A Meatless Weekend

This weeks table is meatless. I had not planned it that way, it's just the way it worked out. The focus is a bottle of wine. One of my FaceBook friends mentioned Fattoria di Lucignano Chianti Colli Fiorentini on his page. Since he has probably forgotten more about wine than I will ever know, I decided to give it a try. What goes better with Chianti than pasta.

Nick and Toni's Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola
Salad of Winter Greens


I saw this pasta prepared on Ina Garten's Food Network show. I could almost smell it. Onion and garlic are put in a large pot and softened in EVOO; red pepper flakes and dried oregano are added. After a minute or so a cup of vodka is added. The mixture is cooked down by half. Two large cans of whole plum tomatoes are drained (save the juice to be added later.) The tomatoes are crushed by hand into the onion/garlic/vodka mixture. S&P are added The pot is covered and put in the oven for about 1 1/2 hours. Stir once during cooking. Cool the mixture for about 15 minutes and put in blender until smooth. Place it back in the pot and reheat with fresh oregano, heavy cream, the reserved juice, S&P and some Parmesan cheese. Heat for about 10 minutes. Serve with cooked penne pasta. Top with more cheese and fresh oregano. This is a wonderful sauce and I was able to freeze several containers to use at a later date. The possibilities are endless.

The salad is also a product of the Food Network. Alex Guamaschelli prepared it and the process was intriguing. I'm not sure why they call it winter greens however. They are all available year round. The greens are radicchio, arugula, escarole and endive. The dressing is simple; EVOO, cider vinegar and black pepper. The chopped greens area lightly dressed and then the bowl is put in a warm oven to slightly wilt the greens. After it is removed from the oven the salad is topped with toasted pecans and McIntosh apple slices which have been soaked in bourbon. The wilting of the greens was something I have not seen done and the warmth of the greens is a nice contrast to the pecans and apples. The bourbon was an odd ingredient and when I prepared the salad on Sunday I substituted the apples with strawberries and no bourbon. I was happy I was able to purchase the bourbon in an airplane size bottle.

The wine went well with the table. Thank you Ernie for posting it. I will use it again with pasta or pizza.

Next week is Easter and as always I expect the table will be terrific.