Moderating a day of gluttony

Food Rules #3: There are days that are meant for gluttony, and that is just fine. Then after the gluttony, eat something simple.

Now this is not to say that we all need to be beached whales by the time we are 30. That is not what my overall healthy eating habits are all about. But there are some days that I don’t want to start the day with oatmeal, fresh fruit, and flax seed meal. So today was one of those days: a visit to the food ditty we call New York City.

The day begins with a nosh at a Greek diner. Piccolo Café is more subdued than most East Coast Greek diners and the menu is half the size. But honestly, I can’t get away from healthy completely. So I opt for the poached eggs Florentine, which they do not serve with hollandaise. A quarter pound of chopped spinach perfectly seasoned with feta cheese (note I said seasoned) with two eggs, I only eat one yolk, on a toasty English muffin (which has no butter on it). Pretty good as a healthy Greek diner breakfast (an oxymoron to be sure, but nothing like congressional thriftiness) goes and the coffee just kept flowing (no cream added).

When we head back to the apartment we catch a bit of Rick Bayless having his own version of gluttony. Then it was off to Savore.

My man Eddie is one of the finest line cooks and chefs I have ever worked with. Here is the gluttony menu:

• Goose ravioli with white and black truffle butter.
• Buffalo mozzarella ravioli with a tomato fonduta (butter)
• And a beef braised in red wine ravioli with herb butter and balsamic drizzle.

That was one plate.

• Parsley papardelli with porcini and butter
• Pan-seared branzino with baby scallops in roasted garlic pinot grigio butter sauce.
• Cavatelli with pancetta and mixed vegetables
• Linguini with broccoli rabe, garlic, and olive oil (this was a special request)
• Asparagus grilled with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic, with a warm asparagus and ribolla cheese.
• Soft polenta (with just the right amount of fresh bay leaf)
• Marinated shrimp with wilted spinach and chickpea sauce. And……..

Just because I’m stupid we tried three great truffles from across the way with passion fruit ganache, Thai Chili ganache, and Balsamic ganache (just to keep with the overall theme). Thai Chili won by a calorie.

What do you come away with? A need for a long walk or a hundred-mile bike ride. I think that is enough pasta for a while.

The basics of pasta are true no matter what the shape;

1. Choose the best quality you can afford.
2. Once you cook the pasta a little over three-quarters of the way you should finish the cooking in the final sauce. Another way to describe it is “just about done” or “needs another minute.”
3. Make a little extra for a salad to take to work the next day.
4. Plenty of freshly grated cheese is just the ticket to finish seasoning your pasta dish (note cheese is a seasoning) so buy little bits of great cheese as you need them.

So when I went back to my cousin is was a simple pasta of Italian sausage, fennel, and tomato tossed with whole wheat spaghettini.

She got the idea from an article online and the inspiration was a recipe from Lidia Bastianich for penne with Italian sausage (no fennel seed in it) with fennel. Spaghettini was in the house so I figured that we could approach it differently. Since this basic combination (a savory vegetable with sausage and good grating cheese) is a favorite of mine I suggested that we purchase an Italian sausage seasoning blend (or you can make one of your own) so that you can turn any ground meat into sausage. With regular sausage the ol’Lipitor will have to make an appearance. But if you can season up some lean meat and add a touch of olive oil you can significantly lower the saturated fat while maintaining a richness to the dish.

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil with 2 T salt, add pasta and cook according to instructions. Remember, you will finish the cooking of the pasta in the sauce utilizing a bit of the cooking water. Since the water is salted and you’re going to use pecorino cheese, do not salt the sauce until the very end.

1 bulb of fennel (or two if you really like the flavor), cut into sixths.
1 ea can of Italian peeled tomatoes
½ medium onion chopped
5 ea cloves of garlic chopped
1 # meat (ground pork, beef, turkey, bison, whatever)
1 ea pinch of sugar, and two pinches of salt
1 T sausage seasoning (poultry seasoning will also work)
1 t pepper or 10 turns of your pepper grinder
2 T paprika
1 t chili flake
1/3 C olive oil
¾ C Pecorino or similar grating cheese
2 T chopped parsley

Take three pieces of the fennel and put in a microwave, with a little water and pinch of salt, cover, and cook for four minutes or until just the beginning of tender. At this point you can either set it aside to add to your sauce or you can toss them in olive oil with salt and pepper and finish them on the grill, whichever you like.

Try with a tasty valpolicella from the Veneto or primitive (aka zinfandel) but nothing too heavy.

With olive oil in pan over medium heat, add meat and begin to brown. When you're halfway done you add the onion, garlic, sausage seasoning, pinch of salt and sugar, and chopped fennel. Finish cooking the meat.

Tips: If you’re microwaving the rest you can add a bit of the cooking liquid to the sauce for more fennel flavor. Go ahead and use sausage, then skip the spices, enjoy the tasty fat. The spaghettini cooked in about 6 minutes and held a good bite to it. I know that in Denver you have practically double the amount of cooking time for the pasta.

Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer, stir, add pasta (which should still be al dente), taste, add pecorino or like grating cheese, toss and serve. A little fresh chopped parsley is always nice as well.