Swapping Recipes....

The holiday lights have distracted me from writing about recent recipes--Amatriciana and Spaghetti Carbonara. Both are very similar in that they contain chopped pancetta affumicata (a very good quality of bacon), garlic, and a red chili to add some spice. The Amatriciana includes some tomato sauce and the Carbonara adds an egg and has more cheese.

The garlic and pepper infuse the oil and complement the bacon.

Rita adds the cheese-- fresh sharp romano (pecorino)

AMATRICIANA

For the Carbonara, we mixed fresh Romano and Parmesan cheese in with one egg. The heat from the boiled spaghetti, the bacon, and olive oil cooks the egg as it's all mixed together.

Rita always measures out the amount of spaghetti. In this case, for two.

SPAGHETTI CARBONARA

Since Rita has been my teacher, I hadn't made anything for her to try. With the colder weather, a hot pot of "Caldillo"-- a green chili and bean stew was called for. I had to get creative because in Italy, there are no hot Anaheim chilies in sight. Thankfully-and for those of you who know me well, you'll know how happy I am- frijoles (pinto beans) are ample. With a few spices, strips of colorful bell peppers, I was able to make up for the lack of green chili. Rita said she likes spicy and that is what she got!

CALDILLO WITH FRIJOLES, PORK AND CHICKEN