Spaghetti al Pescatore will be on schedule tomorrow in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking kitchen tomorrow. I know it’s Labor Day back in the States and most are planning a picnic but this is ‘do-able’ even for an ‘al fresco’ meal..

Planning a fresh seafood meal always means waking  up at the crack of dawn to get the best choices at the fresh seafood market here in town..fresh mussels, and the small tiny clams are going into the dish..If you want to cook along here’ s the dish..

Spaghetti alla Pescatore

1 lb spaghetti

1 lb fresh tiny clams

1 lb fresh mussels

1 lb cherry or grape tomatoes-red ,ripe

1 handful fresh parsley leaves

4 tblsps exra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 cup dry white wine

Wash clams and mussels, submerse in cold water a few times and take off any sand. Steam clams and mussels for a few minutes, those that don’t open should be discarded.

In saute pan, place in olive oil garlic, saute till garlic begins to turn golden. Place in tomatoes that have been washed and dried. Saute for 3 minutes, place in steamed clams and mussels and white wine, saute for 5 minutes. Add in chopped parsley. Set aside, cook pasta till al dente. Drain, and add into clams and mussels and toss. Serve immediately.. Great with a dry white wine..

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

http://twitter.com/marialiberati

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A dinner of freshly prepared seafood and linguine is always on the menu when I am at  the beach and this weekend was no exception.  Eating grilled fish and pasta alla vongole  outside overlooking the beach adds so much to the meal…

Our meal was accompanied by a locally made Pecorino wine from a small town called Offida in the province of Le Marche.. The sky above us was the perfect ‘ceiling’ of brightly shining stars and half moon the scene below us was gently rolling waves and a quiet sandy beach dotted by empty chairs and closed beach umbrellas waiting for tomorrow’s visitors..

To finish up the meal and refresh from the warm August breezes rolling in off the shore was a lemon sorbetto made with limoncello-a refresher for the taste buds and the perfect ending to a meal in 3 acts..linguine alla vongole..grilled fish (caught fresh that day)..lemon sorbetto..

Here’s the recipe be sure to use the smallest clams you can find)..  clams are best when bought freshest and prepared the same day as purchased or caught ..

Linguine Alla Vongole

2 lbs of freshly washed clams

a small handful of parsley leaves

3 cloves garlic

1 small onion

1 lb linguine or spaghetti

½ fresh lemon

1 cup dry white wine

2 tblsps extra virgin cold pressed, olive oil

Immerse clams in fresh, clean water and remove taking out the sand, brush as well with small brush, repeat this till sand is removed.

Bring water to boil in separate pasta pot. Place in pasta and cook till al dente.

In a pot , place in the white wine and all clams. Bring clams to a boil, let boil for 5 minutes. Discard any clams that have not opened up. Remove from heat. Filter the liquid and set aside to be used as cooking liquid.

Chop parsley, onion and garlic. Place all in saute pan with olive oil and cooking liquid made from wine. Add in juice squeezed from ½ fresh lemon, pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper and clams.

Saute for 5 minutes. Lower heat and toss in cooked pasta. Toss and serve.

And how was your weekend..did you do anything special for the end of the summer or making plans for your last summer picnic..share your plans and recipes with us!

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Mangai Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

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 fritte miste              San Silvestro 

Weddings in Italy..you can only think of one thing when you hear those words-’never ending food’ or endless buffet, and this was no exception… 

This past weekend I had the ’uber’ pleasure of attending the wedding of a prominent person from our little town here. But the wedding was held in one of the 99 churches of the city of L’Aquila. Imagine, the center  of this city that dates back to the 800′s contains 99 churches. The church we went to was San Silvestro, it was constructed in 1350 and has many frescoes that decorate the walls as well as contains many famous works of art. The wedding ceremony was a long one, as usual. But I just kept thinking about the wonderful 8 hour meal we were going to partake of  once the ceremony was over.

And the meal was a long one- but well worth the wait. The reception was at an agriturismo in L’Aquila called Casa Signorile and they produce eveything in house . The event began with a huge buffet outside that contained everything one could imagine from fresh parmigiano-reggiano cheese to smoked salmon to bruschetta, to fritte miste being made right before your eyes. For wines,paired perfectly were the Trebbiano D’Abruzzo  and Prosecco- to  overflowing.

The buffet seemed never ending and as we all thought the dessert was ready to be served, we were told to go inside and sit at our assigned tables for the dinner. Dinner? what..I thought we just ate dinner. But no that was our appetizer we were told. The dinner was a five course one:

*Fagottini di porcini mushrooms served with a vellutato sauce made with the saffro nproduced locally in the nearby town of Navelli

*Fettucini with melanzane and vongole

*Oven baked rombo (type of fish) with fresh steamed cozze (mussels)

*lemon sorbetto (to clean the palate)

*Porchetta (a typical pork dish made with a lot of spices)

*Oven Baked Potatoes

*Salad

All served with a locally produced heirloom wine-Pecorino

Then it was outside to the dessert buffet tables. Fresh fruits, exotic fruits, sliced watermelon, tiramisu, Italian cream cake, apple pies, creme caramel, panna cotta, meringue and the torte nuziale (wedding cake).

Espresso to finish..

Oh, I think I am losing count… it is not 5 courses but 10 and counting.

I am too full for any more food talk but I will be posting the recipe for the wonderful fritte miste I had at the wedding reception  in the next few days and may I say it was  Buonissimo!!! Stay tuned..