Nov 252013
 
Puritans and Pasta? A Fanciful Riff on the First Thanksgiving

Who thinks Italians invented the first Thanksgiving dish? Calvin Trillin, that’s who. Read all about it in my latest article for Zester Daily, “How Pilgrims Almost Ruined Spaghetti alla Carbonara,” and while you’re there, find the original and genuine recipe for one of Italy’s most wildly popular (and simplest) pasta dishes of all, spaghetti alla carbonara. You can serve it as a first course – like the Romans do. Or if you aren’t a turkey fan, you can make it your Thanksgiving centerpiece. If not, make it any old time. Continue reading here…    

Jun 102011
 
On the Road with Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Photo by Nathan Hoyt At a recent cooking class at the Silo, the cooking school on Ruth and Skitch Henderson’s old estate in New Milford, CT, I decided to demonstrate one of the quickest and easiest pasta dishes of the Italian kitchen: spaghetti alla carbonara. Call it Italy’s version of bacon and eggs if you will–with pasta added. No question that it’s sturdy fare for cool weather, but it’s also a fast summer fix for lunch or dinner–I first ate it as a young girl on a sizzling August day in a trattoria along the Amalfi coast. Outside of Italy, this […more…]