Vichyssoise: Potato Soup Served Cold The Summer Soup Of France

[caption id="attachment_1537" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Vichyssoise - Click To EnlargeVichyssoise"][/caption]

Vichyssoise

 

Hi everyone! This week I am making Vichyssoise: The Potato Soup Of the Summers Of France. I am making this potato soup recipe because it is still summer here in Las Vegas, NV where I live and as such there are times when I don't want to be making something hot in my kitchen because it only adds to the discomfort that the summer heat is causing to begin with. It is for this reason that I am making my version of Julia Child's classic Vichyssoise potato soup recipe.

Many people think that Vichyssoise was created in the kitchens of France in places like Lyons, Paris or even Vichy itself! Alas this is not the case! The classic potato soup recipe was actually created in New York City during the beginning of the 20th century. The man credited for the creation of Vichyssoise was named Chef Louis Diat and he died in 1957. Chef Diat worked for the famous Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Manhattan, New York.

At that time the Ritz-Carlton corporation was going to be opening up a new restaurant of the roof of the hotel as a "roof garden" restaurant. Chef Diat was the executive chef of the time and he was known for making a potato soup recipe of potatoes and leeks that was passed down to him from his mother. This potato soup recipe was going to be the soup starter that was going to be served at the opening of the roof top restaurant.

There has been some conjecture as to the creation of Chef Diat's potato recipe. Stories have surfaced that the potato soup recipe was prepared in advance of the opening of the restaurant but that it wasn't re-heated in time to be served as the first course of the dinner. Some accounts feel that Chef Diat being the Chef de Cuisine was having a moment of culinary creativity and clarity as we all do and he decided to add some cream to the potato soup recipe and serve it cold with chopped chives. Chef Diat called this potato soup Vichyssoise Glacee or Chilled Cream Vichyssoise. Vichy was the city in which Chef Diat was born and hence the name of the potato soup recipe as Vichyssoise! Many people pronounce the dish as "Vee Shee Swah" This is not correct. The correct pronunciation is "Vee Shee Swahzz"  The final "e" after the last "s" in the name creates the "zzz" sound.

So it is with this in mind that I felt to make this Vichyssoise, this classic potato soup recipe for you here this week. There are two versions of Vichyssoise. One version of this potato soup recipe is vegetarian in nature and the other version of this potato soup recipe is made with Chicken stock. I am making my version of Vichyssoise with the Chicken stock. I am adapting my version of Vichyssoise from Julia Child's classic vegetarian version of this potato soup recipe and making a couple of additions and revisions for my version. I hope you enjoy this video and I hope you try this classic French potato soup recipe.


The Ingredients:
4 Cups of sliced leeks the white part and only a little of the light green part.
1/2 Of one white or brown onion finely diced.
4 Cups of diced potatoes. I used red potatoes but you can use Yukon golds or even baking potatoes if you wish.
6 to 7 Cups of chicken stock. The same amount of water if you want to make this in the vegetarian alternative recipe.
1 to 2 Tsp of salt or to taste. In the video I add salt and pepper in stages as I build layers of flavor.
1/2 Cup or more of heavy cream, half and half, sour cream or creme fraiche as option to build creamy texture of soup.
1 or 2 Tablespoons of sour cream for garnish.
1 or more Tablespoons of chopped chives or combination of chive spears and chopped chives for garnish.
1/4 to 1/2 Stick of butter.
1 Large saucepan at least 4 quarts or small to medium stockpot with a heavy bottom.
1 Large saute pan. A 12 inch saute pan will do best.
1 Immersion blender or a regular blender.


The Method:
1. In a large saute pan melt your butter and saute your leeks and onions until soft and translucent. Add a touch of salt and black or white pepper to build flavor layer. Don't burn the butter and don't let the leeks and onion carmelize.

2. Once the leeks and the onions have softened and gotten translucent put them in a large saucepan or medium/large stock/saucepot.

3. Now add your diced potatoes to the leeks and onions in the stockpot. Add just enough Chicken stock to cover the potatoes and leeks. Bring to the boil for one or two minutes and then reduce to a simmer. Add a pinch of salt and black or white pepper for the flavor layer. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.

4. Now if you have a immersion blender you can use it to puree the potatoes and leeks into your soup. If not like I did in the video I used a potato masher to "pre-puree" the potatoes and leeks so that I can use a regular blender to do the final puree of the potato soup recipe. I was able to puree all the potato soup in my pot using my blender twice. With each blender full when done pour potato soup into another pot or big bowl to be ready to be chilled before serving.

5. Once you have pureed the potato soup recipe make sure to taste it and make any corrections you want in your salt and pepper that you want to make. Allow the potato soup recipe to cool on your counter for about 30 minutes before putting the mixture in the fridge to chill.

6. Place your serving bowls in the fridge to get really cold.
7. Cut yourself some chive spears and then finely chop the rest of the chives that you wish to use as garnish.
8. Just before serving the Vichyssoise potato soup you can pour in your heavy cream, half and half, creme fraiche or sour cream to give the Vichyssoise that final creamy layer of flavor and texture and mix it in well. The Vichyssoise will take on a nice white creamy color as well.

9. When you finally put the Vichyssoise potato soup into your bowls garnish with a dollop or two of sour cream, creme fraiche, or heavy cream in the center of the bowl and then add some chive spears and chopped chives and serve!

Enjoy the soup!

Pasta Salad Recipe: Thai Inspired Pasta Salad The Flavors Of Southeast Asia

Pasta Salad Recipe

[caption id="attachment_1513" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Thai Inspired Pasta Salad-Click To Enlarge"][/caption]
Hi everyone! I know I have been gone for about two or three weeks now but I have been extremely busy working on my blog here at EZ Cooking. I was having some functionality issues with the site but now everything is back to normal and I am back to making cooking videos for your gastronomic enjoyment.

Here in Las Vegas, Nevada where I live the summer is winding down and the temperatures about finally below 100 degrees. The heat this year has been as high as 115 degrees which in nice and balmy to say the least! We are now in our monsoon season and last night starting at about 3:30AM we had a monster storm pass through. Lots of rain and thunder and lightning. So what this is telling us here in Vegas is that the summer is coming to a close.

So as is my policy this year as in every year I am having an end of summer get together with some friends of mine. Each year for the past few years we do this. We get together and eat and eat and eat and have a good time and then eventually the drinks catch up to us and we get pretty well trashed. Not to worry folks! I am the keeper of the keys and nobody gets out until they have sobered up and that usually means that my buds are sleeping over. They better think twice if they think I am going to cook them breakfast! If anything they are going to have to take me out for breakfast!

So we all planned to have our party yesterday 9/12/2011. Then I get the same thing that I have gotten for the last few years. "Whatcha gonna make Dick! I keep on telling them to call me Richard as Dick is just so old fashioned. I told them I am not going to make anything! I was like: "This year you slobs make something and I will  make a nice side dish to go with whatever you make." They all know I cook like religion and they all bitched and moaned about it but, in the end they agreed. I told them whatever you boneheads make it better not end up looking like something that was cooked by little green men from Mars! Believe me some of these guys don't know how to boil water let alone cook something. If it wasn't for fast food and deli counters and me most of these yobs would be dead!

So the side dish that I decided to make for this shindig is a Thai inspired pasta salad recipe. This cold pasta salad recipe is not your typical pasta salad made with mayo or mustard and relish with celery and onion or the kind of pasta salad recipes from the deli counter at the local market which is just pasta, tomato, mozzarella cheese and salami with spices and an oil and vinegar dressing. YAWN! To pedestrian for me! We here are foodies and that means that we think a little outside the box and in many cases it means we think way out of the box at times as well.

I love the flavors of Thai cuisine and Vietnamese cuisine as well and I thought these both subtle and strong flavors would make a really great pasta salad recipe! This is not Thai noodle salad as that is a totally separate dish on it's own. This is Thai Pasta salad and It is both refreshing and bracing. It encompasses the flavors of Thailand. This pasta salad recipe will be hot, sweet, salty and sour. The ingredients in this pasta salad have been chopped into very small pieces as some of the flavors can be very strong. I like strong flavors so if you make this recipe you might need to adjust the amounts of ingredients slightly to suit your needs. I hope you enjoy this pasta salad recipe.

I generally like to make the Thai Pasta Salad Dressing before I make the pasta salad recipe itself to allow the flavors of the dressing to marry before being poured over the pasta salad prior to serving.

Nuoc Cham base Ingredients:
2-4 Thai bird chilies depending on heat tolerance seeded and sliced as thin as possible.
2 Clove garlic chopped as finely as possible.
1 Inch piece of ginger peeled and chopped as finely as possible.
1-2 Tbsp of either white or brown sugar.
2 Tbsp lime juice.

****This is the Nuoc Cham base. Mix all these ingredients in a bowl and let stand for 1 to 2 hours to allow flavors to marry. Then when the flavors of this base have married it will be time to make the Nuoc Cham.

To the Nouc Cham Base add:
1/3 Cup fish sauce.
1/3 Cup rice vinegar.
2 Tbsp sesame oil.
Stir or whisk this mixture very well in preparation for pouring on the pasta salad.

Ingredients:
1 Lb Penne Rigate pasta. You can also use Rigatoni, Farfalle, Casarecci, Cellentani, or Conchiglie. All will work!
1 Cup Thai basil. 1/2 cup chopped fine the other 1/2 cup whole leaves for texture and eye appeal.
1 Bunch scallions finely sliced. Slice as thin as you can get it. Slice either straight or on the bias.
1/2 to 1 Cup depending on taste of Cilantro finely chopped.
4-6 Roma tomatoes seeded and diced into small pieces.
8-10 Cloves of garlic finely chopped. Figure 2 cloves of garlic person or more depending on tastes.
4-6 Thai bird chilies seeded and finely chopped. More or less depending on your tolerance for hot chilies.
2-3 Inch chunk of fresh ginger peeled and chopped as fine as possible.
1/2 Stalk Lemongrass. Peel the green bark off and either slice as finely as possible or chop as finely as possible.
Zest of 2 limes Kaffir or regular limes will do.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Large mixing bowl.

Method:
1. Cook pasta and then strain and put in cold water to stop the cooking and remove excess starch then strain again and put in bowl to have other ingredients put into the pasta salad.

2. Take your finely sliced scallions and mix into the pasta well.
3. Take your Thai basil and mix the finely chopped basil into the pasta salad.
4. Now take the whole Thai basil leaves and mix into the pasta.
5. Add Cilantro into the bowl with the pasta salad and mix it in well.
6. Add diced Roma tomatoes into the bowl with the pasta salad.
7. Now add in your finely chopped garlic to the pasta salad recipe.
8. Add your finely chopped Thai chilies to the pasta salad mixture.
9. Now add your finely chopped ginger to the pasta salad mixture.
10. Add your finely chopped lemongrass to the pasta salad recipe.
11. Add the zest of 2 limes to the pasta salad.
12. Add salt and pepper to taste.

You can choose to just all all the ingredients to the pasta salad recipe at one time and mix it all up together by hand and then add your Nuoc Cham dressing. I prefer to mix in one ingredient at a time to the pasta salad and mix in each ingredient separately. Some of the flavors in this recipe can be rather strong so you will need to taste and adjust according to your taste requirements. Enjoy!

Pasta Recipes: Fettucine Con Spinachi, Basilico, Rosmarino E Timo One Of My Favorite Pasta Recipes

Pasta Recipes

 

[caption id="attachment_1412" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Pasta Fettucine With Spinach Basil Rosemary And Thyme Click Enlarge[/caption]

I know that as of late I have been making quite a bit of Italian pasta recipes will require ingredients such as heavy cream, butter and even bacon grease. It is all in the name of flavor and fortunately I hope for most of us this is not a daily diet. There is no doubt that "fat is where the flavor is!" There are of course other alternatives to great pasta recipes or recipes from any country besides using lots of fats and oils for the desired flavors and textures that we want in a fine dish of food. An excellent meal does not always require fat for flavor and hence in this blog post I will be talking about one of my favorite pasta recipes that is not made with lots of fats and heavy cream or butter for that matter.

I sat for quite some time this last week trying to decide what I wanted to cook for you and I did not want to do another one of my heavy pasta recipes. Don't get me wrong I will be doing more of them in the future! I just wanted to give our cholesterol levels a break this week and I wanted to make sure that everyone could eat this dish without having to worry about whether or not they are on a diet. It is for this reason that this week I decided to make one of my best pasta recipes for you and it is a savory pasta recipe that does not use a standard pasta sauce like a red or a white sauce.

This pasta recipe is called Pasta Fettucine Con Spinachi, Basilico, Rosmarino E Timo! or Pasta Fettucine With Spinach, Basil, Rosemary And Thyme. This is a delicious pasta recipe and one of my favorite pasta dishes. This dish is a rustic Italian pasta recipe that can come from any household in Italy! It's wonderfully simple to make and is a heavy hitter in the flavor and aroma department. Just imagine yourself in an Italian household getting ready to make dinner and you get your ingredients together and you get to work on one of your favorite pasta recipes.

There you are chopping the garlic and the aroma of it invades your nostrils and you think to yourself how much you love the smell of garlic. Then you take fresh basil and pull the leaves from the stem of the plant and with each pluck your kitchen is filled with its earthy aroma. This is one of those pasta recipes that will drive your family and friends crazy with the anticipation of eating it! Go ahead and leave a window two open and listen to  your neighbors outside of the window speaking in Italian about "where is that lovely aroma coming from?" You will grin because you know it is you making the pasta recipe! So please watch and enjoy the video on how to make Pasta Fettucine Con Spinachi, Basilico, Rosmarino E Timo! Mangiare Bene! Eat Well!


The Ingredients:
1 Lb Fettucine Pasta.
4 Tbsp olive oil.
4oz fresh basil leaves.
10oz fresh spinach leaves.
6-8 cloves garlic chopped rough or fine your choice.
2 Tbsp dried rosemary.
2 Tbsp dried thyme.
2 Cups Chicken stock. (You may or may not use all of the stock!)
2 Tbsp red pepper flakes.(Depending on how much heat you like you may or may not want to add more or less red pepper.)
Salt and black pepper to taste.
3 oz Gorgonzola as a topping when dish is plated.
Salt and pepper to taste.
The largest saute pan/skillet you can get.

The Method:
(Cook your pasta to aldente' drain and put back in pot with about a ladle full of the starch water and some olive oil to coat the pasta and keep it from sticking together and then put on the back burner to stay warm.)

1. Put olive oil in your saute pan/skillet. Heat on med. high until oil is shimmering.
2. Once oil is shimmering put garlic in oil and cook on med. high til garlic softens and browns a bit. Add pinch of salt and pinch of red pepper flakes to the oil and stir
3. Once garlic is soft and brown add spinach first get it coated in the oil and get it to reduce.
4. Now add the basil and make sure it gets coated with oil and get it to reduce. Don't let leaves burn.
5. Now add 1/2 to 1 cup of chicken stock and raise heat to high to get the stock to boil. Keep mixing the leaves.
6. Reduce heat to med or a bit lower and put lid on skillet/saute for one minute or so. Then take off and spinach and
should now be wilted.
7. Add a pinch of salt and pinch of pepper to taste. We are building layers of flavor.
8. Now add 1 Tbsp of the dried rosemary and dried thyme. Spread it over the greens evenly.
9. Raise heat to medium. Mix everything up in the skillet/saute and make sure the dried herbs get wet.
10. Add a little more of the chicken stock if the the stock in the pan has evaporated from cooking the greens.
11. Now if the greens are wilted to your satisfaction spread them in a circle around the saute leaving the center clear for the pasta.
12. Pour your fettucine into the center of your skillet/saute and turn up the heat to a medium high heat.
13. Add another 1/2 to 1 cup of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add pinch of salt and pinch of pepper and mix all ingredients together.
14. Now add the last of your rosemary and thyme and mix all of your ingredients together.
15. Add the last of the chicken stock and raise heat to a boil and then reduce to a medium boil and cook for 2-3 minutes this way to allow the pasta to absorb the liquid. You may want to add another 1 or 2 Tbsp of olive oil into the mix as well. No matter what there will be some liquid left in the pan and that is your sauce. The pasta should be shiny and well covered in liquid. After 2-3 minutes turn heat off and cover pan if you have one and let stand for a minute or two.
16. Plate pasta and greens and add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes and then add your Gorgonzola and your are ready to go! Mangiare Bene! Eat Well!

[caption id="attachment_1414" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Pasta Fettucine With Spinach Basil Rosemary And Thyme Click To Enlarge[/caption]

Risotto: Risotto With Bacon, Mushrooms And Walnuts A Great Risotto Recipe

Risotto

 

[caption id="attachment_1385" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Risotto With Bacon Mushrooms And Walnuts Click To Enlarge[/caption]

Risotto as many of you know is an Italian rice dish that is cooked in some kind of broth or stock and made to come to a creamy consistency. The stock used is either a meat, fish, chicken, or vegetable broth or stock. Many risotto recipes also include cheeses like parmesan, gorgonzola, asiago or grana padana. Butter and/or oil is most often used to soften onions and coat the rice before the stock is added. Risotto in Italian kitchens is called the Primo or the first course of your dinner service.

Risotto is a high starch rice the starch is called Amylopectin starch. The variety of rice itself is a short grain hearty rice that has a really nice chew to it. All rice is capable of absorbing liquids but when it comes to that Arborio rice in my opinion is the king. There are many varieties of rice used in Italy to make Risotto and they are as follows: powdered Porcini mushrooms.
1 Lb of Crimini/Baby Portobello mushrooms.
3 Tbsp. Fresh chopped basil or basil chiffonade.
1 Tbsp olive oil.
1 Lb bacon or pancetta cut into 1/4 inch pieces.
6+ cloves garlic fine chopped or minced.
1 cup of finely chopped onion.
2 cups Arborio rice.
1 cup white wine I used Pinot Grigio.
1/4 cup heavy cream.
1/4 cup Parmesan, Grana Padano, Parm Reggiano or Asiago cheese.
1/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese.
1 cup chopped walnuts.
salt and pepper to taste.

The Method:

1. Bring your chicken stock to a simmer. It must be hot to make risotto.

2 Combine your powered shitake/procini mushrooms with your Crimini mushrooms in a bowl and put aside.

3. In a large saute pan saute your bacon/pancetta in the olive oil on medium heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon/pancetta browns and well cooked. This will take 10-15 minutes depending on stove and saute pan.

4. After the bacon/pancetta cooks remove it with a slotted spoon and place to the side.

5. In the same pan with the rendered fat saute your oninons and garlic until softened and browned a bit. This will take anywhere from 5-10 minutes depending on stove and saute pan size.

6. Now take your mushroom mixture and add to the saute pan and stir to combine ingredients. 3-5 minutes.

7. Once mushrooms have softened and reduced add your rice and reserved bacon back into the saute pan
and stir to coat all the rice in oil.

8. Once the wine is coated check the quality of the browning of the ingredients in the pan and then add your wine slowly to deglaze the pan of all those tasty brown bits. Remember to scrape the bottom of the pan and stir constantly. Allow the alcohol to evaporate and most of the liquid to be absorbed into the rice. About 2-5 minutes, just watch.

9. Now begin to add chicken stock 1 cup at a time and stir constantly to prevent sticking and burning.

10. Let the rice absorb the chicken stock. About 2-3 mins + before adding more stock.

11. Continue adding stock 1 cup at a time and let get absorbed until 4 cups have been reached.

12. Now start adding stock into pan at rate of 1/2 cup of stock at a time and let get absorbed. This should take about 30 minutes +/-.

The risotto should be nice and creamy by now. It will "tighten" up when it is served. When the risotto is completely finished in the saute pan it is time to add 1/4 cup Parmesan, 1/4 cup Gorgonzola, 1/4 cup chicken stock, 1/4 cup heavy cream and stir it all up for a minute or so. Now add your basil and 1 cup crushed walnuts and stir for another 1-2 minutes. Put a cover on the saute pan and turn off heat and let stand for 2 minutes more to allow walnuts to soften. Once walnuts have softened a bit serve the dish quickly. Optional: Add additional Gorgonzola/Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes if desired. Enjoy!


 

Garlic: Garlic Preparation Techniques

Garlic

 

One of my favorite things to include in any dish I can put it in is garlic. I love garlic! It is used in some many cuisines the world over that I can never feel lonely because I know that garlic will be there. As with most herbs, spices, vegetables, meats and so on there are techniques for preparation. This video is the first in a series of how to videos on preparation techniques for garlic use. I hope you enjoy this how to video and the others to follow!

Pasta Recipe: Pasta Con Pancetta, Carciofi, Pistacchi E Gorgonzola: Pasta With Bacon, Artichokes, Pistachios and Gorgonzola

Pasta Recipe

 

[caption id="attachment_1330" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Pasta With Bacon Artichokes Pistachios And Gorgonzola Click To Enlarge"][/caption]

The dishes of Italy change region to region and some of those changes are very subtle and some of those changes are very deliberate. Either way I just love my Italian food and this pasta recipe in particular. I also happen to be a really big fan of Sicilian food and this dish is a Sicilian pasta recipe. Sicily is not Italy and I know that to this day many people confuse the two. Sicilian food can be more fiery than many Italian foods, but in many cases there are man similiarities between the foods of the two cultures. The dish that I have prepared for this blog post is called Pasta Con Pancetta, Carciofi, Gorgonzola E Pistachhi or Pasta With Bacon, Artichokes, Gorgonzola and Pistachios it is a lovely Sicilian pasta recipe. It is a delicious, sweet, creamy, cheesy, hot and salty tasting dish that is sure to please the most ardent of Italian pasta foodies. I promise!

The pistachio is one of my absolute favorite nuts to eat and they have just about the most perfect balance of being meaty and at the same time having an undercurrent of sweetness. This pasta recipe can be made with any choice of pastas from farfalle, penne rigate,conchiglie, armoniche rigatoni, rigatoni and fusili. This pasta recipe can also be made with long pasta like regular spaghetti, linguine, perciatelli,bucatini, angel hair and capelli d' angelo. In the case of using long pasta you will plate the pasta and then spoon the sauce over the top of it rather than with the smaller macaroni's which you will pour the sauce on and mix together before plating.

Pistachio nuts are grown all over the world in different places but, the pistachios that are grown in Sicily are highly valued for the distinguished green color and these pistachios are considered some of the finest in the world and are exported to a hungry world from Sicily. The vast majority of the pistachios are grown in a region called Bronte' in the Mount Etna region of Sicily. Here in the states we eat pistachios as snacks and we make pistachio ice cream which I happen to really love. In Sicily however the valued pistachio is used in local treats and one that you might be familiar with is Sicily's gelato pistachio. The loved pistachio is also used in cakes, cookies and other fine savory dishes and of course in this pasta recipe I am presenting to you. I hope you try this great pasta recipe! I know that you will enjoy it!


Ingredients:

3/4 cup Pistachio nuts.
1/2 cup heavy cream.
2 Tbsp unsalted butter.
2Tbsp olive oil.
1 Onion chopped.
4oz Bacon. I used bacon ends and pieces for the meat content it is better than regular sliced bacon.
4 Cloves garlic 2 cloves minced or pureed 2 cloves thick sliced. I do this for texture and flavor.
1/2 Tsp. red pepper flakes.
1 Cup white wine. I used Pinot Grigio.
1 Cup chicken stock.
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Black pepper.
3oz + Gorgonzola Cheese.
1/4 Cup fresh grated Parmesan or Parmigiano Regiano blend. I used Parmesan, Romano and Asiago blend.
1 Lb pasta. I used Penne Rigate but you can use any of the pastas that I listed in the blog post above.
5 or 6 Artichoke hearts with stems if you can get them that way or purchase and prepare fresh artichokes.

Method:

1. Cook pasta in well salted water. Once cooked then drain and put back in pot. Coat with olive oil and put lid on pot. Put on back burner.

2. Allow 1/2 cup of cream to come to room temp. Then add cream and pistachios to food processor and blend till smooth. Put aside for later.

3. The other 1/4 cup of pistachios keep aside to use as garnish. Either grind them up a bit or leave whole. Choice is yours.

4. Put butter and olive oil in large skillet on med. high and bring to a sizzle.

5. When butter and olive oil sizzle it is time to put in the onions. Cook until translucent and soft.

6. Now add the bacon, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until bacon and garlic browns.

7. Now deglaze the skillet with white wine and reduce the wine to half.

8. When wine is reduced it is time to stir in the chicken stock and pistachio cream mixture then add your salt and black pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 10-15 minutes to get the sauce to an acceptable consistency.

(While the sauce is simmering cut your artichoke hearts into quarters and saute in a skillet with 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil a touch of salt and some red pepper flakes. Get the artichokes to sear and get nice and brown. This should not take long at all. Put aside to use as topping for plate of this pasta dish.)

9. Once sauce has simmered long enough and you are happy with it's consistency it is time to add the gorgonzola and parmesan cheeses to the sauce and stir. If you feel the sauce is now to thick and getting stringy with cheese just add some more white wine and raise the heat to high to bring to boil and then reduce to med. high and stir constantly. It should take about 2 minutes for the alcohol to cook out of the sauce mixture now.

10. Now it is time to take the saute pan of sauce and pour it into the pot of pasta that you have had on the back burner. So do so now. Mix the sauce well into the pasta on a medium heat for about 2 minutes and then it is time to plate the pasta on a large serving dish or charger. Top the pasta with remaining pistachios and arrange the artichokes any way you would like. Add additional red pepper flakes if desired and serve to your friends and family. Enjoy!

I also have a foodie friend named Sandy and she has a blog that is devoted to cooking and good food and she has some really good pasta recipes as well. Her blog is Easy Cooking With Sandy and what drew me to her site was a lovely Pasta and Sausage Salad. Go take a look I am sure you will like what you see!

[caption id="attachment_1332" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Pasta With Bacon Artichokes Pistachios And Gorgonzola Click To Enlarge"][/caption]



 

Italian Pasta Recipes: Salmon Pasta Pasta Al Salmone Affumicato

Italian Pasta Recipes

 

When I was a teenager I worked at a local Italian restaurant in Los Angeles called Restaurant Stromboli. At the time I went to work there the establishment had already been in business for 40yrs and was known for it's great Northern Italian pasta recipes. It was owned by a man named Frank Mele' and he was from Bari, Italy. Bari is a town located on the Northern coast of Italy on the Adriatic ocean. Bari is know for it's excellent seafood and it's traditional Italian pasta recipes. Many of the dishes made in Bari you will only see in Bari. One of those Italian pasta recipes is called Pasta Al Salmone Affumicato or pasta with smoked salmon! This dish truly is one of my favorite Italian pasta recipes .

Working at Restaurant Stromboli was a great time in my life. I worked with a small crew of people that had been with Mr. Mele' for year and years before I got there so I was the new kid on the block and truth be told it did not take Mr. Mele' and his crew long to take me in and treat me like family. My shift was from 4p.m. til 12-1a.m. Once all the customers left we would clean the place up and make it ready for the next day and then Mr. Mele' and his son Dan would go into the kitchen and cook us all dinner. This is truly where I got exposed to some of the best Italian pasta recipes that I have ever had.

Mr. Mele' would be cooking the crew dinner and we had a large round table in the back dining room that we would set up and we would sit and drink Soave Bolla or Valpolicella and talk about the events of the night! Yes! I drank wine with the crew! In Italy it is not unheard of for a teen to share wine with friends and family and that is what we all were! Family! Mr. Mele' didn't speak the best English but, the hostess named Kathleen told me that if he smiles and laughs then he likes you! I made Mr. Mele' smile and laugh alot!

I started cooking when I was thirteen years old. By the time I went to work for Mr. Mele' I would learn some of the best Italian Pasta Recipes around. I had the opportunity to hang out in the kitchen here and there during my shifts at work and on the very, very rare occasion that we would have a slow night I was allowed to stay in the kitchen and learn how to cook the delicious Italian pasta dishes that we served to the public. It is here that I first learned how to properly cook pasta and other foods. I learned how to properly prep vegetables and my basic cuts. I learned how to saute' and how to cook with wine. There were many skills learned with Mr. Mele'. I learned how to cook seafood like scallops and shrimp and calamari and I learned how to cook and cut meats. I learned how to cleaned tenderloins and make one of my other favorite dishes: Braciole! OMG! Braciole! To die for! All the skills that I learned in Mr. Mele's kitchen have stuck with me all of my life! As one of my many teachers in life told me once: "Once you learn good technique, you never forget it!" Pasta Al Salmone Affumicato! One of my favorite Italian pasta recipes in the world! I never seen this dish anywhere else in any Italian restaurant that I have ever been in and I have been in a few! I come from New York City where some of the best Italian pasta recipes in the world come from and I can honestly say that I have never seen this pasta dish in NYC either! I would venture to say that many of you reading this blog post have never seen this dish in your hometowns either! If you have I would like to hear about it! This dish is one of the great Italian pasta recipes that hails from Bari, Italy!


I often think about those days when I was a kid and working at Stomboli's for Mr. Mele' I remember how time felt to me back then and what is was to be a teen back then and like all of us I wish at times that I could go back in time and live it all over again and learn how to make those fantastic Italian pasta recipes again and hang out with my old crew. Alas! This is not going to happen but, they are happy memories that I have of working for Mr. Mele' and his son Dan and the great crew of people that I worked with and the excellent Italian pasta recipes that I leaned back then as well as the skills that I learned that I keep with me to this very day! Enjoy the video!

The Ingredients:

1. 1 Lb of Penne Regate Pasta.
2. 2 Tbsp of unsalted butter or about half a stick.
3. 2-4 Tbsp of finely chopped or finely slivered brown onion. You can also use 3 Tbsp of fine diced shallot if you wish.
4. 1-2 Tbsp finely chopped or pureed garlic.
5. 6oz + smoked salmon oil cured. I buy the trimmings instead of the belly and I save a ton of money to make this dish!
6. 3 Tbsp vodka, whiskey or brandy. I use the whiskey as I feel it imparts character that vodka does not!
7. 1/2 Tsp. salt.
8. Pinch of black pepper I like the triple peppercorn variety.
9. 3/4 cup Clam juice.
10. 4 Tbsp heavy cream.
11. 3 Tbsp tomato sauce.
12. Grated cheese any variety: Parmigiano Reggiano, Grand Padana, Pecorino Romano, Asiago blend. any kind will do.

Method:

Fill a large pot with well salted water and set it to boil to cook your Penne Regate. Now take your skillet and use medium high heat  to melt the butter. Don't let butter brown or burn. Get the butter to a sizzle this should take about a minute or two depending on whether your stove is electric or gas. After the butter sizzles add your onions and cook them for about two minutes or until they are translucent and soft. You can carmelize them a bit if your want but don't go overboard with it. Now when the onions are soft it is time to add your garlic and salmon and cook them until the garlic is softened and the salmon turns pink. Make sure to stir it up frequently to prevent the ingredients in the skillet from sticking to it. Now slowly pour in your choice of alcohol, slowly because you don't want the alcohol to flame up you just want the alcohol to cook out leaving the taste of your choice of alcohol behind. It should take about two minutes to get the alcohol to evaporate on a medium heat. Now add your salt and pepper and keep stirring. Now add the cream and lower the heat to a medium low and stir to keep it from curdling. After a minute or two add your clam juice and tomato sauce and raise the heat back to a medium high and bring this mix to a light boil and reduce the sauce a bit. Now lower heat and simmer for about five minutes.  Finally you should have your pasta cooked and drained and placed back into the pot you cooked it in and added some olive oil to in order to keep it from sticking. Pour your sauce over this pasta and while on a medium high heat cook the sauce into the pasta and let the liquid get absorbed into the pasta  and plate it. Optional: Add some red pepper flakes and your choice of grated cheese. Eat and enjoy!