Italian Archive

  • I know, i know, I’ve been gone and didn’t even post this past week’s foodblog-a-round. Can I use the excuse that I was too busy stuffing my face with Singaporean / Malaysian specialities during a whirlwind trip to Singapore? I was and I’ll see if I can dig up any pics of that for later this week. In the meantime, we’ve been trying to get back to cooking more at home in the cJ household. Tonight we’re headed out to dinner (I <3 Camino) but I thought I’d throw in a quick bonus post on a lusciously lovely pasta we...

    Vodka-Shocked Mushrooms with Parmagiano Reggiano Pappardelle

    Posted on 2010.04.25 | 1 Comment
    I know, i know, I’ve been gone and didn’t even post this past week’s foodblog-a-round. Can I use the excuse that I was too busy stuffing my face with Singaporean / Malaysian specialities during a whirlwind trip to Singapore? I was and I’ll see if I can dig up any pics of that for later this week. In the meantime, we’ve been trying to get back to cooking more at home in the cJ household. Tonight we’re headed out to dinner (I <3 Camino) but I thought I’d throw in a quick bonus post on a lusciously lovely pasta we...

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  • Here we go, continuing our quest to cook our way through Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Express with Winter recipe #89. The colors are really beautiful, and the combination of the beans, the meat and the toothsome pasta give it some heft as well. Not to mention the addition of the greens, which pretty much means nearly all the food groups are included. Multiple sources of protein and the potential to include whole grains? Healthy, tasty, and fast? (Don’t lecture me on whether the Italian sausage is healthy… substitute your sausage of choice, chicken or even fake sausage, as long as it’s...

    Pasta with Garbanzo Beans, Sausage and Greens

    Posted on 2010.03.10 | 2 Comments
    Here we go, continuing our quest to cook our way through Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Express with Winter recipe #89. The colors are really beautiful, and the combination of the beans, the meat and the toothsome pasta give it some heft as well. Not to mention the addition of the greens, which pretty much means nearly all the food groups are included. Multiple sources of protein and the potential to include whole grains? Healthy, tasty, and fast? (Don’t lecture me on whether the Italian sausage is healthy… substitute your sausage of choice, chicken or even fake sausage, as long as it’s...

    Continue Reading...

  • On Sunday it was rainy and dreary and we just didn't feel like heading out for lunch. All the fresh ingredients in the house were destined for other meals this week. So I decided to put my "semi-homemade" hat on and see what I could whip up just from what was in the pantry. The result was farro spaghetti tossed in brown-butter-sage-butter-fried white beans and butternut squash sauce. It was luscious, rich and hearty… with a touch of sweetness from the squash, and nuttiness from the brown butter. Actually, it tasted sort of like inside-out butternut squash ravioli. Yum. Quick...

    From the cJ Pantry: Butternut Squash Brown Butter Sage Love

    Posted on 2010.01.24 | No Comments
    On Sunday it was rainy and dreary and we just didn't feel like heading out for lunch. All the fresh ingredients in the house were destined for other meals this week. So I decided to put my "semi-homemade" hat on and see what I could whip up just from what was in the pantry. The result was farro spaghetti tossed in brown-butter-sage-butter-fried white beans and butternut squash sauce. It was luscious, rich and hearty… with a touch of sweetness from the squash, and nuttiness from the brown butter. Actually, it tasted sort of like inside-out butternut squash ravioli. Yum. Quick...

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  • On our anniversary this year we had dinner @ Pizzaiolo in Oakland – our first visit after I heard lots about them. We actually really like that neighborhood, which also has the great yarn store Article Pract, Dona Tomas, etc. I’ve been teasing Gus that we should have bought a house over in Oakland since so many of our favorites seem to be over there (e.g., Camino, Dona, adesso, Wood Tavern). And Pizzaiolo did not disappoint – serving up the kind of daily menu and fresh ingredients we love. We will go again soon. Just look at the crust on...

    Pizzaiolo

    Posted on 2009.09.05 | No Comments
    On our anniversary this year we had dinner @ Pizzaiolo in Oakland – our first visit after I heard lots about them. We actually really like that neighborhood, which also has the great yarn store Article Pract, Dona Tomas, etc. I’ve been teasing Gus that we should have bought a house over in Oakland since so many of our favorites seem to be over there (e.g., Camino, Dona, adesso, Wood Tavern). And Pizzaiolo did not disappoint – serving up the kind of daily menu and fresh ingredients we love. We will go again soon. Just look at the crust on...

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  • Early dinner tonight at Corso (skipped lunch). The Bellini al Corso was great, quite sweet though, so avoid if sweet is not your thing. Mozzarella burrata was creamy — the filling was different than I expected, not the best I have ever had, but went well with the pinenuts and oil on the plate. The t-bone steak (they didn't have the fried rabbit, which is what I was dying for) was expensive, large, and overcooked. Menu said medium rare, but it was definitely more like medium or even medium well except for close to the bone where it was ok....

    Quickie review of Corso

    Posted on 2009.06.09 | No Comments
    Early dinner tonight at Corso (skipped lunch). The Bellini al Corso was great, quite sweet though, so avoid if sweet is not your thing. Mozzarella burrata was creamy — the filling was different than I expected, not the best I have ever had, but went well with the pinenuts and oil on the plate. The t-bone steak (they didn't have the fried rabbit, which is what I was dying for) was expensive, large, and overcooked. Menu said medium rare, but it was definitely more like medium or even medium well except for close to the bone where it was ok....

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