Jordie’s Addition to a Denver Feast (Feb 25, 2013)

Young Jordie picked me up in Denver and on the drive to his family home for our class, his enthusiasm for cooking and Italian food prefaced a great night ahead. Mom Therese welcomed me to their home and Jordie and I set to setting out foods, pots and pans, cutting boards – and soon the guests started to arrive. The recipes called for a winter squash/sage pasta but shopper Jordie had found summer squash and zucchini and not the winter squash. Allora… time to invent a new recipe! I asked what herbs Jordie could find in the spice cupboard: i opted for the dried parsley and ground chili peppers. We had garlic, both purple and white onions and fresh parsley for other dishes – and olive oil. Parmesan cheese, too. How not to succeed?

The “Jordie Pasta” was a hit and here is the recipe:
Saute’ diced purple and white onion in olive oil and when golden, add about 4 c. of squashes. Simmer, adding freshly-diced parsley (dried parsley, too, if you have it) and 3 or finely-diced garlic cloves. Add chili pepper to taste, i.e., “q.b.” (“quanto basta” or “as much as needed”). Cook 1 lb pasta for every 5 persons (use rigatoni or penne pasta). Drain, setting aside some of the pasta water to add to sauce as needed to make it creamier. Serve, adding freshly -ground black pepper, q.b. and Parmesan. Buon appetito!

Thanks, Jordie, for adding a new recipe to my cooking repertoire – and mille grazie to all you cooks who so enthusiastically joined in the fun and the flavors, old favorites and new favorites.

– and hope you enjoy our chefs’ comments as much as I did:

“It’s an event! The whole experience is a joy – and the food…!” Mike E

“This was so delightful – educational, inspiring and so enlightening…” Janice B

“Fun conversations and the cooking was the way I like to cook: q. b. – lots of activity. Good job!” Anna

“What a treat for the tastebuds! Thank you for the information and the treat of a fabulous meal” Janet E

“Thank you for a delightful and delicious evening..” Judy A