Where I’m cooking from now
Thousands of meals for our large family, at least a hundred large (40+) dinner parties, many hundred smaller ones with the inner circle, all cooked from this well worn kitchen. After buying our house in 1989 we immediately had the original (1945 circa) avocado green kitchen (linoleum, appliances, trim!) torn out, removed a coat closet from the foyer that forced entry into the kitchen through a two foot opening, and had a new white kitchen installed. The end product is the result of a few “back of the envelope meetings” with a designer/installer from my hometown Sparta. (For our new kitchen I envision a much more comprehensive process.)
We got lucky, it is a well organized work space. A small center island with a down draft Jenair stove, corner sink flanked by five feet of white Corian (this was before granite) topped cabinets. There’s a 36-inch SubZero with a dishwasher and trash compactor – by today’s kitchen standards, a dated, old fashioned space. And yet, countless meals for our family and friends have been produced. Many like this one have been made hundreds and hundreds of times.
Pasta with Peas, Gruyere and Ham
- 4 oz Ham
- 2 oz grated Gruyere
- 8 – 12 oz Peas
- I onion
- Garlic
- Chicken stock
- 1 lb Pasta
Finely chop the ham. (We freeze 4 oz chunks from the remainders of our large hams. I chop the frozen chunks of ham in the Cuisinart). Place in a heavy fry pan with a bit of olive oil on low/medium heat, and brown ham bits till crispy. Stir often. Takes about 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt a tablespoon or so of butter and an equal amount of olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add chopped onion and garlic, when translucent, add 2-4 cups chicken stock (depends how much sauce you prefer), bring to a boil and add frozen, rinsed petite peas (at least 8 oz, I usually add the whole bag). Turn off the heat and set aside until pasta is ready.
Cook pasta in well salted water. When al dente, retain a tea cup of the cooking water, drain pasta and immediately add pasta to the stock, peas, onion mixture. Stir in ham and over a low heat for a minute, stir in the grated gruyere along with some of the retained cooking water. Freshly ground pepper (if young children not consuming).
When all five of our children are home, I need to double this family favorite. Recently, I brought this to our dear neighbors as they welcomed their new baby. Years ago, delivering a meal to another family involved much thinking about what to cook. Now, I just bring these simple meals.
500 miles 