Cacio e pepe, the Italia Squisita Chef's "Foolproof" method

 I think Alton Brown's method of making a paste and then adding the pasta and water is excellent, but you've got to at least listen to this guy: 

Cacio e Pepe: Original vs. Foolproof vs. Gourmet with Luciano Monosilio | Answering Babish

He cheats and uses cornstarch, but says this is what he serves in his restaurant due to time and volume constraints! This method starts about 6 minutes in on the video.

Cacio e pepe infallibile/follproof

Spaghetti 240 g

Grana padano cheese 150g g

Pecorino romano/Pecorino cheese 120g

Olio EVO/EVO oil 20 g

Maizena/Corn Starch 5g

Pepe nero/Black pepper 2g

Acqua 50ml

Cacio e Pepe - Alton Brown

 Source: Cacio e Pepe - Alton Brown

Yield: 4 servings

Software

• 3 cups finely grated pecorino Romano cheese
• 1 1/2 cups finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more for serving if desired
• 1 pound dry spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• Cold water, for cooking the pasta

Procedure

• Combine 2 3/4 cups (100 grams) of the Pecorino, all of the Parmesan, the olive oil, and the 2 tablespoons (14 grams) pepper in a large, deep mixing bowl. Work the ingredients together with the back of a wooden spoon until a thick paste forms, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside while you cook the pasta.
• Combine the pasta and salt in a 3-quart, straight-sided sauté pan. Add enough cold water to just barely cover the pasta and measure 1 1/2 inches deep total. Cover, set over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil, about 10 minutes.
• When the water reaches a boil, remove the lid and decrease the heat to medium to maintain a simmer. Stir the pasta every minute or so, making sure the ends of the noodles stay submerged and that they aren't sticking together.
• After the pasta has been simmering for 5 minutes, ladle 1 cup of the cooking water into a measuring cup, then slowly drizzle 3/4 cup of that water into the cheese paste, mixing until smooth, about 2 minutes.
• At this point, check the pasta for doneness; you want it to be just barely al dente as there'll be some carryover cooking in the next step. If it isn’t al dente, continue to check on the pasta every 30 seconds until you are happy with it.
• Use tongs to lift the pasta out of the cooking water and allow to briefly drain before adding to the bowl with the cheese paste. Grasp the pasta with the tongs and stir and toss vigorously for 2 minutes. (Really use a lot of elbow grease here — this is not a light toss.) The pasta will continue to release starch and the sauce will emulsify. After around 1 1/2 minutes, you will see cheesy water magically transform into a proper sauce. If you find your sauce clumping, add a bit more of the reserved pasta water and continue working the pasta.
• Portion the pasta into four bowls, top with the remaining Pecorino and additional black pepper, if desired, and serve immediately.

Chef Matt Finarelli's Orzo with Roasted Veg

 Chef Matt puts on great virtual cooking classes that we highly recommend. We've done several, but I think hands down this recipe is our favorite!

Orzo with Roasted Vegetables

A fabulous summer pasta salad, this dish will keep for several days.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 ea                  small eggplant – peeled and cut into ½” cubes

1 ea                  red bell pepper – cut into ½” cubes

1 ea                  yellow bell pepper – cut into ½” cubes

½ ea                 red onion, peeled and cut into ½” dice

3 cloves            garlic – minced

⅓ cup               extra virgin olive oil

1½ tsp              kosher salt

½ tsp                freshly ground black pepper

½ lb                 orzo

Dressing:

⅓ cup               freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

1 tsp                 kosher salt

½ tsp                freshly ground black pepper

⅓ cup               extra virgin olive oil

Final Assembly:

4 ea                  scallions – sliced

¼ cup               pine nuts – toasted

½ lb                 feta – crumbled by hand

15 leaves          basil – chiffonade

Method:

• Preheat oven to 425° F. Toss eggplant, bell peppers, red onion, and garlic with olive oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and spread onto a large baking sheet. Roast in oven until browned – about 40 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Cook orzo in boiling salted water until tender. Drain, toss with a little olive oil, and spread out on a baking sheet to cool.
• While orzo is cooking and vegetables are roasting, make vinaigrette by combining lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. While whisking, slowly add in olive oil to emulsify the vinaigrette. Set aside.
• To assemble salad, combine orzo and roasted vegetables in a large bowl. Add the scallions and pine nuts and toss with about ½ of the vinaigrette. Add the feta and toss again – adding as much vinaigrette as needed to get the flavor you want. Toss with basil and serve.

Pro Home Cooks- Neapolitan pizza making

Source: A master class in neapolitan pizza making (full breakdown) – Pro Home Cooks

YouTube Source: One Guy Changed My Pizza Game Forever

Poolish: START THE NIGHT BEFORE

Ingredients:

• 200 grams of water
• 5 grams of honey
• 5 grams of yeast
• 200 grams of 00 or AP flour

Instructions:

1. In a large container add the water, honey, and yeast. Mix to dissolve the yeast.
2. Next, add in the flour and mix until there are no dry spots. Let it sit for 15 minutes, uncovered.
3. Seal it and let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
4. Place in the fridge overnight or anywhere from 16 – 24 hours but nothing more otherwise it will become acidic.

Pizza Dough:

Ingredients:

• Poolish, recipe above
• 300 grams of Manitoba flour or bread flour
• 200 grams of 00 or AP flour
• 300 grams of water
• I think this dough was too wet to slip off a peel, so would cut this back next time.
• 20 grams of salt

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl add all of the poolish, bread flour, and 00 flour.
2. In a measuring cup add in water and salt. Mix to dissolve salt.
3. Integrate the flour into the polish while adding the water little by little.
4. You should have a very wet dough once all of the water has been added.
5. Now, dump out the dough onto a clean surface and start working it. Click the video to see how Vito does it.
6. After, you have worked the dough you should be left with a more cohesive yet shaggy dough. Cover it with a little bit of oil and let it sit for 15 minutes.
7. Now, gently detach the dough from the counter and shape into a tight bowl.
8. Cover with olive and a damp towel. Let it sit for 1 hour.
9. Now, that the dough is ready. Cut into 250 – 280 gram pieces. Gently shape into a ball. Click here to see how Vito does it!
10. Place the dough balls onto a baking tray, keeping them four fingers apart.
11. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 – 2 hours.
12. Now, you are ready to make some pizza.

Pizza Sauce:

Ingredients:

• 1 can of whole peeled tomatoes
• Handful of salt
• Chopped basil
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients.
2. Crush the tomatoes by hand and make sure to leave some chunks of tomatoes. Set aside.

Making the Pizza:

Ingredients:

• Pizza Dough, recipe above
• Pizza sauce, recipe above
• Fresh mozzarella, cut into equal sized cubes
• Parmesan Cheese
• Fresh Basil
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions:

1. Dust your dough ball with some flour and using a small spatula, gently lift out the dough into a bowl of flour. Wrap the rest of the dough balls so they don’t dry out and put them away.
2. Dredge the dough ball in some flour then transfer to your work surface. Take the dough ball that is now coated in flour and press out the dough. See how Vito does it here.
3. Then spoon the sauce right in the center and gently swirl it out. Grate some parmesan on top, followed by mozzarella, basil, and olive oil.
4. Using a pizza peel, transfer the pizza to your oven and bake until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted.
5. To finish off the pizza, grate some more parmesan over top, top with torn basil, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Milk Street: Soft Polenta

INGREDIENTS

2 cups coarse stoneground yellow cornmeal (see note)

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

 

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 375°F with a rack in the lower-middle position. In a large Dutch oven, whisk together

the cornmeal, 1½ teaspoons salt and 11 cups water. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-high,

stirring frequently to prevent clumping. Transfer the pot, uncovered, to the oven and bake for 1 hour.

Remove the pot from the oven. Carefully whisk until smooth and use a wooden spoon to scrape along

the bottom and into corners of the pot. Return, uncovered, to the oven and cook until the cornmeal is

thick and creamy and the granules are tender, another 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the cornmeal

used.

Remove the pot from the oven. Vigorously whisk the polenta until smooth and use the wooden spoon

to scrape the bottom, sides and corners of the pot. Let stand for 5 minutes. e polenta should thicken

just enough for a spoon to leave a brief trail when dragged through; whisk in additional water if needed

to adjust the consistency. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Goes great with the Milk Street Tuscan Beef!

Both recipes from this episode of Milk Street TV.

Milk Street: Tuscan Beef And Black Pepper Stew (Peposo Alla Fornacina)

 6 to 7 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, well trimmed and cut into 2-inch Chunks

Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons c extra-virgin olive oil

1 Large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced

12 Medium garlic cloves, peeled

3 Tablespoons tomato paste

2 Sprigs rosemary, plus 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

2 Cups dry red wine

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the lower-middle position. Place the beef in a large bowl, sprinkle

with 1½ teaspoons salt and 2 tablespoons pepper, then toss.

 

In a large Dutch oven over medium, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion and garlic and cook,

stirring, until the onion is lightly browned, 7 to 9 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring,

until the paste begins to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Nestle the beef and rosemary sprigs in the onion

mixture, cover and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2 hours.

 

Remove the pot from the oven. Stir, then return to the oven uncovered. Cook until a knife inserted into

a piece of beef meets no resistance, another 1 to 1½ hours.

 

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a medium bowl. Set a ‚ne mesh strainer over a fat separator

or a medium bowl. Pour the meat juices into the strainer and press on the solids to push them through

the strainer; discard any solids le behind.

 

Pour the wine into the now-empty pot and bring to a boil over medium-high, scraping up any browned

bits. Reduce to medium and simmer until the wine is syrupy and reduced to 1 cup, 5 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, if you strained the meat juices into a bowl, use a spoon to skim off and discard the fat from

the surface.

 

Pour the defatted meat juices into the pot. Bring to a simmer over medium-high and cook, stirring

occasionally, until thickened to the consistency of heavy cream, 5 to 7 minutes. Return the beef to the

pot, add the minced rosemary and stir gently. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally,

until the meat is heated, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 teaspoons pepper, then taste and season with salt.