Gastronomie

Giving Thanks for Urban Families

This week, I am undertaking what feels to me like a daunting,  yet wholly invigorating, challenge:  I'm  playing host to 12 people for Thanksgiving.

As readers of this blog know, it's been a whirlwind of a year for me, from heartbreak to recovery, new experiences, new puppies, and lifelong love.

Through it all, my urban sisters have been here for me. They've lifted me up, and they've lovingly fed me the bitter pill of reality when that's what I've needed. These are amazing women, people. Seriously.

So you can understand how magnificent is the opportunity (and the honor) to spend Thanksgiving with them. One of them is bringing her mother, someone I've longed to meet ever since I first heard about her. Another is bringing a precious new bundle, along with the bundle's grandparents, aunt and uncle.

The Willie Bird is being picked up tomorrow, as is the Fatted Calf Cider-Brined Ham. Nannie's Party Potatoes are making their annual appearance, along with another of Colin's family traditions: Macaroni & Cheese.

The ladies are bringing everything else -- Cat wrote up the rest of the menu here. Read it only with something to catch the drool -- you've been fairly warned.

So it's with a wide smile that I wish each of you a Happy Thanksgiving! It's been a good year for us here, and I hope it has been for you, too.

Go forth, eat well, and enjoy your turkey coma!

Tags: Food, Wine, Food & Drink, San Francisco, Oakland, Thanksgiving, Friends, 2007

Pasta Cacio e Pepe

Last Friday, Colin and I had dinner with my girl and her boy at her second home, Delfina. Just before I left for Italy, though, she said to me, "I don't think you're going to want to LOOK at Italian food for a while after you get back -- are you SURE you want to go to Delfina?"

Little did she know that, when I get back from a vacation, ALL I want to eat is the food from the places I've just been. It's a way for me to transition slowly back into the real world, as opposed to flinging myself in headfirst -- an approach which has been known to cause blinding headaches, go figure.

Plus, because I had taken this trip without C, there was a part of me that was happiest telling him all my stories over salumi and pasta, Brunello and Sangiovese. I guess it made it feel a little more... real.

So, the second night I was back, after dragging him all over town buying good Pecorino, and olio nuovo, I cooked us a very traditional Roman dish -- Cacio e Pepe. It's outstanding with a fairly simple Chianti Classico (we actually had a Rosso Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, which picked up the pepper notes nicely).

Pasta Cacio e Pepe (Pecorino & Pepper Pasta)

• 1lb broad pasta (calamarata, farfalle, papardelle)*
• 2 T cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
• 1 c. Pecorino Romano, freshly grated + more for garnish
• 2 T freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 t freshly ground white pepper

1. Cook the pasta per the instructions in very well-salted water, leaving just the other side of al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of cooking water
2. Drain the pasta, return to the pasta pot, and toss gently with the olive oil.
3. Add in the cheese and pepper, stirring to coat; add cooking water back in as needed so that the "sauce" coats the pasta.

That's it. It's an incredibly simple, incredibly satisfying dish which is totally dependent on the quality of the ingredients. So make sure that cheese is freshly grated, and if you can find fresh egg pasta, all the better. And don't even bother trying to make this with ground pepper out of a tin -- it absolutely MUST be fresh-ground.

*Some recipes I've seen suggest spaghetti or linguine for this dish, but I was served it with pappardelle, and I think the greater surface area of these pastas and "meatier" texture is more pleasant.

Falling a Little Bit in Love with Florence

Rome? It was awe-inspiring, the way things that are 3,000 years old can be. And it was beautiful in its own ancient way. And Romans? Well, they're just beautiful, and beautifully put-together.

But Firenze... well, that's just another world entirely. Just as we refer to someone with myriad talents as a "Renaissance man/woman", so is Florence a Renaissance city. THE Renaissance city, if you will.

She is by turns religious and pagan, a dichotomy of broad brush strokes and fine pencil etchings, she's the San Francisco to Rome's New York -  a little more out there, but still refined.

I loved Florence. Can you tell?

So. Let's move on to the food, shall we?