Last night, as we sweat it out for yet another night (it's been SO HOT) I had already resolved with myself that it was just too hot to eat. I had no appetite and certainly no will to live cook anything. So we settled in for an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations to take us into the night.
Only problem is, it was set in Rome. And it made me huuuungry!
I am an admitted pasta-holic. A no joke, could eat it every day, the whiter and starchier the better kind of pasta-holic. The mister likes to call me "Pasta Monsta!" because I not only devour it, I lust after it. And my favorite kind of pasta is simple- just give me some butter and fresh parmesan and I'm happy.
So when I saw Anthony's first stop at a Roman restaurant, my pasta-monsta-ness kicked into full gear. They made him a meal of simple handmade pasta, drenched in butter and pepper, tossed with cheese and served in a parmesan bowl. A parmesan bowl, people!
I couldn't take it. I had to grin and bear the heat to make myself something almost as yummy (sans parmesan bowl, sadly.) And yummy it was!
Make yo'self some Roma inspired yummy:
- Cook 8oz pasta according to package directions. (I used linguine cause it's what I had in the pantry, but I think spaghetti would've been even better. Fresh pasta would have been even better!)
- Drain pasta when it's cooked to al dente (which means a little bit chewy- don't want to overcook it, because you'll be heating it again later and it'll turn into mush)
- Rinse the pasta with cool water in the colander until it stops steaming- that will help stop the cooking process.
- Go back to your pot and throw in your butter of choice (I used vegan earth balance) A pasta-spoon full should be plenty. Warm over medium heat.
- Add some fresh ground pepper to taste, stir into the butter. Keep it on the heat until butter is fully melted and starts bubbling.
- Turn off burner. Grab your cooked pasta and put it back into the pot with your melted butter mixture. Stir it up, babe.
- I added a little lemon juice. Some parsley. A little more pepper. Stir, stir, stir until pasta is fully coated with goodness.
- Stir in some fresh grated parmesan so it'll be in every delicioso bite.
- Serve it up, with more parmesan on top, of course.
- Spin, slurp and enjoy!
PASTA MONSTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: drsmoothdeath | Aug 17, 2010 at 01:00 PM
I regret reading this post after midnight!
But I do have some vegeroni spirals left in the pantry and homemade pesto so. ... whoohoo!
Posted by: Mars! | Aug 17, 2010 at 01:10 PM
I'm a pasta monsta too! Should we start a support group or celebratory club or something? :) This sounds fantastic. Bookmarking! :)
Posted by: Trude | Aug 17, 2010 at 03:35 PM
Lovely and yummy pasta! And love the show! I buy it on itunes and love it to death. so good!
Posted by: pam | Aug 17, 2010 at 03:37 PM
Ahhhhhh this sounds and looks so good. I'm feeling hungry and inspired.
Talia Christine
http://taliachristine.blogspot.com
Posted by: Talia Christine | Aug 17, 2010 at 04:40 PM
It's funny, I was watching this same episode last night and after just having eaten dinner I was feeling like a glutton because all I wanted was a delicious pasta dish. Oh and don't forget that bread they kept zooming in on while cutting. I would have sat happily at that restaurant even amidst of all that fighting, lol.
Posted by: Karyna | Aug 17, 2010 at 04:42 PM
Yummy! What's on for tonight? Romeo and I will be over - stat!
Posted by: Sweet Ronit | Aug 17, 2010 at 06:30 PM
Hit up Pastaworks if you're too lazy to make your own pasta. I had some last week, it was awesome!
Posted by: Jeffrey Yen | Aug 17, 2010 at 08:41 PM
If I tell you that i spent my last 2 weeks in Sicily hi hi...that is heaven when it comes to food. Pasta a la Norma, Pasta con le alice, Pasta al pesto siciliana, Melanzana a la parmeggiana, arancini, pasta a la mandorla.....and so much more!
Posted by: Casa e Cose | Aug 18, 2010 at 04:34 AM
yum yum yum. i always used to eat that as a kid and have seemed to have forgotten about it now. thanks for reminding me! forget the leftover soup i have in the fridge, i'm having parmesan pasta for lunch!
Posted by: liz | Aug 18, 2010 at 08:22 AM
yum! I have been doing something similar, but tossing in a bit of garlic and basil with the butter and then adding a handful of feta with the pasta. We are addicted.
Posted by: Hanna | Aug 18, 2010 at 08:25 AM
I hear ya!
We only watch No Reservations after dinner. Or better WHILE we are eating. Otherwise, we could end up making various unhealthy and crazy stuff in the kitchen.
Posted by: Soledad | Aug 18, 2010 at 02:21 PM
oh my gosh, I know- the bread!! That almost sent me into carbolust overload.
Posted by: Miss Modish | Aug 18, 2010 at 03:50 PM
holy moly, you're making me hungry! That does sound like heaven, my goodness.
Posted by: Miss Modish | Aug 18, 2010 at 03:51 PM
oooh yeah, that sounds excellent!
Posted by: Miss Modish | Aug 18, 2010 at 03:52 PM
Use a blend of Romano and Parmesan!
Posted by: Vito | Aug 19, 2010 at 09:02 AM
mmm, looks so good. have you had the cappellini primavera from pastini? uh-mazing. well really everything at pastini is :)
Posted by: cori | Aug 19, 2010 at 09:03 PM
No, Ive never even been to Pastini! Hmm... I may have to remedy that soon... :)
Posted by: Miss Modish | Aug 20, 2010 at 09:03 AM
okay, you are not alone, that episode made me SO hungry (and i think we even watched it after dinner) my only complaint with the black and white was that I wanted to see the food in color, but it was such a cool episode!
My fam has always made a version of this where you let the butter get really brown and nutty and then toss it, the flavor is unreal! :)
Posted by: Elizabeth @ Dapper Paper | Aug 23, 2010 at 01:10 PM
Hi!!! I just found you thru your bleubird post!! (which was fab btw) Your website is sooo cool & CYOOOOT!!!!
I loved this epi of No Reservations!!! And my husband was BEGGING me to make the cacio e pepe!
Posted by: tracy | Aug 26, 2010 at 03:20 PM