The Vivaldi Pasta Concerto Finale

We celebrated the arrival of the Winter Solstice with the last recipe from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Pastas: L’Inverno from The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook. Folks, this one is worth making! The cheese makes a very creamy and delicious sauce. Add a tossed salad and a glass of Cabernet and you will be in heaven!

Here's L'Inverno!

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1½ cups large walnut pieces

1 pound St. André cheese, rind removed, cheese cut into irregular pieces

1 cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley

8 ounces thinly sliced Parma ham, shredded

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon best-quality olive oil (next time I'll use only ¾ cup)

4 quarts water

1 pound dried linguine (I used spaghetti)

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Combine the garlic, walnuts, St. André, parsley, ham, ½ teaspoon of the salt, pepper, and oil in a large serving bowl. Let stand at room temperature at least 4 hours.

2. Just before serving, heat the water to boiling in a large pan. Add 1 tablespoon oil and the remaining 1½ teaspoons salt. Add the pasta and boil until tender but still firm, 8-10 minutes.

3. Drain the pasta and immediately toss with the walnut sauce. Serve immediately. Pass the peppermill and Parmesan cheese.

4 portions

Autumn Pasta Concerto

In my opinion, besides fresh apples, there's no better reason to welcome fall than to enjoy this pasta dish, part of Vivaldi's Four Seasons pasta dishes, from the Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook.

Here's L’Autunno:

¾ cup best-quality olive oil
15 cloves garlic, 6 minced and 9 cut into thin slivers
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, or 1½ teaspoons dried
¾ cup dried apricots, cut into slivers
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 pound linguine (I used spaghetti)
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
1-2 tablespoons grated Parmesan (my own addition)

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the minced and slivered garlic and sauté until just browned.
2. Stir in the white wine. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add the rosemary and apricots. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes longer.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until tender but still firm; drain.
4. Place the pasta, sauce and parsley in a serving bowl and toss to coat. Sprinkle cheese. Serve immediately.
4 to 6 portions 

Simple and Fresh, As Summer Ought to Be

This is the second pasta dish of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, from the Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook.  It is easy and light, encouraging us to pluck the cherry tomatoes off the bush in the backyard, and use up some of the basil growing wantonly next to it.

Ladies and Gentlemen, L'Estate:

2 cups fresh basil leaves
5 ounces Parmesan cheese (I used Parmigiano-Reggiano)
¾ cup pine nuts (pignoli), lightly toasted
6 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
2½ cups extra virgin olive oil (I only used ½ cup)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 pound linguine (I used spaghetti)
Cherry tomato halves, or tomato wedges

1. Combine the basil, Parmesan, pine nuts and garlic in a medium-size bowl. Pour the olive oil over it all. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature for three hours.
2. Cook the linguine (or spaghetti) in boiling salted water until tender but still firm. Drain and toss immediately with the sauce. Place in a large serving platter and arrange the tomatoes around the edge.
4 portions

Easter 2021

I've only had my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to date, so, for now, we continue to take precautions.  This means another Easter at home, just the two of us.

But Spring brings promises of better days ahead, so I put my energy in preparing a nice dinner for my husband and myself.

But first, the table.  I pulled out old favorites that really never get old for me:  The willow chargers, Wedgwood Nantucket Basket dinner plates, Blue Calico salad plates, and willow napkin rings to match the chargers.

We still needed some Easter candy around, even though the boys aren't here anymore, so candy-coated chocolate egg truffles were scattered on the table. 

 

The sugar-coated gummy bunnies were placed in a little bowl to contain the sugar dust.  My husband is a little boy when it comes to candy, he devours it if it's left lying around, so I had to hide it until this morning.

We had a Honey Baked® Ham, which just needed to be heated, and it was delicious!  My motto is to keep holidays as easy as possible so we can enjoy the day.

Of course, my own rule went out the window when I made this Asparagus Cheese Tart.  I have come to the conclusion that, although I've done a little baking in the past, this is the part of cooking that I like the least.  Dough is still a mystery to me.  I bought commercial puff pastry, and cut it down so that it fit in my porcelain platter.  Then, I made the filling and baked it in the same oven-proof platter. I used Martha Stewart's Asparagus Gruyère recipe.  It was good, but way more labor intensive than I expected, and my husband didn't really care for the cheesy texture, so I don't think I'll be making this one again.  It looked pretty, though. 

I had never made Garlic Maple Roasted Carrots, but they were so delicious that I know it's something that will show up on our dinner table again and again going forward.  I liked leaving the bit of stalk on top, they looked cute.

Simple dinner rolls from our favorite bakery . . .

And a sweet butter lamb rounded out the dinner.

The lamb-shaped butter from Danish Maid has become a fixture at all our Easter meals.  They are so sweet-looking, and the butter is delicious!

The dessert was a cheesecake from Costco, which was truly delicious:  Creamy, smooth, and not overly sweet.  To make it even more wonderful, I paired it with some homemade strawberry coulis, and fresh blueberries.  It was divine!  I don't think I'll ever make a cheesecake again as long as I live near a Costco.

And, when dinner was done, we were left with the crowning glory of Spring, this wonderful daffodil bouquet.  Happy Easter to all!

A Valentine's Supper with the Other Woman

 The "Other Woman" is no less than my favorite chef, Ina Garten.  

From the moment I woke up that morning, until the magical Blue Hour, it was Ina, Ina, Ina!

I placed a card table in front of our fireplace . . .

Then, a vase of beautiful red roses, a gift from my husband, on the table, 

Plus a few extra touches, like the flatware with the heart-shaped handles . . .

Some Ikat Heart napkins, and . . . 

Voilà!  The table was set for a romantic fireside dinner for two.

Cheese and crackers are an aphrodisiac, yes?  The little cheese heart was stabbed in the center.  Oh, it doesn't seem fair that its death should be our joy!

To balance things out, I also invited Raymond . . .

Oh, if you could only touch the label!  It feels like velvet.  By now, we have amply established that I'm a wine philistine and continue to choose my wine by the label.  Isn't it pretty?  And it was so delicious!

We wanted a light supper tonight, not a heavy meal that would put us to sleep, so Ina Garten's French Onion Soup, in my new Lion's Head soup bowls were just the ticket!  Some of you may remember my waxing lyrical mentioning them during our trip to Paris three years ago. After three years of thinking about them, I caved in and bought them!

Ina's recipe calls for Parmesan cheese "or the cheese of your choice."  I guess there's some debate among foodies about what constitutes the perfect cheese to use on this humble soup, shocking, I know.  I decided to use Gruyère de Compté because it sounded so French, has a nutty flavor, and melts beautifully.  It is French, not Swiss, and it was available at that famous American fromagerie, Chez Costco. 

The onions were cooked, ever so slowly, over several hours before adding the stock, Cognac, sherry and wine - after which I had to go take a shower and change my clothes, so I wouldn't be exuding allium pheromones, that wouldn't be too romantic.

Then, to end the simple supper, Ina Garten's Chocolate Mousse, so very, very rich!  So incredibly delicious!

I whipped the cream myself so I could control the sugar, I don't like overly sweet desserts.  Shave a little chocolate on top, slice a strawberry . . . and prepare for heaven on Earth!

Even in the midst of a pandemic, love, joy and deliciousness can still be found.  Happy Valentine's Day!

A Valentine's Day Picnic

Anyone who has ever stopped at Mary's of Home is Where the Boat Is, knows that her blog should come with a caution sign, something like:  WARNING:  INSPIRATION AHEAD.  POSSIBLE ADDICTION AND FEELINGS OF INADEQUACY.  ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY OF FALLING IN LOVE!

So, when I was looking for inspiration for my Valentine's Day celebration, I discovered this gem among many, many of her Valentine's Day posts.  She calls it The Love Boat.

Doesn't that look amazing?  I immediately knew this was it.  So what if there were some minor difficulties?  I mean, I don't own a pontoon, it's the middle of winter here in the Midwest, and there's no possibility of getting out on a lake right now . . .  But!  I have some plaid and a picnic basket.  How hard could it be?  Well, it turns out that there’s so much more than meets the eye! Mary’s seemingly effortless stylings actually require quite a bit of planning, and a natural flair.

First, Mary used these darling white napkins with a rickrack trim.  I remember seeing them at Pier 1, and walked right past them as though they didn't exist.  I am not a good browser.  I usually go to the stores with a single purpose, and my brain shuts down to other possibilities.  Now they are no longer available, but I've had these other napkins for the last 10 years, and I figured they would do.  You can also find them in here, in another blog post.  They are not exactly the kind that I would take to a picnic, but this is, after all, Valentine’s Day.

Mary also used red napkins in a tiny gingham pattern, which I have in brown, green, pink, yellow and lavender, but not red.  But the larger gingham pattern is close enough.  Oh, and it so happens that I already owned the same exact cutting board from Kohl's.  Score!

As for the picnic basket, I have an old Longaberger basket from the 90's.  Do you remember those days when so many of us thought we'd perish unless we owned at least one Longaberger basket?  This one was one of the exclusive ones that only show hostesses could buy.  Lucky for me, I had a consultant that had a very practical streak, and once she became convinced that I was not party material (at least, NOT this kind of party) she let me buy the hostess specials at retail, swearing me to secrecy over her breaking the rules.  What made it exclusive was the narrower size of the slats.

JE T'AIME!  Isn't that romantic?  I headed off to World Market to see if I could find it.  

No luck.  However, I did find this other beautiful bottle, and, after all, isn't that how we should always choose our wine, by the look of the bottle?

I do not own any of those beautiful Skyler dishes that Mary used, but these pretty ones might work.

It’s called Pink Toile by Churchill, and depicts several idealized scenes from the English countryside.  The scene below shows a gentleman is getting ready to jump a fence with his horse, if you look to the right, his hound seems to be hiding among the bushes.

Further to the right a young man is holding a fishing rod, a swan swims nearby, and in the center of the plate, cows graze in a bucolic setting.  Yes, indeed, perfect for a picnic.

I found some heart-shaped crackers at World Market, too!

So here's my basket . . .

Now for the cheese tray.  Crackers, cheese and fruit . . . check!

My Nantucket dish by Wedgwood is even similar to Mary's . . .  I served some of our favorite cheeses:  Provolone, Port Salut and Wensleydale with Cranberry.

Because Valentine's Day fell on a Friday -  a work day for me, we had our picnic at night, and because it was dinner time, we needed something a bit more substantial, so I prepared some chicken salad and placed it on a bed of radicchio . . .

It came together very quickly by using a rotisserie chicken and adding onion, celery, roasted red peppers, cranberries, salt, pepper, a little mayo, and lemon juice.  It's one of our go-to dishes when we are busy, and my husband never seems to get tired of it!

Well, we sat on the floor by our fireplace and had our own Winter Picnic for two, while the fire crackled and some love songs played in the background . . .

We opened the champagne, which was delicious!

I pulled out our Waterford Millenium Flutes with the Heart Design . . .

I couldn't resist getting two different kinds of the Chocolove Chocolate Bars, my favorite flavors . . .

They were both excellent, but I must confess, I loooved the Orange Peel. 

And both of them came with poems printed on the inside of the wrapper!

Our "Love Boat" Picnic was wonderfully romantic, and, on a day when the wind was howling outside, we cuddled by the fireplace and celebrated our 36th Valentine's Day together.  Thank you, Mary, for helping me plan it!  Hoping that your day was filled with love.