i realize this isn’t the usual picture you might expect to see on a pasta post here at ceF,  but what happened was this.  earlier this week angela came over and well, she’s a close friend and it’s rare these days that we get an evening together alone. we live three minutes from each other but still communicate mostly via email and phone calls.  so to get a little face to face time – well, it’s a sacred evening. i hold her in the highest esteem for many reasons and i’ve always felt that my status in life was elevated because she loved me…

we gathered at my home and i proceeded to prepare some dinner while we drank an excellent bottle of sancerre. i had hit whole foods for a loaf of ciabatta and some taleggio and picked up another cheese that was new to me – caciotta al tartufo – it’s made from cows milk and flecked with black truffles. so we ate cheese and drank wine, talking in between the laughing while polishing off the sancerre pretty quickly. isn’t sancerre just about the sexiest name of a wine that could ever exist? anyway, then i opened an argentenian white, a torrontes and got to making our pasta.

this dish is one of my favorite things to eat of all time and i vary it depending on my mood or what’s in the pantry/freezer.  the last time i made it i used spaghetti and shrimp.  this time around i used the fettuccini from tom at lazzaroli pasta that i found tucked away in my freezer – and then i proceeded to kept it even simpler than ever.  i salted the boiling water well, cooked the pasta and quickly portioned it into bowls and tossed with: creme fraiche white truffle olive oil chopped fresh chives fresh cracked black pepper  that’s it.  i mean this is not even really cooking.  this dish is so easily prepared – with what are to me, perfect ingredients.  and i loved the fresh pasta twist this time. it was just plain decadent. 

angela and i swoon over this pasta. (that and scallop with spicy mayo sushi which angela fondly refers to as orgasm rolls.) anyway 1+ bottles of wine into the evening, and snapping a picture was the farthest thing from my mind.

and so that you know, angela kaset  is a singer/songwriter of the very best kind.  sometimes we’ll be shopping at costco (my san pelligrino connection) or we might be at a movie, or the mall or home depot – and she’s just my bff, out for the afternoon. then i’ll go and see her play a gig at for instance ‘the bluebird cafe‘ and i once again remember…

"oh that’s right, she’s a brilliant goddess"…

 

(summer ’05, sporting my post divorce suntan…)