The Green and White

Made the Green and White tonight in Iowa City!  From Roberta's in Brooklyn.  Sam Sifton shared the recipe in the New York Times.  Check out the recipe and video.  Really good!

Mother of All Pasta Sauces

We love this pasta sauce recipe. We use it on this scratch fettuccine, but also on gnocchi and even good noodles from a box

Fettuccine with Cherry Tomatoes, Parmesan and Basil Recipe adapted from Chef Enzo Febbraro

INGREDIENTS
Pasta
1 pound all-purpose flour, plus more as needed ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more for the pasta water
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Sauce
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
 2 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
¾ pound (about 1 pint) cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
18 fresh basil leaves, cut into ⅓-inch thick slices
About 1 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the pasta: Place the flour on a work surface and shape it into a mound. Sprinkle with salt and make a wide well in the center. Add the eggs and oil to the well and beat them with your fingers or a fork until combined. Gradually pull small amounts of flour from the inside walls of the well into the egg mixture and mix until a stiff dough forms. Knead the dough, adding more flour if needed to prevent it from sticking. Let the dough rest, covered with a damp cloth, for 30 minutes.

2. Cut the dough into thirds, shape into a circle, and flatten each piece with your hands. On a floured surface, roll the dough until very thin, about 1 mm, flipping it over as you roll and flouring as needed. Fold the pasta round in half from top to bottom and then fold in half again from top to bottom. Cut the rectangle crosswise into ¼-inch-thick ribbons. Unroll the ribbons and toss with flour. Spread on a floured parchment sheet and let dry for 30 minutes.

 3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. It should taste salty like the ocean.

4. Prepare the sauce: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sauté, without coloring, until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Immediately add the tomatoes; season generously with salt and pepper and sauté to extract some of the juices and soften the tomatoes. Remove from the heat until the pasta is cooked.

5. Add half of the pasta to the boiling salted water (refrigerate the other half to use later) and cook until al dente, about 4 minutes.

6. Pull the pasta from the pot and drop it directly into the sauce. Set the sauce over medium heat and add a little pasta cooking liquid to loosen it. Stir in the basil, Parmesan and more pasta cooking liquid to create a saucy consistency.

Serve with more grated Parmesan.

Sugar in the City

Sugar

Sugar in the city. Sitting at a Chicago dog park wondering when her friends will arrive. She is also waiting for warmer weather.

Summer Memories

Rufus, Roses and Sunshine!

Rosenthal Magic Flute Mini Vase

Rosenthal Magic Flute Mini Vase

This diminutive vase caught our eye in the recent issue of Town & Country magazine.  And we were surprised by the listed price - only $35!   Mind you it is only 4 1/2" high.   But that's part of what we like about it.   Perfect to hold a bloom on the vanity in our bathroom. 

We were even more surprised to find it on sale at Lord & Taylor for $14!  Every other store had it listed at $35 including Bloomingdales and Bergdorf Goodman.  And then we found a promotional code (WINTER) that gave us an additional 20 percent off.   Bringing the price down to around $11.

So we ordered 8 thinking they will make great gifts.   Or, perhaps, perfect for a dinner party for 8.  One vase at each place setting holding a single flower.  Perhaps we should buy in bulk and resell on ebay!   Our boat has come in and we are ready, so ready, to sail!

To get one, or more, for yourself visit the Lord and Taylor website.   And don't forget to enter the promo code during checkout.

Haters Gonna Hate

We're excited!  The new season of Downton Abbey starts tomorrow night.

We visited the Shop PBS website and found a number of their Downton Abbey t-shirts are on sale for $9.99 (regularly $25.00).  We then searched around and found a promotional code (CROSS25) that gave us an additional 25 percent off.  So they ended up being about $7.50.   Unable to pass up a good sale, we ordered 4 different ones and got free shipping.

Our favorite is Haters Gonna Hate featuring the villains everyone loves to hate--Thomas and O'Brien. A must-have for any Downton Abbey fan.

Tune in tomorrow for the start of season 4.

Happy Holidays and... A Festive Drink Recipe

Yes, it is that time of year again.  Time for a good, stiff festive drink!

We found what looked to be an interesting recipe.   And with the help of Brother Kent and GamGam we found all the ingredients.  We used Templeton Rye.  The VERY BEST rye whiskey, in our opinion, and it's produced right here in Iowa.  But, alas, we couldn't find any of the other exotic ingredients in our home state.   That's where Brother Kent and GamGam come in.   Brother Kent picked up the St. Elizabeth's Allspice Dram at the Village Bottle Shoppe in Lafayette, Indiana and the Punt e Mes vermouth at Lambrecht's Liquors in St. Joseph, Michigan.  GamGam found the root-beer liqueur produced by Art in the Age at Tiffany's Wine and Spirit Shoppe in Kalamazoo, Michigan.   

When it was time to mix, GamGam taught us how to create a twist of orange.  What fun!  How festive!

 

Instead of making cocktails one at a time, borrowing a mixology trend, we prepared them in batches and served with flair.

Most of us agreed we liked this strange brew, a spiced wintery cocktail.  Even GamGam who after a few declared, "it tastes like a dental office smells."  So, naturally, we christened our holiday drink The Root Canal.

The Root Canal

12 ounces bonded rye

12 ounces Punt e Mes vermouth

3 ounces root-beer liqueur (preferably Art in the Age Root) 

1 1/2 ounces allspice liqueur (preferably St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram) 

24 ounces water

Combine the ingredients in a pitcher and stir well. Chill for at least 4 hours, until very cold. Serve on the rocks with orange twists.