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| Cacio e Pepe |
We’re going to celebrate being young and being alive!
Wow!! Be still my heart!
Okay… we’re not all young, but we are alive and we need to celebrate, too.
We’ve just been told to take extra precautions so that we can ‘starve’ Omicron.
Basically we’re being asked to reduce social contacts to create circuit breakers.
So we’ll have to re-think our holiday plans.
Trudeau said he believes that, despite widespread pandemic fatigue, Canadians will do what it takes because they are now "empowered with knowledge”.
Yeah, well, the news isn’t great and we’re tired of the restrictions, but we’ve followed the rules before and we can do it again.
A few years ago I posted two of Ma’s recipes for Fettuccine Alfredo.
It’s an old recipe and has a few variations, including the one below, which is a little easier.
It is a week before Christmas and we’re getting tired from all the holiday preparations, too.
If you have Romano instead of Parmesan cheese you can make Cacio e Pepe.
Cacio e Pepe, which means cheese and pepper, is a simple Roman dish of pasta, Pecorino Romano cheese, and black pepper.
Some say Parmesan can be used in place of some or all of the Romano.
Use what you have and like.
Don't make an extra trip to the store just for the cheese.
Back to that movie, The Holiday.
I don’t know what exactly Kate Winslet and Jack Black were eating.
Whichever recipe they used, they felt better after eating it.
And, whichever version you choose, you’ll feel better, too.
Stay safe and well!
Hints:
If you have leftover whipping cream you could make more sauce and freeze it.
Freezable Alfredo Sauce (Makes 2 1/2 cups)
Place in bowl
1 1/4 Cups whipping cream
1 Cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Stir together, then set aside.
Place in medium pan
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Heat oil over medium heat.
Add
4 cloves garlic, minced
Cook and stir for 30 seconds.
Add broth mixture.
Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly, then cook and stir for 2 minutes more.
Stir in
1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
Serve at once over hot cooked pasta.
You can also divide the cooled mixture among 1/2-cup storage container.
Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
If frozen, thaw overnight in refrigerator.
To serve, put desired amount of sauce in pan.
Heat and serve over hot cooked pasta.
About the Cacio e Pepe…
You don’t need to get all of the water off the pasta when you drain it. The excess water will help loosen the paste and make a smoother sauce.
When you make the cheese paste use very cold or ice water. It will help to make a smoother sauce, since the cheese won’t start to melt until it is on the hot pasta.
Fettuccine Alla Alfredo
Serves 6 to 8
In a large pot place
4 quarts water
salt to taste
Bring to a boil.
Add
1 pound fettuccine
Cook, stirring frequently, until the pasta is al dente.
Drain and return to the pot or to a warm serving platter.
Place in a small pot
1/2 Cup butter or margarine
Melt over low heat.
Set aside.
Place in a small bowl
2 egg yolks, beaten
1/2 Cup whipping cream
Blend, then slowly beat in the melted butter or margarine.
Pour the butter / cream mixture over the fettuccine.
With a large serving fork and spoon lift and turn the pasta to coat it with the butter mixture.
Sprinkle over the pasta
1/2 to 1 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
Blend thoroughly.
Sprinkle over the pasta
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Serve immediately with Parmesan cheese available to add.
Cacio e Pepe
Serves 4 to 6
Finely grate
5 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese, enough to get about 2 1/2 cups.
Transfer 1/2 cup grated cheese to a small bowl to serve as garnish.
Coarsely grind enough black pepper to get
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
In a large pot place
4 quarts water
salt to taste
Bring to a boil.
Add
1 pound spaghetti or fettuccine
Cook, stirring frequently, until the pasta is al dente.
Drain, reserving 1 cup of the water.
While the pasta is cooking, place in a large serving bowl
2 Cups of the grated Romano cheese
1 tablespoon of the ground black pepper
Using a fork, blend the cheese and pepper together.
Stir in
1/3 Cup cold water
Press the mixture against the sides of the bowl to form a lump-free paste.
Add the cooked pasta to the cheese mixture.
Working quickly, use the same fork to toss the pasta with the cheese paste.
Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved pasta water at a time to loosen the paste until it evenly coats the pasta in a creamy sauce. You won’t need to use all of the water.
Serve immediately with additional grated cheese and black pepper.
~~~
This was a holiday piece I wrote a few years ago for the CKUW radio show ‘2000 & Counting’ when we decided to chat about family holiday dinners.
Being politically correct - and politically sensitive - was just starting around the turn of the century.
It was and is still a part of menu planning.
The family that eats a holiday dinner together… can still be in for a whole lot of trouble.
My friend Muriel still hasn't recovered from last Christmas.
The poor dear had tried to please everybody. Solomon couldn't have pulled that off. Muriel was willing to go with the flow, but she was caught in a tsunami. Her husband Tom is a simple man with simple tastes. He just wanted a roasted bird with stuffing and cranberry sauce.
He should never have had children.
Their eldest daughter, Donna, keeps up with trends. Muriel had asked Donna to bring the appetizers. Muriel expected their traditional celery sticks with cream cheese, crackers and cheese cubes. Donna waltzed in with an oriental party pack and assorted seafood and chicken wing platters. Something for everyone. Uh, huh.
Tom backed off when he saw the egg rolls. "I don't like Chinese."
Donna said, "I got you BBQ chicken wings."
Ignoring her, Tom said, "They don't serve bread." He went to the kitchen for bread.
Then Betty arrived. Betty lives in a commune and supports the rights of everything and everybody… except those of the hostess. Betty always carried tofu because she never ate dairy products or anything with eyes or eggs. Muriel had prepared a nice salad for Betty. Not good enough.
"Were the pickers paid a decent wage?"
"The lettuce had a union label."
"I only eat organically grown food. Did they use manure."
"We had to scrub the carrots with bleach to get the E coli off."
"Oh... okay."
Tom heard E coli and reached for another slice of bread.
Finally their son Bill arrived with his wife Carol and their children, Krystal and Jason. Bill and Carol had every allergy in the book. Bill also had high cholesterol and Carol had her waistline. They avoided the platters of appetizers and drank the water that they had brought.
Krystal, a tender-hearted child, burst into tears when she saw the chicken wings.
"Oh, those poor birdies. Do you know how they treat chickens, Grandma?"
Muriel figured the birds were better off than she was. They never had to make a holiday dinner for the family. But this was her granddaughter.
"Krystal, dear, these birdies lived in a happy place where they laughed and played and sang songs for a long, long time. Then one day they just went to sleep and, just like butterflies, they turned into chicken wings."
"Oh... okay."
Who says the next generation knows it all?
Tom heard Muriel's tale of the laughing, singing chickens, figured she'd finally lost it, and ate more bread.
Ignored by his elders, Jason gobbled a fistful of seafood appetizers and started wheezing. Muriel packed away the appetizers before her children could start a food fight and led them to the main event.
The table looked like a sailboat regatta that had been designed by Martha Stewart. Every dish had a tiny flag listing all of the ingredients. Muriel did not want to have to call the paramedics again. Krystal cried when she saw the turkey.
When Betty reached for the potatoes, Bill said, "But they have eyes". Betty meant to kick her brother, but got her sister-in-law, Carol, who screamed and kicked back. Muriel yelled at her kids. The holiday dinner was just like always. Damn.
After everyone had eaten what they could, Muriel brought out a carafe of hot cranberry apple cider. This was her gift to herself. Seeing all the different coffees at the supermarket had made her go all whoozie. Whatever happened to plain old coffee, black or with cream? Muriel’s children didn't say a word while visions of cappuccinos, espressos and lattes danced in their heads.
Betty was in charge of the dessert. She had created something that was just what the doctor ordered. No eggs, no cream, no butter, and no taste.
Tom just saw a pumpkin pie and it looked fine. He helped himself to a slice, smiled and thought that Betty was returning to the food of her mother.
But, something tasted... off. Maybe a new spice?
"Betty, what's in this pie," he asked.
"Tofu."
"Geez." Tom reached for the bread.
Jason had wheezed throughout the whole meal.
All in all, it had been just another family holiday get together.
God help Muriel. The holidays are back.
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