Specifically, I watch PBS's Create! channel. And I love it. Mostly. Bob Villa, I could take or leave.
Create! programming involves a ton of cooking shows. And as someone who would gladly sit in front of the tv languorously absorbing Food Network all day, I am so pleased to have these cooking shows from PBS (the rest of Create! is rather silly, IMHO, although I do enjoy cracking jokes to myself at the expense of some of the hosts).
Anyway, one of the shows is called Lidia's Italy, hosted by Lidia Bastianich. Her food is so easy to make at home. And somehow I feel like making it fulfills the Italian side of me (my Dad's side) that wants to make big Sunday dinners and encourage people to make babies.
Last weekend, I watched her make a delicious-looking recipe. Now, normally, I just go grab the recipe details from her website. But for some reason, this recipe isn't there. Horrors!
So, I'm going to try to recreate (no pun intended) it without a recipe. I haven't done it yet, but when I do, I'll be sure to write. Let me give you an ingredient list.
Fresh, homemade pasta
Pancetta
Cannellini beans
Tomato paste
Olive Oil
Parmesan cheese
Celery
Nothing with such simple and wonderful ingredients could taste bad. I think.
If you've been a reader of mine for any length of time, you know I shy away from celery. This is because I find the texture of raw celery incredibly offensive. Because I'm crazy. However, this celery is diced very finely and cooked. So I'm hoping it will be like when I put celery into a gumbo - where it cooks to a point that you can't even tell it's there, texture-wise.
Results to follow. Wish me luck.
And as is becoming my normal sign off, please vote for my brother's essay about cooking well on Anthony Bourdain's website.
6 comments:
I have no idea who you are, but I ended up here because after watching that episode the other day, I too searched for the recipe and couldn't find it! I took notes...and plan to make it tonight. Let me know how yours turns out!
Didn't it look wonderful? You let me know how yours goes, too!
Like you I saw Lydia's show and looked everywhere for the recipe, to no avail. I think the recipe or close to it is in her cookbook "Lydia Cooks from the Heart of Italy." If you go to the Amazon website it lets you look at the index of that book and sure enough once I found "beans" that section contains a listing for the beans/fresh pasta/bacon. But on the show I think she used a grana not parmesan (or are they the same? I don't think grana is aged as much as parmesan but not an expert (yet!) in Italian cheeses. Anyway I'm going to get the book or at least sneak a peek at the local big box bookstore and see if I can quickly memorize the recipe. There is another website that has transcripts of her shows, I read the transcript and while it is a big helpful there's a lot more "mmmmmm YUMMMM" going on than actual detailed instruction. My reaction to that episode was similarly "mmmmmmm YUMMMM" so can't say as I blame her...she's really fun to watch!
Yes, I've really got to just get to the store and purchase her cookbook. I hope you're able to memorize it!
And, now here it is January 23 and I just tuned in time to see the tail end of this episode and after seeing the delicious outcome of her fresh pasta and beans went looking for the recipe. So far no luck! And I didn't even get to hear a list of ingredients, but I think there must have been chopped carrots in addition to the celery cause when she was stirring it, I saw orange colored bits and the carrots would be what carmelizes - I don't think celery would. Don't understand why this recipe isn't posted - most any other Create recipe I've gone in search of, I've found...
And, Catherine Ann, I got a hoot of your comment about cracking jokes at the host/hostesses expense - I tend to do a lot of that when I'm watching the shows (except for the cooking ones - with those, if I vocalize, it's mostly to agree or say "hmmm, I don't about THAT!"
Nice meeting you. :)
Post a Comment