RECIPES
Giada De Laurentiis’s Cinnamon Pancetta Carbonara
The belle of the ball made this unusual dish at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. Serves 6.
Ingredients
6 ounces sliced pancetta
(6 slices), chopped
2 ounces sliced bacon
(2 or 3 slices), chopped
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups freshly grated
Parmesan cheese
6 large egg yolks
18 ounces fresh fettuccine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped chives
Directions
Cook pancetta and bacon in a large, heavy skillet over medium- high heat until almost crisp, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sauté until pancetta and bacon are crisp and golden, about 2 minutes longer. Turn heat to low.
In a small bowl whisk cream, cheese and egg yolks. Add to pan with pancetta and cook at a very low simmer, stirring often with a wooden spoon.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add fettuccine and cook until it is just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 2-3 minutes. Drain pasta and add it to cream mixture with salt and pepper. Continue cooking over very low heat until sauce thickly coats pasta, about 3 minutes (do not boil). Transfer pasta to a large, wide serving bowl. Sprinkle with chives and serve.
Wine ideas: This dish is so rich that it calls for a red wine, which has tannin as well as acidity to cut through the sauce. Look for relatively light reds with lots of acidity, like pinot noir or chianti – Borgo Scopeto’s 2004 Chianti Classico has the right balance at $20. -Tara Q. Thomas
Steven Raichlen’s Grilled Naan
Raichlen made this Indian bread from his “BBQ Bible” in Aspen this weekend. Makes 14-16 flatbreads.
Ingredients
1 envelope active dry yeast
5 tablespoons sugar
1 cup warm water
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 to 5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting and rolling
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Directions
Combine yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/4 cup water in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, 5-10 minutes. Stir in remaining sugar and water, egg, milk and salt. Add 4 cups of flour and stir to form a dough that is soft and pliable, but not sticky. Knead dough until smooth and elastic either by hand on a floured work surface, in a food processor, or in a mixer fitted with the dough hook; add more flour, if necessary. It should take 6-8 minutes.
Use 1/2 tablespoon of oil to lightly oil a large bowl. Place dough in bowl, brush top with remaining oil, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Punch down dough and pinch off 2-inch pieces; roll them into smooth balls. Place balls on a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with a lightly dampened clean kitchen towel. Let rise again until puffy, about 30 minutes.
Preheat grill to high. Place a rolling pin, cutting board, bowl of flour and melted butter near grill. (This is incredibly theatrical; your guests will be amazed.) Roll out a dough ball on a lightly floured cutting board to form a disk about 5 inches in diameter. Gently slap the disk from one hand to the other to stretch it into a 7- to 8-inch oval. Stretch the oval into a traditional teardrop shape and immediately lay it on the hot grate. Grill bread until bottom is crusty and browned and top is puffed and blistered, 2-4 minutes. Brush with butter. Invert naan and grill the other side until lightly browned, 2-4 minutes. Grill remaining naan the same way. Brush each naan with more butter as it comes off grill. Serve whole, or cut into 3 wedges to serve the traditional way.
José Andrés’s Lobster and Chicken Paella
From the avant-garde Spanish chef, serves 4-6.
Ingredients
2 ounces Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
1 whole cooked lobster, meat removed from the shell and cut into pieces (about 2 cups)
12 ounces boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch dice
2 cups fresh morels or other mushrooms
2 ounces tomato and onion sofrito (recipe below)
1 1/2 cups Spanish rice such as Bomba or Calasparra
1 pinch saffron
5 cups fish stock
Salt
Aioli
Directions
Put olive oil in a paella pan or large skillet over high heat. When hot, sauté lobster. Remove and set aside. Add chicken and sauté both sides. Add morels and sauté. Add sofrito, rice and saffron. Sauté for a few minutes and cover with stock. Set timer for 5 minutes and cook paella over high heat. Stir rice during this stage. Once 5 minutes are up, do not touch rice! Lower temperature and set timer for 6 minutes. When timer goes off, add lobster to pan. Set timer for 5 more minutes. Do not touch rice! Once timer goes off, remove from heat and let paella rest for 5 minutes. Serve with aioli on side.
Tomato and Onion Sofrito
Ingredients
10 ripe plum tomatoes
1 1/2 cups Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
4 small Spanish onions, chopped fine (about 4 cups)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon pimentón (Spanish sweet paprika)
1 bay leaf
Salt
Directions
Cut tomatoes in half. Place a grater over a large mixing bowl. Rub cut side of tomato into grater until flesh is gone. Discard skin. Strain mixture.
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over low-to-medium heat. Add onions and sugar. Cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until onions are tender with a light brown color.
You want onion to caramelize. If onion gets too dark, add water to keep cooking onion evenly without burning.
Add reserved tomato purée, pimentón and bay leaf. Cook for another 20 minutes at medium heat. You’ll know your sofrito is ready when tomato has broken down and deepened in color and oil has separated from sauce. Add salt to taste.
Wine ideas: The waxy fullness and soft almond flavors of a Spanish albariño will pick up on the hedonistic richness of lobster while letting the saffron and spice notes shine through. Check out Martin Codax or Vionta, both under $20.
-Tara Q. Thomas
Emeril Lagasse’s Lemon-Blueberry Bread Pudding
Tested in Denver and Aspen, makes 8 servings.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus
2 tablespoons, melted
4 large eggs
2 cups heavy cream (or 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk)
2 cups milk (or 2 1/2 cups if using canned milk)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
6 cups 1/2-inch cubes day-old bread
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup dried blueberries
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 10-by-14-inch baking dish with softened butter. Whisk eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in cream, milk, brown sugar, vanilla and lemon zest. Add bread, and fresh and dried blueberries and stir well, then mix in melted butter. Let stand for 30 minutes so bread can absorb egg mixture.
Pour bread into prepared dish and bake until firm when pressed in center, about 1 hour. Cool on a rack until just warm, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.
Wine ideas: Forget about wine here: This is pure comfort food. Try a mug of warm milk flavored with a splash of almond or vanilla syrup and call it a night. -Tara Q. Thomas
Tony Abou-Ganim’s Wild Berry Mojito
Adapted from a recipe by the host of “Raising the Bar” on the Fine Living Network, makes 1 serving.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz Bacardi Light Rum
3-4 each of fresh blackberries, blueberries and red raspberries
8-12 fresh mint leaves
Juice of one lime
1 oz. simple syrup
Soda water
Mint sprig for garnish
Directions:
In a 12-oz highball glass, muddle mint, simple syrup, wild berries and lime juice. Fill glass with crushed ice. Add rum. Stir well until ice is reduced by 1/3; top with more crushed ice, stirring until glass begins to frost on the outside. Spritz with soda water and stir once more. Garnish with mint sprig.
Ming Tsai’s Pork and Shrimp Pot Stickers
The “Simply Ming” (PBS) host brought flavors from his Wellesley, Mass., restaurant, Blue Ginger to Aspen. This recipe makes about 20 pot stickers.
Ingredients
1 pound ground pork
1 pound small shrimp, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
3/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
1/2 package pot sticker wrappers
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Canola or grapeseed oil
Dim Sum Dipping Sauce (recipe follows)
Directions
In a bowl set in a larger bowl of ice, mix pork with shrimp and green onions. Add ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil and stir to evenly combine; do not overmix. Take a small sample and pan-sear or microwave mixture and taste for seasoning.
To form pot stickers, lay out a few wrappers and place about 1/2 tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper; avoid getting filling on the edge of wrapper, which would prevent proper sealing. Fold each wrapper in half to form a half-moon shape. Seal each dumpling by pressing between fingers and, starting at center, make 3 pleats, working toward bottom right. Repeat, working toward bottom left corner. Press dumplings gently on work surface to flatten bottoms.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add oil and swirl to coat. When oil shimmers, add pot stickers, flat side down, in rows of five, and cook undisturbed until browned, about 6 minutes. Add about 1/2 cup water to skillet and immediately cover to avoid splattering. Lift cover and make sure about 1/8 inch of water remains in skillet; if not, add a bit more. Steam until pot stickers are puffy yet firm and water has evaporated, 8-10 minutes. If water evaporates before pot stickers are done, add more in 1/4-cup increments. If pot stickers seem done but water remains in pan, drain it and return pan to heat; continue to cook over high heat until pot stickers re-crisp on bottom, 2-3 minutes. Transfer pot stickers to a platter and serve with dipping sauce.
Dim Sum Dipping Sauce
Makes 1 cup. Keeps in the fridge 1 week.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons bottled sambal
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Directions
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients.
Wine ideas: Gewürztraminer blends scents of roses with spicy, exotic fruit flavors like lychees; the slight sweetness common to many will play well off the salty sauce. Alsace is most famous for gewürztraminer (Trimbach and Josmeyer are great names to look for), although California’s Navarro Vineyards makes an excellent version for about $15.
-Tara Q. Thomas
