When life gets hectic and stressful (and believe me, it does even for a zen chef), there are a few things that i found to be therapeutic and they include doing the dishes, baking and making pasta from scratch. Everything else related to cooking i classify under ‘work’. And there’s plenty of work these days [...]
Life is full of priorities so this will be a quick post. Why? You see that egg yolk… well it’s one of those priorities i’m talking about. That egg yolk needs the heat from the pasta to evenly coat it, along with the parmesan, in order to create a luxurious finish and mouth feel. So [...]
Cannelloni (also known as Manicotti) are often associated with comfort food and usually served under a layer of bechamel or tomato sauce. While i have nothing against that, i hate to bury this great looking pasta under a ton of sauce, especially this time of the year. Today i decided to give it a little [...]
Do i need to begin this post with a disclaimer? Something that goes: “People who have a problem with foie-gras can kiss my.. err.. donkey”. No, no, no… let’s not do that. Growing up in southwestern France i witnessed how the geese are raised and i could talk to you at length about it but i’m afraid [...]
This recipe for Salmon Spaghetti “Carbonara” belongs to your ‘sexy food’ folder and it goes without saying you should have some nice company along with a glass (or three) of chilled Champagne to go with it. The idea here is to replace the requisite guanciale, cured pork jowl, with smoked salmon. I had a piece of olive-oil [...]
Bucatini all’ Amatriciana is one of those quick pasta dishes that draws raves from unexpecting guests. Guanciale, the pig’s jowl bacon, is the star of the show here and one of the rare foods that makes you burn the calories before you actually eat it – chances are you’ll have to trek across town just [...]
I hope you didn’t have to put sunglasses on when opening this page. In an attempt to hide my lousy photographic skills i’ve been adjusting the brightness/color levels of my pictures. That’s something that i never done before. While it helped improve the overall quality of my pictures, it also exposed my tendency to get carried away. [...]
Those gnudi bastards gave me a bit of a headache to say the least. I had them for the first time at The Spotted Pig in New York City a few years ago and it was a revelation. Imagine a gnocchi with the light and pillowy texture of ricotta. There’s no flour, no potato, no [...]
I don’t speak squid but if i did, i would have heard them squeak. The poor things didn’t even stand a chance in front of my voracious appetite, nothing ever does. Did you notice the freaky little legs sticking out? It was an attempt to run away from me but it was hopeless. I turn [...]
This recipe is sooo off the heezy and redonkulously badass that i’m giving it the Zen four stars rating. Yup! That squash ravioli’s the shiznit, mon’! I started writing this post full of noble intentions: ” Today, i shall convince my beloved readers they NEED a pasta machine! “ That’s before i realized it was [...]
