spaghetti -

by snebbu

Top 10 Halloween Foods

YES. Halloween is upon us. Break out the Hocus Pocus, The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, and your favorite horror DVD. But what good are these delightful fall productions without fall-themed food? Well, frankly they are nothing without our beloved food. Clearly, you’re doing it wrong if you have not yet enjoyed some sort of “halloweeny” food. Here are our top ten suggestions:

10. Acorn Squash Fondue

Who needs the melting pot? Get the acorn squash while their on sale and fill it with ooey, gooey cheese.

9. Caramel Apples

Yes, that apple is supposed to be me. My favorite part (other than eating them) is trying to design the most vulgur apple.

8. Butterfinger Cheesecake

Tell yourself that you didn’t have to go back to the store for candy because you didn’t blow through the first bag. OR, you could make a more refined candy treat that won’t tempt you to go through that second bag “for the kids.”

7. Pumpkin Caramel Mousse Cake

Pumpkin at a whole new level.

6. Baked Stuffed Pumpkin

This version is pretty much a pumpkin pie in a pumpkin. If that’s not your thing, think of the other possibilities (cheese, meet, ya know – the basics).

5. Black Bean Spaghetti

BS showed us the blood and guts of spaghetti with a gourmet spin.

4. Pumpkin Chai Ice Cream

In the BEST of households, ice cream is NEVER out of season. Don’t you dare tell me otherwise.

3. Three Musketeers Pop-Tail

Who needs candy anyway when you can have a dessert that also has booze?

2. Butternut Squash Pizza

No, Domino’s does not have this flavor.

1. Butternut Squash Quiche

And finally, something for those who still want to eat “healthy” on Halloween.

by Katt Kasper

Torn Between Two Loves

We met at this little Italian place downtown. When we were first introduced I wasn’t sure that we would hit it off, but to my surprise, after that first meal together I couldn’t get her out of my mind…

I had grown up with her older cousin and I enjoyed their similarities. Both were pleasurable, warm and inviting. Both were Italian-born and I had learned over the years that each could at times go from being bland and uninspired to rich, robust and addictive. That was always dependent upon where we would meet…

I was torn. Was it right to go from one to the other, day after day, year after year without paying a price for my indecision? But how could I choose? I loved them both so much. If only there was some way that I could combine the delicious comfort of my hot little Neapolitan delight with the classic, saucy, international flare of my first love.

But if I could, what would people think when they discovered that I’ve forced my two great loves to unite in front of me so that I might enjoy their desires at the same time? Would it be moral? Would it be proper? Could it ever really work?….

Aaah, the hell with it! Let’s do this thang!

Katt’s Two Love Spaghetti Pizza

(What did you think I was talking about?)

by BS

Cooking with Fabio: Drunken Red Spaghetti

Has anyone else missed Fabio Viviani? I know I’d take his crazy Italian ramblings over this year’s boring Top Chef-testants any day. Well, not to worry—I just stumbled upon his new web series, in which Fabio and his disturbingly hot mom cook up drunken red spaghetti—pasta doused in red wine and smothered in pecornio, walnuts and caramelized pancetta. I love this dish because he doesn’t add just a little bit of booze. Uh-uh. He adds enough wine to turn those noodles purple! Now that’s Italian.

Also – check out his nickle-and-dime pasta serving size trick at 2:40!

in Celebs / Cheese / Recipe / TV 0 comments

by Katt Kasper

Don’t Mess With the Classics!

I’m not Italian but I love Italian food. It’s satisfying, hearty and soothing…and it’s relatively simple to make. Some dishes are so simple in fact, that what separates a fantastic dish from a great dish is the quality of the ingredients more so than the cooking techniques. Take the classic Italian dish spaghetti carbonara; it’s spaghetti, pancetta (or guanciale), pecorino romano cheese, pepper and eggs. That’s it! The only real variation is whether or not you going to add garlic (which I always do). The best version of this dish is the one made with fresh pasta instead of boxed, and guanciale instead of pancetta. Guanciale is a cured pork cheek which carries a ton of great-tasting fat and, if it’s available to you, is a better choice than pancetta—although not by much. When I have a great piece of guanciale I don’t use any olive oil. I’ll do a slow, low-heat sauté of the meat, which will render its delicious fat without requiring the aid of the oil. Now that’s classic!

But if you look up this recipe on many of the food and cooking websites, you’ll get some whacky variations that totally destroy this dish. And most of them come from American cooks that try to ‘improve’ this classic by making it ‘healthier.’ Substituting wheat pasta, egg whites and ground turkey sausage may make it lower in fat content, but where do you think the taste comes from? And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average life expectancy for us health-conscious Americans is 78.2 years. For native Italians? 81.7 years! Those wine-swilling, chain-smoking Italians would never THINK to use turkey sausage in this dish so why should you? You ever hear Mario Batali talk about his cholesterol level? Get real! If eating this classic is shaving a few years off my life, so be it! Just stop calling your turkey-and-wheat-pasta versions carbonara, ‘cause they’re NOT!

Katt’s Classic Spaghetti Carbonara

in Bacon / Cheese / Eggs / Personal / Recipe 0 comments

by Katt Kasper

Rainy Day Meatballs

On a recent Saturday morning here in sunny southern California, I woke up fully expecting to go for a long run, when I look out the window and see a phenomenon that I rarely experience and always despise—RAIN! God, I hate the rain. I’ve got an underground lawn sprinkler system that is fed by the water we steal from Colorado, so why do I need rain? Now what do I do to fill my day? Guess I could cook something…but what would take all day to make and yet still be worth the effort? Hmmmm….wait, I’ve got it! Meatballs! What’s better on a rainy afternoon than spaghetti and meatballs? And considering that I’ve already had a bottle of wine and some crusty bread for breakfast, it makes perfect sense!

First I’ll make my usual large pot of tomato sauce and while it simmers for a few hours I’ll make a batch of my world-class meatballs. Being that I was raised on meatballs made by some chef named ‘Boy-ardee,’ I don’t have any warm childhood memories of great-tasting Italian dishes. I came from a Polish family and our version of spaghetti and meatballs was sauerkraut and sausage. So over the years I’ve tried many different versions and methods of making this dish, and this is the recipe that I’ve come up with. I don’t know what is considered a ‘classic’ version but this one never gets any complaints… except that I should have made more. Maybe it’s the medical marijuana talking but my friends seem to like it. I hope you do too. It just takes a while to put together so rent The Godfather 1 and 2 and open a couple bottles of good Chianti or <erlot. As they say in Italy, “Divertanosi”! (Look it up!)

Katt’s Rainy Day Meatballs

in Bacon / Cheese / Recipe / Red Meat 0 comments

by tvff

Infinito Sobbollire: Anticipating Rome

Ladies and gents, I’m in dire need of a vacation and, as luck would have it, that’s just what I’ll be doing at the end of this month. My last two trips to Europe, which took me to Hamburg and London, certainly left me with a few good food memories, but that’s going to pale in comparison after Mrs. TVFF and I head to Rome. She’s been there a few times (and studied for a summer during college), but it’s my first trip. We’ll be looking at tons of artwork, visiting important churches and ancient ruins and gorging ourselves on every type of food we can put our hands on.

It’s funny…I plan on walking something like ten miles a day while I’m there, yet I completely expect to gain 5+ pounds. What, exactly, am I looking forward to most? I’ve got a shortlist of dishes that have my mouth watering already.

5. Gelato – Yeah, I know you’re probably thinking that this should be a bit higher on the list. And it would be, except for the fact that (a) I’m going to be there at the end of February and it’s not exactly frozen-desert season and (b) I work about a block away from what I think is the best gelato this side of the Atlantic, so it won’t likely be the kind of revelation it typically is for Americans raised on bland ice cream. Still, eating a cup of pistachio while walking through the Campo de’ Fiori will be pretty sweet.

Check out the rest…and help me find the best spots…after the jump.

in Cheese / Eggs / Food Travel / Pig 4 comments