aj12754's Reviews
4 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 4Sort by: Title 
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Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen
By Lidia Matticchio Bastianich
Knopf - 2001
Brussels Sprouts Braised with Vinegar : page 337
This was fine although not sure I'd make it again unless I had smaller sprouts ... the ones I had were larger and slightly bitter which wasn't a great fit with the vinegar. Super easy to make though.
Also, I was ball-parking the proportions on the recipe since I was cooking for two rather than six.
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I wonder a bit if this is a case of my rating being ticked up a notch by the fact that this was tastier than I was expecting. Another of those days when I stayed at my desk later than expected and I was looking for a pantry meal using ingredients already on hand. I wasn't really expecting much --- cavatelli not my favorite pasta, cauliflower can be a little bland, just a pinch of red pepper flakes and some chopped parsley to pump up the flavor. Still ... there was pancetta ... and this turned out to be a very satisfying bowl of pasta.
As might be expected from Lidia, the cavatelli is the perfect pasta shape for this dish in which cauliflower is cut into small florets and the pancetta into small batons. It even turned out to be more appealing from a presentation point of view than I was expecting.
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Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Sauce : page 175
I made the sauce first, then put the first bag of gnocchetti (mini-gnocchi) in the boiling water, done in about 2 minutes and plopped into the sauce, then put some Swiss Chard in the water for about 30-45 seconds, fished it out and into the sauce, and then finished up the 2nd bag of gnochetti and about 3 minutes later dinner was on the table. The sauce was so simple and so good and the entire meal (served with a side salad of arugula with a lemon vinaigrette, and slices of ciabatta slathered with butter -- although I wish I had taken the time to toast the ciabatta) came together in a matter of minutes. It's a perfect cold weather meal. And those gnocchetti are worth seeking out -- pillow light and fluffy.
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Neapolitan Pizza Sauce : page 203
A really quick tomato sauce for pizza -- just a 14 oz. can of tomatoes (Lidia recommends Sam Marzano but I just used what was in my pantry, i.e. Contadina), a tsp. each of salt and oregano, a T. of EVOO, and a 1/4 tsp. of red pepper flakes. Then pulse a few times in a food processor (it was a small enough amount that I was able to do it all in my mini-chopper) until it has a sauce-like but still somewhat chunky consistency.
The sauce had quite a kick so next time I will use 1/8 tsp. of the red pepper flakes. Also, it is important to really drain the tomatoes before putting them in the food processor. Next time I will let them drain for a few minutes in a mesh strainer as just draining the liquid from the can didn't fully do the job.
Used with the Batali pizza dough from Molto Gusto-- this time following his directions for parbaking and then broiling the pizza. Still love the feel of the dough -- it is incredibly amendable to hand-tossing ... which is great unless you are not a dab hand at hand-tossing. So working with it is a little more difficult than with sturdier doughs.
But wow -- this dough and the parbaking/broiling technique --really produces something that is closer to a pizzeria crispy crust than anything I've ever made at home.
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