Hello Everyone
A good friend of mine, Crispin, invited me over to his house last week for dinner. He made an amazing salad for us with sauteed zucchini, toasted walnuts, avocado (sprinkled with balsamic to keep them from browning), butter lettuce, olive oil and the most amazing cheese I have tasted in quite a long time -- Stracchino (1), a deliciously creamy Italian cheese. As we both tasted it for the first time, we just stood there staring at one another, speechless. Yes we are crazy, but just taste it and you will understand.
The next day, all I did was think about the different ways we could use this new found friend of ours. In salads, with bruschetta, on sandwiches, the possibilities seemed endless. Then it came to me. This is a very creamy cheese, which means it likely melts very well. It was time to experiment. So I headed to the local Italian grocery in the Chelsea Market and picked up some Stracchino to see just how easily it would melt. Once in my kitchen, I soon learned that this creamy cheese was just as delicious when melted down. Now the possibilities went from endless to infinity, but I was dying for an alfredo sauce. So after phoning Crispin, who immediately chimed in "wonderful, but don't forget the bazzil (2)", the dye was cast and the sauce was well on its way to becoming a reality.
This week's RecipePhile is dedicated to my good friend Crispin, whose adventurous nature led us to a new found cheese and a recipe that turned out just as we both imagined. Keep in mind, this one is fattening, very fattening.
Have a great week,
Michael
"Always remember that food is about more than eating...it is about thinking, buying, preparing, enjoying and most importantly... sharing."
Crispin's "Bazzil" Stracchino Alfredo
3 pints heavy cream
1/2 lb. of Stracchino
1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
1/2 cup chopped, fresh basil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Add the three pints of heavy cream to a sauce pan and turn on medium heat. Cook down, stirring constantly, for about 15-20 minutes. Add the Stracchino and let melt down until completely mixed with the cream. (It helps to use a whisk during this process because it aerates the sauce, makes it a little "creamier" and ensures that there are no chunks of Stracchino left in the pan.) Add the Parmigiano Reggiano, the basil and then taste the sauce to see how much salt it needs. Add salt and pepper to your liking and serve over pasta (3).
FoodNoteworthies
(1) Stracchino [straht-CHEE-noh] - This is it people. A must have and of course, it is from Italy. Stracchino is a fresh, cow's-milk cheese from Italy's Lombardy region. Stracchino contains about 50 percent milk fat. Its flavor is mild and delicate ˜ similar to but slightly more acidic than CREAM CHEESE. Stracchino Crescenza has a somewhat higher milk fat content, which results in a slightly creamier texture. If you cannot find this cheese at your local gourmet or Italian store, you can find it online at Murray's Cheese Shop.
(2) "Bazzil" - Crispin is from England. So instead of saying "basil", he says "bazzil". Hence, the name of the dish.
(3) When making a cream sauce, I like to use penne pasta. My preference is homemade pasta, but if you cannot make or buy a fresh pasta try to find DeCecco. My mother and many others find it to be the best in mass produced, dried pastas. If you cannot find this pasta in your local grocery store, you can buy it online from Pennsylvania Macaroni, one of the best Italian grocery stores in the Pittsburgh, PA.
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