March 18 – March 24, 2024

Monday:                   Pasta with Pork and Porcini

T – Th:                       South Carolina with Lindsey and Mauri

Friday:                       Penne with Trader Joe’s Marinara Doctored by Us

Saturday:                  Marinara and Anchovy Pizza

Sunday:                     Pork and Mash Gratin

The Doctor Is In

I usually make my own pasta sauce, but sometimes schedules are set by airlines and not by SWMBO or me and sometimes I, and confess it, you, just don’t have the energy to do much more than eat dinner and go to bed.

This last Friday was one of those times.  We didn’t do much cooking all week because we spent most of it with our friends, Mauri and Lindsey, at their wonderful home on the coast of South Carolina.  There was much laughter, a goodly amount of golf, great food* and the most affectionate dog on the East Coast, Zoe, a lab with paws that, relative to dogs, will remind you of Shaq O’Neal’s basketball shoes.

*Hege’s Restaurant at the Fresh Fields Center between Kiawah and Seabrook Islands serves superb food and has an owner with the deepest voice since James Earl Jones – you might want to go just to hear that voice.  The night we were there, the group of diners included Andie McDowell of Four Weddings and a Funeral, one of the great comedies of all time (along with The Wedding Crashers – what is it about marriage that is so funny? – the question is rhetorical, keep the answer to yourself, please).

Reluctantly, we flew back to Pittsburgh on Friday and got home about 7:00 p.m., in no mood to do much more than have a cocktail and a sandwich.  But, we had a pound of penne, a jar of Marinara from Trader Joe’s and, in the time it took to drink that cocktail, we had a savory dish of pasta and, as Samuel Pepys would have said, ‘so to bed.’  Trader Joe’s makes a good marinara, a bit too sweet to my taste, but perfectly adequate.  So, by all means, buy Trader Joe’s marinara and a pound of your favorite pasta for one of those days when just climbing the stairs seems like work.  But do not simply heat that sauce.

Here’s how to ‘doctor’ it up to create a dish that will have you lingering over dinner even after your bedtime:

Sauté about ½ of a large onion (chopped fine) in a tablespoon of good olive oil and add a pinch or two of salt after it’s about half cooked.  Heat the oil over medium for a few minutes before adding the onion and cook for a total of 10 minutes, or until the onion is softened and translucent, but not browned.  You’ll need to stir, occasionally.

While the onions are cooking bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil, and then cook your pasta two minutes short of al dente.

To finish the sauce, add a goodly amount of dried oregano or Italian seasoning.  We had dried Sicilian oregano which Labriola’s sells on the stalk in a cellophane bag.  I added a little umami seasoning (‘Simply Organic’ makes a good one – or you could add a little MSG), and two pinches of red pepper flakes.  Beez then tasted the sauce and we added some ground black pepper.  Cook the sauce for a few minutes more to blend the flavors.

Reserve a couple ladlesful of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta and add it to the sauce along with a ladleful of the cooking water.  Toss to coat the pasta and keep cooking it until al dente.  Add more water, if needed.

Serve the pasta on warmed plates with grated hard cheese (pecorino, parmigiano or grana padano) and some basil leaves, enjoy.  Catch up on your mail and newspapers.  Go to bed.  Unpack tomorrow.