dinners from the chestnut forest

After receiving all those goodies from Rowena, we enjoyed several pasta dinners.

Using the Casarecce, which is long and shaped like an "s", I made the sauce for Penne alla vodka and topped the casarecce pasta with the vodka sauce, plus eggplant, zucchini and red bell pepper sauteed in olive oil.

For another dinner, we also used the Anelli pasta, which is shaped like an "o" and topped it with the same sauce and veggies.

These dishes went nicely with some Badia Alle Corti's Negroamaro wine, a deep purple wine. Despite the deep purple color, this wine had a light mouth feel...699 yen (about US$6.99)

For another meal, I also used the Casarecce pasta with a recipe I found on the Italian Barilla site. This recipe uses pesto, potatoes & green beans.

The recipe calls for Barilla's pesto, but I made my own using mac nuts. I didn't really follow the recipe, just used it as a reference.

Satoshi liked that this dish had potatoes in it, it was delicous and something different.

We also tried the dried morels in a risotto topped with red bell peppers, green beans and scallops for yet another meal.

I loved the earthiness of these mushrooms. Very flavorful. After re-constituting them, I strained the liquid (twice) and used it in the risotto.

We enjoyed both the pesto style pasta & risotto with a glass of Cono Sur's Viognier. This wine was fruity....780 yen (about US$7.80)

I think something a little drier and less fruity would have been better with these two dishes, but having something chilled and white was a nice change from all the red wines we've been drinking.

We also enjoyed the Almond and Pistachio Torrone (nougat) & pistachio ganache chocolates.

The torrone was coated with a lemony icing and deliciously filled with lots of almonds and pistachios!

Thank you again Rowena! Gochisoosama!

It is Friday here, have a nice weekend!

torrone

I think I told you that I like nougat. So, when I ran into this box made by Luigi D'Amico at the gourmet supermarket, I had to get it. I couldn't read the label, it was in Italian, but could pick out the words for nougat, chocolate and what I thought said nuts. So, I knew the combination had to be a winner.

And I was right. A thick chocolate nougat filled with whole hazelnuts! Rich enough to make you think you are eating fudge, but chewier. A thin wafer on the side so that you can grab it without getting your fingers messy. Soft enough but not sticky as to stick to your teeth.

If it weren't so expensive, I think I'd buy all the other flavors they had.