Welcome to the Cooking with C.C. Blog. I will be discussing all things food and travel related. Be sure to join me for information from recipes, cookbooks, restaurants and places to visit. I look forward to hearing from you!
Penne alla Vodka
In my last few posts, I’ve talked about our trips to Rao’s restaurants. (If you missed these posts, check out Part 1 and Part 2.)My favorite pasta dish there is the Penne Alla Vodka – Penne in a Tomato Cream Sauce with Vodka. From reviewing some other writers, this recipe seems to have a good bit of controversy. Like other Italian dishes, it appears that the origin of this dish is “unclear.” Some claim it has Italian roots, others claim it is an Italian-American creation and yet others claim it originated from the Vodka companies to try to sell more product. Bottom line for me – doesn’t really matter where it came from, it’s just really tasty! In reading both Shirley Corriher and Harold McGee, there are several points about the vodka. Shirley points out that many flavor compounds are soluble in water and fat, but there are others that are only soluble in alcohol (Vanilla extract anyone? ). Harold talks about alcohol and aromas from the dish. He discusses how different concentrations of alcohol in a dish can affect the flavor and aroma profiles. So the first question is, “Is the Vodka really needed?” The short (smart aleck) answer…
Favorite Restaurant in the World – Part 2
Click here if you missed Part 1. Claiming a restaurant to be the Favorite in the World is a big leap! What I have found is that a restaurant experience is much more than just the food - it's also about time, place, people and experience. While the food at Rao's is absolutely fabulous, yes, I've eaten in restaurants that were as good or better yet this is the experience that Lori and I go back to as our favorite. I would love to hear about your memories and experiences with food and restaurants either at home or while traveling.... Fast forward a few years and I was working for an IT Equipment company in a Product Management role. I was traveling extensively and some of my destinations were the industry trade shows. Several of these trade shows occurred in New York City and Lori decided to come along with me. When we had dinner at Rao's, Frank and Ron told us to be sure and stop by if we were in the city. We were always welcome to have a drink at the bar without a reservation. On one of our trips, we did exactly that and went to…
The “Big Daddy” of Christmas Dinners
It's that time of year again and the menu for Christmas Dinner is always one I struggle over. Should I go with the expected or do something different? Christmas is on Thursday this year and we don't have a lot of time ahead of the holiday to do much prep work. Since I always teach a class around Christmas featuring a full Christmas Dinner Menu, I feel the pressure to keep coming up with something "new." The last two years on our table have featured different pork recipes. This year I decided to go back to the most traditional Christmas Dinner Recipe I could think of - Prime Rib. I also think of Prime Rib, or if you prefer - Standing Rib Roast, as the "Big Daddy" of all beef cuts. If you don't faint after you look at the price, then wrestle that hunk of beef into the cart and back to the kitchen. There are a lot of ways I've read to roast this cut, but this is my favorite. As a note: for the demonstration for the pictures, I am using a 1 bone cut - but the process works the same for a larger roast. In…
Favorite Restaurant in the World – Part 1
Isn’t it amazing how much food contributes to memories of different experiences. We each have moments that are etched into our memories for one reason or another. Lori and I have had some awesome opportunities to travel and experience sights, sounds and tastes in different parts of the world. I used to travel globally on business, so I’ve seen and eaten in even more places (including some memories that I would not want to repeat…….). So it is with what is our favorite restaurant and dinner experience of all times. The story begins many years ago as I learned about different restaurants and places. In one job, I had customers in New York City and I was visiting about once a quarter. I heard about many restaurants in New York – some as they came and went, but the one restaurant I heard nothing but raves about is a small place in East Harlem called Rao’s. Ah – Rao’s – I was told that it was the one restaurant in New York that you just would never get to experience. Rao’s was founded in 1886 and has changed over the years, but when Vincent Rao took the helm along with…