Recipes & Serving Tips Coupla Guys Foods

     This is a fun part of our website for us 'cause we love to cook and trade recipes, cooking tips, techniques, serving suggestions, and wine recommendations. So with that in mind, please feel free to send us your own recipes, suggestions, and wine picks. We'll publish them right here. Send your stuff to joe@couplaguys.com.
     Okay, let's get started.
     Being the smart guys that we are, we figured the logical place to begin talking about serving tips would be with the stuff that you are already buyin' from us. If ya get what we're gettin' at here. Just Click on the recipe titles below to go to that receipe.

Recipes:

Awesome Arrabiata & Perfect Puttanesca

Arrabiata Sauce with Meat
Serious Sesame Sauce
Terrific Tapenade

Buoy Base

Crème de la Crimini

Marvelous Marinara
Insalata Caprese
Prosciutto with Fresh Figs
Bruschetto Squisito
Pesto
Smoke Roasted Arctic Char
Rigatoni with Italian Sausage
Noodles with Red Clam Sauce
Noodles with White Clam Sauce
Noodles with Fresh Clams
Spaghetti with Anchovies and Onions

Awesome Arrabiata & Perfect Puttanesca
     We think the best kind of pasta for either of these sauces is "penne rigate". That's the kind that's shaped like a short tube with ribs or grooves etched along the length and the ends cut at an angle, resembling the tip of a pen. Hence,
"penne"— like a pen.
     Okay, with that little factoid out of the way, now pay attention!

Buy a pound of "penne rigate" noodles, a bunch of flat leaf (Italian) parsley, a loaf of crusty French or Italian bread (Italian sourdough would be good), and if ya don't already have some, a bottle of extra virgin olive oil.
Buy a bottle of red wine. Try a French Cotes du Rhone, or an Italian Chianti Classico. Either one is a terrific match for this sauce.
Cook the noodles in about 3 quarts of boiling, salted water. Chop up the parsley leaves, and heat the sauce slowly over medium heat (don't burn it).
Slice the bread, stack it in serving basket or bowl, and serve with small plate with the extra virgin olive oil for dipping the bread slices. (It's better than butter.)
When the pasta is done, drain the water, toss the pasta and sauce together, put it in a serving bowl and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top.
Eat, drink, enjoy!

New Arrabiata Sauce Recipe

Sometimes you ask yourself, "Hey, what would it taste like if I just added some of this extra stuff to the sauce?" Well that's what happened to me one weekend. I had about a half pound each of ground pork and ground beef leftover from a making a meatloaf. So I decided to sauté 'em and add some dry fennel, thyme, and oregano.

Why those three? 'Cause they're the seasonings (especially fennel) that give Italian sausage its distinctive flavor.

In any case, when the ground meat was almost done, I removed it from the pan and drained off almost all of the grease from the meat. Then, I just added a jar of our Awesome Arrabiata Sauce and used the sauce to deglaze the sauté pan, scraping the beautifully caramelized meat stuff in the pan and blended it all into the sauce. Next I put the ground beef and pork back into the sauce and let it simmer for about 30 minutes.

When the pasta was finished, I tossed it with sauce, sprinkled on the fresh parsley, put it in a pretty pasta bowl, and served.

All four of my guests cheered. So ya gotta try this.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb. ground pork

1 jar Awesome Arrabiata Sauce

Handful of finely chopped flat leaf parsley.

Of course another way to do this recipe would be to use regular Italian sausage with fennel that you slice up and sauté. But you can be sure of this: Whichever way you decide to do it, your friends and family will rave.

Serious Sesame Sauce

We call this stuff "serious" for three reasons: 1) you can use it in a bunch of ways, 2) It has seriously good flavor, and 3) It goes a long way— this jar will sauce 2 lbs. of pasta. That's enough noodles for 6 to 8 people as a main course, and 10 or more if it's served as a pasta course or side dish!
As far as wine goes, things like sesame are a difficult match. That said, two that we think go well with sesame are Pinot Blanc from the Alsace region of France, or a Sauvignon Blanc from anywhere (although we're partial to the versions from California and Oregon).
Here's a couple, two, t'ree suggestions that will make your family and friends swoon.

Put it on noodles the way the Chinese did and do.

Buy some fresh cilantro and a pound of spaghetti.
Boil the noodles in a coupla quarts of salted water and finely chop about half of the bunch of cilantro.
Drain the spaghetti, pour on 1 cup (1/2 jar) of sesame sauce and toss it well to coat the noodles. Add about half of the chopped cilantro and toss again.
Dump the noodles into a sexy pasta bowl, sprinkle on the rest of the cilantro, and serve.

Sesame Chicken Breasts for a Coupla Lovers

Buy a couple of boneless chicken breasts, a bunch of fresh cilantro, and some scallions (green onions).
Season the chicken breasts with salt & pepper and saute them over medium heat in around 3 tablespoons of oil (peanut oil would be great if ya have it) for about 8 to 10 minutes per side.
While the chicken is cooking, finely chop the cilantro, and coarsely chop the scallions.
When the chicken is done, take it out of the skillet and put it aside in a warm place. Now pour all of the oil out of the pan and put the pan back on the burner to heat up.
Pour a half cup of sesame sauce into the hot pan and stir it around with a wooden spatula to dissolve the carmelized chicken stuff that's stuck to the pan.
Finally, pour some of the sauce from the pan on each plate, put the chicken breasts on top and sprinkle the cilantro and scallions on and around the chicken.
Now run (don't walk) to the table and enjou the applause!

Spinach with Sesame-- our version of the Japanese dish "Goma-ae"

Buy some fresh spinach— one bunch per person.
Cut or tear off the tough stems, and wash the leaves well in cold water in a colander. Let the water droplets stay on the leaves. The water will create a little steam in the pan as you saute the spinach.
Saute the spinach leaves in a little canola or peanut oil for about 3 minutes.
As the spinach finishes cooking, pour on a little sesame sauce and toss the leaves so they get lightly coated with the sauce.
There, you've just created an incredible veggie side dish to have with chicken, fish, or pork.
Go to the dining room & take a bow.

Terrific Tapenade

Okay, here's a couple of ways to introduce folks you like (or don't like but want to impress) to the fifth taste— umami. As you'll see, the first way ain't rocket science, if ya get our meanin' here.
     As for wine, a whole bunch of wines (both red and white) go well with our tapenade. Red Wines: Italian Sangiovese, Chianti or Barbera; French red wine from the Rhone region; Australian Shiraz (similar to Rhones). For white wine try Sauvignon Blanc, Italian Soave, or French whites from the Loire region.

    The World's Best Bread Spread
    This is so easy that we doubt that you can call this a "recipe".

Pick up a loaf of Italian or French bread— the really good, crusty kind.
Cut the bread into 1/2" slices and brush one side with some extra virgin olive oil.
Toast the bread under the broiler with the oiled side up. Oh, by the way, don't toast the other side-- it's better that way. Hey, who's recipe is it anyway?
Spread a healthy dollop of tapenade on toasted bread slices and pass them around.
Now watch everyone smile.

Tagliatelle and Tapenade
If ya thought the first way to use this stuff sounds easy, try this:

Buy a pound of tagliatelle pasta— that's the kind that's all rolled up in little nests, but the noodles are about as wide as fettucine. Also, get a bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley.
Boil the tagliatelle in a couple, three quarts of salted water. While the pasta cooks, chop up a handful of parsley.
When the noodles are done, drain 'em and toss 'em with about 2/3 cup of the tapenade.
Sprinkle the chopped parsely artfully over the tagliatelle and serve.

This is a terrific side dish a great match for grilled tuna or swordfish. Your guests, family, or lover (potential or otherwise) will insist you are a genius.

Bouy Base
Making supper doesn't get much easier than this:

Buy a variety of your favorite fish and shellfish (shrimp, mussels, clams, squid, scallops, swordfish, etc.), and a loaf of your favorite crusty French or Italian Bread.
Shell the shrimp and scrub the hard-shelled critters.
If you're including a finned fish such as swordfish or tuna, instead of just adding the raw fish to the pot, do this. Sauté the fish briefly in a little olive oil in a very hot sauté pan to sear both sides. Doing so keeps the fish from falling apart in the stewing liquid and preserves the natural flavor.
Okay, now dump a jar of our Buoy Base into a pot large enough to hold the fish and shellfish, add one jar of cold water, and bring it almost to a boil. Then reduce the heat to a medium.
Now add your fish and shellfish to the pot, with the critters that require a longer cooking time going in first, and simmer it all for around 10 minutes.
Badda Bing! You've just made the best tasting shellfish stew that you've ever had.

Now divide the stew into sexy bowls and run (don't walk) to the table. Or, if the pot you used for cooking is a good looking one, just take the pot to the table and serve your family and friends right from it, inviting everyone to slurp to their hearts content and dunk that wonderful crusty bread in the stew.
This dish will be matched almost perfectly by a peppery red Rhone or Australian syrah. Do it all like this and you'll discover what it's like to be a super supper hero.

Marvelous Marinara

Like we tell ya on the label and in our product description here on the website, this stuff is a "mother sauce". Like our own mothers, it's terrific all by itself (as a sauce for your favorite pasta), or it can be used to give birth to other wonderful sauces when you add your favorite ingredients.

(Hey, don't worry. We won't extend the metaphor any further.)

Here's a couple of suggestions:

Fettuccine with Italian Sausage

Buy a pound or so of your favorite Italian sausage with fennel, a pound of your favorite pasta (we like fettucine with this recipe), a loaf of your crusty Italian or French bread, and a bunch of flat leaf parsley.

Put a big pot of salted water on the stove to boil for the pasta.
Cut the sausage into 2" pieces and saute it in olive oil. When the sausage is nicely browned after 5 or 6 minutes, remove it from the pan and pour off the grease and oil.
Return the pan to the stove, turn up the heat, and dump a whole jar of Marinara Sauce into the pot. As it sizzles and comes to a boil, use your spatula to stir and scrape up and dissolve all of that wonderful caramelized stuff on the bottom of the pan.
Put the sausage back in the pan, turn the heat down, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
Now all ya gotta do is drain the pasta, toss it with the sauce, and finish it off with a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

When you, your family, and your guests take that first bite, you'll swoon. It's a meal none of you will soon forget.

Pasta Primavera

Primavera means spring, or more broadly, the brightness and freshness of spring. As a recipe for pasta it includes fresh, brightly colored vegetables that are lightly cooked so hold their color and raw flavor.

Typically, pasta primavera is made using smaller noodles (e.g., penne, rigatoni, fussili), but because we like long noodles (linguine, fettuccine, tagliatelli), we just cut the veggies into long, thin strips so they match the noodles better.

With all that said, here's our version of Pasta Primavera:

Ingredients:

1 jar of Marvelous Marinara sauce

1 lb. Fetuccine

2 small zucchini

3 small yellow or "winter" squash

1 small or baby eggplant

2 red bell peppers

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

A pinch of crushed red chilies (or more if you like it spicy)

2 Tbs. chopped flat leaf or Italian parsley

Salt & black pepper to taste

Grated Parmesan Reggiano Cheese for the table (Yep, the imported stuff.)

Preparation:

Put a big pot of salted water on the stove for the noodles. Next, slice all of the veggies into thin slices pieces (Juliannne is the fancy word we'd use here— as in "Juliannne" the veggies.)

Next, heat a sauté pan and add the olive oil, crushed chilies, & vegetables. Add a little salt & black pepper to your liking and sauté it all for about 5 minutes.

Now add the whole jar of Marvelous Marinara sauce, & gently stir to mix it all up. When the sauce is heated through, dump the drained noodles into the sauté pan and toss it all together.

All ya gotta do now is put the pasta in good looking big bowl and take it to the dinner table, along with the parmesan cheese. No, wait, there'll be one other thing to do: graciously accept the applause coming from all the folks at the table.

As for what wine to serve with this masterpiece, well, you pick it. Both red or white will work with this recipe. If you decide on a white wine, make sure it's got some guts and structure— something like a full-bodied Chardonnay or Alsatian Pinot Blanc. But if red is what you like, try a Barbera di Alba, a Sangiovese, or a Chianti— something lighter and fruitier.

Crème de la Crimini Sauce

"Ready to Use" is a phrase that applies so well to this sauce, well, it's as if the words were invented just because of it.

Okay, okay, ya gotta do a couple of things:

Cook the pasta. (Use any pasta shape that's your favorite.)

Grate some Parmesan Reggiano Cheese, and chop up some Italian parsley.

Heat the sauce, drain the noodles, toss it all together, and sprinkle the chopped parsley over the whole, wonderful thing.

Oh, and buy your favorite red wine to go with. But, other than that, that's it.

ENJOY!

Insalata Caprese—Tomatoes with Fresh Mozzarella and Basil
     Although dishes don’t get any simpler or easier than this one, this recipe depends upon two things that aren’t always available: terrific red, ripe tomatoes (like the ones we used to swipe from the neighbor’s garden in late August when we were kids), and big, fresh basil leaves.
     The third major ingredient—fresh mozzarella cheese is easy to find in larger cities. It’s pretty simple stuff—nothing more than mozzarella cheese before it’s pressed to remove the water.
     If you live in the boonies and can’t find it , we have a suggestion. Move! This food is worth selling your house for. But if that’s a little too radical, just ask your grocer to order it. And if he doesn’t know what it is, you’ve got the wrong grocer.
     When you’re able to get these three things, your guests will close their eyes and have that kind of dreamy smile people get when they bite into something that combines different flavors and textures perfectly.

Ingredients:
Ripe fresh tomatoes—1 per person
Fresh Mozzarella balls—1 per person
Whole fresh basil leaves
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
     Cut the tomatoes and fresh mozzarella into ½ inch thick slices. Pick the basil leaves from their stems, wash them, and either spin them dry in a salad spinner or pat them with paper toweling.
     Arrange three or four slices of tomato on each salad plate, cover the tomato with a leaf of basil, and then put a slice of fresh mozzarella on top of the basil leaf. Now drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over each piece of mozzarella, followed by a sprinkle of coarse kosher salt and a generous grind of black pepper.
     That’s it!

Serving Suggestions:
     Caprese is wonderful as either an appetizer or salad. We like to serve it when friends come over for drinks and conversation. It’s great company for a bowl of Kalamata olives, a loaf of Italian bread, and your favorite prepared giardianara. The next time you have friends over for an informal gathering try putting out:
     A plate of Insulata Caprese
     A bowl of ripe Kalamata olives
     A plate of Italian bread slices that are brushed with olive oil, toasted under the broiler,   rubbed with a clove of fresh garlic and accompanied by a dish of spicy giardinara.
     A bowl of our Black Bean Spread (page 9).
     A plate of sliced, hard Italian sausage.
     A plate of either cantaloupe chunks or figs wrapped with Prosciutto di Parma (page 7).
The only problem with this spread is if you make a lot, nobody will ever go home.

Wine Suggestions:
     White wine works best, but lighter reds are good too.
     White: a crisp, dry Pinot Grigio, Soave, Gavi, or a Sauignon Blanc.
     Red: an Italian Dolcetto, a Barberrra, a Chianti, or a Sangiovese (from either California or Italy).

Prosciutto with Fresh Figs

Prosciutto is ham. That’s kinda like saying caviar is fish eggs or Mozart was a piano player.

Of course, in that prosciutto is meat from the leg of the pig, it is ham. But, like it’s German (Westphalian hams), American (Smithfield hams), and Spanish (Serrano) counterparts, it’s special.

The specialness starts with the piggy’s diet. The well known Smithfield hams of Virginia and North Carolina are from pigs whose feed includes acorns or peaches. German hogs destined to become Westphalian ham are given meals of sugar beets. Italian Prosciutto comes from animals that eat chestnuts, with the very special pigs from Parma (Prosciutto di Parma) being fed whey from the cheese that’s produced there.

How about that? Now you’re ready for Jeopardy.

Prosciutto, like its cousins, is cured in brine and aged for up to a year. Sliced paper-thin, its smooth texture gives you the impression that it’s delicate, maybe even a little wussy. But, not so. Prosciutto is powerful stuff, with rich, earthy, slightly salty and smoky flavors. One of our guys says it reminds him of smoked salmon.

Most people who eat prosciutto with fruit combine it with cantaloupe, and it’s very good that way. Plus, cantaloupe has the added advantage of being readily available year round these days. Fresh figs, on the other hand, only come to us in mid to late summer.

Even so, combining Prosciutto di Parma and fresh figs is an event we look forward to each summer. Maybe it’s actually better because we can only do it for a brief time once a year. It’s more special that way.

Ingredients:
Prosciutto di Parma— 1 lb.
Fresh Figs— 1 dozen

Preparation:

Putting it together is ridiculously simple.

Wash the figs, slice off the tops and bottoms, and cut each one in half. Lay the thin sheets of sliced prosciutto on a cutting board and slice them in half along their length.

Wrap each half fig with a slice of prosciutto and secure it with a toothpick.

That’s it. Boiling water for tea is more complicated.

Serving Suggestions:

In the food dictionary “appetizer heaven” has a picture of these items next to it: a plate of prosciutto with fresh figs, a heaping bowl of Calamata olives, a plate of bruschetta, and an array of char grilled vegetables such as egg plant, zucchini, and sliced red bell peppers that are drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil.

If you are lucky enough to be both reading this and living in Chicago, go to D’Amato’s bakery on Grand Avenue and buy a round loaf of tomato bread, then walk next door to Bari Foods and pick up a jar of Ralph’s spicy Giardinara to use as a topping. Add this to the array of stuff we’ve already listed, and you will be happy.

Wine Suggestions:

Either red or white will be terrific, but since we tend to serve this appetizer in late summer, we like crisp, cold, citrusy whites with it.

White: Italian Pinot Grigio or Soave. French Sancerre or Pouilly Fume from the Loire Valley. Sauvignon Blanc or lighter, less oaky chardonnays from California. A Pinot Blanc from Alsace or a dry Reisling from Germany. Or for something unusual, look for a white Rioja from Spain.

     Red: Reds should be light and fruity. Try a chilled Beaujolais from—guess where—Beaujolais.

Bruschetta Squisito
     Classic Italian bruschetta is pretty simple stuff. It’s nothing more than Italian bread slices that are brushed with olive oil, toasted under the broiler, and rubbed with a clove of fresh garlic. It is sometimes accompanied by a dish of spicy giardinara, roasted garlic, cannelini beans, etc.
     This version of bruschetta is one wonderful, mouth-watering appetizer that is also elegant in its simplicity. In fact it’s so special we had to invent a pretentious title for the recipe. The hot, crunchy, toasted bread contrasts nicely with the cool, aromatic flavor combination of tomatoes, basil, and garlic. It will make you happy.

Ingredients:
Plum Tomatoes— 2 lb.
Red Onion— 2/3 cup
Fresh Basil— 1 cup, finely chopped
Flat Leaf Parsley— ½ cup, finely chopped
Fresh Garlic— 4 cloves
Red Chile Pepper Flakes— 1 Tsp.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Crusty Italian or French Bread

Preparation:
     Dice the tomatoes & red onion, chop the basil & parsley, and peel, crush & finely chop the garlic.Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, drizzle a small amount of olive oil over, add salt & 20 grinds of fresh black pepper, mix it all together, and taste a spoonful.
     The key flavors in this dish come from combining tomatoes and basil (one of the food combinations invented by the gods). The garlic, parsley, and onion make it heady, aromatic, and complex. Crushed chili pepper adds a gentle spiciness, and the extra virgin olive oil smoothes the texture.
     The amount of oil, chili flakes, and salt & pepper should be adjusted to taste. Experiment. Try a little more of this or that until the dish has the flavor combinations you want.
     Cut the bread into slices, brush one side of the bread slices with olive oil, and toast 'em lightly under the broiler. (Why just one side? 'Cause that's the way we do it, that's why. Also, it creates a nice texture contrast when you bite into it.
     Spoon the bruschetta mixture on the toast slices and serve immediately (while the bread is hot).
     This dish is a terrific appetizer. Also, it matches beautifully with wine, especially cold, crisp whites. BUT BE CAREFUL. Your guests will enjoy it so much they’ll overeat and loose their appetites. Or, they’ll drink too much wine and you’ll have to drive them home. Or, even worse, you’ll also drink too much wine, and then they’ll have to stay overnight. Maybe they’ll never leave.

Wine Suggestions:
     White: A crisp, dry wine such as Pinot Grigio, Gavi, or Sauvignon Blanc.
     Red: A fruity red such as Chianti, Salice, or Sangiovese.

Pesto
      The herb called basil gets its name, according to one legend we heard, from the word “basilica”—the name for early Christian churches—because it grew prolifically around those buildings in the warm Mediterranean climate. It is, therefore, the herb from God.
     We’re pretty sure this tale is apocryphal (bunk) since “basil” is more likely descended from the Greek word “basilikos”, meaning “royal.” But, as one of our guys says, “… it don’t matter.”Besides, it’s romantic and right that something as wonderful basil can be described as the herb of the gods. And because pesto sauce is virtually all basil, maybe we could say that it was invented with the guidance of the gods. It is just terrific stuff.
     Although pesto appears in all kinds of dishes, we think there’s a best way to use it—as a simple sauce for pasta. So that’s the way we’re presenting it. (Hey, it’s our recipe isn’t it?)
     Also, our recipe for pesto differs from almost all others, including the original Genoese version, in that we use no cheese. Make no mistake; we love cheese, all kinds of cheese, with Italian Parmesan Reggiano being one of our favorites. It’s just that we think parmesan should be on top of the pasta, not in the sauce.
     The other advantage to making pesto without cheese is that it can be enjoyed by folks who are either lactose intolerant or whose dietary lifestyle does not allow the use of dairy products.

Ingredients:
Fresh Basil Leaves— 4 cups, loosely packed
Fresh Garlic— 4 cloves
Pine Nuts— 1/2 cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil— approx. 1 cup
Flat Leaf Parsley— 1 cup, loosely packed
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Spaghetti or Linguini— 1 lb.

Preparation:
     Wash and spin dry the basil and parsley leaves, and peel the garlic. Put the basil leaves, parsley, pine nuts, and garlic, along with a healthy pinch of coarse salt and about 15 grinds of black pepper, into the food processor.
     Run the processor until all the ingredients are finely chopped. With the processor running, pour in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until the pesto has the consistency of loose mayonnaise.
     Bring 4 quarts of water to the boil in large pot, add about 1½ tablespoons of salt to the water, allow it to come to a rolling boil and slide the noodles in. As the pasta cooks, stir it frequently with a wooden spoon to make sure the noodles separate completely as they cook.
     When the pasta is almost finished take about ½ cup of the pasta water and stir it into the pesto sauce until the sauce is soupy. Doing this makes coating all of the noodles much easier.
     Drain the pasta, return it to the pot and toss the noodles with the pesto sauce. You’re done! Get in there and eat.

Serving Suggestions:
     As a first course, this recipe will feed six; as a main course, it should be enough for four—assuming they aren’t big eaters. It’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but two of us have, on occasion, polished off the whole bowl.
     Without question you must put a hunk of Parmesan Reggiano on a plate with a grating tool. Now everyone can have no cheese, a little cheese, or a lot of cheese.
     Here’s something neat to try with this dish. Make a bowl of the tomato/basil topping that we use in the recipe we call “Bruschetta Squisto”. Invite everyone at the table to spoon a little on top of each serving of the pesto pasta. The cold tomato/basil mixture is wonderful combined with the hot pesto sauce.
     Finally, terrific company for this pasta is a summer salad of sliced tomatoes, red onion, and cucumber with a red wine vinagarette.

Wine Suggestions:
     White: a crisp, dry Pinot Grigio, Soave, or Gavi from Italy, or a Sauignon Blanc or lighter Chardonnay from California.
     Red: an Italian Dolcetto, a Barberrra, a Chianti, or a Sangiovese (from either California or Italy).

Smoke Roasted Arctic Char
     Arctic Char is a kind of salmon—one that spends its life in a fresh water lake—a creature that doesn’t swim down and up a river to and from the sea. Being native to lakes near or above the Arctic Circle, it’s pretty obvious why it’s called “Arctic Char.” Its flesh is pink red compared to the deeper orange red of both Atlantic and Pacific salmon, and has a milder, more delicate flavor. Along with Rainbow Trout, it’s my favorite fresh water fish.
     Although the char is a wonderfully flavored fish, it’s the “smoke roasting” that creates the magic. Actually, this recipe is more about smoke roasting than about cooking char. It’s almost always the way we cook Rainbow Trout, Coho and Steelhead Salmon (a lake dwelling Rainbow Trout), and Lake Superior Whitefish.
     One of the guys says, “Okay, why not call it ‘Smoke Roasted Trout’? Everybody knows what that is.” There are two reasons: 1) Hey, whose recipe is it anyway? and 2) Every cookbook’s got a recipe for Trout, but how many got one for Arctic Char?
     The fish is marinated with lemon juice, olive oil, and herbs, then cooked whole, with the bones in and head on. It’s not that leaving the head on changes the flavor, but if you do, you’ll get to hear at least one person at the table say, “…eeeyew, you can see its eyes."
     No matter which fish we start with, we end up with a dish that combines four wonderful flavors—the sweet/tartness of the lemon, the perfume of the fresh herbs, the smokiness of the mesquite, and the richness of a charcoal fire. Dinner guests have been known to tremble.

Ingredients:
Whole Arctic Char—1 per person
Fresh Lemon— 1
Extra Virgin Olive Oil— 1/2 cup
Fresh Dill— 1 tbs.
Coarse Kohser or Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Mesquite wood chunks or chips

Preparation:
     Certainly an important part of this preparation is picking the fish. First, buy it whole, ‘cause if it’s not whole it’s really hard to put back together. Check the eyes for clarity. If they are clouded over, take a pass. Inspect the gills. They should be red, not purple, not bluish. If they’re not red, take a pass. Smell the critter. When fish is past its prime, you’ll know immediately. If you know its a fish with your eyes closed, take a pass.
     In short, the fish must be fresh. If you could take it off the hook or out of the net, that would be ideal. Since few of us can do that, talk to the folks at the market and ask questions. You’ll develop a sense of how knowledgeable and reliable they are.
     Okay, now you bought the perfectly fresh fish. Get the charcoal or gas grill ready for cooking with wood chunks or chips. Ours has a wood chip container on one side that can be filled with wet chips for smoking. If you have either a charcoal grill or a gas grill with lava rocks, simply put wet wood chunks on top of the lava rocks or charcoal.
     Also, since you are roasting the fish rather than grilling it, you’ll need to elevate the roasting pan above the grill, otherwise the fish will fry in the pan. Although our grill is equipped with a elevation rack, it’s not wide enough to hold a roasting pan steady. So I just put three bricks right on top of the grill bars and set the pan on the bricks. It works great.
Get back in the kitchen.
     If the char’s body cavity has not been cleaned out, do it. Actually, do it anyway. Fishmongers aren’t thorough enough most of the time. Remove the gills or (if you must) cut off the head just behind the gill opening. Then scale the fish. Using a pair of kitchen shears cut off the pectoral, pelvic and ventral fins that are on the underside of the fish, but leave the dorsal fin on (the big one on the fish’s back). Wash it thoroughly and pat it dry with paper towels.
     Prepare the marinade by whisking the juice of one lemon, the olive oil, fresh dill, and salt and pepper into an emulsion. Put the char in a shallow roasting pan and pour the marinade over it, making sure the fish is coated well both inside and out. Let the critter marinate for 20 but not more than 30 minutes.
     When that time is up, pour the marinade from the roasting pan and put the pan on the grill. Make sure the grill lid is closed tight.
     Roast the fish for about 10 minutes per pound and check it. On our Weber grill four 1½ lb. Char or Trout take 20 minutes.
     Remember, as with any roasting, the bigger the animal, the longer the roasting. A good rule of thumb is one that has been established by the Canadian fisheries folks: lay the fish flat and measure its thickest part. Figure 10 minutes of cooking time for each inch.
When the fish is done, the skin will have a golden brown finish. A good test of doneness is to pull on the dorsal fin (the big one on its back). If the fin and its bones pull out easily, the fish is finished.
     Now hurry back inside with the fish, put it on a platter big enough to hold it comfortably, decorate the plate with lemon slices and sprigs of fresh dill, and take it to the table as your guests mutter: “Wow, that smells great.”

Serving Suggestions:
     If you’ve cooked a bigger fish “carving” it at the table is easy to do. First, use a spoon to peel back the skin from head to tail. When you’ve exposed the fish flesh, you’ll see what looks like a slight division of the muscle running in a straight line from head to tail. Use a table knife to slice through that depression, dividing the entire filet in half. Now use two spoons to gently push sections of flesh from the bones and serve those portions to your guests. When the whole filet has been served, the entire skeleton of the fish will be exposed. Take hold of the center bone near the fish head and gently lift the skeleton from the bottom filet. The second filet is now boned and can be served like the first.
     Because the smoke roasted fish is very rich, a good company for it is a salad of mesculin greens with red wine vinaigrette. Equally good vegetable matches are 1) green beans sautéed with red onion and garlic, or 2) steamed or lightly boiled asparagus spears next to 3 or 4 small new red potatoes that have been drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil and tossed with fresh dill leaves.
     It will be a memorable feast.

Wine Suggestions:
     Without doubt, a rich full-bodied white drunk with this meal will get rave reviews. Pick your favorite white Burgundy or California chardonnay.
     If you’re partial to the sauvignon blanc grape, look for ones made in California that are more full-bodied because they spend some time in oak.

Rigatoni with Italian Sausage
     Near where we work and live in Chicago there is a small Italian store called Bari Foods. It was founded and run by an Italian immigrant family from Bari in Italy. But that’s not what makes Bari Foods wonderful. What makes it a wonderful place is the great stuff you can get there. And that is especially true of the sausage they sell. It’s made right there using a secret recipe that we like to think was invented generations ago in the “old country”. (It’s way more romantic that way.)
     Regardless of the romance, Bari’s sausage is the best we’ve ever tried. The brothers at Bari make three kinds—mild and spicy versions of sausage with fennel, and one called Barese. Broiled, grilled, or sautéed; braised with peppers or used as the base for pasta sauce; it’s terrific. If you’re reading this book and you live in the Chicago area, go there and buy the sausage, even if you don’t use it for making pasta sauce. Which brings us to this recipe.
     Of course, we’re convinced that our recipe is so good it doesn’t depend on Bari’s sausage. It depends on the just right combining of flavors from sausage, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and herbs. It’s rich and sweet and slightly spicy. And it takes only about an hour to prepare.

Ingredients:
Italian Sausage with fennel—2 lb.
(or, if you live in Chicago, 1 lb. along with 1 lb. of Bari’s Barese sausage.)
Rigatoni—1 lb.
Canned plum tomatoes—2 large cans
Red Onion—1 medium size
Garlic—6 cloves
Crushed Chilies
Fresh flat leaf parsley
Oregano
Basil
Dry white wine—¾ cup
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Preparation:
     Slice the sausage into rounds that are 1” to 1½” long, then put the rounds in a large bowl and coat them with a little olive oil. In a large sauté pan, sauté the sausage over medium high heat until it is browned. Drain the accumulated fat from the sausage, return the pan to the stove with the heat turned up to high and deglaze the pan with white wine. Pour the wine into the pan with the sausages and stir and scrape with a wooden spatula until all the brown bits are removed from the bottom of the sauté pan. Allow the wine to come to a boil and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Put the sausage with the wine and meat juices in a bowl and set it aside.
     Finely chop the onion, and smash and finely chop the garlic. Drain the water from one of the cans of tomatoes and put the tomatoes along with the juice from the second can in a bowl. Cut all the tomatoes into sixths—slice them in half length-wise and then cut the halves into thirds. Cutting them up like this will reduce the time it takes for the tomatoes to breakdown during cooking and the sauce gets smooth faster.
     Bring six quarts of salted water to a boil in a pasta pot. If it boils before the tomato sauce is thickened, turn the fire down until the sauce is just about done. Then bring it back to a rolling boil and add the rigatoni.
     Sauté the onion and chilies with some salt and ground black pepper in olive oil until the onions wilt and start to become transparent. Add the garlic and sauté for about two minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes with their juice, the dried basil and oregano, and about 1 tbs. of chopped parsley. Mix the ingredients together and cook over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the sauce has the right thickness.
     While it cooks, stir it often with a wooden spatula, breaking up the tomato chunks as you do. As the liquid cooks off, the sauce will thicken. The consistency of the sauce will be right when it sticks to the wooden spatula.
     Now add the sausage with the deglazed juices and simmer the sauce for another 15 to 20 minutes using a burner setting between low and medium heat. Taste the sauce and add salt if you think it needs it.
     When the pasta is done, drain the water, return the noodles to the pot, add ½ of the sauce, and toss. Put the pasta in a serving bowl, spread the remaining sauce over the pasta, and garnish the dish with finely chopped fresh parsley. If you don’t serve it immediately, your friends or family will probably hurt you. By the time this recipe is done, your house or apartment will be full of amazing, wonderful aromas—aromas so intense they bring new meaning to the phrase mouth-watering.

Serving Suggestions:
     (1) Put it on the table. (2) As an appetizer or first course try insalata caprese. (3) Serve a crisp, cold, Romaine lettuce salad with a red wine vinaigrette after the pasta. (4) Follow the salad with a plate of Italian gorgonzola cheese, fresh sliced pears, and port wine. (5) End the meal with either dark or milk chocolate candies with a snifter of cognac. Your guests will swoon.

Wine Suggestions:
     White: Stay with red.
     Red: Any of a number of reds will compliment this recipe: from Italy try Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, or a Valpolicella. From France go with just about any full bodied red from the Rhone valley—Cotes du Rhone, Hermitage, or Chateaunef du Pape.
Also, if you like the idea of a cheese course as we suggested above, you could continue drinking any of these reds if you don’t want to switch to Port.

Noodles with Red Clam Sauce
     Among our pasta recipes, this is, hands down, one of the best we make. It’s also one of the few pasta dishes we make where the main ingredients are canned. Most of the time you hear us saying over and over, “use fresh stuff.” Well, this breaks that rule. As one of the guys sez, he sez, “...you wanna know somtin’ else? It don’t matter.”
     With few exceptions a recipe always tastes a little different each time it’s made. Variations are inevitable—we add a little more of this or that, the fire is a bit hotter or cooler, the wine is different, etc., etc. Sometimes the dish is better, sometimes worse. This one is only good or better. The only time there’s been any left over is when two or fewer people can’t stuff themselves anymore.
     We make three versions of pasta with clams or clam sauce. All three are terrific, and you’ll find them here back to back. This happens to be my favorite.
     Finally, a word about canned plum tomatoes. We’ve tried many brands. Some are better. There’s a simple answer to your question, “...what makes them better?”.
Water—actually, too much of it. If whole plum tomatoes are canned properly, the liquid in the can will be pulpy and thick. That happens when the canning company uses the pulpy tomato flesh that comes off with the skins to make a puree that goes back into the can with the tomatoes. Others skim off the pulp to use for purees that are sold separately, replacing the lost thick stuff with water. The result is you have to use more tomatoes and cook them longer in order to get a thick, rich sauce.
     If you live in Chicago, buy “Bari” or "Duomo" brand canned plum tomatoes. But my favorite is Parmalate's "Pomi" brand of asceptically packaged chopped tomatoes. You know what's in it? Chopped tomatoes. Because the tomatoes are asceptically packaged, they don't have to add any acid or preservatives. The result is a sweeter, richer tasting sauce.
     Ya know what? We should be gettin’ somethin’ for these plugs. Other than that, we recommend trying different brands that are available where you live until you find one that works good.
     Now if that sounds like a pain, hey, too bad. Get with the program! Finding great ingredients is one of the best parts of cooking. Looking for stuff perks up your imagination and gives you a chance to be inventive—sort of cooking’s version of stopping to smell the flowers.

Ingredients:
Whole baby clams—3 cans
Peeled plum tomatoes—1 28 oz. cans
                or
One package of Parmalat Pomi Chopped Tomatoes
Red Onion—1 medium size
Fresh Garlic—6 large cloves
Fresh flat leaf parsley—1 cup, finely chopped
Dried oregano—1 tbs.
Dried chili flakes—1 tsp.
Dry white wine—1/3 cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil—1/2 cup
Salt & Pepper
Fettuccine or Linguini—1 lb.

Preparation:
     Strain the water from the clams into a bowl. Do this first so that any sediment from the clams will settle to the bottom, allowing you to use some the clam juice in the sauce.
     Before doing anything else, put salted water on the fire to boil for the pasta.
     Coarsely chop the tomatoes, keeping the liquid; finely chop the red onion and parsley; and peel, smash, and chop the garlic. Although you’re now ready to cook, listen up.
The order in which the ingredients are cooked is important. If you just throw it all together, the clams will have the taste and texture of a rubber eraser.
     Over medium to high heat add the olive oil and chilies to the pan and cook for about a minute. The chilies will soften and give up some of their oil. Add the chopped onion along with some coarse salt and sauté until it’s wilted and soft—the sign that the onion has given up its sugar. Add the smashed garlic and cook for one to two minutes. Sauté it longer and you risk burning it. If you do, the sauce will be bitter.
     Pour the white wine in the pan and allow it to boil down by half.
     Now add the chopped tomatoes with their liquid, along with the dried oregano, and about half of the parsley. Season the mixture with about 10 grinds of black pepper from your pepper mill. Sauté it all (stirring frequently) until most of the water has cooked off, and the flesh of the tomatoes has softened and broken down, leaving a thick pasty sauce. It should take 20 to 25 minutes.
     Drop the fettucine or linguini into the boiling water in your pasta pot just before the sauce is done. That way the noodles and sauce should be finished cooking at about the same time—the pasta should take 10 to 13 minutes to cook “al dente”. (You’ll feel like a genius of culinary timing.)
     Stir the drained clams into the sauce, and pour the clam juice in until the sauce has a “thick soup” consistency—the thickness of, say, split pea or other pureed soup. The point here is to have a sauce that coats the pasta well, but doesn’t loose its richness because there’s too much water.
     Cook the sauce for a final two or three minutes, making sure the clams and the sauce are heated through. Take a taste and adjust the seasoning. Don’t cook it too long, though. The clams will get tough and rubbery.
     Toss the noodles and sauce together(use the pasta pot-- it's easier and less messy), garnish with the remaining chopped parsley, serve, and acknowledge the applause.

Serving Suggestions:
     This dish begs for a crisp romaine lettuce salad with a fresh lemon/olive oil/fresh garlic dressing. The crispness of the romaine and tartness of the fresh lemon balance the sweet richness of the clam sauce beautifully.
     Also set the table with a bowl of Calamata olives, and a plate of crusty Italian bread with a small dish of extra virgin olive oil for dipping the bread. (It tastes great, and it’s way better for you than butter.)

Wine Suggestions:
     Because of the tomatoes, red wine works great, but a richer white can be good too.
     White: a richer Chardonnay, an Italian Gavi, or a Sauvignon Blanc (one that has been aged briefly in oak barrels).
     Red: an Italian Dolcetto (when God made tomatoes, he invented Dolcetto to go with 'em), a Barberrra, a Chianti, or a Sangiovese (from either California or Italy).

Noodles with White Clam Sauce
     Here’s clam sauce number two. It’s white rather than red because it doesn’t have tomatoes. We thought that was pretty obvious, and we didn’t say it in the first draft of this recipe. Then several of our friends tell us, “Hey, tell ‘em the difference. If somebody don’t know, they’ll like that you told ‘em. If they do know and they’re offended, they’ll git over it.”
     In any case, this recipe is a lot quicker to make because the sauce doesn’t have to reduce and thicken. In fact, this sauce has a lot of liquid, which gives you and your dinner guests a chance to do something wonderful—take hunks of the crusty Italian or French bread and sop up the luscious liquid remaining in the bottom of the pasta bowl after the noodles have disappeared.
     Plus, this pasta dish has one other virtue—it’s delicious.

Ingredients:
Whole baby clams—3 cans
Red Onion—1 medium size
Fresh Garlic—6 large cloves
Fresh flat leaf parsley—1 cup, finely chopped
Fresh oregano—2 tbs.
Dried chili flakes—1 tsp.
Dry white wine—½ cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil—½ cup
Salt & Pepper
Fettuccine or Linguini—1 lb.

Preparation:
     Because the sauce cooks quickly, put salted water on the stove to boil for the pasta first.
Just as with the red sauce, strain the water and juice from the clams into a bowl so the sediment settles to the bottom. You’ll use all of the clam juice in the sauce.
     Finely chop the red onion, parsley, and oregano. Peel, smash, and chop the garlic.
Remember, the order in which the ingredients are cooked is important. Don’t just throw it all together in the pan and turn the heat up.
     When the pasta water has come to a rolling boil, drop the fettucine or linguini in to cook. We’re having you do this now because the noodles and sauce will take about the same time to cook.
     Over medium to high heat add the olive oil and chilies to the pan and cook for about a minute so the chilies soften and give up some of their oil. Add the chopped onion, a healthy pinch of coarse salt and sauté until it’s wilted and soft. Add the smashed garlic and cook for one to two minutes, being very careful to not burn it.
     Pour the white wine in the pan and allow it to boil down by half, then add the clam juice. Bring it all to the boil.
     Stir the drained clams and half of the chopped parsley into the sauce and season with several grinds of black pepper. Continue cooking the sauce for about two or three minutes, making sure the clams and the sauce are heated through. But be careful. Cook it too long and clams will get tough and rubbery.
     Drain the water from the pasta, put the noodles back into the pasta pot, add the sauce and thoroughly toss. Put it all in a big pasta bowl, garnish with the remaining chopped parsley, and enjoy.

Serving Suggestions:
     Here’s a warning that’s intended to keep you healthy: do not serve this dish without a plate heaped with slices of crusty Italian or French bread. If you fail to do this, your dinner guests will cause you great bodily harm. Spending a couple of bucks for a loaf of bread is pretty cheap health insurance.

Wine Suggestions:
     As with the fresh clam sauce— white, dry and crisp!
     White: an Italian Pinot Grigio, or Soave; a California Sauvignon Blanc, or a lighter, crisp Chardonnay with hints of lemon; French Sancerre, Pouilly Fume, or Muscadet from the Loire valley. Look for citrus flavors. They will mate well with the clams.
     Red: an Italian Dolcetto, a Barberrra, a Chianti, or a Sangiovese (from either California or Italy).

Noodles with Fresh Clams
     Our next clam sauce recipe, made (as the title suggests) with fresh clams, is simple, fast, rich and delicious.
     Of course it does depend on being able to get good, fresh clams, with the fresh part emphasized. It’s simple, the fresher, the fatter, and therefore, the richer.
     As you know (and if you didn’t, now you do) there are many varieties of clams. There’s soft shell or longnecks from the Northeast—the ones that are used in clambakes, or eaten raw. Hard shell clam varieties include Butter Clams and Quahogs (which we recognize as Cherrystones and Littlenecks). From the West Coast come Razor Clams and Pismos among others. And there’s a type referred to as Surf Clams—for pretty obvious reasons.
     The clams that are available to most of us (particularly in the middle of the country) tend to be Cherrystones and Littlnecks, and those are just fine for this recipe.
     The ones to avoid are Surf Clams— they’re real sandy. If they’re not opened and thoroughly washed, which is pain to do (and probably not worth it), you’d call this recipe “Pasta with Fresh Beach.”
     Okay, so much for clam lessons. Let’s cook.

Ingredients:
Fresh Live Clams—5 dozen (that’s not a typo)
Yellow “Dry” Onion—1 small size
Fresh Garlic—6 large cloves
Fresh flat leaf parsley—1 cup, finely chopped
Fresh oregano—2 tbs.
Dried chili flakes—1 tsp.
Bottled Clam Juice—1 cup
Dry white wine—3/4 cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil—3/4 cup
Salt & Pepper
Fettuccine or Linguini—1 lb.

Preparation:
     All right, we know that 7 dozen clams looks like a serious pile of mollusks, but remember this: you don’t eat the shells. Also, you’ll cook the clams in two batches. The first batch of 4 dozen will be shucked and put in the sauce. The second batch will be left in their shells and arranged on top of the pasta when it’s served because it looks neat.
     Start by scrubbing the clams with a stiff brush, like one you’d use for baking potatoes. A fingernail brush works good too. As you clean the clams, discard any that remain open or have cracked shells. They’re dead and they’ll make you never want to eat clams again.
     You’ll notice we use small “dry” yellow onion instead of the red ones we typically suggest. Why? Well we just like ‘em better that’s all!
     Actually, the small yellow onions are little stronger, but they are loaded with natural sugar, and that really helps the richness of this sauce.
     Cut both the root and shoot ends off the onion, cut it in half, peel the dry skin off, then slice the halves into very thin half rounds. Now cut the pile of half rounds in half, creating a pile of quarter rounds. Doing it this way keeps the opened clam shells from filling up with small globs of finely diced onion, and helps the dish look better. (Keep in mind that we eat with ours mouths, noses, and eyes.)
     Finely chop the parsley and oregano, and peel, smash, and chop the garlic.
     For cooking the clams you’ll need a large deep pot, like a pasta or stockpot, or a saucier. (We use a pasta pot mainly because we’ve got several of them.)
     In a second pot, put 4 quarts of water on to boil for the noodles. We’re having you do this now because it always seems to take forever for this much water to boil. If it gets to boiling before you’re ready to put the pasta in, you can always turn the fire down and let the water simmer until you’re ready.
     Using a medium to high flame, heat the olive oil and chilies in the pot and cook for about a minute so the chilies soften and give up some of their oil. Add the sliced onion and healthy pinch of coarse salt and sauté until it’s wilted and soft. Add the smashed garlic, chopped oregano, half of the parsley, and cook for one to two minutes, being very careful to not burn the garlic.
     Pour the white wine in the pot and let it boil for a couple of minutes, allowing the alcohol to evaporate. When the sauce is at a rolling boil, dump 4 dozen of the clams into the pot and cover it with a lid.
     After about 5 minutes check to see that the clams have opened. If they have, they’re done.
Take the pot off of the stove and shuck (remove the meat from the shells) the clams into a bowl, making sure you save all of the liquid that’s in the shells. That stuff is the nectar of the clam god.
     Now pay attention!
     Be sure to discard any clams that haven’t opened—which is just the opposite of what we told you to do when you were washing the little critters earlier. That’s because if they don’t open as they cook, they weren’t alive when you put them in the pot. So get rid of ‘em.
     About now is when you should put the fettucine or linguine in the boiling water to cook.
Return the clam saucepot to the stove and add the bottled clam juice and the liquid from the bowl with the shucked clams (but not the clams). Turn the fire up to high and bring the sauce back to a boil. Stir it occasionally for three reasons: 1) it makes you feel and look like you’re doing something important; 2) you get to smell the sauce; 3) because you can smell it as it cooks and reduces, you’ll develop a sense for when the flavors are just right.
     Add several grinds of black pepper from a pepper mill, taste, and add salt or pepper if you think the sauce needs it.
     Now dump the remaining live clams in the pot, cover with a lid, and cook for another five minutes. When the clamshells have opened remove them from the pot and set them aside. Add the shucked clams to the sauce to heat them up. Remember, they’re already cooked, so this should only a couple of minutes.
     Drain the cooked pasta, put it in the pot with the sauce, and toss. Fill a pasta bowl with the noodles, garnish with the remaining chopped parsley, and arrange the clams with their shells over the top of the pasta.
     Badda Bing, Badda Boom…. You got a masterpiece.

Serving Suggestions:
     Here’s a warning that’s intended to keep you healthy: do not serve this dish without a plate heaped with slices of crusty Italian or French bread for dipping into and sopping up the sauce in the bottom of the bowl. If you fail to do this, your dinner guests will cause you great bodily harm. Spending a couple of bucks for a loaf of bread is pretty cheap health insurance.

Wine Suggestions:
     Definitely white, definitely dry and crisp!
     White: an Italian Pinot Grigio, or Soave; a California Sauvignon Blanc, or a lighter, crisp Chardonnay with hints of lemon; French Sancerre, Pouilly Fume, or Muscadet from the Loire valley. If the wine has citrus flavors it will go beautifully with the clams.
     Red: an Italian Dolcetto, a Barberrra, a Chianti, or a Sangiovese (from either California or Italy).

Spaghetti with Anchovies and Onions
     When one of da guys (Jim Kochevar) told me about this sauce, I thought, hmm…that don’t sound so good. But because Jim knows a lot about really good food, I tried it.
     You know what? It’s sensational!
     When folks eat this pasta the first time they are so stunned by its earthy richness that they ask, “Are you sure this isn’t a meat sauce?”
     Like many of the pasta sauces we like doing, this one has just a few ingredients and is simple to prepare.

Ingredients:
Yellow Onion—4 cups, finely chopped
Anchovies—3, 2 oz. cans
Parsley—2 cups, finely chopped
Fresh Garlic—6 cloves
Oregano—2 tsp. Dried or 4 tsp. fresh
Extra Virgin Olive Oil—1/2 cup
Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preparation:
     Drain the oil from the anchovies, put them in a bowl and soak them under gently running cold water for 20 to 30 minutes to remove most of the salt.
     Finely chop the onions and parsley. Peel, smash and finely chop the garlic.
     Using a pasta or stockpot, put 4 quarts of salted water on the fire to boil.
     Use a sauté pan with a lid. Heat the olive oil and sauté the onions and ½ of the parsley, stirring and mixing them together. Add 15 to 20 generous grinds of fresh black pepper.
Cover the pan and cook for 30 minutes over medium heat. Every five minutes or so lift the lid and stir to keep the vegetables from burning.
     Uncover the pan and continue to sauté over medium heat for another 25 minutes. The water will evaporate and the onions will caramelize, turning almost black. As this happens, stir with a wooden spatula, scraping the glaze that forms from the bottom of the pan.
     Drain and chop the anchovies, then combine them with the chopped garlic. Add that mixture, along with the oregano, to the onions and parsley that have been happily caramelizing.
     By now the water for the noodles has come to a rolling boil. Slide the noodles in to cook. Now get back to the sauce.
     Continue cooking it for another 8 minutes, stirring and mixing as the time passes. This both gives you something to do and keeps the garlic from burning.
     Take a cup of water from the pasta pot and pour it in the sauté pan. Using your wooden spatula, stir and scrape the brown glaze from the bottom of the pan. You’ll be surprised at how easily the glaze dissolves and seems to melt into the sauce.
     What’s happening is the caramelized sugar from the onions is being dissolved and incorporated into the sauce. It’s the classic technique of de-glazing a pan. Intense richness and flavor are trapped in that brown glaze. All we’re doing is freeing them up.
     As the sauce heats and reduces slightly, drain the cooked noodles, dump them back into the pasta pot, add half of the remaining parsley, pour on the sauce and toss it all together thoroughly. Put the pasta in a serving bowl, garnish with the parsley that’s left, and take it to the table.

Serving Suggestions:
     This is a rich, hearty pasta dish with strong flavors. A good match for it is a cold, red leaf lettuce salad dressed with our mustard/chive, red wine vinaigrette. Finish the salad with sliced red onion and tomatoes arranged around and on top of the lettuce leaves.
     Don’t forget the bread—a basket of crusty Italian sourdough next to a small dish of extra virgin olive oil for dipping.
     When you tell your guests what you’re serving, enjoy their furtive looks of skepticism that say, “Damn. I wish we’d had a snack at home before coming here.” In a little while they’ll be asking you for the recipe.

Wine Suggestions:
     Pasta dishes with rich, heady flavors such as tend to be complimented by more full-bodied wine.
     White: A full-bodied Chardonnay from Burgundy such as a Meursalt (but you’ll need a loan), or a less expensive Chardonnay from California, Oregon, or Australia.
     Reds: Chianti Classico Reserva from Italy; French Rhone Valley reds from the less expensive and softer Cote du Rhone’s to the Hermitages (more power, more money). These are peppery, full-bodied wines that taste great, and will make you happy.