I’m still here.
For much of this summer I’ve been running on adrenaline, speeding along from event to event,
reading to discussion to book club, and always to day job, day job, day job.
London threw me for a
loop, though. The jet lag on top of the running on top of the events on top of
the day job… and then a wedding in Maine and a baby-naming in Cambridge and a
trip to Philadelphia… all within the course of one week? Stick a fork in me.
But of course I’m not
done.
Today I'm looking forward to an event at Stir, a demonstration kitchen and cookbook shop run by
Barbara Lynch here in Boston. It’s an open house, from 12 – 2:30pm today, and if
you’re in the area, you should definitely come, because I’d love to meet you.
And then on the 10th I’ll be in New Orleans, one of my favorite
cities on earth, to talk even more smell at the Garden District Book Shop. And
on the 13th, I’ll be at the Peabody Institute Library in Danvers,
MA. For more, see the events page on my website.
Oh, and here? I will
write more, better, soon. I promise.
I’ve been trying to
figure out what to write. I could write about the wedding I attended in Maine.
It was on an island near Brunswick. We watched the bride and groom exchange
vows as the sun set over the lagoon. Or I could write about the joy of meeting
the new baby daughter of a good friend in Cambridge. Or I could rewind even
further and write about London, and that lovely yet short trip during which I played
the tourist, ate some excellent Lebanese food, and spoke a lot on the BBC. Now
that I think of it, one moment there really stands out.
Late one afternoon, I
walked alone from my publisher’s office in Notting Hill back to my hotel in
South Kensington. Despite the warnings I’d received before my trip, the weather
in London was nice. The sun shone bright on streets of red brick buildings. As
I walked, I listened to the sounds of people speaking with accents only
familiar to me from movies, to buses rumbling their double deckerness over the wrong-way
roads. I had a few hours to kill and let my mind wander. Amid the errant musings
on clotted cream and Marmite, I thought about how far I was from home, how
strange it felt to be there, how wonderful and exhausting and insane. I was in
a different country, an unfamiliar city. But there I was, meeting people who
were moved by the same books and the same words, people who could all be
transported by the same smells. I know this sounds trite. Or silly. Or sad. But
in one moment it struck me how small the world really is. And how incredibly,
unforgivingly large.
Anyway, I’ll leave
you with a recipe. Because those have been severely lacking here in the last
few months. (This sad fact is something I plan to change.)
Friday night I
arrived home from work and grocery shopping pretty late. I didn’t start cooking
until 8:30pm. But I was determined to use a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated,
because I read Cook’s Illustrated recipes all day, and they often stick to the
meaty part of my brain. I had been doing research on the effects of salt on
vegetables and had become fixated on this recipe for Pasta alla Norma, a chunky
eggplant tomato-based sauce that takes to rigatoni like a hug.
I sipped some whiskey
(because I love a good whiskey) as I took out my knife. After the application
of salt and a stint in the microwave, I watched the diced eggplant release its
liquid. Browned in the pan, and then removed, the spongy vegetable turned out
soft and flavorful...not at all waterlogged. The sauce came together with
minced garlic and anchovies (which are salty and meaty and not fishy at all),
and crushed tomatoes from a can. First came basil, then pasta, then cheese. Matt
and I ate while watching an old episode of The Sopranos. It was everything I
hoped it would be.
Pasta alla Norma
Adapted from Cook’sIllustrated (also known as: my place of work)
3 small eggplants (or 1
large), cut into ½ inch pieces
Salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 anchovy fillets, minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 28-oz can crushed
tomatoes
1 pound pasta (ziti,
rigatoni, penne, etc)
6 generous tablespoons
basil, chopped
1 cup shredded cheese (they
recommend ricotta salata; I used a combination of pecorino romano an asiago
cheese)
First, place the diced
eggplant in a medium-sized bowl and toss with 1 teaspoon of salt. Then, line a
microwave-safe plate with coffee filters. (The filters will absorb more of the
eggplant’s excessive moisture than, say, a paper towel). Place the eggplant on
the plate in a single layer, and microwave on high power for about 10 minutes. The eggplant
should be dry and kind of shrively. Let cool a bit.
Now put the eggplant back in
the bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Heat another tablespoon of oil
in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and cook
until nicely browned and tender. This should take about 10 minutes. Be sure not
to stir too frequently, or the eggplant will break apart. Once cooked, remove
the eggplant from the skillet and set aside.
Add another tablespoon of
oil to the skillet along with the garlic, anchovies, and pepper flakes. Keep
the pan off the heat for 30 seconds or so, using the residual heat to cook
these delicate ingredients very lightly, not allowing them to burn. Then set
the skillet back over the burner and add the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and let
cook for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a big pot
of water to boil. Add salt (2 tablespoons or so), and cook pasta until al dente. Reserve a half-cup
of pasta water before draining the pasta and then placing the noodles a big serving bowl.
Add the eggplant back to the
skillet filled with sauce, and stir gently. Let simmer for 3 minutes. Now, add
the basil. Season to taste with salt. Add the sauce to the pasta, and stir to
coat. Drizzle a glug of olive oil over the top if you like. Serve, sprinkled with a healthy handful of cheese.
