This one will be relatively short because a) I think I haven't blogged in part due to thinking of all I wanted to say and b) it has come to my attention that I'm a little, say, long-winded. The one issue is that I have cooked a lot of recipes from the book recently, so I'm breaking the posts up into Scheduled and Non-Scheduled Recipes.
First up? Scheduled Recipes! I'll go in reverse chronological order; thus, we are beginning with the Beggar's Linguine.
Beggar's Linguine
Verdict: Fast, easy, and tasty. But would I add it to the rotation? No...it's a good every-now-and-then dish.
This is not a recipe I would've chosen to make on my own, unless I was in some weird mood, due to the preponderance of dried fruit (figs and raisins). I'm just not a huge fan. But, the sum is better than the constituent parts and I can see how this would be soul-warming when jet-lagged and cold. I didn't alter the recipe at all, but for using penne because I forgot to buy linguine and for using 1 tbsp less of the butter because I really didn't feel like hunting up an extra stick just for that tablespoon.
Wine: I served it with a Burgundian Chardonnay from the Côte de Beaune. Chardonnay is a really acidic grape, which of course makes it a wonderful food wine. The French style really showcases the grape rather than the oak barrel or malolactic fermentation, so if you're a fan of big, buttery chards, this is not the wine for you. I specifically chose a French Chardonnay precisely because the pasta itself is rather big and buttery and I wanted to complement, rather than match, that. According to my guinea pigs, they agreed that a)the recipe was lovely and b) the wine paired quite well.
In the end? The best part was the taste of the nutty butter. Mmmmmm....
