Pull-Apart Garlic Bread with Cheese

For New Year’s Eve, my wife and I had a quiet night in.  I decided to go with a simple soup and salad menu for the evening, but I wanted to add a little extra flair with the bread.  I remembered always enjoying a fantastic cheesy, buttery, garlic bread at a great little place in Neptune, NJ called Mom’s Kitchen (since closed?) and I wanted to try to replicate as best I could.  The following recipe is what I came up with:

Sorry for the crappy photo — I used my phone.

Pull-Apart Garlic Bread with Cheese

Ingredients:

1 loaf of Italian bread
1 16 oz. brick of whole milk mozzarella cheese
1 stick of butter
1 tsp. of garlic powder
handful of fresh Italian parsley

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Carefully slice the bread into 3/4 inch pieces — BUT DON’T CUT ALL OF THE WAY THROUGH! (You want the bread to still be connected at the bottom.)
3. Melt a stick of butter. (I used the microwave.)
4. Add garlic powder to the melted butter and stir to dissolve.
5. Carefully drizzle the butter mixture between each slice. Any extra can be drizzled over the top of the bread.
6. Wedge 1 to 2 pieces of mozzarella between each slice of bread.
7. Wrap bread in aluminum foil and bake on a sheet pan for 20 minutes.
8, Unwrap the bread and let continue to bake for 5 – 10 more minutes until the cheese is nice and melty and the crust is nice and crispy.
9. Top with the chopped parsley.
10. Enjoy!

 

Cacio e Pepe (“Cheese and Pepper” Pasta)

Despite having very few ingredients, this Roman pasta dish has a lot of taste!  I highly recommend it if you are a fan of Italian grated cheeses and pepper…soooo much pepper!  Just be warned, it calls for a lot of cheese (specifically Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano-Reggiano), and if you get the good stuff (which you should), it’ll end up costing a decent amount of money for just these two ingredients!  But it’s really worth it!

Cacio e Pepe (“Cheese and Pepper” Pasta)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. spaghetti
3/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
About 3/4 cup of cooking water
2 tablespoons sea salt

Directions:

Crush the peppercorns using a mortar and pestle.  (If you do not have a mortar and pestle, you could use about 1 tablespoon of freshly ground cracked pepper.)

In a pot over low heat, heat the crushed peppercorn with the olive oil, stirring constantly.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Turn the heat off under the olive oil and add about 1/2 cup of the cooking water to the pan, then set aside.

Add the salt to the boiling water, stir, then add the spaghetti. Cook the spaghetti al dente (or until 2 minutes under the lowest time recommended on the package). Using tongs or a pasta spoon (so you don’t get rid of the water), add the pasta to the pot with the pepper.

Turn the heat very low and gently toss the pasta continuously until most of the water is absorbed. At this point, remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl.

Continue to toss the pasta and begin adding the two types of cheese (about 1/4 cup at a time). If the mixture starts to get dry, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of pasta water. Keep tossing and adding cheese and pasta water until all the cheese has been incorporated and the pasta begins to look creamy.

Serve with extra grated cheese and extra pepper.

The Best Tomato Sauce Ever…Improved!

I’ve recently been reading Marcella Hazan’s The Essentials of Italian Cooking and found what I thought was the perfect tomato sauce recipe.  Then I improved upon it.  (At least I think so!)

(Full disclosure:  My mother’s tomato sauce is, and always will be, the best of its kind.  Anything else is just…gravy?)

The Best Tomato Sauce Ever…Improved!

Ingredients:

 

1 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes
5 tablespoons butter
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
8 large fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt, to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in medium saucepan.  Add salt to taste.

Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, mashing any large pieces of tomato with a spoon. Add salt as needed.

Discard the onion before tossing the sauce with pasta.