Friday nights are always fun. Often times it is spent with my family and friends. The food is always great and there is always a great mood to the evening.
On this particular Friday night, Limor & I decided to host. We haven't hosted yet and it was a good challenge. There were fourteen guests confirmed and by the time it was over, I think a few more trickled in.
We started to prep on Wednesday for a Friday night meal. The menu consisted of:
Tuna Carpaccio alla CIA for anyone who's been to Caterina...
Arugula & Mixed Green Salad with Cherry Tomatoes
Ossobuco served with Risotto alla Milanese
Chicken Cacciatore served with Roasted Pearl Barley
Grilled Vegetables
Misc. Cakes, Fruit Salad and other sweets
Overall I thought the dinner was a success. Both the proteins came out very well. The risotto had a few 'al dente' spots to it which I blame on the availability of proper cooking tools (I didn't use the right pot - too lazy to clean it).
Everyone loved everything and the shocker for me was that almost everyone loved and ate the tuna. Even Limor's grandfather enjoyed it and I wouldn't expect him to eat raw tuna!
Some didn't eat it though, but their portions were scarfed down by my mom...
I was home alone the other night - actually, I remember it was a Sunday night. Limor was out and I was just lounging on the couch. I stepped over to the kitchen and peeked into the refrigerator.
Inside I found some chicken breasts and a large helping of cremini mushrooms. Right away I thought this would be a good match for a vinegary and earthy sauce that could use the help of some well rinsed capers and a dab of butter.
I pulled out my day-to-day ingredients. I reached for my vinegars and came out holding onto a bottle of Sherry Vinegar and a bottle of White Wine vinegar which I picked up at Monterey Market in Berkeley.
I pounded out my chicken breasts and dusted them with a touch of flour. Into a hot pan they went until golden brown on both sides. I wasn't too concerned with the breasts being cooked, just that they were golden and delicious. Later, they went back into the sauce to finish cooking.
At the farmer's market the other day I found some great mushrooms.
Seared them on HIGH - added them to a rich stock flavored with Porcini that I brought back from Italy - Perfect. A touch of butter and some cream just took it to another level. A touch of chopped parsley to end.
At Costco they have a great product - Haricots Verts nicely packaged and ready to use. Some of those - blanched in water as salty as the sea - topped with butter roasted thinly sliced almonds - just great.
The wine was brought over by my friend Yaniv. He has a colleague in Italy who sends over some bottles and this time we enjoyed a nice Brunello di Montalcino as well as an Amarone della Valpolicella.
I picked up some really great Zucchini from the Farmer's Market. The farmer said they were similar to the 'Zucchini Bolognese' variety but that they were from Mexican origin. I am not gonna chase the tail but they were very tasty.
This recipe is super simple and the results are always grand.
From our past trip to Italy, we brought back some 36 month Parmigiano-Reggiano and we served it with some of PB's Balsamic Vinegar from Chalk Hill & a local Los Angeles Honey I found at the Farmer's Market.
Limor made a tasty Chickenless version of the 'Chinese' Salad. The dressing is tricky - with so many variations we had to modify a handful of recipes to come up with the one she used.
The theme ingredient tonight was Paccheri di Gragnano. I purchased this pasta up the road from my flat on Solano in Berkeley at A.G. Ferrari (an overpriced Italian market that sometimes has the perfect specialty ingredient).
I first was introduced to Paccheri while on stage in Nusco (Avellino area of the Campania region in Italy). There, my chef at the time, Antonio Pisaniello would make them with the most seasonal ingredient available. Often for me it was with crema di zucca (gourd or pumpkin) and sometimes with a black truffle sauce.
Paccheri are really great and through my experiences this pasta is best enjoyed when not fully cooked and more on the al dente side. Often times the pasta is layed out into a bowl and usually tossed with the sauce or even finished to cook with the sauce it is served with.
In my preperation I left the sauce off of the pasta and only mixed it through once I started to enjoy my plate.
Recent Comments