Italian Recipe 2

Over dinner last night we continued to make plans for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Alice's birthday is also on Thursday so it will be a double celebration. I introduced the idea of a pot-luck and it looks like that's what will happen. I will be baking an apple pie. The roommates are convinced that apple pie is the only acceptable dessert and because I am American I automatically know how to make them. And also turkey. Should be interesting.

As part of my planning I've asked a couple people for suggestions for "Real American Thanksgiving Traditions" I can "share". I've received a couple so far:

After carving the turkey, the carcass should be strung-up from the ceiling. People eat with their hands tied behind their backs. First one to tear off a bone wins.

Have everyone smell their gravy before they eat. When their faces are close to the bowl - push their faces into the gravy. Raise your hands above your head and yell "America".

If you have any other suggestions, leave a comment.

Pasta with Tuna, Tomato and Olives

Start a large pot of water to boil. Once the water is near boiling, start making this quick sauce in a separate pan.

In a smallish sauté pan over med-low heat (so the oil doesn’t start to smoke), pour in olive oil, enough to just coat the bottom, and throw in a couple cloves of garlic still in their skin but smashed. While the garlic infuses the oil, slice 2-3 cups of cherry tomatoes in half. Increase the heat on the pan a bit, add the tomatoes to the oil and begin quickly sautéing. As soon as the tomatoes start to break down, add in .5 to 1 cup of sliced green olives and a half to a whole can of tuna fish (I use one tin of tuna for two people and the tin is 200g, about half the size of those in the US), lightly drained. Sauté all the ingredients together. Add a bit of spaghetti sauce to add thickness (my addition, not traditional but I think it helps bring everything together). You should end up with a thick, chunky sauce. Season to taste with whatever seasonings make you happy. During all of this, the water boiled and you cooked your pasta to just a few seconds shy of al dente - use short noodles, fusilli is nice. Drain the noodles and add to the sauce over low heat to finish cooking the pasta and combine the flavors. Reserve a bit of the pasta water to add to the mixture if it needs to be thinned out.

Serve hot with good bread but no cheese. Cheese and fish do not mix.

In Italy most of the tuna comes packed in olive oil. In the States I always bought the tuna in water but the oil has a great flavor and adding a bit of it along with the tuna really adds to the dish.

All amounts are approximations. Use as much or as little of anything as you like depending on how many people you're feeding, how you like your sauce, and your favorite flavors. You can also cook the tomatoes for a short amount of time and keep them mostly together, or for a longer amount of time depending on how much you want them to break down in the sauce. It's more traditional I think to cook them short and quick just to soften them but still maintain their inherent wholeness and being. Basically they cook the sauce just long enough to put heat into everything and combine the flavors but leaving everything fresh. I personally like it cooked a while longer (by that I mean I start the sauce when I start the water instead of starting it just before the water boils) and for everything to break down into more of a sauce.
Buon appetito!

I wonder what Eric is eating right now?