gelato ticket

I'm the type of person that can't stand to have things in my possession that I don't use (just ask my gallbladder). I hate knowing that something is just lying around gathering dust, when it could be put to good use. So, naturally, I had become quite frustrated with owning an ice cream maker. Honestly, up until last week, we had used it once or twice in three years, and that's just ridiculous. I decided that it was way past time to give it another try and so on our day off together, we made some mint chocolate chip gelato. Gelato is an italian ice cream that uses infused milk and is a bit more dense than traditional ice cream. you make a custard and whisk it into the milk and then add it to your ice cream maker. I'm really glad that I tried making this because now that I have the method down, I will experiment with it a lot.

Last thursday, It was so nice outside that I decided to have some grill time. Meat treats over high heats equals tasty eats. I made an adobo spice rub out of garlic, lime zest, paprika, black pepper, cumin, kosh, and olive oil (at least I think that's all that I put in). Rubbed it on some chicken breasts and then seared them over high heat and then backed them off to finish cooking. ok, I'd like to take a moment here to talk about why spice pastes rule. well, for starters, they're a huge time saver. I have nothing against marinades, per se, it's just that they take so much time. a spice paste crams all that flavor into a concentrated form that you can basically cook with in little to no time at all. the difference in time is like comparing riding a bus in mexico (just ask wifeshow, now THAT was a fun day!) to traveling warp speed on the enterprise (sorry, I saw star trek over the weekend, good flick, recommends it.) ok, sorry, back to the chicken...I sliced them thin and served them on some grilled tortillas with red cabbage, grilled scallion, avocado, and lime squirtys. Delicious!

ok, last pic. Wife and I made pasta on sunday. If there is one recipe I post that I really want you to try, it's this one. The difference is totally ridiculous, in a good way. ok, maybe not this ridiculous (ok, seriously, well, two things. That is a frisbee hanging from her belt, I know because I had that frisbee and she is wearing a wedding ring, which means her husband probably took that picture. I'm totally speechless.) but still... It really doesn't take that much time, and it is so worth it. Having a roller will definitely help your cause, you could try it without, but it will be a lot of work.

Tuscan Pasta dough (variation from bon appetit)

1.25 cup durum semolina flour

2 eggs

1 tbs olive oil (eyeballed it)

1 tbs salt (" ")

2 methods here. You can mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl, make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients, using a fork to blend everything together top make a rough dough, or you can just whizz it into a food processor and jog the button a couple of times to get the same result (I use to do it by hand...I use to think I was being old school, now I know I was just being silly.) turn your dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. cut it in two, make balls out of it and flatten them into disks. cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes. ( If you are going to be more than half an hour, knock it into the fridge until you can get to it later, just take it out about 30 minutes before you plan on rolling.

Set pasta machine to the widest setting( usually "1") and feed the dough through about 4 times (or until super smooth). now cut your dough in two. Cover one half with a towel and take the other half and feed it through the next narrowest setting about 2 times, switching to the next setting after every 2nd time. (I did this until I got to setting"5", the second to last setting.) the pasta will be about 2 feet long and pretty thin, like 1/16 inch (make sure to lay it on a lightly floured surface and lightly flour the top also, this will make cutting and unraveling way easier!). Now loosely roll your pasta strip until it looks like a scroll of dough. cut into desired width with a sharp knife. Repeat process with remaining dough (s). You can either hang your pasta to dry or let it dry on parchment for about 20-30 minutes. Now you are ready for the sauce of your choice, or veggies, or just olive oil and parmesan. make sure to only boil for about 3-4 minutes, time may vary slightly, serve al dente. enjoys!

DISH recommends:

A pasta machine/roller. This one is made by norpro. about 40 clams. they usually make good stuff. I think I have an "imperia." but don't want to go check right now. while this does have the potential to be a "dust gatherer," this pasta dough is so good, you won't want to return to the land of the inferior dried stuff. use it well.