Fettuccine and Clams--So Good and So Simple

Fettuccine and Clams 

In The Fishy Chips, Rick Podowski is trying to impress his girlfriend with this delicious dish.

'Five minutes before dinner, the doorbell rang and there was Elaine a rather short, well-built woman with dirty blonde hair and a big smile.

After kissing her on the cheek, I hurried back to the stove and added the scrubbed whole clams to the sauce. After the pasta was finished, I drained it into my special bowl and then spooned the sauce and the opened clams over it. Placing a bowl of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on the table beside the basket of Italian bread rustico, I lit the candle, poured two glasses of Billy K Merlot from Alfaro Family Vineyards, and dressed the salad with eighteen-year-old balsamic vinegar and California extra virgin olive oil. It was the perfect dinner with the perfect companion."

The pasta sauce is extremely simple to make and the clams add that special touch. A Pinot Noir will also work with this dish.

Serves 4

2 garlic cloves

1 small onion

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 large can of chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 cup (or more) of red wine

Italian Seasoning (or use basil and oregano)

1 pound of fettuccine (homemade or the kind that's refrigerated)

1 pound of clams-scrubbed and purged in water

Chop the garlic and the onion in the food processor.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and then add the onion and the garlic. Cook until the onions are soft.

Add the tomatoes, the tomato paste, the sugar, red wine, and the spices. Simmer for about twenty minutes. Add the clams and simmer until they open.

Prepare the fettuccine according to the directions on the package.

Pour the sauce and clams over the fettuccine and serve with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

The recipe makes four normal servings or two Rick sized servings.

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Chocolate Chicken

Chicken Mole--The sauce is made with chocolate

Quick Chicken Mole  

There are several legends as to the origins of mole. One says that 16th Century nuns from the Convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla de Los Angeles, upon learning that the Archbishop was coming for a visit started praying desperately and an angel came to inspire them. They began chopping and grinding and roasting, mixing different types of chiles together with spices, day-old bread, nuts, a little chocolate and approximately 20 other ingredients.

This mixture boiled for hours and was reduced to the thick, sweet, rich mole sauce we know today. To serve in the mole, they killed an old turkey, and the strange sauce was poured over it. The archbishop was more than happy with his banquet and the nuns saved face.

Traditional mole takes a day to prepare and contains between twenty to thirty ingredients. This quick mole inspired by Paula Deen has thirteen ingredients and can be ready in less than two hours. The recipe first appeared in Death In The Science Classroom and was paired with a Roudon-Smith Duet that is a blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This dish would pair well with a Zinfandel or a Cabernet.

Serves 6-8

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 (10-ounce) can chicken broth

2 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder

2 (4 ounce) cans diced green chili peppers

1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces

White rice, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent. 

Add garlic and spices and continue to sauté to toast and develop flavor. Add diced tomatoes, peppers, chipotles, broth, peanut butter, and chocolate. Simmer for 10 minutes.

 Strain and puree until smooth. Rick  used his food processor to puree the sauce.  Then he strained it and pureed the solids again.  He added the solids to the liquid.

Sear the chicken in a heavy bottomed hot sauté pan over medium-high heat until browned on both sides. 

Add to casserole dish, cover with sauce and bake in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  

Serve with white rice, salad, garden vegetables, and wine.

Pasta For Fishermen, Hunters, and Prostitutes

Teresa is the Rick Podowski and The Hefty Trio colleague who comes from an Italian heritage. In this post, we are going to revisit three of her favorite pastas and all of them are related to an occupation.

Pasta Pescatore

This recipe can be found in Death In The Science Classroom or on this blog post.

Pasta Pescatore is a style of Italian cooking. Its name derives from the Italian word "pescatore" meaning fisherman. So, literally, "Spaghetti Pescatore" means fisherman's spaghetti. Similarly, "Spaghetti alla Pescatora" means spaghetti in the tradition of the fisherman's wife. This is accomplished by preparing a sauce (traditionally marinara style) with seafood components such as clams and shrimp. Teresa likes to serve it with a Poetic Cellars Mourvedre, some fresh Italian bread and a green salad.

Chicken Cacciatore

This recipe is from The Winning Certificate and can be found on this blog post. Cacciatore means “hunter’s style.” The dish developed in central Italy and has many variations. It is considered a country-style dish in which chicken pieces are simmered together with tomatoes and mushrooms.

The dish originated in the Renaissance period (1450-1600) when the only people who could afford to enjoy poultry and the sport of hunting were the well-to-do, This dish developed in central Italy and has many variations.Teresa likes to serve it with a Cooper-Garrod Cabernet Franc.

Pasta Puttanesca

This recipe appeared in Murder Before The Bell and can be found in this blog post. Puttanesca sauce originated in Naples and contains tomatoes, black olives, capers, anchovies, onions, garlic, and herbs, usually oregano and parsley but sometimes also basil. It is an easy sauce, briefly cooked, and is very fragrant and spicy. Puttanesca translates as “in the style of the whore.”

There were three possible ways the dish was utilized. The first was that the prostitutes made it for themselves to keep the interruption of their business to a minimum. The second was that they made it for the men awaiting their turn at the brothel. And the final version was that it was a favorite of married women who wished to limit their time in the kitchen so that they may visit their paramour. Teresa just likes the dish and she serves it with a caprese salad and a Villa del Monte Cabernet Sauvignon.