No, I'm not talking about boxed wine.
Did you know that, when referring to serving red wine, "room temperature" does not mean the comfortable 75 degrees in your living room? Rather, the description dates back to before central heating; when people turned to blankets and sweaters for warmth rather than the thermostat on the wall. The term "room temperature" refers to an ideal temperature of 60 to 65 degrees. So if you are like me, and you drink your red wine around a balmy 75 degrees, try tossing that bottle of chianti in the fridge for about 5 minutes before serving, and see what a difference it makes. You might be surprised to discover those cherry, oak or various "flavors" people always refer to suddenly becoming apparent to you, too.
Monday, January 31, 2005
Monday, January 24, 2005
Farfalle con Pesto Rosso
My favorite italian pasta sauce is the Rosa sauce, or Pink sauce. It is a delicious blend of marinara and white sauce. Sweeter lighter than a white sauce, but richer than a marinara, it goes with anything, from ravioli (my favorite is spinach and cheese ravioli with pink sauce) to penne, or over chicken, fish, you name it. A popular variation is the Vodka Cream sauce, which is similar, exept that vodka is added and then simmered out, to give a different depth to the sauce. Both are delicious.
For TND last week (yes, yes, on Wednesday) I decided to make a few of my favorite pastas for a "Pasta Tasting". Following one of Adrian's incredible salads, I served Farfalle con Pesto Rosso, "Rosa" (a variation of Tra di Noi's ravioli in pink sauce) and Fettuccini con pignioli e burro. To finish the evening, I figured that one must follow this truckload of carbs with one thing: more carbs. Chocolate Molten Cake with raspberry sauce. And what a finale. But that is for later. Back to my pastas...
The farfalle con pesto rosso (bowties with pink pesto sauce) was my own variation of Matt and my favorite at Cafe Veloce in Kirkland, bowtie pasta in a creamy pesto sauce, with a large spoonful of marinara sauce waiting to surprise you at the bottom of the bowl. This dish is great because you can make the bowtie the night before, dress it in its cute creamy pesto sauce, and then put it in the fridge. The next day, assemble the bowl as per the directions and bake it in the oven for about 10 minutes, until warmed through and the cheese is melting.
Farfalle con Pesto Rosso
1 lb dried farfalle pasta
1 jar alfredo sauce
1/2 cup pesto
1/4 cup marinara
Freshly grated parmesan
Add pasta to boiling water, boil until al dente. Drain, reserving about 1/4 cup cooking water. Toss pasta with pesto and alfredo sauce until thoroughly coated and sauces are mixed. Pour marinara into the bottom of an oven-safe bowl, add pesto farfalle, and top with as much parmesan as you would like. Be generous, the flavors mix beautifully. Place in 350 degree oven and bake until cheese is melting. Serve family style; at the table, stir from the bottom so that the marinara and pesto can mingle and voila! Pink pesto bowties. Serves 4 as main dish, 8-10 as appetizer or taster.
For TND last week (yes, yes, on Wednesday) I decided to make a few of my favorite pastas for a "Pasta Tasting". Following one of Adrian's incredible salads, I served Farfalle con Pesto Rosso, "Rosa" (a variation of Tra di Noi's ravioli in pink sauce) and Fettuccini con pignioli e burro. To finish the evening, I figured that one must follow this truckload of carbs with one thing: more carbs. Chocolate Molten Cake with raspberry sauce. And what a finale. But that is for later. Back to my pastas...
The farfalle con pesto rosso (bowties with pink pesto sauce) was my own variation of Matt and my favorite at Cafe Veloce in Kirkland, bowtie pasta in a creamy pesto sauce, with a large spoonful of marinara sauce waiting to surprise you at the bottom of the bowl. This dish is great because you can make the bowtie the night before, dress it in its cute creamy pesto sauce, and then put it in the fridge. The next day, assemble the bowl as per the directions and bake it in the oven for about 10 minutes, until warmed through and the cheese is melting.
Farfalle con Pesto Rosso
1 lb dried farfalle pasta
1 jar alfredo sauce
1/2 cup pesto
1/4 cup marinara
Freshly grated parmesan
Add pasta to boiling water, boil until al dente. Drain, reserving about 1/4 cup cooking water. Toss pasta with pesto and alfredo sauce until thoroughly coated and sauces are mixed. Pour marinara into the bottom of an oven-safe bowl, add pesto farfalle, and top with as much parmesan as you would like. Be generous, the flavors mix beautifully. Place in 350 degree oven and bake until cheese is melting. Serve family style; at the table, stir from the bottom so that the marinara and pesto can mingle and voila! Pink pesto bowties. Serves 4 as main dish, 8-10 as appetizer or taster.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Happy Birthday Baby Joe!
Yesterday I received the phone call I've been waiting anxiously for: Baby Joseph is on the way. And I was on my way to becoming an aunt. The excitement built throughout the day as Joseph tried his best to stay inside his warm home. However, much to our delight, and I'm sure much to his chagrin, baby Joseph Parker Griffin IV was born yesterday at 6:03pm. 7 pounds 11 ounces. 21.25 inches. One perfect baby.
I think that the birth of a beautiful nephew is the perfect excuse to break out the special homemade cranberry liquer and make a delicious Cranberry Kir Royale.
Cranberry Kir Royale
12 oz chilled champagne
4 oz Cranberry liqueur
Pour 1 ounce of cranberry liqueur into each champagne flute. Top with 3 ounces champagne each. Makes 4.
Welcome Baby Joe! I can't wait to meet you!
I think that the birth of a beautiful nephew is the perfect excuse to break out the special homemade cranberry liquer and make a delicious Cranberry Kir Royale.
Cranberry Kir Royale
12 oz chilled champagne
4 oz Cranberry liqueur
Pour 1 ounce of cranberry liqueur into each champagne flute. Top with 3 ounces champagne each. Makes 4.
Welcome Baby Joe! I can't wait to meet you!
Monday, January 17, 2005
Moving Outdoors
With the warm, sunny days of late January upon us, I am feeling the strong desire to dine outdoors again. So quickly gone are the days of hot cider and mulled wine, and present are the cravings for homemade lemonade and freshly brewed iced tea. The creek in our backyard is still roaring from last week’s rainstorms, and how perfect would a dinner beneath twinkling lights be, with the sound of rushing water below?
Tuesday Night Dinner on Wednesday (new, revised name due to scheduling conflicts) is at my house this week, and I have been happily engaged in one of my favorite rituals: the cookbook study. After climbing onto the counter and standing on my tiptoes to reach my cookbook shelf (after which, Matt walks in reaches up and easily hands me the last few books, then scolds me for not asking for help) I heave the precious books into the living room--6 steps to be exact--and carefully stack them on the couch, the coffee table, the floor. Then, planted on the couch, glass of wine in hand, I pour over the piles of cookbooks, searching for inspiration for this week’s menu. I think I have finally found the secret for how Giada de Laurentis stays so thin while cooking Italian food—she must have a full library of cookbooks that she performs this sacred ritual with!
After deciding on a basic outline for my menu, I draw up my list of necessities to prepare our deck for outdoor dining: strings of small lantern lights, broom, mop, candles, ladder, one husband to help his vertically-challenged wife hang the lanterns so that she doesn’t fall off the ladder into the stream below, table and chairs.
The menu will be my next entry--I don't want to ruin the surprise too early!
Tuesday Night Dinner on Wednesday (new, revised name due to scheduling conflicts) is at my house this week, and I have been happily engaged in one of my favorite rituals: the cookbook study. After climbing onto the counter and standing on my tiptoes to reach my cookbook shelf (after which, Matt walks in reaches up and easily hands me the last few books, then scolds me for not asking for help) I heave the precious books into the living room--6 steps to be exact--and carefully stack them on the couch, the coffee table, the floor. Then, planted on the couch, glass of wine in hand, I pour over the piles of cookbooks, searching for inspiration for this week’s menu. I think I have finally found the secret for how Giada de Laurentis stays so thin while cooking Italian food—she must have a full library of cookbooks that she performs this sacred ritual with!
After deciding on a basic outline for my menu, I draw up my list of necessities to prepare our deck for outdoor dining: strings of small lantern lights, broom, mop, candles, ladder, one husband to help his vertically-challenged wife hang the lanterns so that she doesn’t fall off the ladder into the stream below, table and chairs.
The menu will be my next entry--I don't want to ruin the surprise too early!
Sunday, January 09, 2005
The Joy of (Kitchenaid) Cooking
Christmas. The word alone brings tingles of excitement; especially since this was my first Christmas in the United States as Mrs. Kristy Jewett. It was also the first Christmas that I was more excited after Christmas Day than the days leading up to it. As Matt and I left his parents' house late Christmas night, I surveyed the large pile of gifts in the back seat of Matt's Pathfinder: a spice grinder, microplane, oven thermometer, funnels, and, the largest box, the pasta roller/cutter attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer.
Oh, the dishes I could make now! My 10-square-foot kitchen quivered at the thought of the new additions. Where to put it all? That didn't matter, homemade pumpkin ravioli with a butter sage sauce was begging in my ear to be the inagural recipe for my new Kitchenaid accesories.
With the Los Angeles rainstorm loudly announcing its presence outside, I gleefully mixed the flour, salt and eggs for my pasta dough, with full intentions to make ravioli for each of my dear friends. Humming to myself, I passed the dough through those magical rollers for the 20th time, and then I couldn't help but wonder how the fettuccini and spaghetti cutters would shape my precious dough. With all of the willpower of a 13-year-old boy in a video game store, I immediately pulled the other two Kitchenaid attachments out of the box and watched as beautiful long strings of spaghettini and fettuccini came tumbling out. Now the dilemma remained: use immediately, dry, or freeze the pasta for later? Hmmm, I thought to myself, I will freeze this first attempt at homemade pasta so that I can reuse it later.
Two hours later, I decided that the ravioli would have to wait; I should use a portion of the pasta I was planning on freezing, for lunch. As I attempted to separate the strands of gorgeous homemade spaghetti, it all began to stick together as if some sick junior high joke, forcing me into a full temper-tantrum and to throw the entire batch into the garbage. The remaining fettucini, my most recent attempt at cutting pasta, now fell subject to my hunger. Fettuccini with pine nuts and brown butter . Mmmmmmm. I eyed the delicate strips of pasta laying on the dishtowel. "Should I even attempt this?" I thought to myself. "Why, of course!" my darling new friend on my shoulder replied. "You will never know if you don't try."
And on his recommendation, I tossed my last remaining precious strings of fettucini into the boiling water and began to heat my pan of butter. As the butter melted and the fettucini cooked, I examined my creation: what wonders it contained! The dark specks of browning butter, the pinenuts getting browner by the second as theyt happily bathed in the butter, the incredible strings of fettuccini beggining to float in the pot of boiling water. Ok, so no pasta was going to be frozen for future meals, but this lunch was going to be pretty incredible. And boy was I right. Here is the recipe for Fettuccini con Pignioli e Burro, one of my new favorites.
Fettucini con Pignioli e Burro
1/2 lb Fettuccini
5 T butter
1/2 C pinenuts
Add fettuccini to 4 cups boiling water. For fresh pasta, boil 4 minutes. For dried pasta, boil 8-10 minutes, or until tender with a bit of a bite ("al dente"). In a small fry pan, melt the butter. Turn heat to medium high, add pinenuts, cook until pinenuts are golden brown. Drain pasta, add butter mixture. Serve immediately.
Oh, the dishes I could make now! My 10-square-foot kitchen quivered at the thought of the new additions. Where to put it all? That didn't matter, homemade pumpkin ravioli with a butter sage sauce was begging in my ear to be the inagural recipe for my new Kitchenaid accesories.
With the Los Angeles rainstorm loudly announcing its presence outside, I gleefully mixed the flour, salt and eggs for my pasta dough, with full intentions to make ravioli for each of my dear friends. Humming to myself, I passed the dough through those magical rollers for the 20th time, and then I couldn't help but wonder how the fettuccini and spaghetti cutters would shape my precious dough. With all of the willpower of a 13-year-old boy in a video game store, I immediately pulled the other two Kitchenaid attachments out of the box and watched as beautiful long strings of spaghettini and fettuccini came tumbling out. Now the dilemma remained: use immediately, dry, or freeze the pasta for later? Hmmm, I thought to myself, I will freeze this first attempt at homemade pasta so that I can reuse it later.
Two hours later, I decided that the ravioli would have to wait; I should use a portion of the pasta I was planning on freezing, for lunch. As I attempted to separate the strands of gorgeous homemade spaghetti, it all began to stick together as if some sick junior high joke, forcing me into a full temper-tantrum and to throw the entire batch into the garbage. The remaining fettucini, my most recent attempt at cutting pasta, now fell subject to my hunger. Fettuccini with pine nuts and brown butter . Mmmmmmm. I eyed the delicate strips of pasta laying on the dishtowel. "Should I even attempt this?" I thought to myself. "Why, of course!" my darling new friend on my shoulder replied. "You will never know if you don't try."
And on his recommendation, I tossed my last remaining precious strings of fettucini into the boiling water and began to heat my pan of butter. As the butter melted and the fettucini cooked, I examined my creation: what wonders it contained! The dark specks of browning butter, the pinenuts getting browner by the second as theyt happily bathed in the butter, the incredible strings of fettuccini beggining to float in the pot of boiling water. Ok, so no pasta was going to be frozen for future meals, but this lunch was going to be pretty incredible. And boy was I right. Here is the recipe for Fettuccini con Pignioli e Burro, one of my new favorites.
Fettucini con Pignioli e Burro
1/2 lb Fettuccini
5 T butter
1/2 C pinenuts
Add fettuccini to 4 cups boiling water. For fresh pasta, boil 4 minutes. For dried pasta, boil 8-10 minutes, or until tender with a bit of a bite ("al dente"). In a small fry pan, melt the butter. Turn heat to medium high, add pinenuts, cook until pinenuts are golden brown. Drain pasta, add butter mixture. Serve immediately.
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