Once upon a time, I thought pasta with marinara was a little simple (aka boring) for my tastes. Then we went to Italy. Now I can not stop drooling over my memories of steaming hot, perfectly al dente spaghetti tossed in a simply delectable pomodoro.
So tonight, I denied my dependence on food network recipes and improvised, sans recipe and armed with only a handful of tomatoes, a bunch of basil, some garlic, onion, red wine, and e.v.o.o. It was cooking in its most basic form - purely to taste with a little of this and some more of that. Taking a cue from a fantastic plate of pasta I had in Verona, I pulsed each of the ingredients through a food processor, separately to prevent emulsion. Not only did it provide great texture, it made prep a breeze! The end result? Well... the first photo was taken at 7:44PM ... the second photo was snapped at 7:51PM...
Craving a sweet treat after our quick weeknight dinner, we headed out to our favorite gelateria in Laguna: Tutto Amore. This place makes me feel like I'm heading through the streets of Venice all over again, with the two Itals who run the joint and converse in Italian non-stop. I could listen to that beautiful language all day long!! And the gelato? It is no joke - tastes just like the real thing! I am tempted to head out there every night in hopes that this place doesn't go under in this terrible economy. If that's not sacrifice, I don't know what is!
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