Spaghetti with Balsamic Tomatoes

This is something I put together the other day out of (almost) pantry-only ingredients; in any case, the ingredients are ones I tend to keep on hand. (If fresh basil isn't immediately available, then dried might be an option. You'll lose a certain amount of "brightness" in the final product and some eye appeal, but the balsamic vinegar has a fair amount of brightness to begin with.)

Depending on the balsamic vinegar you have, adding brown sugar to the braising tomatoes may not be necessary. The vinegar I use for this recipe is cheap--it comes in a half-gallon jug, really watery and pungent--which is why reducing it to this extent, which thickens it and reduces the harshness, is preferable to trying it straight. There's really no reason to use good-quality balsamic vinegar here, though; it would be a terrible waste.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1 12-oz can of whole tomatoes (those packed in juice are preferable to those in puree)
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
• 2 tbs + 2 tsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1-2 tbs brown sugar (optional)
  
• 2 tbs fresh basil chiffonade
• pinch kosher salt
• pepper to taste

Directions

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions. (I usually cook pasta 1-2 minutes less than the directions indicate to avoid mushy pasta.)
   
2. Drain can of tomatoes in a colander. Remove seeds, stems, and cores from the whole tomatoes where possible. (With very small or young tomatoes, the cores may not be woody and will not need to be removed.)
   
3. Heat 2 tbs olive oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat until shimmering.
   
4. Saute the drained tomatoes in the skillet, breaking them up with a spatula until they are roughly chopped.
5. Add balsamic vinegar to the tomatoes and cook until the vinegar is reduced into the tomatoes. You may add the brown sugar here if you wish, as well as salt, if necessary.
6. Set the tomatoes aside, clean the pan, and add 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat.
7. Saute garlic until golden with a pinch of kosher salt, then add to the tomato mixture
   
8. Toss the pasta with the tomatoes and garlic; add the fresh basil and top with freshly grated parmesan.
   

Mini-post: Blueberry Pancakes

I made blueberry pancakes today--pics to come soon--and they were pretty much my best attempt yet. In place of buttermilk, I use regular milk that has been curdled and thickened with lemon juice. To prevent overmixing, I beat the egg(s) in the "buttermilk" and added the liquids to the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar). This way, only a few stirs to combine finishes off the mixture. Today's pancakes were the fluffiest, most tender ones I've ever had. What do you know...Alton Brown proved right yet again!

Dial-A-Slice Apple Divider

I picked up this apple corer and slicer a few days before Christmas, on a rare trip to Williams Sonoma. (If it weren't next to Barnes & Noble I'd probably never go there.) The Dial-A-Slice Apple Divider cores and slices an apple into either 8 or 16 slices.

As I've previously mentioned, I make a lot of apple pie during the holidays. So anything that makes it easier is appreciated. So how well does it work? Well, here's my review.

Pros: There's no doubt it's easier to make it through four pounds of apples than with a knife. By the time I get to the last apple when working with a knife, my fingers are tired, wet, and stinging from the acids and the sugars in the apple juice, and I'm usually afraid that I will cut myself. This gadget is faster--I can get through the same number of apples in about a third of the time--easier, and saves the fingers. The "dial" device which allows you to switch from 8 to 16 slices consists of two rotating wheels with sharp metal spokes used to divide the apple into segments, and the mechanism is easy to use and sturdy. The rubberized handles are comfortable and much less likely to bruise the hands than all-metal models of apple slicers I have seen.

Cons: The manufacturer recommends handwashing the slicer, which is inconvenient, as the dial device can get tiny pieces of apple stuck in its hub. In order to remove them, you must reach past the sharpened metal slicers. (A toothpick might be a better solution than that rough-and-ready method.) The other main drawback lies in the fact that apples are not always perfectly round, with the core running straight down the center of the apple. This can lead to no stable surface on the bottom of the apple, making the consistent downward pressure used to divide the apple a chancy business. (Since I peel my apples first, which makes them slippery, I had a few apple projectiles shooting around the kitchen before I learned to slice a flat surface into the bottom of an apple.)

Summary: Much easier than a knife, and with some practice, I will be working through piles of apples in nothing flat. Cleanup could be easier, and there's more of a learning curve than I expected, but on the whole, worth it. 4 out of 5.

Price: $19.95 + S&H at Williams Sonoma's online store. I paid about $13 (sale price) at Willams Sonoma in Hingham, MA.

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UPDATE: Cook's Illustrated reviewed apple slicers, including this model, in their September 2009 issue. Click here for an updated post and link to the CI review.

Columela Artesano Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Here's a constant problem for a wannabe gourmet on a grad student's budget...getting good quality ingredients for affordable prices. It takes a fair amount of research, both online and the boots-on-the-ground kind. It also takes an ability to prioritize...for which products does getting the premium version actually make a difference?

One of those products where money frequently does equal quality is extra virgin olive oil. (Although not always, as certain fraudsters have recently proved. Also check out the full New Yorker article on fraud in the olive oil industry.) I've had some really bad experiences trying to cheap out on olive oil (the kind you drizzle, not the kind you cook with. The latter is a place you can go cheap.) So I've been looking for an extra virgin that was good quality, but not too rich for my blood. Say, nothing over $15-$16 a bottle.

Cook's Illustrated gave top marks in 2008 to Columela, and several other taste tests in magazines rated Columela at least near the top, so I decided to give it a try. $18 bucks for a half-liter bottle was still a little too expensive for me, though, no matter how good.

Fortunately, Boston is a foodie haven, which means that there are lots of stores that carry a range of premium brands at a high rate of turnover. This means that if you shop around, you can luck out. I ran into the bolder version of CI's winner, Columela Artesano Extra Virgin Olive Oil, at the Whole Foods near Washington Square in Brookline, for a mere $13.99 (on sale from its regular price of $14.99). Most online retailers seem to price it at around $15. (That is, of course, without shipping costs.)

It's buttery and very slightly sweet, but still sharp, peppery, with just the right amount of "green" flavor to it. It tastes like it's an actual agricultural product; really worth a savor.

And, you can savor the price, too.

UPDATE: Recently found Artesano at $9.99 for a 500 mL bottle at Marty's Liquors in Allston, across from the Harvard Ave. T stop. If you've never been to Marty's, it's not your typical college town liquor store. They have a great deli, specialty gourmet foods, an aisle full of microbrews, and a wine selection (complete with an ask-an-expert desk) that will take you from the $7 vin de table to the $200/case vintage Bordeaux. Where else in Allston can you pick up a six pack and a block of Gruyère in a single stop?

Update May 2010: Sadly, Marty's Liquors in Allston closed last year.  I've been to their Newton, MA location, and the prices are as much as half again what I used to pay in Allston. I now buy this olive oil wherever I can find it. Salumeria Italiana in the North End carries it in stock regularly. (For some other options for inexpensive-yet-good olive oils, check out my recent extra virgin olive oil tasting featuring Columela Artesano.)