September 22, 2009
I finally got my mother to part with the remainder of the pancetta we made. Of course, I had to promise to make her dinner in return for her parting with the divine piece of pork.
Next month we’re going to Rome for a week . So, in honor of our upcoming trip, here’s my best attempt at a recreation of my favorite pasta of the trip, trofe e cicoria e guanciale. Technically, guanciale is bacon made from a pig’s cheek, but pancetta is close enough.
This pasta is a great addition to the Easy Tuesday Dinner series because it’s done in the time it takes to cook the pasta (about 10 minutes). It’s even faster if you buy your pancetta diced and cheese already shaved/grated.
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August 24, 2009

My very first job in a restaurant kitchen was as the pastry chef for a small mom-and-pop Italian restaurant. How I got that job with no experience is a story for another day. But after working there for about 6 months, I moved to working on the hot line part time. One of my responsibilities was to make the batches of eggplant parmesan and lasagna. I loathed doing the eggplant because this meant I had to stand over a scalding rondo pan of hot oil and fry rounds of eggplant for what felt like days.
Later, when I was a head chef in another resaurant and would somehow end up with an extra case of eggplant, I never forgot how much I hated all that frying and came up with a much healthier version of the dish, grilling the eggplant instead.
I haven’t made this for over a decade, but lately it’s been on my mind,…
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