Cooking with Jason Gedrick




Felicity Huffmann has all the luck on Desperate Housewives. She gets to have two grand leading men. First she gets to play Lynette Scavo to Doug Savant's Tom Scavo and then she gets to flirt with Jason Gedrick's Rick Colletti -- well, the viewers are being teased with the idea that there will be more between them. Well, perhaps it would be more interesting if Tom got to experience what Savant's gay character, Matt, on Melrose Place never got around to doing, i.e. enjoying a fine man. Why should Lynette have all the fun? Well, that's not likely to happen -- still, it's an interesting vision in the mind's eye.

There has been noticeable improvement in the last two episodes, perhaps because there is a less hurried aspect to the show in wrapping up the plots and subplots. Jason's is a welcomed character -- the man sure can cook, although at least one of the dishes he mentioned last night -- Pasta alla Carbonara -- is not one that can be brought in from home and served like that. La Carbonara is best as a piatto expresso. Anyway, here are two of the dishes he prepared.




Risotto Verde

Ingredients:

Garlic, 5 cloves chopped
Spinach, 250 grams chiffonade
Escarole, 250 grams chiffonade
Onion chopped
Virigin Olive Oil. two tablespoons
Arborio Rice two cups
Stock, four cups simmering
Basil, chiffonade about one quarter cup
Parsley, chopped one quarter cup
Thyme, chopped two tablespoons
Butter, unsalted one tablespoon
Pecorino Romano, one quarter cup

Method:
1. Spray a large skillet well with cooking spray and heat on medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté 3 minutes; add spinach and escarole and sauté until wilted; set aside.
2. In large saucepan, sauté onion in 2 tbsp olive oil until translucent but without color. Add rice and sauté for 3 minutes more, making sure rice does not brown. Add wine, stirring constantly until entirely absorbed. Add stock, 1/2 cup at a time until absorbed, before adding next addition. 3. After fourth addition of stock is added, begin tasting rice. Rice should be al dente when done. You need to keep tasting rice, because, depending on rice, you may or may not have to use all of the stock. When fourth addition of stock is absorbed, add the spinach and escarole to risotto.
4. When last addition of stock is added, add basil, parsley and thyme, and cook until stock is absorbed. When last addition of stock is absorbed, remove from heat; stir in butter and Romano. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Note: A pretty presentation would be to reserve some basil, parsley and thyme sprigs, and arrange them on the serving platter. Also you could arrange some spinach and escarole leaves on the bottom of the platter and place risotto on top and at the very top for some colour add chopped tomato and/or red bell pepper.

Pasta alla Carbonara

Dry White wine
Pancetta, thick slices diced into quarter inch cubes
Sea Salt
Spaghetti or Bucati, 500 grams
Egg Yolks, two
Eggs, two whole
Pecorino Romano, about a cup
Black Pepper, freshly ground to taste


1. While the pasta cooks in well salted water, put the pancetta in a large skillet and saute it in some white wine until the wine evaporates.
2. The egg yolks and the eggs should be well beaten with half the cheese.
3. When the pasta is almost cooked toss it in the same skillet as the bacon with the eggs and cheese until the heat from the pasta cooks the eggs.
4. Cook all of it over low heat for a minute until the pasta reaches al dente texture.
5. When it is served and it should be served immediately use the remaining cheese for extra topping and grind some fresh pepper over it.

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