Spaghetti Al Limone

With my vegetarian niece coming for dinner on Sundays I've had to explore other cuisines - French food doesn't offer much in terms of vegetarian food. However, Italian does, and I know this from the near decade I spent as a vegetarian. I discovered David Rocco, handsome Italian man who cooks, too!

1 lb. spaghetti

1 clove garlic, for rubbing

lemon juice from 2 lemons (about 1/3 cup) freshly squeezed

5 Tbsps. olive oil (70g)

salt to season

1 cup parmigiana cheese (about 3oz) finely grated, plus extra for sprinkling

bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

zest of 1 lemon, freshly grated

1. Place the spaghetti in a pot of boiling salted water.
2. Cut the garlic in half and rub all over the inside of a large serving bowl. This way the flavour of raw garlic will lightly infuse whatever you put in it. To the bowl, add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and salt then slowly drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil while whisking until the ingredients emulsify.
3. When the spaghetti is ‘al dente’, drain it and dump into the serving bowl. Mix well, sprinkling in the parmigiana cheese, parsley and lemon zest. Serve immediately.

Gougères

These puffs of heaven are delicious. The recipe is fun, too because it's so strange - when adding the eggs to the dough it separates into globs at first and looks ruined, but keep mixing and there will be a magic moment when everything just comes together. And they are seriously difficult to resist! Thanks French Cooking at Home!

Yield: 50

6 Tbsps (3oz/84gr) butter

1 cup water or light chicken stock

½ tsp. salt

pepper to season

Pinch of paprika

1 cup flour (4¼oz/120g)

3-4 eggs depending on size

4oz Gruyere cheese, coarsely grated

Milk for brushing

1. Heat the oven to 375ºF.
2. Put the butter in a heavy saucepan with the water or stock, salt, pepper, and paprika. Bring to a boil and pull from the heat. 
3. Dump the flour in all at once, and beat until smooth with a wooden spoon. The mixture will pull away from the sides of the pan and form a ball. 
4. Put the pan back on low heat and beat for a minute to dry the paste somewhat. Remove from the heat and let cool about 3 minutes.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating vigorously with a wooden spoon after each addition. You want a smooth, soft, glossy paste that falls easily from the spoon, and this is dependent on the size of your eggs - if they are large, 3 should do, but if they are too small the dough will be too stiff so use 4 (or more if your eggs are really small.) 
6. Stir in the cheese.
7. Using a pastry bag, pipe 1-inch/2.5 cm balls onto a buttered baking sheet, or simply drop the mixture by spoonfuls. Brush with milk so they will emerge golden and shiny - I dip my finger in milk and dab the tops. Bake until puffed up, nicely browned and not just light gold, and feather light when you pick one up, 25 to 35 minutes.

Spiced Candied Pecans

These were a serious favourite at the picnic. I had no idea that they possessed such a narcotic effect! Neither dessert nor appetizers, they are great snacks to nibble on throughout the picnic. I think in particular for the Bocce picnic.

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 tsp. cayenne

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. coriander

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. allspice

1 egg white

2 tsp. vegetable oil
2 cups shelled pecans

1. Pre-heat oven to 300F.
2. In a bowl, sugar, cayenne, salt, coriander, cinnamon, and allspice. Whisk in egg white and vegetable oil. Stir in pecan halves.
3. Spread nuts in a single layer in an oiled non-stick 10- by 15-inch baking pan. Bake in a regular or convection oven, stirring occasionally, until nuts are crisp and lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Let cool about 5 minutes, then use a wide spatula to loosen nuts from pan; cool completely. Serve or store airtight at room temperature up to 2 weeks

Marinated Chèvre

My sister Marie-Thérèse introduced me to chèvre from a goat farm near her house that was marinated in olive oil. They are yummy herby cheesy goodness! My plan is to make a new batch every month to always have some on hand. I'm guessing the olive oil preserves the cheese and keeps it from going bad... I hope!

3 oz soft chèvre cheese

2 bay leaves

2 tsps. black peppercorns

3 or more sprigs of fresh herbs

2 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed

Zest from 1 lemon

olive oil to cover

1. Prepare your herbs and spices to add as you put in chèvre balls.
2. Put in a bay leaf on the bottom and the sprigs of thym along the edges of a sterilized jar.
3. To make the cheese balls, use the teaspoon size from your measuring spoons, scoop up chèvre and shape into a ball in your hands. Pop into the jar. After every layer of balls, add a few spices and cover with olive oil. Continue until you reach the top of the jar, make sure the olive oil reaches the top of any food mater.
4. Be sure there are no air bubbles, which could cause spoilage. You can slip a knife down the sides of the jar to help move the culprits.
5. Seal and refrigerate. Let it marinate for a minimum of 12 hours.
6. This will keep for about a month.

PLACE HOLDERS S-Z

SALADS, SANDWICHES, SAUCES, SIDE DISHES, SLOW FOOD, SOUPS, STARTERS, STEWS, TABLE D'HÔTE, TARTS, TIPS, VEGETARIAN,