Linguine and Clams

I spend the past week on Manasota Key in Florida. My Aunt Nancy lives there, and for the past four summers I've gone to visit...to chill out by spending time on the beach and eating fresh seafood. 

The best dinners out this time were a lobster roll (a crispy bun with lots of lobster meat in a light mayonnaise dressing) from Lock 'N Key restaurant and caught-that-morning-in-the-gulf red snapper (seared and served with green bean almondine and fried plantains) from Beach Road Wine Bar & Bistro. 

On Thursday, I walked to the little fish market down the road and bought 50 fresh clams for dinner. I specifically wanted to make this recipe...and I'm so glad I did. I plan to make this again at home soon.

Linguine and Clams

recipe adapted from Bon Appetit

Pumpkin Lasagna Rolls

Pumpkin in March? That's right. But tomorrow is the first day of spring; winter is over. I said, THAT'S RIGHT.

Poor punkin gets a bad rap due to the "pumpkin spice" mania each fall. But true pumpkin sans spice is really delicious and won't remind you of a jar candle. Its flesh tastes similar to a sweet potato and can should be eaten all year long. Even in March. Plus, it's good for you.

This is one of my favorite dishes lately. The recipe makes six lasagna rolls, which is perfect for my dinner one night (with a mixed green salad) and lunch the next day. Multiple as needed and enjoy pumpkin. Especially in March.

Pumpkin Lasagna Rolls

Spaghetti with Lobster

When we ate at Joe Beef in Montreal earlier this year, one of the best dishes we tried was the Spaghetti Homard-Lobster (pictured above). In their cookbook, the Joe Beef guys explain, "We take this name from an old Iron Chef episode when the host declared 'Battle Homard Lobster!' Yes, homard and lobster mean the same thing (like 'minestrone soup'). Among other things that don't make any sense: this is probably the most popular Joe Beef dish."

I'd been ogling the recipe before our trip and was excited to try it. However, by the time the TWO pasta dishes arrived--after FIVE other courses--we were so full that we could only take a few bites. Almost immediately, we talked about recreating the dish at home.

That finally happened last week.

I used 3 medium-sized lobster tails instead of a live lobster. I cooked the tails, pulled the meat out, then used the shells to make the sauce in the same water that I boiled them in. I think I used too much cream, though, as my dish was a bit too saucy. No worries, though, because it was still pretty delicious. And I kept the extra sauce to eat with more pasta later.

Spaghetti with Lobster

recipe from The Art of Living According to Joe Beef

Potlikker Noodles with Ham & Kale

I've been trying several new recipes so far this year. While they have all been tasty, most are either not blog-worthy or I just didn't stop to take pictures before eating.

My favorites have been a roasted carrot & red quinoa salad, lentils with red wine & herbs, smoked salmon & edamame salad, spaghetti with fried eggs & breadcrumbs, and tuna, white bean,  & roasted fennel salad.

Tonight, I made pork stock with a shoulder bone I had leftover from making pulled pork. I used the stock to make another new recipe I've had my eye on for a while: a hearty dish of egg noodles, ham, & kale in a flavorful broth...perfect for yet another snow day here in the midwest.

Thai Shrimp with Chili, Mint, Basil & Parsley

A few days ago, my friend Rachel posted this on her Facebook page:

Thinking of going to no-cooking for July. I'm tired of doing so many dishes every day and spending time over my stove! What are your favorite healthy, no-cooking (or little-cooking) recipes?

I then remembered that I have a cookbook called No-Cook Pasta Sauces, and I went in search of a new recipe to try and to share with Rachel. I adapted their Shrimp Sauce with Basil, Mint, and Cilantro...taking out the sugar, adding some fresh garlic & red pepper flakes, and substituting some parsley for the cilantro.

As with any recipe, switch out or leave out whatever you (or your kids) don't like. Try this with chicken instead of shrimp, add Sambal for a spicier kick, or substitute sesame oil for the sweet chili sauce.

Thai Shrimp with Chili, Mint, Basil & Parsley

Homemade Ramen Noodles

One of the perks of working at a cooking school is being able to audit classes. Last night, I took a class with Chef Brendan Noonan to learn how to make a traditional bowl of ramen from scratch.

Behold:

At first, I thought that making ramen from scratch was just too time-consuming to do at home. But now I realize that it's not really all that difficult, and many elements (like the tare, broth, and meats) can be made in advanced. I think this would be a fun thing to make on a weekend when friends are coming over for dinner.

My ramen started with raw shiitake mushrooms & green onions, sliced and placed into the bottom of a large, wide serving bowl. I added chopped Asian greens (like bok choy), chunks of orange-braised pork belly, a roasted duck wing, an egg (Usually poached, but I added it raw. Next time, I'll either poach or just add the yolk, as the white never cooked and remained kind of snotty in the bowl. Eww.), and a couple tablespoons of tare seasoning.

The tare is made by roasting 1 pound of "bones from any tasty critter" until caramelized. Remove the bones and deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup of sake, then add 1/2 cup of mirin (a sweet cooking rice seasoning), and 1 cup of soy sauce. Simmer on low for 1 1/2 hours, strain & chill.

Once the noodles were cooked (recipe for homemade ramen noodles is below), I added them to the bowl then ladled in some homemade broth.

To make the broth, bring 5 quarts of water to a simmer. Turn off the heat and add 2 ounces of kombu (edible kelp) that's been rinsed. Let steep for 1 hour, then remove the kombu. Add 5 pounds of meat & bones (we used chicken backs, but you can use anything) and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and skim the white, frothy "scum" that comes to the top of the pot. Add the shiitakes & green onions and simmer very slowly for 5 hours. Strain.

And then I slurped to my heart's content.

Alkaline Ramen Noodles

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons sodium carbonate *

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup cold water

* To make sodium carbonate, spread baking soda on a sheet pan and cook in the oven at 250 degrees for 1 hour.

• In a medium bowl, dissolve the sodium carbonate in the warm water, then add the cold water. Add the flour and mix with a spoon to a crumbly dough. 
• Turn onto a work surface and knead for a full 5 minutes. This dough is tough & the kneading with be strenuous, but keep with it for the full time.
• Wrap the dough in plastic and rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
• Knead the dough for another full 5 minutes. 
• Wrap the dough again and refrigerate for at least an hour (but not more than 2 days). 
• Let the dough come to room temperature before rolling. Cut into smaller pieces and use a pasta roller to roll out the dough, passing it through the widest setting twice & each narrower setting once. Keep the noodles well-floured so that they don't stick. 
• Cut the dough to the desired thickness (we used the spaghetti cutter on the pasta roller). 
• Cook for 2 minutes in salted, boiling water. Serve immediately.

Tomato Bruschetta Pasta

I've been on summer break since the end of May. A non-teacher friend of mine recently asked me, "What do you DO all day?"

Well, I try not to do too much. I AM on vacation, after all.

But, really, I've been doing a lot...I usually work a few days a week. When I'm home, I try to clean something every day (mop floor, clean windows, etc). I'm keeping up with dishes & laundry around the house as well (something that I don't do very well during the school year when I'm drowning in essays to be graded). I just redid my home office (moved rooms, painted, got new bookshelves & curtains), cleaned out the extra bedroom, & took out a rug in my bedroom. I'm getting new curtains for a couple other rooms this month as well.

Doesn't that all sound totally glamorous and exciting?

Overall, I'm trying to stay fairly productive at home...while maintaining a leisurely "I'm on summer break" attitude...which includes tons of reading. I'm on my sixth book of the summer.

And I've been cooking a lot...eating lots of veggies from the farmers market, baking fruit pies, and making meals to take to my boyfriend's house.

Here is a light pasta dish that features a no-cook sauce, which I made for dinner during our recent 100+ degree weather. It's a perfect way to use garden-fresh tomatoes, basil, and garlic.

Tomato Bruschetta Pasta

Pasta with Garlic & Goat Cheese

It's garlic season! Garlic is a once-a-year crop. Planted in the fall, its heads are harvested in June or July. Over the past several years, I've learned to appreciate the large, pungent cloves of freshly-dug local garlic, which are much more flavorful than the puny, withering heads you buy in the supermarket (from last year's crop).

Anne, the owner of Kitchen Conservatory in St. Louis, grows thousands of garlic heads each year and sells them at the store. This is hardneck garlic, which has one row of large cloves around a center stem...no smaller, useless cloves toward the center like the softneck garlic sold in grocery stores.

Anne dug her garlic just last week. To highlight its freshness and flavor, I always make something with garlic as the star ingredient. This time I made a single supper of pasta with garlic & goat cheese.

 recipe adapted from Nigel Slater's Real Fast Food

serves 2 as a main dish

large head of garlic, cloves separated & peeled

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 springs of fresh thyme, leaves stripped off

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

6 ounces fresh pasta (I used linguini)

4 ounces crumbly goat cheese

juice of one lemon

salt & pepper, to taste

• Slice the garlic thinly. 
• Pour the oil into a small pan & add the garlic. Cook over a very low heat for 20-25 minutes, until the garlic is tender, golden, and sweet. Don't burn it or it will turn bitter.
• Add the thyme & red pepper (if using) to the garlic oil after 15 minutes. 
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling salted water until is is al dente, drain, & toss gently with the garlic oil. 
• Add crumbled goat cheese & lemon juice and stir gently. Check for seasoning. Add salt & pepper if needed.

Spaghetti with Creamy Clam Sauce

You may have noticed that I have this thing for comfort foods, particularly nostalgic comfort foods. Sometimes, I crave the foods from my childhood...and not necessarily always Grandma Green's homemade noodles or Grandma Martin's cabbage rolls.

Sometimes, I crave the foods that I haven't eaten in 25 years and probably wouldn't even like today...like the Chef Boyardee pizzas made from that kit-in-a-box. My dad used to make those for us all the time, and I loved them....the little pepperonis, the packet of powdered cheese. I bought a pizza kit for dinner once when I was in college. I was so excited because I'd remembered those pizzas being so yummy. My roommates, on the other hand, were very skeptical. The pizza turned out bland and chewy, and I was so disappointed. (Though, we did end up eating all that pizza after a night out at the bars....and it tasted pretty good then!)

My friend Stephanie, whose father also used to make those pizzas for her, recently wrote about her memories of that particularly nostalgic food.  I'm a little afraid to revisit those foods I loved as a kid, for fear that they won't be good and it will destroy my whole idea of good and evil, right and wrong...

Ok, maybe I'm being a little over-dramatic. I just don't want my good memories to be clouded by my current food-snob self.

Another nostalgic food for me is the spaghetti from The Old Spaghetti Factory. It was my favorite place to eat when I was growing up (well, there and Red Lobster). I would order the Pot Pourri, a 4-sauce sampler with mizithra cheese & browned butter, a rich meat sauce, a creamy white clam, and a marinara sauce. The mizithra cheese and clam sauces were my favorite. (I unsuccessfully tried to recreate the mizithra dish several years ago.) I haven't eaten at a Spaghetti Factory in nearly 16 years, and I'm sure I'd be disappointed in the food if I went today.

Nevertheless, I've been wanting to make white clam sauce at home for a while. I've never had clam sauce except at OSF...and I'm sure that today I'd love pasta with whole clams in a garlic, winey sauce. But, I'm saving that for a more special meal.

Instead, I was craving that creamy sauce I had when I was a kid, so I picked up a can of whole cherrystone clams at Trader Joe's and decided to try to recreate (and update) the dish at home. I found several sources online that touted the "original" Spaghetti Factory recipe. I used that as my base and tweaked the seasonings & method just a little.

The result? PRETTY GOOD. I would make this again (though, I would probably use fresh clams from Bob's Seafood in St. Louis). Since I used canned clams, it was...well...pretty clammy tasting. I balanced that with some lemon, pepper, and fresh parsley.  The key here is to mix the clams in at the very end, with enough time left to just heat them up, since they are already cooked...any more time on the heat will result in over-cooked, rubbery clams.

Spaghetti with Creamy Clam Sauce

Pasta with Roasted Beet Sauce & Wilted Arugula

I recently had dinner at Salt, Chef Wes Johnson's new restaurant in St. Louis, with a few of my Kitchen Conservatory co-workers. We ordered & shared nearly all of the small plates....including duck fat frites, mussels with chorizo, seared scallop with mustard sauce & cedar smoke, pork & fennel meatballs, crispy pork belly with pickled vegetables, and--my favorite dish of the night--pasta with beet sauce & sauteed collard greens.

I wanted to recreate that dish at home, especially since there were some farmers market beets in the fridge that I needed to use. I didn't use a recipe, but here's what I did to create this simple, flavorful, and vibrant summer dish:

1. Trim, peel, & roast red beets with a drizzle of olive oil, salt & pepper at 400 degrees until tender, about 15 minutes (I had about 6 tiny little beets).

2. Meanwhile, saute 1 small yellow onion (chopped) & 1 garlic clove (crushed) in some olive oil (about 1 tablespoon) until just softened. Add to a blender or food processor. Add the beets when they are cooked.

3. Add a splash of dry red wine, some heavy cream (I added about 1/2 cup), and the zest of 1 lemon to the beets. Blitz until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and fresh thyme. Add more wine/cream or water to reach desired consistency. Toss the sauce with cooked & drained pasta.

4. To wilt the arugula: Over medium heat, cook a couple tablespoons of olive oil with a crushed clove of garlic in a large skillet. When it just starts to sizzle, add a few large handfuls of arugula. Toss in the oil and cook until wilted & tender. Finish with a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

5.  To serve: Spoon some of the pasta onto a plate. Top with a pile of the wilted arugula & a sprinkle of crumbled feta cheese.

Pasta with Bacon Vodka Cream Sauce

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I love all things pork, especially bacon. I've even made bacon vodka a couple times.

Yes, that's right...BACON vodka. I first made it for a bacon class I was teaching; we used it to make Bloody Marys & BLT martinis (with lettuce water, fresh tomato juice, a crouton rim & a sprinkle of bacon salt that tasted JUST LIKE the sandwich...no joke).

To make your own bacon vodka, you just cook up some bacon. Add it to a big jar with an entire bottle of vodka. Let it hang out in your pantry for a few weeks (it will look like a science experiment after a while, but don't be alarmed). Fish out the bacon. Freeze the jar of vodka. Strain. Strain. Strain. Drink. It's tasty shit. For real.

If you don't want to make your own, you can now buy a bacon-flavored vodka called Bakon Vodka. I have to tell ya, though...homemade taste more like real bacon. The flavored stuff smells and tastes like bacony Bac~Os. So, just make your own. Homemade bacon vodka has a smokey, rich taste. REALLY good in mixed drinks AND food.

I made a vodka cream sauce...because pasta, tomatoes, cream, and bacon seemed like a natural combination. Initially, I used a Rachel Ray recipe (gasp!) called You Won’t Be Single For Long Vodka Cream Pasta that I found on Smitten Kitchen. I chose this particular recipe because it calls for an entire cup of vodka, unlike most recipes which only use 1/3 to 1/2 cup, and only 1/2 cup of cream. I wanted to taste the bacon essence, dammit! Still, even with my omitting the addition of 1 cup of stock in favor or more vodka, I simply couldn't distinguish any of the bacony goodness.

So, I decided to create my own vodka cream sauce recipe to highlight my bacon vodka:

1. Saute a small onion, diced, in about a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil. When the onion is soft, carefully add 1 cup of bacon vodka. It shouldn't ignite, but it's best to turn off the heat when you add the booze. Simmer this until slightly reduce, 3 minutes or so.

2. Then, add 1 cup diced tomatoes (I blanched & peeled a few Campari tomatoes; you should use the freshest, ripest tomatoes you can find). Season with salt & pepper (and, if you'd like, some fresh thyme or oregano). Cook until the tomatoes start to break down, 5 minutes or so.

3. Stir in 1/4 cup heavy cream and cook just until the cream is warm. Serve over penne noodles.

Ricotta & Chive Gnocchi with Kale Pesto

Apartment Therapy's The Kitchn describes ricotta gnocchi as a "traditional Florentine pasta" that is "the lighter, hipper cousin to northern Italy's potato gnocchi." It sounded perfect to me...comfort food for a warm spring evening.

Although I'd eaten ricotta gnocchi at work, I'd never made it myself. This type of gnocchi is light & pillowy, a very soft & delicate dough. To jazz up the traditional recipe, I added chopped chives...which have recently exploded in my herb garden, coming back along with the oregano & lemon thyme that I planted last year. I ate the tender little dumplings with a bright green, herbaceous & lemony kale pesto. 

I wanted something satisfying yet fresh, something to use my pungent garden chives, something that included kale (my current obsession), something to get me in a springy mood...and this easy recipe did the trick!

Ricotta Chive Gnocchi

Egg Yolk Raviolo

A couple years ago, the Food Blog Mafia gals went to dinner at Acero, an Italian restaurant in Maplewood. One of our favorite dishes was the Egg Raviolo, a "Farm Fresh Egg Yolk Wrapped in Delicate Pasta." When you cut into this huge, round raviolo, a warm yolk oozes out. So freakin' delicious. 

I've been wanting to recreate that dish at home ever since that meal. When I saw a similar recipe in Mark Peel's newest cookbook, I knew I had to try it soon. It was the perfect recipe for my next cooking project with my friend Stephanie. 

I was fairly intimidated by this dish at first. I mean, so many things could go wrong...you could break the yolk while assembling the raviolo, the pasta could bust during cooking, the yolk could get over-cooked...  

But, what I discovered is that this is a pretty easy recipe to make! And it's simply stunning to look at. I ate two of these for dinner and made more for lunch the next day.  

Giant Ravioli with Spinach, Ricotta, & Egg Yolk

slightly adapted from Mark Peel's New Classic Family Dinners

Rice Pilaf

First, a little announcement:

So...last week, this here blog o' mine was chosen as a finalist for a Riverfront Times web award (along with some of my food-centric friends). Stephanie Tolle (aka Iron Stef), one of my bestest buddies & fellow Food Blog Mafiosa, won the Best Food Blog award. I'm so happy for her; she definitely deserves the honor.

And now, I give you a little story about rice pilaf:

I've been wanting to recreate dishes and meals from my childhood...things my family used to make, like Grandma Martin's cabbage rolls & Grandma Green's chicken noodle soup & my mom's vegetable beef stew.

My immediate family wasn't very big...just me, my younger brother, my dad & mom (who passed away 15 years ago). My mom only had a sister & two brothers, the oldest of whom had two sons. I always considered my family to be small. 

But, last month I watched a DVD of old home movies that my dad made for me. Most of the silent 8mm videos were of Christmas mornings...my brother & me in our PJ's, with wild bedhead, unwrapping our gifts, surrounded by family members...grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. I was surprised to see so many people at our house on Christmas mornings, especially my mom's extended family. There was my great-aunt Anna Mae with her kids. There was my grandfather's brother, too, with his kids and his grandkids. I hadn't realized what a large--and close--extended family I had growing up.

One of the most vivid memories I have of Aunt Anna Mae is of her making rice pilaf for family gatherings. Specifically, I can picture her opening the oven door & pulling out sheet pans full of toasted rice & pasta. I remember not really liking the pilaf then, but a few times in the past several years I've tasted dishes (like Sopa Seca de Fideo) that remind me of the rice pilaf flavor...and I like it now! I think it was the browned butter that was a bit too rich for my young palate.

Project Food Blog: The Classics (Challenge #2)

ABOUT:

Project Food Blog is the first-ever interactive competition where thousands of Foodbuzz Featured Publishers are competing in a series of culinary blogging challenges for the chance to advance & a shot at the ultimate prize: $10,000 & a special feature on Foodbuzz.com for one year.

Challenge Prompt: Ready to tackle a classic dish from another culture? Pick an ethnic classic that is outside your comfort zone or one you are not as familiar with. You should include how you arrived at this decision in your post. Do your research then try to pull off successfully creating this challenge. Try to keep the dish as authentic as the real deal & document your experience through a compelling post.

WHAT THE PHO?

As soon as I read this prompt, I knew what recipe I wanted to try: PHO TAI, Vietnamese beef & noodle soup. According to Chef Mai Pham, pho is the national soup of Vietnam, can be found on practically every street corner, & is served around the clock.

Asian food is definitely outside my cultural comfort zone. I don't cook Asian food at home (outside of an occasional make-shift stir-fry to use up expiring vegetables & leftover meats). I don't go out to eat Asian food (aside from getting cheap Chinese take-out a couple times a year). I'm not sure why exactly. I think it's because I don't like cilantro & lots of Asian dishes contain cilantro. And, I don't want to be that person who asks for spring rolls or pho sans cilantro. Other Asian foods tend to be too spicy for me. I'm a mid-western white girl through & through (i.e. a delicate wussy).

But, pho? Pho seemed like something I could like. It's in my "comfort foods" comfort zone...hearty broth & noodles...what's not to love? It's the perfect dish to make on a chilly, gray, & rainy St. Louis Sunday.

Braised Lamb Shoulder Chops

For a couple years now, pork has been in its heyday. Pork belly is the in vogue menu item, and bacon nearly has a cult following. However, on its November list of the Top 10 Food Trends for 2010, Epicurious.com predicted that lamb would trump pork as everyone’s favorite meat.

A month earlier, the food blog Eat Me Daily declared lamb “the new hotness," and Saveur magazine’s October cover announced that “lamb rules.”

Saveur asserted that while home cooks have shied away from preparing and serving lamb in the past, “that is starting to change […] as tastes become worldlier and good-quality lamb is increasingly available at butcher shops and supermarkets.” 

Thinking about Marriage, Babies, & Mac-n-Cheese

I'm getting married in 6 days.  Someone asked me recently if I thought I've rushed into it, having only been engaged for 4 months.  The answer is NO. Jerad and I talked about waiting until summer to get married but then decided there was no reason to wait, especially since Vegas would be pretty darn hot in June, and his cousin is already planning a wedding in the fall. There is really no point in waiting until next spring.

We've been living together for a few years now.  We never really "officially" started living together; he basically just started squatting at my house, staying more and more nights in a row until eventually he was there all the time.  In fact, just this week he finally changed his address. So, we figured that nothing is really going to change after we're married...except now he'll have health insurance and we can start thinking about a family. That right, folks, hell might just freeze over yet...we're talkin' babies! Not soon, but someday. I used to swear that I didn't want any kids, but I think I just hadn't yet found the right person to have them with. I do want to have babies with Jerad; he makes me feel capable and confident. Plus, I know he'll be a great pregnancy coach, father, & parenting partner.

Baking Sheet Macaroni & Cheese

Last month, Amanda Hesser posted a recipe for Baking Sheet Mac & Cheese on her blog food52. In an "effort to realign" the creamy to crunchy ration of casserole-dish mac & cheese, Hesser bakes the cheesy pasta in a shallow, rimmed baking sheet; we're talking about the kind you'd bake cookies or roast veggies on, a 12 x 17-inch rectangle with 1-inch sides. The result is a lot more surface crunch than you'd typically get.

Duck Ragu

Yes! I've finally found it! THE BEST WAY TO COOK WILD DUCK! Braise the hell out of it in a robust tomato sauce!

Eureka!

After one of his big hunts this season, Jerad decided to clean & keep all the duck legs. Our first idea was to make confit. Then, I saw a recipe for duck ragu, which called for using legs, in Giada De Laurentiis's Everyday Pasta. This recipe was perfect for the skinless, bone-in legs I had. And, 3 hours of braising could only help the flavor & texture of the gamey wild birds.

Cacio e Pepe

I was recently accused of being a Francophile. Ok, I'll admit to being slightly obsessed with French culture. Sure, I long to travel to Paris, to eat cheeses & baguettes in an outdoor cafe while sipping champagne. Is that so wrong?

My accuser is Italian, so I can understand how he'd object to my "distinctly Francophilic leanings." Little does he know, I cook pasta more than anything at home. In fact, I've posted way more authentic Italian recipes than French ones...like carbonara, risotto, bolognese, ravioli, minestrone, and panzanella.

Last night, I tried a pasta recipe from Gourmet Today. I received a copy of this massive new cookbook at a luncheon with Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of the recently defunct Gourmet magazine. She came to St. Louis to promote the book, a visit that was originally postponed because of Gourmet's sudden demise.

Me with Ruth Reichl

Lunch was a multiple course meal prepared by St. Louis's best chefs, including Josh Galliano of Monarch, Gerard Craft of Niche, Kevin Nashan of Sidney Street Cafe, & Michael Roberts of Atlas. (Francophilic sidenote: I finally tried the cassoulet at Atlas. It's as good as people say it is!)

Before we ate, Ruth declared that Gourmet Today may be the "last cookbook of its kind." She explained that the twelve chefs in the magazine's testing kitchens would make a recipe five or six times before perfecting it. Even the simpliest recipes--which she says are the most difficult to perfect--were tested numerous times. She specificially mentioned the spaghetti with pecorino Romano & black pepper recipe with its list of only three ingredients.

According to the cookbook, cacio e pepe is a classic Roman dish that "is so sublimely simple that initially we wondered if you would even need a recipe to make it. As it turns out, perfecting it was challenging, but ultimately we found the ideal combination of spaghetti, melting pecorino Romano, and crushed black pepper."

Spaghetti with Pecorino Romano & Black Pepper

For this recipe, you need to grate the cheese with the ragged-edged holes of a box grater for ease of melting. Don't use the small teardrop-shaped holes or a rasp (Microplane), as your cheese will clump up in the bowl.
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1/2 pound spaghetti
2 1/2 ounces grated Pecorino Romano (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)

• Toast peppercorns in a dry small skillet over moderately high heat, swirling skillet, until fragrant and peppercorns begin to jump, 2 to 3 minutes. Coarsely crush peppercorns with a mortar and pestle or wrap in a kitchen towel and press on peppercorns with bottom of a heavy skillet.
• Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente.
• Meanwhile, fill a large glass or ceramic bowl with some hot water to warm bowl. Just before spaghetti is finished cooking, drain bowl but do not dry.
• Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta quickly in a colander (do not shake off excess water) and add to warm pasta bowl.
• Sprinkle 3/4 cup cheese and 3 tablespoons cooking water evenly over spaghetti and toss quickly. If pasta seems dry, toss with some additional cooking water.
• Divide pasta among 4 plates, then sprinkle with pepper and 2 tablespoons cheese. Serve immediately with additional cheese on the side.