Smitten . . .

I've started to check out some other cooking blogs. There are a lot out there! A friend sent me to smittenkitchen.com. So far, it's great. I love the nice photos and the wide variety of recipes. Today I made my first recipe from the site. And it was definitely going out on a limb. It is an Israeli dish called shakshuka, which is (I don't know if this is a translation or just an English description!) Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce.

I have to admit I was a little nervous, especially as the recipe called for 3 jalapenos (although I halved the recipe as I assumed my kids wouldn't eat it!). But, I actually didn't taste much heat at all. The sauce was mildly spicy, but a very different flavor than I have tasted before. We also had it with homemade Naan bread (an Indian specialty). It all ended up being very tasty! I love it when experiments turn out . . .

If you want to be brave and try it, go check out http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/04/shakshuka

Here's the recipe for homemade Naan (modified from allrecipes.com):

1 package yeast

1 c warm water

1/4 c sugar

3 T milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tsp salt

4 1/2 cups flour

olive oil or butter

In stand mixer or bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water, let stand until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, and egg. Add 2 cups flour and stir. Continue adding flour, kneading with the dough hook as you go, or turning out when you can no longer stir if kneading by hand. Knead dough until smooth and place in greased bowl. Cover and let rise until double. Punch down and pinch off small handfuls of dough the size of golf balls, roll, and place on greased tray. Cover and rise until double. You can cook naan on a grill or in a skillet. I prefer cast iron because it retains an even heat so well, but you could also use a nonstick skillet. Roll each ball into a thin circle. If desired, brush with olive oil or butter before grilling, or add just a little olive oil to the pan before cooking each one. If desired, keep warm in 200F oven as you cook all the dough.

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

The editorial in my new Saveur magazine made me hungry. The editor talks about living in Rome and learning to make Spaghetti Alla Carbonara, because it uses few ingredients (good if you're on a budget!) and is absolutely divine. How can you go wrong with only 7 ingredients 5 if you don't count the salt and pepper)? I've never made it before, so we tried it.

Disclaimer: not exactly a dieter's dish, but we had it with a big tasty salad.

We really liked this dish. My 8-year-old liked it best of all. He ate a plateful and then polished off the leftovers the next day.

It's a creamy, flavorful, and satisfying. I felt like I was making real, actual Italian-style pasta, and you even use water from boiling the pasta in the final dish. YUM!

SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA
4 T extra-virgin olive oil
4 oz thinly sliced guanciale or pancetta OR bacon (I used bacon, but I'm sure the dish would be even better with the fancy Italian meat if you want to spring for it!), cut into 1/2" pieces
2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper (I just ground it really coarsely in my grinder)
1 3/4 c finely grated Parmesan at room temperature
1 egg plus 3 yolks at room temperature
kosher salt to taste
1 lb spaghetti

Heat oil in 10" skillet over medium heat. Add the meat (whatever you chose) and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 6-8 minutes. Don't overcook. Add pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 2 minutes more (this is a lot of pepper, if you're concerned about that, you might start out with 1 1/2 tsp and add more later if you want it--we love pepper, so it was fine for us). Transfer mixture (oil, meat, and all) to a large bowl and let cool slightly. Add 1 1/2 c Parmesan and egg and yolks and stir well to combine, set aside.
Bring large pot of water to boil, be sure to add salt to the water. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve 3/4 c water, then drain pasta and transfer it to meat and egg mixture. Toss, adding pasta water a little at a time to make a nice creamy sauce. Season with salt and pepper as desired, and serve with remaining Parmesan.