CityMama™

Postcard from Rome No. 1

When Bunny found out we were going to Rome, the first thing she said was, "I want to see the church with the drawings on the ceiling!" When Wallie found out we were going to Rome, the first thing she said was, "I'm going to eat 100 pieces of prosciutto!" (They really couldn't be more different, could they?)  And here she is, as we arrive at the salumeria, about to make a dent in that hundred:

We'll get to the Sistine Chapel, Bunny. Promise.

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The girls have been having a wonderful time. Rome—and places like the forum—inspires the imagination and they can't stop chattering about what ancient times must have been like.

Wallie loves taking pictures of everything. She focuses on the things that I miss, like the fact that the top of the thin structure behind her is covered with coins. Here she is showing Bunny her photos.

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Three days in, they are pretty annoyed with me for constantly taking pictures (Wallie's face in the photo below says it all), but I can't help it. Even if they don't remember everything about this trip, they will know they were there.

P.S. We threw quarters into the Fontana di Trevi—cheaper than Euro!

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The girls on a pretty Roman street.

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In any case, I know they will remember the delicious food:

Antipasti at my aunt's house (Bunny is named after her). We had mortadella, salami, and prosciutto, along with fresh favas and two kinds of pecorino. And icy cold prosecco, of course!

So many delicious things at an Italian deli! When I die, just put my ashes in a little container and set me on the shelf. That's my idea of heaven.

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Spaghetti with clams. Mmmmmmmmmmm! Buona!

Feast of the Seven, er, Five Fishes

For Christmas Eve Eve dinner my mom made cioppino and pasta with clams.  The deliciousness was totally lost on my girls who aren't fans of seafood unless it's in fried form (a la fish sticks, clams, or tempura), but the rest of us devoured everything, sopped up the sauce with crusty bread, and had fun licking our fingers.

For the cioppino, the seafood was added to a simple sauce made with fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, fennel, fennel fronds, parsley, chilis, and wine.

My mom's clam sauce started with bacon and garlic sauteed in olive oil, then the clams were added and cooked until they popped open. 

Pasta was set out in bowls and we could top it with either the cioppino or the clam sauce. I like clam sauce with my pasta, but cioppino just on its own.

For Christmas Eve, we're having a turkey dinner. It's not something we usually do for Christmas (we usually do a standing rib roast--which we might do as well), but my niece loves turkey and we didn't get to see her for Thanksgiving so turkey it is.  I'm in charge of roasting the turkey. Right now it's getting happy in my sister's dry brine (a salt rub), which will ensure it's flavorful and moist tomorrow. We'll have the usual sides and loads of cranberry sauce for the kids who love it. Pecan pie is for dessert.  (I'd love to hear about what you're having for Christmas Eve dinner and what your plans are.)

After our dinner we'll go and sing Christmas carols at hippie church, take a cruise down Christmas Tree lane, set out the carrots and cookies and milk, and then get the girls tucked up into bed to await Santa Claus's visit.

Christmas is almost here and I can feel the magic in the air! This time of year is just the best.

Easy Pasta with Shrimp

My girls have a new-found love for shell-shaped pasta and why not? They're cute, they hold sauce well, and they are the perfect size for kids to bite. It wasn't a shape I normally bought, but one trip to an Italian restaurant changed all that, and it's now a staple in our house. 

I like to serve the shells with shrimp to continue the "ocean" theme, and this dish literally comes together as the pasta itself is cooking.  It couldn't be easier or tastier. It's a perfect weeknight dinner when you need to get dinner on the table quickly.  Just make sure you leave the shrimp to thaw in the fridge the night before.

EASY PASTA WITH SHRIMP

• 1/2 bag of Trader Joe's cooked, peeled shrimp, thawed
• olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 cup of halved organic cherry tomatoes
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• juice of half a lemon or orange
• a handful of chopped, fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 box of Barilla shell pasta

Put pasta water on to boil (be sure to salt the water).  In the meantime, put 3-4 glugs of olive oil in a saute pan and heat over medium heat.  When garlic starts to turn golden, dump in cherry tomatoes and shrimp and warm through. This should only take a minute or two. Do not "cook" the shrimp, just warm them, or they will get tough. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Cook pasta about a minute less than package directions indicate (my trick for perfect al dente pasta every time). Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water.  Dump pasta into a bowl along with the tomato-shrimp sauce and enough of the pasta cooking water to loosen. You may not need all the water.  Squeeze lemon or orange over, add parsley, toss and serve.  Cheese isn't served with this pasta.

Uncooked spaghetti sauce: Italian tuna, heirloom tomatoes, mint, and orange

This pasta reminds me of all the flavors of the Amalfi coast. It's a simple, uncooked sauce—perfect for summer—which comes together while you are cooking the pasta. The key is to use a really good imported tuna packed in olive oil, sweet summer tomatoes, and the freshest herbs.  Mint and tomatoes go really well together. So do tomatoes and orange. I decided to gild the lily and throw everything together and it worked quite nicely. It was so delicious that Bunny and Wallie ate every speck and were licking their pasta bowls. I think I'll call this one:

Spaghettini Positano

• 1 lb spaghettini or spaghetti
• 1 5 or 6 oz can or jar of imported Italian or Spanish tuna (Genova or Flott) packed in olive oil
• 3-4 glugs of extra virgin olive oil (1/2 cup or so)
• 2 medium heirloom tomatoes (different colors are lovely), seeded and chopped
• 1/3 a bunch of chives, minced (about a handful)
• 1/2 a Vidalia, Texas Sweet or Maui sweet onion, chopped
• 6-8 fresh mint leaves, rough-chopped
• the juice of one orange, if you don't have an orange, a lemon (if you don't have fresh citrus, skip it)
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper
• small dried Tuscan chilis to crumble over your serving (or chili flakes)

Cook pasta for about a minute less than the box indicates in generously salted water.

Place remaining ingredients in a large serving bowl, toss together gently, then season to taste with salt and pepper. When pasta is cooked and drained, dump into the bowl and toss with the sauce. Serve at once. (Cheese is not served with this sauce.)

Here is the sauce hanging out, waiting for its pasta partner.

Pasta with wild coho salmon, peas, and dill

This is one of those recipes that has become a new classic. I often see it on menus at Italian restaurants and because I love salmon, it's hard for me to resist.  It couldn't be simpler to make at home, and best of all, it's a great way to use up leftover salmon and that last 1/3 of a bag of frozen peas that is cluttering up your freezer.

My recipe contains dill, and dill is one of those herbs that I never thought my children would like, but it turns out, they are as crazy about the stuff as I am.  Back before I had kids, I was an English (ESL) teacher, teaching English to students from other countries who wanted to take the TOEFL test to go to university here and for new U.S. immigrants. It was one of the best jobs I've ever had and one of the most enlightening experiences of my life.

Making fresh pasta: A tutorial

Welcome to the next post in my tutorial series: making fresh pasta.

If you can boil water, then you can make fresh pasta.  If you have a few essential tools—a food processor and a hand-crank or electric pasta machine—then it's super-duper easy. Those tools are helpful but aren't necessary. I've made pasta by rolling out the dough and cutting it with a knife.  It never comes out as thin as when I make it with my pasta machine, but that's okay.  It's still yummy.

The first thing you need to do when making fresh pasta is to make the dough. You can use AP flour or semolina, but I like to use this stuff:

Don't worry, this isn't the only picture. There are 24 more to go!

It's called "00" (double zero) flour and is sold in well-stocked Italian markets, gourmet shops, or online. I think it makes the pasta especially silky and light, but regular flour works fine, too. Once you have your flour of choice, get ready to make the dough. You'll need:

• 4 cups of "00" or unbleached AP flour (whatever you prefer)
• 6 eggs (+ up to 2 egg yolks if you want a richer, eggier pasta)
• a pinch or two of sea salt
• about a 1/2 tsp of olive oil
• room temp water (just in case you need it)

This recipe serves 6 hungry eaters, but make it all anyway, you can freeze the pasta once it's cut.

Tuna Casserole: Creamy goodness

creamy tuna casserole

Sometimes there's nothing like simple, basic childhood favorites. In my family we all tease my sister about her childhood roux obsession and how when she was a pre-teen she spent lot of hours at the stove making bechamel, casseroles, and cream puffs—anything that required a butter-flour paste.

I share her roux obsession and, even more, love béchamel (white) sauce. It's my casserole staple: pasta + béchamel +/- protein + cheese means you "can't hardly" miss making something gorgeous.

I eyeball my roux. Consult a recipe (I learned from Joy of Cooking) to learn the technique if you need, but I make it thusly:

• 1 stick butter (melt until foamy)
• 1/2 cup flour (add to butter, stir, cook several minutes to eliminate the raw flour taste)
• enough milk to make the sauce the consistency I want (anywhere from 2-4 cups)
• a grating of nutmeg (I used to go the clove-studded onion route, but I like nutmeg in my bechamel a little better)

When making tuna casserole, I saute onion and celery in the butter then add the flour and milk. Yes, the bechamel is lumpy because of the veggies, but in a casserole it doesn't matter. Then I combine the sauce with one can of olive-oil-packed Italian tuna and mix well. The tuna-embellished sauce is then combined with one box of cooked (very al dente) elbow macaroni (or other short pasta), and a couple of handfuls of frozen peas if I have them on hand. A grating of pecorino romano over the top is all I need, but you could do buttered breadcrumbs or a combination of buttered breadcrumbs and grated cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 350º (or until lightly browned on top) and dig in.

The recipe led my four-year-old to declare: "This is the most delicious pasta ever!"

[photo: Stefania Pomponi Butler]

Christmas Day Menu

Tonight my whole family will be cooking like crazy for tomorrow's Christmas lunch. My mom's side of the family takes turns hosting  "The Family Party" every year and this year it's our family's turn. We're cooking for about 50 people. Here's the menu. (I'll post pics and recipes soon.)

• Antipasti—salami, prosciutto, cappicolla, roasted red peppers, marinated mushrooms, olives, cheeses
• Seafood mousse
• Three pastas: farfalle with Italian tuna (in oil), capers, parsley, and lemon; penne with pesto alla siciliana; fresh (uncooked) tomato pasta with basil
• Eggplant caponata
• Fennel and blood orange salad
• Roast suckling pig
• Crusty bread
• Green salad made with Waimanalo (local) baby lettuces
• Panettone

LUNCH FOR A NEW MAMA

My friend Cafemama gave birth to her second boy a little over a month ago.  When we were first moving to Portland, I lurked on her blog(s) and then finally introduced myself by way of email when we moved.  We are just starting to get to know each other—it's hard to get together when we both have kids (and now she has a newborn)—but we try.  And she is surprisingly mobile for just having had a baby...she talks of jogging and berry picking and...I think I was catatonic for six months after having Wallie.  She is, in a word, amazing.

And because we really think she's groovy and because she just had a baby and just because...we are taking her this lunch today.  (Along with cake.  Nursing mamas need cake.)

PASTA WITH LEMONY TUNA SAUCE

If you have a microplane grater, it will come in handy to grate the lemon zest.  Try not to refrigerate this pasta.  It's better when left to hang at room temperature.

Put the pasta water on to boil and salt it like mutha.

• 1 pound of short pasta, any kind (fusilli, farfalle, penne, campanelle, etc.)
• zest of one lemon
• juice of same lemon (reserve one squeezed half)
• capers (pref. the ones packed in salt, rinsed and dried; or brined), about a teaspoon
• a handful of flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, chopped
• 1 6 oz can or jar of high quality solid Italian tuna in olive oil like Callipo, Flott, or Genova (I prefer the first two for price and qulity)
• 1/4 to 1/2 of a finely chopped onion (or omit completely)
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

When pasta is cooked to al dente, drain it and place it back into the cooking pot.  Immediately dump in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and capers.  Toss the pasta well.  Next add a glug or two of olive oil, mix it again, and then just let it hang out.

Open tuna and dump into a bowl, oil and all.  Take reserved, squeezed lemon half and squeeeeze several more drops of juice out of it directly onto the tuna.  (Now you can throw it away!)  Lightly flake tuna with a fork.  Add in a little more olive oil (one glug) and then put that—along with the chopped onion—onto the cooling pasta.  Adjust salt and pepper.  Stir well. 

It can remain like this for a good 2-3 hours, just mix it every so often.  When you are ready to serve it, transfer the pasta into a serving bowl (if you want.)  Add the parsley (and maybe another drizzle of olive oil) at the last moment.

COLD ARTICHOKES WITH HERB-Y VINAIGRETTE

First, cook two artichokes.  Chill them over night.

Halve them and remove the choke/thistley parts.  You should have a little "well: in each half.

Prepare the vinaigrette which is:

• 1 part balsamic vinegar (a splash)
• 3 parts oil (3 splashes)
• a few parsley leaves, chopped
• 2 basil leaves, cut into thin ribbons (chiffonade)
• a garlic clove roughly chopped

Spoon a little vinaigrette over each artichoke. Be sure to fill "the well."  Salt and pepper and serve.

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Just got back from our visit.  Cafemama looks beautiful and baby T. is a snuggly little peanut...and he smells sooooo good!