Monday, February 8, 2010

Like pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

The last two evenings I've spent concocting in my kitchen. Following my tummy and my nose for twists on comfort food, all the while trying too keep it on the fresh and healthy side. On Saturday night, after having watched Lidia Bastianich make a bolognese that could probably get me on a flight to bologna, I was craving pasta and meat sauce. And really, in life, few things satisfy quicker than a good meat sauce.

I started with frozen Kobe beef (is there any place else to start?) which is far too expensive to make in to sauce, but when you know the butcher, these things become inconsequential. In a sauce pan coated lightly with olive oil (if it were a Cartier beef you could skip the oil) and I lightly browned the meat, watching it sizzle and crumble. My nose then led me to the garlic, so I sliced some thinly and added it to the pan. Beef and garlic are a combination created by the gods, an aroma so powerful your salivary glands lose all restraint. Your tongue succumbs to the longing to taste, and you stomach cries out in hollow churns. I added some dived canned tomatoes, tomato paste, fresh bay leaves, peas, a dash of oregano, a pinch of dried parsely, salt and pepper and suddenly there was sauce. A sauce I couldn't stop eating straight from the pan.



I decided to go with medium size shells for pasta.



The sauce needed some that could embrace the bits id beef and peas, grasp it up in its arms and trap it inside. It was a perfect marriage, I had created deconstructed stuffed shells. Like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. That's how I feel every time I walk into the kitchen. I don't quit know where I'm going or what will happen at then end of the journey, but I always know how to get there.

My apologies for an abandoned post

Sorry to have cut the last post short, particularly at what some might say is the most important part. The dessert was an apple tart. Ever so slightly and delightfully sweetened. A sweet ending to a sweet evening.