Skinny Italian: Eat It and Enjoy It (26 page)

S
PAGHETTI
A
LL’UBRIACO
(D
RUNKEN
S
PAGHETTI
)

I love-love-love this recipe because you know it tastes great from the title. Drunken Spaghetti. What’s more fun that that?

Now, most people make their drunken spaghetti with red wine. The wine soaks into the noodles and makes them dark red and runny, and, in my opinion, as good as it might taste, it is not good looking. Of course, I’m all about adding wine to my pasta, so I created a variation that uses white wine and Milania’s Marinara Sauce.
Salute!

Milania’s Marinara Sauce (see
page 119
)

One 750-ml bottle Chardonnay

1 pound spaghetti

½ cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving

1.
Bring the marinara and 1 cup of wine to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Keep warm.

2.
Meanwhile, pour the remaining wine into a large pot, add 3 ½ quarts lightly salted water, and bring to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the package directions until al dente.

3.
Drain the spaghetti and return to the pot. Add the sauce and mix well. Serve hot, with the cheese passed on the side.

S
ICILIAN
S
TEAK

Here’s why my Sicilian steak makes me feel super sexy: when I think of Sicily, I automatically think about the cliffside city of Taormina. You cannot imagine how spectacular it is: it’s all hilly and green, Mount Etna is steaming in the distance, the sapphire-blue ocean is everywhere, and the best resorts allow you to pretty much walk on the water. (There’s an amazing film festival in Taormina every year where they show movies in a 2,300-year-old open-air Greek-Roman amphitheater. It’s where
Transformers
had its world premiere.) The most beautiful resort in Taormina is the Grand Hotel Atlantis Bay, which makes me think of the equally beautiful Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. Joe and I got engaged there (we couldn’t afford to fly all the way to Italy to get engaged), so you can see how Atlantis + Sicily + Steak = Sexy in my book. Try it out and see what magic you can conjure up yourself!

2 (1 pound each) shell steaks, cut about 1 inch thick

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup dried bread crumbs

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1.
Trim the excess fat from the perimeter of each steak. Combine the oil and garlic in a 13 × 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Place the steaks in the baking dish, and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, turning the steak over after 15 minutes.

2.
Mix the bread crumbs, cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper together in another shallow dish. Remove the steaks from the oil, letting the oil cling to the steaks. Dip each steak into the bread crumb mixture, patting to coat both sides. Let stand 10 minutes to set the crumbs.

3.
Position a broiler rack 6 to 8 inches from the source of heat, and preheat the broiler. (If the steaks cook too close to the heat, the crust will burn.) Lightly oil the rack. Place the steaks on the rack and broil until the crust is lightly browned, about 3 ½ minutes. If the crust begins to scorch, move to the next lowest rung in the oven or broiler away from the heat source. Turn the steaks and cook until the other side is browned, about 3 ½ minutes more for medium-rare meat.

4.
Transfer to a platter and let stand 3 minutes. Cut across the grain into ½-inch-thick slices and serve.

L
USCIOUS
L
INGUINE WITH
M
ANILA
C
LAMS

This is my absolute, hands-down favorite Italian dish. It’s the first one I ever really perfected and I still make it all the time. It’s super easy, but something about it, steaming the clams open, is just so earthy and sensual. And of course, it’s delicious!

2 ½ pounds Manila or littleneck clams

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

2/3 cup dry white wine

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper

1 pound linguine

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1.
Soak the clams in a large bowl of cold salted water for 20 minutes so they can expel any sand. Scrub the clams well under cold running water. Throw away any clams that are gaping open.

2.
Heat the oil and garlic in a large saucepan over medium heat until the garlic is golden, about 3 minutes. Add the wine, salt, and hot pepper, and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

3.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the linguine and cook according to the package instructions until al dente.

4.
While the linguine is cooking, add the clams to the wine mixture in the saucepan. Cover tightly and return to high heat. Cook, occasionally shaking the pot, until the clams open, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat. Discard any unopened clams. Add the butter; shake the pot until the butter melts.

5.
Drain the linguine. Return the linguine to the pot. Add the clam sauce and mix gently. Sprinkle with the parsley, toss gently, and serve hot.

F
RESH
F
RUIT WITH
B
EAUTIFUL
B
ALSAMIC
G
LAZE

This is a fabulous dessert that just lends itself to sexiness. Anything you can pour over fresh fruit and feed to someone, anything you can use your fingers for and lick the extra sauce off, is just begging for romance.

You can drizzle this over just about any fruit (my favorite is pineapple).

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

2 large oranges, peeled and cut into segments

1.
Bring the vinegar and brown sugar just to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Immediately remove from the heat, and let cool.

2.
Combine the strawberries and oranges in a large bowl. Spoon into dessert bowls, drizzle with the glaze, and serve.

F
RESH
S
TRAWBERRIES AND
S
AMBUCA

This is an Italian classic, mixing strawberries with Sambuca. It’s super easy to make, but the fun is in serving it to your special someone.

1 ½ pounds fresh strawberries, hulled

¼ cup sugar

1/3 cup Sambuca

Place the strawberries in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the sugar and toss gently. Pour in the Sambuca, and toss again. Let stand at room temperature to intoxicate the berries, about 10 minutes. Spoon into bowls and serve.

P
IZZA
N
UTELLA

This is Joe’s favorite dessert, and if you have some pizza dough on hand, it’s a snap to whip up. Nutella is just the yummiest, creamiest, sexiest spread ever!

Bread flour, for rolling the dough

1 ball Old World Pizza Dough (
page 141
)

3 tablespoons chocolate-hazelnut spread, such as Nutella

1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

1.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.