Precocious

In a process that is, no doubt, familiar to empty nesters everywhere, my parents have recently been culling their house of the memorabilia crap they have amassed over the last several decades. Much of it is destined for the land-fill, although they have plucked a few special items from the pile, saving some memories from certain oblivion.

One of their finds vividly brought back my first trip to Italy, which I took as a teenager with my family, quite nearly two decades ago. I remember lapping up every drop of Italy -- the sights, the sounds, and most of all, the food. Wanting to remember all of it, I endeavored to create a record of my meals, which my parents recently uncovered, inscribed carefully on a yellow legal-size writing pad, amid the tattered afghans and discarded tap shoes. And so I present, for your perusal, the journal of an inchoate food blogger:

Thursday
Lunch (34) - cheese ravioli
Dinner (La Fortuna) - antipasti, cheese ravioli, strawberries with gelato

Friday
Lunch (by the Vatican) - macaroni al pomodoro (very hot)
Snack - cannoli and orange tea
Dinner (Nino's) - macaroni al pomodoro (excellent sauce)

Saturday
Lunch (Cafe di Rienzo) - everything pizza
Dinner (La Fortuna) - antipasti, gnocchi al gorgonzola, strawberries with gelato

Sunday
Lunch (Cafe di Rienzo) - cannelonni (manicotti), strawberry gelato
Dinner (Alfredo's) - tortellini with cream sauce, chocolate / coffee cake

Monday
Lunch - none (chocolate gelati in Assisi)
Dinner (*La Fortezza*) - *cheese ravioli, beef steak, cream puffs with chocolate*

The list provides relatively little in the way of editorial comment, and it appears that my motivation petered out early, because I only recorded my meals for the first five days of what was a ten-day trip. But still, so much can be gleaned from the record of just those five days.

First, I was clearly a little obsessive, and ate the same dish twice in the same day on two different days. Certain items also made frequent appearances -- especially cheese and strawberries. Not to mention that we revisited two restaurants in that five-day span. Why mess with a good thing, I guess?

Speaking of cheese and strawberries, it seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Can't say I had bad taste, even at fourteen. And then there was the pasta. Obviously I was going to eat pasta aplenty while in Italy, but at every meal? It certainly does seem that my carb habit has been around for a while.

I also very clearly recall that, as evidenced by the many stars adorning that particular entry, the meal at La Fortezza in Assisi was one of the best I had ever had in my fourteen years. I can't tell you anymore what made it so wonderful, whether it was the food itself, the location, or the fact that I apparently had only eaten gelato for lunch, but it was outstanding, and I've never forgetten the place. Indeed, like many of the restaurants I've discovered while traveling -- the sushi place in Vancouver, the pho place in Saigon, the squid place in Boston, and the tapas place in Barcelona -- I'm quite certain that I could navigate my way back if I ever were in Assisi again. But, now, I'll be able to recognize it by name.

Wednesdays will never be the same

Oh my god, Frank Bruni is giving up his gig as the Times' restaurant reviewer. Sad day!

Fettucine with asparagus and walnut crema

I certainly enjoy a nice bunch of spring asparagus as much as the next girl, but I'm always looking for a new way to cook it. That's not to say that I don't enjoy asparagus simply roasted with olive oil, salt, and touch of lemon juice, but that preparation does get old after a while.

So I was thrilled to see Molly's recipe for asparagus with walnut crema, which sounded like a lovely variation on the asparagus theme. (Not to mention that it gave me the opportunity to use up some of that enormous bag of shelled walnuts I bought over the holidays.) I made the asparagus and crema for an Easter dinner for fifteen. Heeding Molly's advice that the recipe makes more crema than necessary for the prescribed amount of asparagus, I ended up doubling the amount of asparagus that Molly's recipe calls for (hey, we had fifteen people) but keeping the amount of crema the same. And STILL, I ended up with a good cup or so of crema leftover.

Not that I'm complaining, mind you. The crema was wonderfully nutty with a hint of cheesiness (which might also be said of more than a few of my acquaintances), and I had plenty of ideas for how I could repurpose that leftover crema.

Case on point: fettucine with asparagus and walnut crema.

I boiled up about a half pound of fettucine, blanched a bunch of trimmed and cut asparagus spears, and dressed the lot with a cup or so of the leftover crema, a bit of reserved pasta cooking water, cracked black pepper, and a healthy dose of grated romano cheese.

And thus, another variation on a theme.


Fettucine with Asparagus and Walnut Crema

Adapted from Orangette. This recipe makes half the crema as the original recipe, which should be plenty to dress a half pound of pasta, and you may still have some left over, depending on how saucy you like your pasta.

3/4 c. shelled walnuts
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil + a little more for sauteeing
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/4 c. grated pecorino romano + a little more for sprinkling
1/2 lb. fettucine
1 bunch asparagus (approx. 20 spears)
Cracked black pepper

First, make the crema. Blanch the walnuts in a pot of well-salted water for 10-12 minutes and drain, reserving a few tablespoons of the blanching water. Meanwhile, heat a little olive oil in a small skillet and saute the onion with a pinch of salt until soft. Combine the walnuts, reserved blanching water, and onions in a food processor and blend until smooth. With motor running, slowly add 1/4 cup of olive oil and continue processing until combined. If it's too thick, add a little water and blend. Add 1/4 cup of pecorino romano and blend just to combine. Taste and salt as necessary.

For the pasta, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add fettucine. About two minutes before the fettucine is al dente, add asparagus to the pot. Drain fettucine and asparagus, reserving a little pasta cooking water.

Combine fettucine, asparagus, crema, and cracked black pepper, moistening with a bit of pasta cooking water if necessary. Top with more grated pecorino romano.

Serves 2 generously.

Breakfast, indeed

Hors d'oeuvres are such wonderful excess. So rarely are they necessary to a meal, yet that little bite, the teaser, the taste of what's to come, is such an indulgent pleasure. How often, though, have you had the pleasure of a breakfast hors d'oeuvre? A piece of bread, perhaps, or some fruit, yes, but rarely a true hors d'oeuvre. For whatever reason, the humble breakfast meal does not seem to warrant the hors d'oeuvre treatment. "It's just breakfast," we think.

But thinking "it's just breakfast" actually does a grave disservice to breakfast. Breakfast -- especially those long, leisurely, weekend breakfasts full of pork fat and champagne cocktails and the Sunday crossword -- just begs for a simple hors d'oeuvre. Last week, while lounging around on a Sunday morning and finally granting our legs some mercy after the half-marathon, we decided a proper breakfast hors d'oeuvre would be just the thing.


I sliced a handful of French radishes from our CSA, sprinkled them with a touch of the Maldon sea salt I brought back from London (English salt is much cheaper in England, as it turns out), and served them with a dollop of Greek yogurt (full fat, no holding back here), to complete the tour d'Europe. This dish was wonderful, in no small part because each of the three ingredients were absolutely top notch -- with a preparation so simple, there's nowhere for a mediocre radish to hide. And although I could easily have used this combination of ingredients as the basis of something a little dressier, a little more citified, it made sense to keep it simple.

After all, it's just breakfast.