“Cooking requires confident guesswork and improvisation– experimentation and substitution, dealing with failure and uncertainty in a creative way”
— Paul Theroux
I think Giada de Laurentiis has done for Italian cooking what Julia Child did for French cuisine – she brought it right into our homes in ways we can understand and replicate. I lived in Italy from the time I was 9 until I was 16, returned for a semester my sophomore year with the University of Dallas, and have returned many times since. The freshness of the food and the quality of the flavors is always noticeable from the simplest to the most complex dishes. Plus, the restaurants are truly out of this world.
Pasta is a particular favorite comfort food. Although I modified Giada’a basic recipe for “Simple Bolognese,” (Everyday Italian, pg 64), I wanted to acknowledge her. I have always been a huge fan of Italian dishes and pasta has always been one of my favourites. I was speaking to my best friend about Italian food just the other day, and she told me that the best pasta she has ever eaten was served to her in La Piazza Verden on a trip to Germany. This just goes to show that one of the best things about food is that everyone has a story to tell about their favourite dishes.
im making this tonite! heather k
Yay, Heather! My first comment! Let me know how you like it – it reheats great, too! Sus