Month: January 2017

Pasta Blog – Part Two

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The conclusion of our Pasta Extravaganza: Lou took over once I had the cheese grated. He followed the directions to a “T,” browning the butter to a beautiful Caramel Color:

The verdict: 10/10 for preparation and presentation. 8/10 for taste and duplication of the Old Spaghetti Factory flavor. The batch of cheese I purchased seemed milder than I recall – compared to the OSF version (they do claim to use a special blend of mizithra).

Still – an unqualified success for me. Lou found it too bland. Good news is, I am having it again tonight, and we have more put away for a snowy day!!!

Pasta Special – Part One

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Today is the day. We are going to try the Old Spaghetti Factory Mizithra and Browned Butter Pasta

My job was to grate the cheese. It came in a 1 pound dome … medium hardness:

Lou wanted the entire pound grated … so I did what I was told. Happy to report no fingers were harmed during the process.

Lou is in charge of the rest … browning the butter. The finished product review will be in Part Two.

We are a little nervous. The mizithra doesn’t taste like much … I’m hoping the butter brings out the flavor.

Stay tuned for more.

Hmmmnnn…

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Lou still hasn't agreed to cook my pasta. He surely doesn't expect me to set the kitchen on fire, does he?

In the meantime, we enjoyed a slightly warmer day. Lou is even walking around in shorts tonight. I still have a sweatshirt and blanket on.

Stitch continues to enjoy watching television – here he is, taking a closer look:

This is the TV we have temporarily setup in the sunroom. We will be moving it so we can have a fire when watching TV!

 

More Cooking News

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There is a meal at The Old Spaghetti Factory I really miss:

It is just plain spaghetti with browned butter and mizithra cheese. I ordered some mizithra cheese from Amazon and it arrived today!!!

 

I found the recipe and sent it to Lou: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/23/Spaghetti_with_Burnt_Butter38272.shtml

 

Lou responded to my email with this:

I explained, since it was so dangerous, he should make it for me! Stay tuned.

 

Not All Experiments Have Happy Endings

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As everyone knows, Lou is quite the chef. He enjoys baking homemade bread. Usually it is wonderful.

That is his latest experiment … Beer Bread. As he was making it he said something like, “No one has ever made this recipe. It might be pretty good…”

LOL – LOL – LOL. It came out about 2 inches high and was rather … firm.

Here is another view, just so you can compare – it should be 1/2 to 3/4 the height of the pan:

And yes, I had permission to share. You think I'm going to risk the ire of my personal Chef????

 

Happy Happy New Year

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Here's hoping 2017 brings happiness and joy to all who enter, and for those who didn't make it, we wish them much peace.

Without supervision, we didn't stand a chance of making it until midnight. Natasha, our Snow Princess, took matters into her own hands at exactly midnight – jumping up from a sound sleep and howling. Apparently she heard a gun go off somewhere. Fine, an opportunity to say “Happy New Year!”

However, she then decided to bark at every shadow throughout the night. So, not a very restful start to 2017. Natasha, of course, caught up on her sleep this morning:

 

After naps, we are getting ready to enjoy another wonderful feast prepared by Chef Louie … the roast before it went into the oven:

A toast to the New Year: