How to Make Carbonara, Simple, Easy, with Chef Billy Manzo

Simple, Easy, Carbonara with Chef Billy Manzo , Chef Billy says there are just a couple of ingredients: Sea Salt, Red Pepper, Egg Yolks, Penne Pasta, and Guanciale. He also uses fresh basil.

How to Make Homemade Pasta from Scratch

Making homemade pasta is easy, fun and very rewarding. Sure it takes a little time and effort, but the result is worth it. you to can make a great pasta with these easy follow directions. I've also included a how to video.

Enjoy!

Ingredients for the Easy Pasta Dough Recipe

•  2 3/4 Cups of flour (I recommend King Arthur Flour Flour White Bread, 5-pounds (Pack of 4). Bread flour is better for Pasta. All purpose will work) 
• 1 teaspoon of salt 
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil (Optional) 
• 1 teaspoon of salt 3 eggs at room temperature

 Directions

1.  In a bowl combine the flour and salt. Mix well with a fork until salt is well mixed.
2.  Mound flour on the counter. In separate bowl whisk 3 eggs. 
3. Add 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil (Optional) In the middle of the mound of flour make a hole or moat.
4. Pour in egg mixture and mix with flour until all egg mixture has been absorbed by the flour
5.  Knead for 8-10 minutes until dough is barely sticky to touch. This is a very tough dough to work with with, but keep kneading.
6.  If dough mixture is to dry, add a bit of water. If to wet add a bit of flour.
7.  After completely kneaded, form dough into a ball. Cover and allow to rest 20-30 minutes.
8.  Cut ball into quarters. Pinch end and run through pasta machine at least 4-5 times on each setting.
9. When desired thickness is reached, use specialized pasta cutter to form pasta.

 


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Aglio ed Olio: A Christmas Pasta

Every Christmas Eve, as we grew up, there was a huge meal of various seafood. This was a tradition was known in some households as the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Because we lived in New England, near the coast, fresh seafood was abundant.

Wilipedia explains: "The "Feast of the Seven Fishes" is said to have come from Southern Italy, but today is a completely Italian-American celebration.
A dinner on Christmas Eve is celebrated with meals of fish and seafood, but there may be seven, eight, or even nine specific fishes that are considered traditional.

 The most famous dish Southern Italians are known for is Baccalà (salted cod fish). Reasons for celebrating with such a simple fish as Baccalà is attributed to the greatly impoverished regions of Southern Italy.

 Fried Smelts, calamari, and other types of seafood have been incorporated into the Christmas Eve dinner over the years, and sensationalized with the American version of "The Seven Fishes.""

Our meals in New England consisted of several calamari dishes, smelts, and of course the dried cod known as Baccalà. Thrown in were clams and shrimp, as well as other local seafood, like fillet of sole (flunder).

I can still smell these fishes frying and being baked by my mom.

The following pasta dish was always a favorite. We never could pronounce it correctly, but we still love it!

Aglio ed Olio (Garlic and Oil)

Ingredients

• 3-4 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 3-4 Cloves of garlic
• 1-2 Cans of anchovies in oil
• 1 lb. of your favorite pasta
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. 
   
   Put olive oil in sauté pan over medium-low heat.
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Add minced garlic.
   
   
   
3. 
   
   Slowly cook garlic. (Be careful not to burn the garlic, as it will turn bitter. )
   
   
   
4. 
   
   Add anchovies and crumble with a fork. Set aside.
   
   
   
5. 
   
   Cook pasta in about 4 quarts of water. Add a dash of salt, pepper, and oil.
   (The oil seems to keep the pasta from sticking.)
   
   
   
6. 
   
   After the pasta is cooked, reserve about 11/2 cups of the pasta water. The pasta water is your liquid for the sauce. Drain pasta.
   
   
   
7. 
   
   Put the pasta water back in the sauce pan with the garlic, olive oil and anchovies. Reheat the mixture. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you.
   
   
   
8. 
   
   Toss the completed mixture with the pasta. Reserve a small amount for additional sauce.
   
   
   
   
   
   

Pizza on Earth, Good Will to All!

albert grande

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You can find some great olive oil, here:

Clams & Linguini (Pasta)

Discover the gentle taste of clams married with pasta... Without a doubt, fresh clams are the best! Use every bit of clam juice for a fantastic taste!

My dad's biggest adventure was going after mushrooms! But the mushroom season is short.

You can go clamming almost anytime...

Espo, my brothers and I love to go clamming! There is nothing in the world that compares to the taste of a fresh, raw "cherry stones" plucked out of the ocean! The smaller "cherry stones" are eaten raw, right out of the shell. (Add some lemon and cocktail sauce, and you are in heaven!)

The bigger clams (quahogs) are used for making clam fritters, baked stuffed clams or my favorite:

Clams and Liguini

Ingredients

1 lb. of cooked linguini (or your favorite pasta)
2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic minced (or more)
10-12 fresh shucked, clams (quahogs), or 1-2 cans of canned minced clams and "juice" (the liquid from the can).
1/2 Cup of white wine
1 Tablespoon fresh basil
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
salt, pepper, spices to taste

Directions
1. Add garlic and olive oil to a pan. Put on low heat. Add calms.
2. Cook over low heat for 5-6 minutes until clams are done. Add wine and spices.
3. Pour over cooked linguini.
4. For red sauce, add a cup of basic red sauce.
5. This dish tastes best with fresh clams. Make sure the clam shells are tightly closed when you purchase the clams. Refrigerate immediately!(If the clam shells are opened, they are not fresh. Do not use!) Shuck or steam the clams to open, then add clams and liquid to the sauce.
6. If you use fresh clams, save the shells for making baked, stuffed clams.

Tips: (includes how to open clams!)

If you are using fresh or canned clams, make sure you include the liquid. It is very tasty "clam juice!"You can also drink the juice, for a refreshing treat!(My dad would tell you: "Use the clam juice!That is the best part!")

Shucking clams can be difficult and dangerous, if you don't have a clam knife! (A clam knife is pictured below.) Be careful!

Tips:

• The traditional method of opening clams is to hold the clam in your hand and using a clam knife with pressure, open the clam from the front by sliding the clam knife between the two shells. When the the knife is at the hinge, twist the blade. You want to try to hold the clam horizontally so you don't spill the juice. In any event, always open clams over a bowl, to recover the precious juice!
  
• Try opening the clams from the back of the shell. Look for the rounded points at the back of the shell. Position the clam knife between these points. Twist the clam knife up and down, to pry open the shell. When you have separated the shells a little, slide the clam knife in between the shells and around to the front of the clam. Then using the traditional method, work the knife toward the "hinge" of the clam. Use a slight twisting as you move the knife. You want to try to sever the muscle that holds the clam together. You also want to save as much "juice as possible". Be careful, and be patient! It will take a little practice, but you will get it!
  
• If the clam is really tight, you may have to wait a while for it to "relax." If you will be cooking the clams, try the next tip for easy opening!
  
• Having a difficult time opening the clams?Put them in the freezer for 30-45 minutes. You will not only be able to save all of the juice but they will open right up for you!
  Try to use fresh parsley and fresh basil for a wonderful taste!
  

Clams Everywhere,

Albert Grande
Make Pasta, Be Happy

Here is my recommendation for cooking clams:

Pasta Sauce, Spaghetti Sauce and Gravy...

I can't tell you how many arguments we had around the kitchen table about spaghetti sauce.

Is it called sauce or is it called gravy?

Any way you slice it, it's all the same thing.

I watched my two Italian grandmothers make sauce (gravy) a number of times.
(Grandma Grande and Grandma Palmieri were both born in Italy and raised their familes in Providence Rhode Island))

I listed down the ingredients and then I asked them: how much of this ingredient or that ingrient do you use?

They both said the same thing: a little bit of this and a little bit of that...
After making gravy (sauce) for over 60 years, they really didn't know how much of any ingredient they put it...

I also watched my mom make her sauce. Sometimes she used whole tomatoes, sometimes she used tomato puree.

Here is my take on how to make red sauce:



Enjoy...

albert
Discover how to make pizza, pizza dough and much more
Learn to make pasta, eat pasta, love pasta...

Italian Food in the U.K.

Hey you gotta love those Brits. They are into everything including pizza and Italian Food. Recently I discovered the residents of Great Britain love any kind of Italian Food.

For example, Chef Dominico Crolla, of Glasgow, Scotland is a master of Italian cuisine. This guy is an extraordinary pizzaiolo. You can read about some of his exploits in this issue of Pizza News.

OK, so now I know residents of Great Britain have incredible resources to get all kinds of incredible Italian pasta, snacks, sausages and and all manner of everything Italian.

Now, you know too. Enjoy this fantastic video which includes a visual delight and adventure of Italian food products. This video made my mouth water. I got weak in the knees. Hey, it made me hungry!






I'll see you in pizzaland.

Check out my newest addition to our web family:

Italian Foods by albert Grande.

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