  I found a couple recipes for peas with pancetta and shallots that I'm sure would taste great, but peas as a side dish just felt a little convential.  Then I remembered this recipe.  It was the one from Sunday Suppers at Lucques (here I go again) that Suzanne Goin made at her presentation at the LA Times Festival ofr Books.  It's a pretty standard version of a carbonara, but the addition of peas as well as pea shoots, freshens it up.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces applewood-smoked bacon, diced
6 ounces pancetta, diced
4 extra-large eggs
4 extra-large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 1/2 pounds orecchiette pasta (I only used 1 pound)
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 cups freshly shucked peas
3 ounces pea shoots
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD
Although Suzanne's recipes does not say to do it, I blanched my peas first.  Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.  Meanwhile prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with water and adding a handful of ice cubes.  Once the pot has come to a boil, add the peas and stir constantly until they've turned a vibrant green.  Stir anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 mintues, occasionally tasting them while they blanche to see if they still taste too raw.  When the peas are blanched, strain them out and immediatley add them to the ice bath to stop the cooking.  After several minutes in the ice bath, drain in a colander.

Next, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.

Heat a large sauce pan over high heat for 1 minute.  Swirl in the olive oil and then add the bacon and pancettta.  Turn the heat down to medium-high and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon and pancetta are slightly crisp but still tender.

Meanwhile, in a bowl large enough to hold all the pasta, whisk the eggs, egg yolks, and 1 1/4 cup of the cheese together.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Drop the pasta in the boiling water.

Add the chopped onion, garlic, and thyme to the bacon and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent. 

Just before the pasta is ready, add the peas, coating them well with the onion and bacon.

As the pasta cooks, measure out and reserve about 1 cup of the hot pasta water. 

When the pasta is al dente, drain it and add it to the bacon mixture, along with 1 teaspoon of salt, tossing well.  Grind in lots of black pepper and cook for 1 to 2 mintues more, stirring well to incorporate. 

Add the orecchiette, bacon, pea mixture to the eggs, stirring vigorously to so the hot pasta and bacon-onion mixture heats the eggs, basically cooking them. 

The eggs should be warmed just enough to thicken then so they coat the pasta.  If the mixture seems to thick, add a little of the reserved pasta water.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Toss in the pea shoots and the parsley and serve sprinkled with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.

Bacon, eggs, yolks, cheese and pasta.  Need I say more?  The eggs cook into a sauce that tastes like velevet.  The little orecchiette are perfect for this dish.  Each "ear" ends ups gently cupping a bright, fresh pea or a smokey bit of bacon.  The peas and especially the pea shoots actually add a very nice gardeny crispness and cuts through the richness.  Mark and I devoured it sitting on the floor at my coffee table while watching an old Bette Davis movie.  What a decadent treat.

Using 1 1/2 pounds of pasta, you could serve 6.  Using 1 pound of pasta you could serve 4 generously.

SWEET PEA SOUP WITH MINT PESTO

It's kind of a fun challenge trying to put together the menu for a multiple course dinner but believe me, I am far from an expert.  I would go so far to say I'm a total novice.  From what I am learning, it's a bit like a puzzle, trying to figure out what pieces fit together in complementary ways to create a cohesive whole.  I find that it always helps to have parameters, and for me, I usually use seasonal ingredients as mine.

So when it came to planning our Easter menu, Annie would phone each other, spit-ball ideas, assign different vegetables to different courses, look at the flow, see how it works, and then start all over.  Early on we decided that we were going to do lamb - red wine braised lamb shanks with carrots, porcini mushrooms and herbs de provence which I was going to serve on a mound of polenta.  Working backwards from there, we tried to determine what might be the perfect side.  We both love grilled asparagus and thought that it would work well with the lamb - the lamb is a bit hearty, which the asparagus would contrast nicely.  Am I right?

So when it came to the soup, carrots and asparagus, two of the signature spring vegetables were already taken.  "I know!" I told Annie.  "Something with peas. And MINT!  Pea soup with mint!  It's perfectly spring!"  She sneered.  "Ugh.  I HATE peas."  Another parameter.  "What is it that you think you don't like about peas?" I asked her, assuming it was probably the same reason I hated asparagus for so long - that as children we were served green vegetables from cans.  "They're just so mushy," she explained, making a yucky face.  "Well I think you ought to give them a chance," I insisted.  "They're actually very sweet.  I think you'd like them."  She was not convinced. 

I tried to reason with her.  "Well, we can't do carrot or asparagus soup.  They're both taken.  It would be redundant.  Artichokes are a pain in the ass.  We could ditch the asparagus as a side and use it for a soup, but then what do we do for a side?"  She suggested the braised fennel I made a couple months ago.  "But the lamb is braised," I reminded her.  "That would be too much braising.  Asparagus is perfect with the lamb.  So pea soup is our ONLY OPTION."  She reluctantly gave in to my bullying.

This recipe comes from Sara Foster's second cookbook Fresh Every Day. 

INGREDIENTS
(For the mint pesto)
1 cup fresh mint leaves, washed and well dried
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, washed and well dried
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds
1 cup Asiago or Parmesan cheese, grated (I used Parmesan)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

METHOD
Place the mint, parsley, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade.  Pulse several times to roughly chop the garlic and the herbs.

With the motor running, pour the olive oil in a slow stead stream through the feed tube of the machine.  Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl several times while adding the oil.

Add the almonds, cheese, salt, and pepper and pulse until the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute more. 

Use immediately, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months. 

Next, make the soup.

INGREDIENTS
(For the soup)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and chopped (I used Dutch Baby Yellow potatoes, which I didn't even bother to peel)
3 celery stalks, chopped
5 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth
2 cups shelled fresh or frozen petite green peas (1 16-ounce bag)
1 head butter (Bibb) lettuce (about 4 cups loosely packed)
3 tablepsoons chopped fresh mint leaves
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Fresh mint pesto
creme fraiche, to garnish

METHOD
Melt the butter and olive oil together in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, until soft and transluscent, about 10 minutes.  Add the potatoes and celery and cook for about 5 minute more.

Add the broth and the peas and bring to a low boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes.  Add the lettuce and simmer until it is tender, about 2 minutes more.  Stir in the mint, salt and pepper and remove from heat.  Cool slightly.

Working in batches, laddle soup into the jar of a blender and puree until smooth. 

Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm with a dallop of creme fraiche and a spoonful of mint pesto.

I found this to be a beautifully elegant, yet sort of rustic soup.  The flavors are light and despite being pureed, it still has a very subtle texture thanks to little crisp slivers of onion, celery and butter lettuce.  The creme fraiche gives the soup a hint of richness but I think that what really makes it outstanding is the mint pesto.  The silky olive oil swirls into the the pureed peas, the coarsly chopped mint brings out the mint in the soup and the almonds give the whole thing a nutty substance.  It's perfect for a springtime holiday meal although it's equally nice as a light lunch or weeknight dinner.

"Okay fine," Annie admitted, after taking a taste.  "Maybe I do like peas."

Serves 6 to 8

MINT PESTO

I love making pesto.  Next to hummus, it's probably the most satisfying thing I make with my food processor.  It's easy, it freezes well, and there are so many variations.  Obviously there is the classic basil pesto.  I love making arugula pesto.  I came across this light and refreshing version in the March 2004 issue of Bon Appetite.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons (packed) feta cheese
2 tablespoons (packed) Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped jalapeño chile
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups (packed) fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

METHOD
Combine first 7 ingredients in processor. Using on/off turns, process until mixture is smooth. Add mint leaves and lemon juice; process until smooth, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Gradually add oil and process until mint pesto is smooth and creamy. (Can be made 1 day ahead; cover and refrigerate.)

Makes about 1 cup.

The original recipe called for tossing the pesto with broiled shrimp.  I sauteed my shrimp and served them over Sweet Pea Risotto.  It should be noted that not all of the pesto would be used with the shrimp.  The leftover pesto would be nice tossed with some pasta.  It would be fantastic on a pizza, maybe with some grilled zucchini.  You could use it with lamb chops or kebobs.  Oh the possibilities are endless.

SZECHUAN NOODLE SALAD

INGREDIENTS
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup good soy sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon hot chili oil
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1 pound spaghetti or linguine
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 yellow bell pepper, julienned
4 scallions, sliced diagonally (white and green parts)

METHOD
Place the garlic and ginger in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the vegetable oil, tahini, peanut butter, soy sauce, sherry, sherry vinegar, honey, chili oil, sesame oil, and ground peppers. Puree the sauce.

Add a splash of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook the spaghetti al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander, place it in a large bowl, and while still warm, toss with 3/4 of the sauce. Add the red and yellow bell peppers and scallions; toss well. Serve warm or at room temperature. The remaining sauce may be added, as needed, to moisten the pasta.

NOTES
Shredded chicken may be added to the dish. Marinate 4 chicken breasts in some of the sauce overnight and then grill. Add to noodles and toss.

SOUTHWEST PASTA SALAD

There was a time when every Sunday I would make myself a big bowl of tabbouleh, pasta salad or some cold succotashy sort of salad that would serve as my lunch for the week. I would spoon some in a small plastic container and maybe throw in a nice little grilled chicken sandwich and stuff it all into a brown paper bag on which I scrawled my name. Come lunch time I'd slice the sandwich and arrange it and the salad on a plate. All my co-workers were jealous, but then, isn't that the goal?

This recipe was one of the best and most interesting pasta salads that I've made. I think orecchiette is such a cute little pasta (farfalle and rotini are a little pedestrian and don't even get me started on wagon wheels). It's spicy thanks to the chipotle and full of unexpected ingredients like lima beans and tomatillos. It would be great at a bar-b-que or for any function where you are expected to bring a dish.

INGREDIENTS
1 pound orecchiette, cooked al dente
2 yellow peppers, grilled and julienned
1 red onion, finely sliced
6 tomatillos, quartered
1 cup fresh corn kernels
1 cup frozen baby lima beans, thawed
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 canned chipotle pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped

METHOD
Place cooked pasta in a large bowl, add peppers, onions, tomatillo, corn and lima beans.

Place vinegar and chipotle peppers in a blender and blend until smooth. Slowly add olive oil until emulsified and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Toss the salad with the dressing and add cilantro.