Sunday, March 13, 2011

French Fridays with Dorie - Beggars Linguine---on Sunday

Well, it's Sunday...not Friday.  Bummer...it's the first FFwD that I've missed posting on Friday.  I'm afraid things just got away from me a bit.  With my new schedule, Sundays are really the only day I have to prepare whatever recipe we're cooking for the week for Dorie.  And, last Sunday I cooked an amazing dinner for a friend's birthday.  Unfortunately, Beggars Linguine was not appropriate for this shindig.  I'll be posting about that dinner on the 15th for my Charcutepalooza post (lots of brining was involved)!  I did make the Salted Butter Breakups for an appetizer, so I'll have those to post for this Friday.

During the week, I kept trying to decide if I was going to try to cook the Beggars Linguine late at night after I got home from working at the store.  That's so laughable!  The whole point of participating in FFwD is to enjoy the process.  There is nothing enjoyable about throwing ingredients together at 11 at night, shooting bad pictures and then posting just to post.  So, I decided to let myself off the hook and to make this dish when I could enjoy making it.  Funny, but I ended up making it Saturday after work (but I was home at 4, not 11).  It actually was the perfect way to unwind from a long week.

Such a nice, simple recipe.  Chop a few nuts and fruits, melt some butter, cook some pasta, toss it all together.  Easy as pie (well the kind of pie you buy already made...not the kind of pie you make from scratch...which isn't that easy...as a commercial for a well known insurance company is touting right now..."it can get soupy"...anyone know what I'm talking about???).  Anyway...the pasta came together in minutes.





I personally loved it.  Ethan ate a big plate before his baseball game and liked it ok....he ate a second plate after the baseball game and declared he didn't really like it that much...too bland.  Did I mention I put my home-cured bacon in it (you're thinking...of course she did...there's been bacon in every recipe for the last 4 weeks!!!)  Anyway, the bacon (and bacon grease I added to oil the pasta) actually gave the pasta a great flavor and worked well with the fruits and nuts.  I also soaked the raisins in Ruby Port (which I now have a bottle of from another Dorie recipe), because they looked kind of sad.  They were pretty darn happy after that soaking, and so was I.  In fact, I'd be happy to soak in a tub of Ruby Port myself.

Curious how all the other Doristas (term courtesy of Trevor at Sis...Boom!) fared this week.  Check out all the great posts at FFwD.  Have a great week and I'll hopefully be on time this week.

13 comments:

Cher Rockwell said...

Glad you could make it in! I think with all you have going on, you deserve a few hall passes :-) Looking forward to hearing more about your curing shenanigans.

Anonymous said...

I think the addition of your home cured bacon was a great idea! I say cooking should be fun, so whenever you can fit it in and enjoy it, all the better!

amanda @ fake ginger said...

I bet the bacon was an excellent addition. Bacon and dates go so well together so I imagine it was perfect with the figs. Your dish looks delicious and I love what you said about rushing through a recipe and posting just to post... so true! Why do something like food blogging if you aren't going to relax and enjoy it? It's something all of us need to remember from time to time.

Unknown said...

I love that you added bacon grease! I can just imagine how amazing that would be. Might have to try that myself.

Mardi Michels said...

Yay for being in good company of those who have posted late for FFWD! I am so glad you liked this - and agree that it needs a little homecured meat to balance the sweetness (I didn't this time but would definitely next time). And you served cookies for an appetizer? I want to come to your dinner parties!

Ms. Hobby said...

I bet your bacon tasted great with this dish! I'm glad you were able to enjoy making it on Saturday, and enjoy the food!

Betsy said...

I agree that enjoying the process is an important part of making the FFwD recipes. Glad you could fit it in. I only liked, not loved, this recipe, but maybe bacon would have pushed me to the other side!

Kris' Kitchen said...

I think bacon would be a great idea. Glad you made this dish...always like reading your posts.

Kathy said...

Yum…Bacon had to work really well with this dish! With all you have going on, you deserve kudos for making this post!! It looks delicious!

Tasty Trix said...

Bacon grease added to anything is a big win! Yum. And don't feel guilty about posting late - you are right, the whole point is to enjoy the process!

Lana said...

I imagine that adding bacon would balance the dish nicely. And I don't mind you using your home-cured bacon in every recipe:) I would if I were you!
I skipped this dish due to husband's allergies and girls' distaste of fruits and nuts in savory dishes. But I intend on making it one day just for myself. I will ad some kind of cure pork and I'll definitely soak my raisins in port:)

KarenP said...

Looks delicious! I'm glad you made it better late than never! This was a fun one to make because it is so different from anything I've made before.

Anne Marie said...

Steph, the photo of all the little dishes and the pasta is gorgeous! I think I'm in FFwD for the photos as much as the food! I'm so glad you made the linguine--for purely selfish reasons. I missed hearing from you!