Archive for January, 2014

Broccoli with Homemade Cavatelli and Crudo Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Posted January 19, 2014 By Adri

This dish is simple, unfussy, and flexible. Maybe that is one reason why it is so good. Vibrant green broccoli and toothsome pasta are tossed with toasted pine nuts, peperoncino flakes, Parmigiano, and warm garlic-scented olive oil. And what oil this is. When I decided to write this article, it was going to be about how to make a simple dinner and the traditional pasta corta (short pasta) known as cavatelli, but once I tasted a spoonful of the Crudo Extra Virgin olive oil, my perspective shifted, and the dish ran away with the spoon. Read more… »

84 Comments so far. Join the Conversation

Adri posted on February 16, 2014
Hello you two! Ooh, sausage sounds great to me! Thanks for stopping by, and buona domenica!
Cara and Stefano posted on February 16, 2014
This looks wonderful, and I love the addition of pinoli! I might be tempted to add some sausage...
Adri posted on February 11, 2014
Hi Karen, Oh my! I have been so touched by the family memories this one evokes. Thanks for sharing yours!
Karen (Back Road Journal) posted on February 11, 2014
My sweet mother-in-law used to make this dish. I haven't had it since she passed away. Thank you for bringing…
Adri posted on February 6, 2014
Hi Andrea, Thanks for the kind words. I have to say, though, that with all of your baking skills and…

Filed in Recipes, Tools | Tagged: 00 flour, Artisanal Pasta Tools, cavatelli, Crudo Extra Virgin Olive oil, hand-cranked cavatelli maker, homemade cavatelli, Olio2go, Puglia, Schiralli, semola rimacinata, Terry Mirri

Pears Poached in Passito with Mugolio Cream

Posted January 5, 2014 By Adri

Their gentle sway, the round bottom that nestles in my hand, the succulent flesh of a perfectly ripe Comice – I love pears. Succulent and sexy, whether roasted in cream and sugar, baked into a tart or cake, transformed on the stove top into Pear Vanilla Butter, or eaten out of hand, pears are one of the gustatory delights of Winter.

I have a vivid recollection of my first taste of poached pears. Bosc pears, firm and tall with their stems intact, had been peeled and gently poached in sweetened, spiced Port wine. Their flesh yielding to a paring knife, the hostess lifted them from the garnet liquid and placed them in a pool of thick Creme Anglaise. She increased the flame under the poaching liquid and reduced it to a syrup. She dotted the Creme Anglaise with the syrup and deftly ran a paring knife through the dots, connecting them in an elephant walk chain made of linked hearts. A beautiful dessert took shape before my eyes, and I was transfixed. It changed the way I thought about food, and certainly how I thought about pears. It was one of those moments one never forgets, and although the word may be overused, it was a revelation.

Adri Barr Crocetti