Pages

Showing posts with label forche renault. Show all posts
Showing posts with label forche renault. Show all posts

Sunday, February 27, 2011

whole wheat spaghetti carbonara


red wine mind.  that's a three-word tongue twister if you try saying it five times fast!  it's also the state of mind that brings you my next recipe.  so if you were previously thinking (as i were), "how is this kid going to get any better than stuffed pork loins with bacon jam and portabella mushrooms?", then this recipe proves me human.

if you think that is strange, then this should really throw you for a loop.  i read an article in an issue of Redbook today.  why?  (you should be asking)  because Giada de Laurentiis was on the cover, why else?  the article was fine, Giada is 40, still married and beautiful.  (fyi: Giada's television show ignited my novice cooking and Italia craving taste buds early on in my high school years!)

so in the Redbook article that i shamelessly read, Giada was asked, "do you ever come home, crack open a can of tuna, and call it a day?", and Giada responds with,
no, but i will come home and scramble two eggs.  two eggs scrambled on a bed of arugula with some fresh shaved Parmesan cheese, and that's dinner.
wow.  i got a good kick out of this, but what does this say to me and you?!  this says that quick dinners don't require sacrifice.  i mean, come on, who reads that response and says, "oh, is that it?"  btw, 'quick and easy' needs a new name, how about '15 pasti minuto'?!

i spent this past weekend with a monthly visit home to see friends and family - and as it turns out, also to run 4.5 miles, see my first musical in years, and enjoy a few Schlafly's!  i spent today with a long trip back to my college home.

this is where my 15 pasti minuto, Amos Lee pandora station and the remaining of my forche renault comes in.

the friendlier printer version

whole wheat spaghetti carbonara
serves one, 15 minutes

1/8 lb bacon, chopped
1/3 c. portabella mushrooms, chopped (or finely sliced)
3 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 lb whole wheat spaghetti, cooked a la dente
1 egg, beaten
black pepper, freshly cracked
thyme leaves, dried
sea salt

start by frying bacon until crispy in medium skillet over medium heat.  prepare pasta.  remove bacon and drain, saving 3 tbsp of drippings.  add garlic, mushrooms and black pepper to skillet and saute 2 minutes.  add bacon, pasta and 1/4 c. Parmesan to pan and saute 1 minute.  remove from heat, add egg and thicken but do not scramble.  plate, top with remaining Parmesan and serve.

notes:

the only trick is to add the eggs at just the right temperature.  the residual heat will cook the egg, but too much heat will turn your dish into a scrambled egg pasta.  i suppose either is just as tasty!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

so here i am

hello world, how ya been? aside from my good friends that will quote that song, i've joined the web to write to you, and all of the other wonderful people reading.  i'm doing this to share with you my culinary talents and honest lacking thereof. the honor is mine.

so here i am. for the indefinite days ahead, i hope to share with you the food of my life.

i am also self taught/ family taught/ smell taught chef.  my mother loves the kitchen, and i suppose it is for her and the infinite home cooked meals with her that i now write you.

quickly realize that by 'food', i mean quality food.  and cooking is the art of taking what fresh/ seasonal food you have and making something delicious.

so by trial and error, story telling, bad humor and the occasional opinion, it is my hope that my life as a progressive foodie and self-claimed chef will inspire you too cook well.  then with its ease and irresistible tastes create a better place for you and i to live simply by the way we eat and feed others.

to make this fair for the both of us, there are a few warnings i should share. (they apply this point forward)

i will always try to quote the artist/ song and the wine/ beer that i enjoy while writing to you.. but i cannot make any promises.  to be in the clear for this go around, it's my "OOoohhh yes" iTunes mix which happens to be playing Mumford & Sons.  the drink is a Missouri premium dry red table wine, a forche renault from peaceful bend vineyard.

the recipes are not all my own.  i only recently started believing.

i am a St. Louis Cardinals fan.  deal with.

are we okay so far?

lastly, i cannot possibly fit more than two guests at my pool house dinner table.. but we can try!