Sourdough Breadzza Semi-Disaster

Looks delicious, no?? Keep reading.

Once upon a time a baker on Fisherman's Wharf in San Fransisco started making sourdough bread.  There was something about the San Fransisco air that made the sourdough starter particularly awesome.  Eventually, it became a franchised, much-better-than-fast-food restaurant, and one of the most recent franchises opened on my neighborhood a few years ago.  My neighborhood NOT being on Fisherman's Wharf, with it's groovy sourdough yeast spores naturally zooming through the air or whatevs, so they fly in the sourdough "mother" weekly. On an airplane and stuff.

Crazy.

Crazy GOOD.

Anyway, the restaurant has a promo thingie, where if you check in on your smart phone on each visit, you earn a free loaf of bread per month for the first six months or something.  I dunno.  I didn't pay that much attention.  I heard "free bread" and was all in.  

So, I take my little guy (who finished 6th grade today, btw, so not that little, really) and his bestie there for lunch as a little end of the school year treat.  And guess what?  Today was a free loaf day for me, so, SCORE!

And, it's Friday, which just means PIZZA around here.  Often I make it from scratch (dough included), sometimes we order in, sometimes we go out to one of our favorite pizza places.  But something about my free loaf of sourdough made me a little giddy this afternoon, and I remembered that much of the USA eats French bread pizza, so why the heck not sourdough bead pizza?

Only problem was, 6 year old Miss Thing has an extremely loose, owie front tooth (as in it's sort of grotesque, even) and there was no way she was going to be able to bite though the super thick, crusty-crust that this bread is famous for.  Hmmm.  What to do?

Instead of the traditional French Bread Pizza sliced horizontally down the middle... Slice it in thick pieces like it was bread (cause, it IS!) and go from there...

But! Then I thought that maybe the sauce would make the bread all googy and soggy, and that wasn't appealing in the slightest.  So I hatched a plan.  Turns out that it was a good one.

I have this method of making a crostini-ish garlic bread, wherein I slice up a baguette, brush each slice with Olive Oil, sprinkle with garlic powder (yeah, that's totally cheating. Don't care) and basil, then top it off with fresh grated Parmesian Reggiano or Romano.  Then I put it under the broiler for just a few minutes-- careful or it will burn... and quickly-- et viola! Mi famiglia's favorite garlic bread.  The top of my garlic bread is toasted and crusty... Awesome.

So, huh.  Maybe if I made it like my garlic bread and THEN added the pizza sauce and toppings it would fend off the soggies?

Oh em gee, it totally did, youse guys.  And, since I placed it on the bottom rack for the second cooking, the bottom got crispy too, which is nothing to sneeze at, either. 

In truth, I was the only one who liked it.  I used tomato *paste* instead of sauce, hoping that would be thicker and less likely to sog it all up, and my husband said that that was too "bright" tasting (I beg to differ).  And then, Miss Thing also has a canker sore in addition to her terribly wiggly tooth, so not only couldn't she bite into it, she couldn't chew it, either (I made her oatmeal), and my son, halfway through his first piece sided with daddy and made himself some Ramen noodles (don't judge me.  Sometimes it's the only thing he WILL eat).

So, bummer.  

Honest to Pete, though, it WAS good.  And the method was inspired, even if no one liked the sauce, and complained about the cheese coverage or (rather) lack thereof.  Personally, I would eat pizza withOUT cheese, so I thought it was nice of me to include a little at ALL, really...  I think there were a few other complaints thrown in there, too, but I stopped listening at some point, as I'm prone to do.  Sigh. 

I swear every time I try to do something different from my five or six meals that I KNOW 3 out of 4 of them will happily eat, they get all revolutionary on me.  And then they wonder why I'm all grumpy about it and stuff.  I am so tired of always making the same things.  I know Miss Thing will grow out of it (mostly, it's her causing a scene these days while my eldest is suddenly eating Thai food where he couldn't handle a little black pepper on his baked potato a year ago), but, ugh.

Am I alone in generally refusing to cook a second "special" meal for a little one (I did make her oatmeal tonight, because she was obviously in pain and not just being stubborn)?  I was always expected to not only eat what was on my plate, but to do so without complaining, or that would be that, end of conversation, to my room, hungry and too bad so sad, thanks for playing.  

Discuss.

I'm going to give a piece to Andy.  He'll eat it.

Must be Summertime...

I've been hit with a summer cold. Not bad enough to knock me down, but bad enough to make me lazy and not go to the pool with my family today. Instead, there was some much needed grocery shopping.

We've been watching a lot of 'Chopped' lately on the Food Network (chefs given a surprise basket of food from which to prepare an appetizer, an entree and a desert, and after each round, one of them is "chopped" from the competition until only one champion is left standing) and I've come to the conclusion that one shouldn't be in the throes of making dinner while that show is on.

Strange things come out of your oven.

Earlier this week there was a sort of chicken and vegetable pie thingamabob, that looked ridiculous, but tasted pretty damn good. Even my five year old like it.

Tonight, following the trip to Sprouts, things were going swimmingly until the giant Bing Cherry turnover thing I envisioned started leaking through the crust so badly that I had to act quickly before there was a serious cherry juice disaster.

So... in between the sprinkling cinnamon on the acorn squash and the snapping of the green beans, I dumped the whole, giant cherry turnover into my small jelly-rollish pan to save my oven from death by cherries.

Most of the crust ended up on one side, which wasn't exactly a good thing, so I chopped up the half-baked crust bits with my spatula, stirred it all together and crossed my fingers.

It totally worked.




Inside Out Cherry Pie is a new family favorite.

It may never happen again, but if I'm ever on "Chopped" and my giant rose water and prosciutto pie with candied Special K cereal sprinkles starts overflowing.... I'll know just what to do.







The rest of dinner was this: Grilled Tilapia with Lemon, Parsley and Cilantro, Fresh green beans with garlic and a hint of olive oil and acorn squash with cinnamon and just a little brown sugar.

I heart summer.

20 Minute Dinner - Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Busy little Bees over here. We've been doing things like touring the Middle School (GAH!), having year-end potlucks at pre-school (with pony rides!), working on new music, getting ready for an ArtWalk this Sunday, setting up a Not-So"Easy Set" pool in the backyard, etc, etc, etc...

But we still have to eat.

And so, I present to you, my go-to, favorite Quick Dinner, and my kid's overall favorite meal, hands-down.

It's something my mother started, and I tweaked (I added the Basil and the butter), and it never fails.  SO EASY.  Promise.

I'm going to apologize in advance for the fuzzy pictures.  It is apparently difficult to take pictures with an iPhone while your hands are covered in chicken goo and olive oil. and you are trying to hurryhurryhurry to feed hungry kids.  Lesson learned.

Julianna's Parmesan/Pecorino Crusted Chicken

Chicken breasts or Chicken Tenders
Freshly Grated Parmesan or Pecorino Cheese (I prefer Pecorino)*
Basil
Butter
Olive Oil

Grate the Cheese onto a large plate, Like SO.  I've generally use almost a whole cup of grated cheese for two, large chicken breasts.  Now is not the time to skimp.  If you have a rotary grater like mine, it's just one lump of cheese cut to fit into the well/holding tank/cheese receptacle of the grater. 

Sprinkle on the Basil and mix it into the cheese your hands. Set plate aside. 

Add 2 Tbls EACH of butter and Olive Oil to a heavy pan on the stove.  Turn the heat to HIGH.  You want a HOT pan for this to work.

Cut larger chicken pieces in half -- they will cook more evenly and also more easily fit in the pan.

Pound out the Chicken inside some freezer paper (easy clean-up).  Take it easy, though.  Pounded chicken shreds are harder to cook.  I usually just pound them until they are about and even 1/4" thick.

Dredge/Pat the chicken pieces in the cheese mixture.  I don't dip the chicken in anything.  The cheese will stick.

Is your pan HOT?  Good. 

Arrange the chicken pieces in the pan to fit.  Cook about 3-4 minutes per side until golden and cheesy-crusty in the HOT pan. (I keep saying "HOT" because at lower temps, the cheese just melts and drips off the chicken.  That's not the point AT ALL...)

Serve with pasta, throw together a Salad, cut up some fruit, and this, my friends, is DINNER. 

Of course, if your kids are like mine, they will not eat salad, but they WILL eat cut up veggies.  This is Evan's plate.




*This will NOT work with the stuff in a Green Can!  Don't even THINK about it! 

MineCraft Cake Fit for a Ten-Year Old

April is a cake month around here. 

Miss M has her birthday in early April, and Genius Pants has his at the end.  Of course, with each Birthday, there must be a small family celebration on the actual day, followed by a birthday party on the next available weekend.

Are you counting?  Because, that's like, Four Cakes, already...

Adding to that, Miss M also requires that a slew of cupcakes accompany her to school on her actual day.

That makes five cakes.  At LEAST.

FIVE cakes.

Yesterday afternoon, I made the fifth cake of the month - a very simple cake for a simple gathering of our closest friends, just as the boy, himself requested.  It's my absolute favorite chocolate cake, and is  a one bowl, one spoon affair.  Crazy simple. 

The original recipe is specifically for a single layer, to be dusted with confectioner's sugar (which I often make for a quick after-dinner-need-some-chocolate sort of thing). 

This cake is also VEGAN.  No kidding.  you would never in a million years know from the dense, chocolate-y goodness.  Next time you need a chocolate fix, I PROMISE this will do 'ya. 

Or, you can do as I did last week, and double the recipe and make this Minecraft Cake for your ten year old's small, family gathering.

TEN?????  HOW IS HE TEN, ALREADY???  DOUBLE-DIGITS = AARRRRGGGHHHH!

He ever-so-adorably showed me what the "Cake" in Minecraft looks like (who knew?!?!), but honestly, it would have required fondant to best emulate the pixelated squares.  I'm not a huge fan of fondant, so I decided to make him a Minecraft Dirt Block Cake instead. 

He was cool with that.

So, I'm planning this cake in my head, thinking I'll crush chocolate creme-filled cookies for the dirt, and maybe crushed vanilla wafers with green food coloring for the grass on top...

In the end, I had to make a quick run to the dollar store for something.... Imagine my surprise when the very first thing I see as I walk in was a 12" x 12' square of green, plastic turf.

HUH.

Well, Well, Well.  That oughta do it.

SO-- I made the Minecraft Cake with the Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe, Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate, Chocolate Frosting*, crushed Chocolate Creme-Filled Cookies for the "Dirt", crushed and green food-colored Vanilla Wafers for the grass and.... a piece of that Green Plastic Turf square from the dollar store.   

NOTE:  I DID separate the plastic turf and the cake with a piece of wax paper, and I washed the plastic with dish soap and water beforehand.  It's entirely possible we will all die of some sort of horrific plastic poisoning, but it was totally worth it.

Underneath the plastic grass, it STILL looked like a Dirt Block.
And those crushed cookies were totally edible, if slightly gritty. 
C'MON! It's a DIRT BLOCK CAKE! Just bringing the realism!

He liked it, anway.

So did She.

There was also Home Made Pizza, per his request....

And at the end of the day, my sink looked like this.

THIS is Andy--- The Culprit behind THE GREAT MAGAZINE MASSACRE.

I just thought I'd include a picture of my mangy, gangly, 6 month-old  shelter mutt for your viewing pleasure. 

He's still in trouble.

  

Nah.  I'm just kidding.  He's totally not.

*see the bottom of the linked recipe... or look at the back of your Hershey's Cocoa container.  It's always there.  AND, it really is the best and the easiest, I think.  I don't even melt the butter.  I usually just beat it all together in my butterfly-bedecked Kitchen Mixer.  Totally works.

Dessert

So I'm throwing together a quick pasta primavera for supper, and as I'm gathering things together, I see two things: a jar of Nutella and the dregs of a bag of semi-stale vanilla wafers. And I remember that I keep thinking that I really should scoop out a dollop of Nutella with those wafers....

Happy Valentine's Day, Take 2...

Seems I wasn't quite done with the love today.

Besides, what's Valentines Day for, if not to make goodies for your sweet'umses?

October is for Pumpkin Cookies

Time for Pumpkin Cookies!

October may well be my favorite month. When I was a kid in Ohio, the walk home from the school bus stop at the end of my street was filled with colored leaves, the lovely, earthy smell of fall in the air, and on the best kind of day, the divine aroma of pumpkin cookies baking when I stepped into the house.

October was a favorite time in our house for the usual costume-y, candy-filled reasons, but we had an added bonus.

My mother (the saint) was born on Halloween.

Which meant October held not only bonfires and hay rides, but also a traditional pumpkin shaped cake, made in a bunt pan, with a half-banana "stem" stuck in the middle, and covered in bright orange seven-minute frosting.  I have never, ever liked seven-minute frosting, but tradition is tradition is tradition.

I imagine this was my Mom's Birthday Party - circa 1978.
Mom is lovely as usual.  And, get a load of that mustache on my dad! 

My brother & I scooping out Pumpkins for our Jack O' Lanterns,
October, 1978. I'm not going to do the math for you, but I was
5 in this picture.  I COULD have photoshopped the red out of these
pics... and, in fact, I DID give it a shot.... but I like them better this way.

On Halloween night, after we got home from Trick or Treating, Mom ALWAYS told us that we couldn't eat much candy, because we HAD to go to bed, as she had to grab her black hat, climb on her broomstick and fly to the big meeting at midnight.

We thought she was a real, honest to goodness Witch.

A GOOD Witch. But, a Witch.

Well it makes sense, doesn't it? Halloween Birthday? A love of all things Halloween-y? You see?

We were convinced.

She even has a bit of a nose.

A bit. Not a huge, pointy nose, but a bit of a nose.

She knows it. She won't mind me telling you.

Minus the witchy wart.

My mother LOVES Halloween, as one who is born on such a fun day would.

This morning, little girl and I "face-timed" with her, and Mom aimed her iPad at her vast collection of decorative witches and pumpkins for Miss M to see. She showed us a witch made from a gourd, a witch made of a shell, a beautiful hand-made crafty witch, and the witch marionette that I made her eons ago with a BRIGHT green polymer clay face and giant pink lips. It was pretty funny to see that thing again.
After we disconnected from "The Facetime", all I could think of was making Pumpkin Cookies.

So I did.

And now, you can too.

These Pumpkin Cookies are a cake-like cookie, with Oatmeal, Cinnamon and Chocolate Chips. And if you think that doesn't sound like a good idea, watch the video (below) of my Jack-the-Dog barking at the oven for his share. He didn't get one (chocolate chips). But! He DID get a dog biscuit. I'm not a bad dog-mother.

I imagine that this recipe came from the back of a Libby's Pumpkin can, but I don't know that for a fact. What I DO know for a fact, is that they are delicious.

Also: Be forewarned that this recipe makes TEN DOZEN. I freeze half of it. You can do that. Scoop them onto a cookie sheet, as if to bake, then slide them into your freezer until frozen. Once they are frozen enough to handle, put them in a freezer bag until you need to pop a few in the oven for fresh-baked cookies without all the fuss. Mmmmmmmmm.

PUMPKIN COOKIES

4 c. Flour

2 c. Oats

2 tsp. Baking Soda

2 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Salt

1 1/2 c. Butter or Margarine

2 c. Brown Sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 Can Pumpkin (16oz)

2 (or more!) c. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Mix Flour, Oats, Baking Soda, Cinnamon and Salt in a large bowl and set aside.

Cream Butter, Brown Sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the Egg and Vanilla to the creamed mixture and beat well.

Alternate adding the canned Pumpkin and Dry Ingredients to the Creamed mixture.

Stir in the Chocolate Chips.

Drop by Tablespoonfuls (I use a cookie scoop) onto lightly greased cookie sheets.

Bake at 350 degrees (F) for 20-25 minutes.


Immediately ride the school bus home and grab a few with a glass of milk.

Or just lay down in front of the oven and BARK until Momma gives you one.

Freeze the extras!

(You need Flash to see the video of Jack Barking for his cookies)

BARK until you get one!

OH!  I'm also doing something I saw on Pinterest with Plastic Snakes, a Grapevine Wreath and some Black Spray Paint.  Stay Tuned....

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

Kitchen Makeover: FINISHED!

I can has Kitchen?


I can?!?  I CAN!!!


Wanna see??


Okokok, but first I have to tell you that I haven't sewn the new Roman Blinds for the window over the sink yet.  And, I'm also planning on re-painting what's left of the green walls with... well.... a different green.  This shade isn't BAD, but there's another green in the house that would be just perfect.


But I couldn't wait any longer to post the After pics (in case you've forgotten, here's what it looked like before...).


Here it is.

FINISHED!  I'm so outrageously HAPPY!

I'd also like to note that I designed this myself.  There were giant
moments of doubt and berating of the self over second guesses about
tile selection, cabinet color, etc, etc... but in the end, I was so right.  Yay, me!

Yeah, the towel's a little wonky in this shot, but as usual, I was actually in the
middle of making dinner...  This is what you'd call a "working kitchen".  Truly.

I'm SO glad I decided to tile this entire wall... mmmmhhhmmm.....  what's
crazy is that I seem to have more counter space, even though the footprint
is exactly the same.  The old tile counter top curved up a bit before it went
over the edge, which I suppose was intended to keep things from
rolling/spilling onto the floor, but in reality just cut counter space by
about 4 inches all the way around.  Doesn't sound like much, but I
couldn't fit a normal sized toaster next to the toaster oven on one of the
counter tops.  And, yes I need both.  I do.

Biggest problem with my kitchen now is that I need to find a new paper
towel holder.  Red doesn't work here anymore.  Had to buy new rugs this
afternoon, too.  Being me is SO HARD.

Of course, I left the butterflies on the the KitchenAid Mixer.  And I do kinda
miss the ones that used to be flying up the nasty old cabinets, but I'll get used
to it.  I think.  Yes, I made that bowl on the counter.  And that funny
looking plastic covered bowl with the yellow bottom?  Tomatoes in a goofy
container that my husband couldn't resist at Sprouts this afternoon.
Ummm... hello?  I have like, FIVE tomato plants on the patio?  Oh, geez....

Inaugural Kitchen Meal:  Soy Glazed Grilled Salmon, Cucumber/Tomato
Salad, Fresh Corn on the Cob and sliced Pears.  It was simple and completely
yummy.  And I don't even like Salmon.  Much.

Mr. Whatshisname approves.

After dinner, I told my husband that he could clean up so that he got a chance the enjoy the new kitchen, too.  HAHAHAHA!


Totally worked.


Who's coming to Dinner???


/Julianna

Chicken Cacciatore with LoFrumento Red Sauce

I'm no food stylist, but I'd say this looks delicious.

I'm currently in the middle of a kitchen remodel... and while I was taking "before" pictures yesterday, there was mention of me making Chicken Cacciatore.  Here's how....

Wait.  What's a "LoFrumento"?

I am.  I'm a LoFrumento.  It's the family name on my mother's side, and proof positive that I am indeed an Italian-American.  OK, so maybe the Italian blood has thinned out over the generations, but I can assure you that the red sauce and family culture has not.  N.O.T.  Decidedly not.

So, um.... why the capital "F" there in the middle of 'LoFrumento? 

While I have many relatives both in the states and in Italy that do not capitalize the "F", the story is that my grandfather got tired of pronouncing "Lofrumento" for people, and thought that capitalizing the F might help.

You tell me.

I don't know if it actually made difference whatsoever in man-on-the-street pronunciation, but my branch of the family all spells it like this.  My grandfather's brothers and sisters and their families do not (they also all stayed Catholic when my Grandfather got into an argument with a Priest and went Methodist.  That's right.  I'm the only non-catholic Italian you know.  Unless you know my family.  Then you know about 30 of us).

************************

So.  The Sauce.  LoFrumento Red.  My Grandmother Josephine's recipe.

And you should know that Josephine was not originally Italian.  She was, in fact, a very lovely girl from Black Mountain, North Carolina, working in the Textile Mills when she met a cutie-patootie New York Italian who was already engaged to someone else.  That's ok.  Josie was engaged to somebody else, too....

Hahahahaha!

I love that story.

SO.  SHE wasn't Italian, but I think when you move into a small New York apartment with your Italian immigrant Mother-In-Law, you probably become as good as one pretty quickly.  I reckon.

That's my story.

Ok.  It's Josephine's story.

And HERE is how to make her Chicken Cacciatore and Red Sauce:

  

Last picture I'm ever taking of that Nasty tile counter top!  Remodel begins tomorrow!  YAY!

You need THIS:

Coupla Tablespoons of Olive Oil
Chicken (traditionally, on the bone, but I use boneless, skinless breasts or even tenders as here)
Salt/Pepper (to taste)*

2 cans Crushed or Diced Tomatoes
1 can Tomato Sauce
2 small cans Tomato Paste
1/8 tsp. Red Pepper flakes (Or a pinch. Or more for a Diavlo. Whatever.)
3-4 large cloves garlic (I mince, some dice... whatever)
2 Tbl. Dried Basil (or just a bunch, if fresh)
   OR
1Tbl. Basil, 1Tbl. Oregano (I have decided that I don't like Oregano & now only use Basil.  Sue me)
2Tbl. Sugar (Although I've heard that my darling Great-Uncle John used Raisins instead. True.)
2Tbl. Red Wine Vinegar

Pasta of choice (Didn't have any Spaghetti.  Casarecce it is.)

You'll note that while this IS my Grandmother's recipe as given to us in the LoFrumento Family Cookbook that my dear mother put together for all the cousins when we were all about to flee the nest, I promptly lost this particular recipe the first time I made it.  Only THIS recipe.  The most important one of all. 

Unless the person I was making this for STOLE it.... That's possible.  It was delicious.  Always is.

But somehow, I've retained the basic data in my swiss cheese brain, and while I've made a few adjustments here and there over the years, the above is the Real Deal with my own thoughts in italics.

My dad says that Grams' Sauce (thinner, more orangey-looking-- probably cooked longer-- and saltier) was delicious, My mother's sauce is delicious (more robust, fresh tomatoes a lot of the time, less salt, less sugar), and my sauce is the best. 

I love my dad.

And THEN, when you remember that you have FRESH basil in your
Garden, go getcha'some and put that dried schtuff away like SO.

OK.  Here we go.  And I SWEAR this will take you less than 15 minutes to throw this together.  Honest.

First off, you'll need to brown the chicken:

Olive Oil, meet Mr. Pan.  Go ahead... get all hot and shiny.  That's nice.

And now, Mr. Pan, I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Chicken. He likes to be salt and peppered and gently browned on both sides. He does. He told me so. He doesn't even care if he's completely cooked through, because, you know what? He ALSO loves to be smothered in tomatoes and simmered for hours. THAT is his FAVORITE.

K.  While THAT's happening... start prepping the Sauce.  That basically means to open those cans.  Pretty much.

  

Mince up the fresh Basil if using it... Here's how if you are unsure:   



Pile leaves. Roll leaves. Tiny slices One Way. Like SO. Tiny slices the other way. Minced!

 Chicken is browned? Ok.

Pour ALL of the tomatoes into in the pan with the chicken. All of it. Then add one can of water. I don't care which of the empty cans you use. As long as you use the Sauce or the Diced/Crushed tomatoes. Those paste cans are kinda dinky.  If you've already thrown the cans away, I imagine two cups of water would about approximate it.  I imagine.  Don't quote me on that.  It doesn't really matter anyway.  Just add some water to thin it a bit.

Now add everything else:



Salt (start with a Teaspoon or so.  You can always add more.  Don't do what Josie did*)

The Garlic (no, I don't bother sauteing it in the olive oil first.  I kina like it bitey" anyhoo, but this sauce will simmer for a looooong time, so fuhgeddabbouddit)

The Red Pepper

The Sugar

The Red Wine Vinegar (Egads!  When I went to grab my red wine vinegar, I discovered that floaty-bits of something not delicious had grown on top of it while I was on vacation!  EW!  I'm using Balsamic here.  A little browner looking that usual, but no worries)

The Basil (or if you insist, the Basil AND the Oregano)

It should now look like this, but perhaps a little less brown if using Red Wine Vinegar instead of Cheap Balsamic.  But you MUST use some vinegar!  I once tried making Sauce withOUT the vinegar, and it was.... it was.... ummmm... ketchup. 

I dunno... SOMETHING was seriously lacking.  My husband didn't always believe that vinegar was needed so, I had him taste it once BEFORE I added the vinegar, and then AFTER. 

"Huh.  Needs Vinegar."

Yeah.  It does.

Stir it all in nicely.  And if you DON'T make a mess on your stovetop, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!

Not really. 

That's totally MY problem.  Not yours.  I hope you do better.

Clean up your mess and let it simmer for HOURS, or at least until dinner time.

But next time, start earlier, OK???  Miss Chicken likes to get all fall-aparty and tender-simmery in those tomatoes!

For HOURS!



Ready? 

Can't take the aroma of deliciousness any longer??? 

Are your children/husbands/wives/dogs/fish falling to their knees and begging for Cacciatore mercy?

'Cause mine were.  Especially Jack-The-Dog. 

Seriously.  Jack-The-Dog hears the first tomato can being opened, and he is literally underfoot.  Laying down next to the stove WAITING.  Funny thing is... he's Chow/Aussie Cattle Dog/German Shepard.  Not a single Italian Hound bone in his body.  Weird. 

I've been known to make spaghetti just.for.him.  True story.

OKOKOK!

Boil the water.  BOIL it!  Let it Roll, Baby, Roll!

Add Pasta.... Casarecce today.  I like to switch it up.  Follow your package directions for timing, or every once in a while, throw a piece against the wall until it sticks (don't actually do this.  No sense in it.  Although it might be fun.  If the kids aren't watching).

While Signore Pasta gets all al dente, you get to grate some cheese.  This is Signora Romano/Pecorino. 

(She's from Costco, a tiny little village in the hills of Tuscany.  You should go there.  There are other lovely Signorinas just like her.)

Don't you DARE pick up a green can (or a knock-off green can) and shake it on MY PASTA.  Don't you DARE!  I will KNOW if that happens, and I will FIND you!

(Sorry... The smell of garlic brings out the 'Godfather' in me, sometimes...)

Seriously, would it KILL you to buy a nice, lovely, crumbly chunk of hard Italian cheese? 

No.  It wouldn't.  And you'd be SO MUCH HAPPIER!

Promise!





Drain Pasta.  Lean into the steam and get a facial. Don't drain it TOO much,though.
Leave a little of that water in there. It's good stuff, that pasta water.

  

Pour Signore Pasta Back into the Pasta Pot.

This is important: Ladle some of the now fully simmered and happy sauce onto the drained pasta.

What?  You don't want to clean pasta sauce out of TWO pots?

Too bad.

It's really better this way.

Just trust me on this.

Plate the noodles, and ladle MORE sauce on.... make sure your get a few pieces of now falling-aparty chicken on top.  Yeah.  That's the stuff.

Sprinkle with the cheese you grated (put.the.green.can.away.).

You might also want to sprinkle more fresh Basil if you are going to take pictures. 

Just a thought.

Yum.

Ciao!
/Julianna


*Funny story.... on my Grandmother's last visit to my house in California, she made her red sauce, as per usual.  I happened to come into the kitchen just as she was POURING large amounts of salt into the sauce straight from the Morton's Salt canister.  Like, just standing there, SHAKING IT IN.  I mean LOADS.  Enough for me to stop biting my "good-girl-who-am-I-to-tell-YOU-what-to-do" tongue and say "Grams!  That's enough!"  It was the saltiest sauce I think she ever made.

Hee Hee. 

Remind me to tell you about her making cranberry sorbet with my goofy blender and spraying hot, pulverized cranberries all over my kitchen...

Oh.  I see that the above makes her sound as if she didn't know her way around the kitchen.  That simply is untrue.  You should know that she cooked for 6 children every day.  Sometimes with not a whole lot.  She was an amazing cook.  All of her children are amazing cooks.  I'm pretty sure all of her GRANDCHILDREN are amazing cooks.  Apples don't fall far from trees, you know....

Those are the funniest Grams' kitchen stories that I know.  At least that happened in MY kitchen, anyway.  And now I feel guilty for even mentioning them.  Sorry, Grams.... Good thing she had a sense of humor.