TEACH ME SOMETHING

I have discovered something about myself and that is that I am an avid imitator of my friends, whether it comes to humor, fashion or food, I enjoy being inspired by others. I am not saying that I don’t have an original bone in my body, but sometimes I get tired of my own bones.

Yes there are a cachillion recipe sites, cook books and of course the universal recipe monster we call Google, but for me there is nothing better than tasting a friend’s amazing food and immediately stealing it. Getting recipes from friends after you have tasted their food is the best. You know it is good. You just ate it and it was free!

This post will serve two purposes. One, I will share a tasty recipe that my girlfriend Rebecca shared with me that I think is one of my favorite simple recipes of 2011 and two, I will invite you to teach me something that you love to make.

TEACH ME!!!

The ideal scenario: If you live in the Bay Area and you don’t have stage fright, I would like you to teach me how to make something on video. If we go for it, I promise to put it on my blog and on YouTube. I have big plans to either get on the View, Ellen or Conan this year, so you never know, I may just make you/us famous.

You can email me your recipe at hey@realfoodies.com or contact me on FB at RealFoodies. Please check out my videos on my YouTube Channel.

Small print. You didn’t have to invent the recipe, but if you didn’t, you have to tell me who did.

Thank you Rebecca!

ORECHIETTE WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE, CHERRY TOMATOES, FRESH SPINACH AND GARLIC

(Rebecca uses linguini, but Orechiette (little ears) is my new favorite pasta. I like how it holds sauce and the little pieces of sausage. Linguini is perfect too.)

2 lbs of Italian sausage (I use half hot and half mild)
1lb Orechiette or Linguini
10 oz fresh spinach (or more if preferred)
Pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
2 or 3 large cloves fresh garlic, sliced
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper

HOW

Remove the sausage casings if you purchased the sausage in sausage form
Break up sausage and brown in a large pot (big enough to hold pasta and spinach when stirring) over med high heat
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water until al dente and reserve some of the liquid. Orechiette requires room and some stirring to separate the little ears/Yarmulkas
Once there’s no more pink in the sausage lower the heat to medium, add the tomatoes, cook for 3-4minutes, and stir frequently to release the juice.

Add the sliced garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.
Lower the heat to low, add the pasta and mix in the sausage.
Turn off heat. Add a bit of the reserved liquid to add moisture.
Add the spinach in handfuls to barely wilt it into the pasta. Taste before you add salt and pepper.

Tip: Don’t overcook the cherry tomatoes.
You want them to release a little juice, but still hold their form.
If you overcook you will have a lot of tomato peels.

Serve with shaved Parmigiano or Pecorino Romano cheese at the table.

To warm leftovers without drying out the pasta, sauté with a touch of evoo 🙂 enjoy!