04.29.12: dinner (drunken bucatini with poached eggs, piave, and pancetta)

Drunken Bucatini with Poached Eggs, Piave, and Pancetta.

Of the many things I miss about New York, access to the year-round greenmarkets can get really high on the list when I’m craving certain foods; namely, carbornara. It’s easy to feel confident about 99% of the foods we purchase at Fairway, but the only time a shadow of doubt crosses my mind is when I want to combine raw eggs with pasta. I was taught over our honeymoon that only the freshest eggs would do for pasta alla carbornara, so now I need to be able to know that the eggs I’m buying are fresh enough to do so–hence the need to buy directly from the farmer.

But what’s a girl to do when those greenmarkets aren’t a stone’s throw away anymore? While we aren’t horribly far from the city, it feels kind of silly to spend nearly $20 a person to go into Manhattan just to get eggs. That’s when the idea struck to add poached eggs to an otherwise simple combination of pasta, pancetta, and cheese, and that making the pasta drunken would keep things even more interesting.

07.17.11: dinner (simple Italian and…yeah, the Women’s World Cup)

True Grit. (click image for source)

I have a bunch of posts that should come before this one, but given the time-sensitivity of sports, it’s kind of necessary to write about the World Cup final hours after it ended. I heartily congratulate Japan on its World Cup win because it was well-deserved and came after a pretty epic performance by both teams. As happy as I was when Spain won last year, the game was tough to watch with the physical aggression and some playacting and diving and whatnot, so it was gratifying to see both of these teams comport themselves with grace, dignity, grit, tenacity and a hell of a lot of spirit. This was a game decided on playing football and not on bad calls or bad attitudes, and while I’m glad Japan has had a much-needed boost of national pride and joy, I want to thank the US Women’s National Team for one hell of a ride with this World Cup and for playing their hearts out on the pitch time and time again. It’s a performance that was extraordinary and inspiring, and while they faltered during the penalty kick phase of this game, they truly are the epitome of American sporstmanship.

OK–onto the food! 

04.03.11: dinner (white clam and leek-prosciutto pizzas)

White Clam Pizza, New Haven Style

How on earth are you supposed to follow up a five-course meal featuring fifteen dishes (plus appetizers!) with a homemade meal? Are you even supposed to eat? To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to be all that hungry come Sunday–and neither was Michael–so we didn’t put all that much thought into dinner plans. But we knew we’d have to eat something, but none of our typical stand-bys were appealing: we had enjoyed enough tapas the night before, thank you, and we had pasta on Friday, and tacos seemed heavy, and I don’t think either of us could fathom eating another braised meat dish. And then inspiration hit: pizza. Of course.

01.22.11: dinner (Roman-style rigatoni with pancetta, pecorino and red onion)

Rigatoni with Pancetta, Red Onion and Pecorino

Rome is on my list of places to visit sooner than later for many reasons (but then again the same could be said for Barcelona, Madrid, and San Juan), in part because I have this recurring wistful yearning to sit in a charming cafe, preferably outside in some piazza and have the perfect plate of any of the four basic Roman pasta dishes: alla gricia, amatriciana, carbornara or cacio e pepe. I credit this to too many viewings of The Talented Mr. Ripley and the season 3 episode of Mad Men that finds Don and Betty spending a sexy night in Rome. As much as I’d like to give my passport a workout and go to all of those places whenever I want to–those times often being when I’m in the midst of my commute and see ads for those destinations all over buses, taxis and trains–real life doesn’t always permit those whims, so I content myself with a nice plate or bowl of food that can at least take me there in my imagination.

I credit Gina de Palma for helping me appreciate the nuances in making basic Roman pasta dishes, thanks to her step-by-step tutorial on Serious Eats some time ago that walks you through the precise cooking method of pasta alla gricia. It’s a delicate dance of a dish, and we followed her instructions to the letter, even to the point of pulling out the scale and measuring the cheese and pasta based on the amount of guanciale we had at our disposal. It was an exercise in precision, to be sure, but it was useful in understanding the basics of Roman pasta-cooking because only when the fundamentals are strong can experimentation really take place.

01.23.11: dinner (el cocido de nueve carnes y siete vegetales, or the epic stew that ends all stews)

La calda con fideos

Alternate titles for this post included: One stew to rule them all, You call that a stew? THIS is a stew, and finally, The epic stew of epicness. Working in an academic lab here in NYC for the last 1.5 years, I have been exposed to many college students and their requisite speech patterns. One word I hear often (besides random) is ‘epic’, used to mean something impressive. That’s a poor definition, for a more complete definition, read on.

08.11.10: dinner (pasta e fagioli in a New York minute).

Pasta e Fagioli, a la minuto di New York (or, Pasta and Beans, New York Minute Style)

A few days ago, over lunch with some of my colleagues, the conversation took a turn to cooking at home (and I swear I didn’t bring it up) and it was generally acknowledged by the group that while cooking at home is fantastic, it’s very difficult to keep up with during the week after a long day at work. Given that I have the fortunate situation of being able to come home to dinner most nights thanks to Michael having a non-commute (a walk the length of one iPod song does not a real commute make), I kept my mouth shut lest I come across as braggy at all.

Besides–this would then lead me to explain that I spend three hours each day on public transportation, and really, there’s no need to start moaning on who has the worst commute, right?

07.18.10: dinner (recipe rehash–pasta alla carbornara)

Caserecci alla Carbornara

Because my last photo of anything alla carbornara was completely awful, I give you this photo, made from this recipe that accompanied aforementioned awful photo. You should give it a try because it truly is easy to make and is a complete meal in of itself thanks to the eggs and the garnishes of pancetta, and you are so overwhelmed by the headiness of this dish that you’re happy to gorge on it once or twice a year as long as it’s made well.

And yes, the pasta is all brown thanks to the pancetta in the pan.

Delightful!

01.31.10: dinner (homemade ravioli, Anne Burrell-style)

Ricotta Ravioli with Pancetta and Wild Mushrooms, Anne Burrell-style

We’re big fans of fresh, homemade ravioli here at the casa di TMFP because they are such indulgent treats:  delicate pillows filled with ricotta cheese and herbs and usually dressed with some buttery sauce do not conjure up any delusions of sensible, healthy food.  The process behind making them well, however–especially when it’s just two of you–requires so much work that by the time you’re finished, you are convinced that easing yourself gratefully onto a chair and digging into a modest amount of pasta is completely justified.

That’s because it is, of course.  It’s obvious that Anne Burrell understands this as well, because her recipe requires a fair amount of work but makes all of it worth the effort in the end with a pretty phenomenal dish.

10.24.09: dinner (fettuccine alla carbornara, per favore!)

Fresh eggs: a carbornara must.

Ever since the Mrs. and I honeymooned at Baur B&B, she has been devoted to making our own carbonara.  It’s the kind of place where you feel like you’re best friends with everyone who walks through the door, so much so that another couple staying there offered to share their dinner with us and the proprietor one night for no reason other than fellowship and kindness.  It’s the inherent  greatness of sharing a meal with kind people.

Hang on a minute, sailor- you should be saying.  You two got married a while ago, right?  Why the hold up? Honestly, this dish is fraught with peril. The carbonara conundrum, so to speak, is that you have to be very, very sure of your eggs before you proceed or risk a very, very unpleasant evening.  And so, trepidatious to say the least, we waited.

9.17.09: pasta e fagioli

Pasta e Fagioli

I have to admit that I get underwhelmed by many of my attempts at making soup.  Occasionally I strike food-gold, but I think I still have a lot to learn.  Unfortunately, my lackluster output often results in diminished fervor for whippin’ up a steaming bowl o’ soup.

However- I had just come off a really nasty bout of the flu and I wanted to make a meal that both easy and comforting for someone still not-all-there after being sick.  Simple soup certainly felt the best option.

All that’s there is a chopped onion, chicken stock, two cans of beans, a cup of small pasta, grated Parmesan and one last ingredient, optional but perhaps the most important.  We had recently stumbled upon a really fantastic pancetta from the guys at Milano Market.  It’s nice to see that a place who owes most of its sales traffic to lunch sandwiches and made-to-order salads still has a great eye for classic Italian staples.

The Italian credo of ‘great, simple ingredients’ is so well-known it’s almost a cliche.  It has permeated the entire food culture in general and while obvious it’s definitely a good thing.  Sometimes I feel cheap using a fat/salt/pork addition to elevate a meal, but on a night like this one, I was quite comfortable compromising my ideals.  Maybe that’s the point, as with all things, cooks have to find their way between idealism and pragmatism.

Rather than sweat my unintentional endorsement of the ever-growing pork fat cult, let’s just say the soup is a wonderful showcase of the pancetta and what’s the shame in that?  It was very cool to see one awesome ingredient shine and be supported be the others.  Go forth and find your pancetta this weekend, intrepid readers.  Cook on!