Here we are, at the end of another day; the last day of Carnival somewhere but here, the day of sleepiness. :p Carnival finished yesterday night and today the mood in the city was very relaxed, quiet, melancholic… Well… I am not such a big fun of the Carnival as it is declined here in Bonn; but it is nice to see people having fun (as long as you don’t have to pick up all the barrels of beers emptied every day).
What did I have for dinner tonight? Yesterday, before falling to sleep, I realized that it was quite long time I did not cook Italian “cotolette” (breaded and fried slices of beef) but, naturally, I forgot about them again this evening only for being reminded by my mother (they were also having cotolette for dinner, what a coincidence!); I was already planning of cooking myself some pasta in tuna sauce. This time I wanted to try some creamy tuna sauce. So here you are the results (sorry, no picture today… just forgot about it :P)
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24 Feb 2009
21 Feb 2009
Tonight's Dinner – Penne rigate with Pork Belly in Spicy Tomato sauce
Here we go! Just finished dinner :) Tonight I had a quintessential Sicilian pasta!
How to proceed if you wish to try this at home? Nothing more simple.
Have a nice piece of pork belly in your fridge (my piece had bones and weighted roughly 300g), cut it in thick slices (removing first the bones if there are any, but do not throw them away!!). Take away the skin from the meat and put it with the bones in a hot pan to roast for a while.
While skin and bones are browning, cut the meat in chunks and add them to the pan. Sear well the meat and add some olive oil. Add then 1/2 teaspoon of red chilli flakes (depends how spicy you want your sauce) and stir. Skin and chop a few garlic cloves (more or less 1 per person) and add to the meat. Be careful not to burn the garlic, the oil in pan is fairly hot, so stir the mixture carefully.
After a few minutes add some tomato purée (250ml for 2 people) and the same amount of water. Lower the heat, cover and let reduce. In the meantime boil some salted water for the pasta (I always taste my water to judge how much salt I need). When ready, cook the penne.
How to proceed if you wish to try this at home? Nothing more simple.
Have a nice piece of pork belly in your fridge (my piece had bones and weighted roughly 300g), cut it in thick slices (removing first the bones if there are any, but do not throw them away!!). Take away the skin from the meat and put it with the bones in a hot pan to roast for a while.
While skin and bones are browning, cut the meat in chunks and add them to the pan. Sear well the meat and add some olive oil. Add then 1/2 teaspoon of red chilli flakes (depends how spicy you want your sauce) and stir. Skin and chop a few garlic cloves (more or less 1 per person) and add to the meat. Be careful not to burn the garlic, the oil in pan is fairly hot, so stir the mixture carefully.
After a few minutes add some tomato purée (250ml for 2 people) and the same amount of water. Lower the heat, cover and let reduce. In the meantime boil some salted water for the pasta (I always taste my water to judge how much salt I need). When ready, cook the penne.
20 Feb 2009
Tonight's Dinner – Duck Panzerotti with Juniper Hazelnut-Butter and Bitter Almonds
Yesterday, a very good friend of mine gave me a few fresh Panzerotti pasta filled with duck. What’s best for tonight’s dinner! I had to cook them.
I decided to use Bitter Almonds and Hazelnut-Butter, I had only to figure out how these things were going to work together.
Time to start cooking! :D
Once put the salted water for the pasta to boil, I started browning a nice chunk of butter over low heat.
In a small saucepan, the butter started melting, the milk solid create an opaque white mass that floats inside the clear yellow liquor. Foam starts forming, the smell becomes warmer and more complex and slowly the whole turns a nice hazelnut color. When the temperature reaches 145deg C the hazelnut butter is ready!
I decided to use Bitter Almonds and Hazelnut-Butter, I had only to figure out how these things were going to work together.
Time to start cooking! :D
Once put the salted water for the pasta to boil, I started browning a nice chunk of butter over low heat.
In a small saucepan, the butter started melting, the milk solid create an opaque white mass that floats inside the clear yellow liquor. Foam starts forming, the smell becomes warmer and more complex and slowly the whole turns a nice hazelnut color. When the temperature reaches 145deg C the hazelnut butter is ready!
18 Feb 2009
Trip to Paris (Jan09)
It's been already almost a month since I've returned from my last trip to Paris (I guess you are going to hear me talking quite often about this wonderful city, I simply adore it!!); this time the trip was for professional reasons.
A friend of mine and I went for the Molecular Gastronomy course held by Prof. Hervè This at the AgroParisTech but here I will concentrate on the fun side of the trip: the meals!!!.
1st day – Friday
After a nice long walk of roughly 4 hours, we were ready to taste some good Parisian food.
While walking through the Quartier Latin admiring the showcases of the antiques shops, we remembered having spotted a very nice Vietnamese restaurant in the same neighbourhood during our last trip (the Parisian White Night of 2008; a great night!). It took us a while to find it again but once there, we realized how impossible it was to miss it. It is the the “Pho 67” just behind the nice small church of St Julien le Pauvre overlooking Notre Dame.
A friend of mine and I went for the Molecular Gastronomy course held by Prof. Hervè This at the AgroParisTech but here I will concentrate on the fun side of the trip: the meals!!!.
1st day – Friday
After a nice long walk of roughly 4 hours, we were ready to taste some good Parisian food.
While walking through the Quartier Latin admiring the showcases of the antiques shops, we remembered having spotted a very nice Vietnamese restaurant in the same neighbourhood during our last trip (the Parisian White Night of 2008; a great night!). It took us a while to find it again but once there, we realized how impossible it was to miss it. It is the the “Pho 67” just behind the nice small church of St Julien le Pauvre overlooking Notre Dame.
6 Feb 2009
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