FOODIE FRIDAY: Q&A with author/cook DOMENICA MARCHETTI (Pt. 2 of 2)

The Glorious Pasta of Italy by Domenica Marchetti (Chronicle Books 2011)

Welcome to FOODIE FRIDAY! October is officially DOMENICA MARCHETTI month! Every Friday in October, we’ll be featuring a Foodie Friday blog devoted to food critic/journalist/cook/author Domenica Marchetti. Today features part 2 of our two-part Q&A with Domenica. (If you missed Part 1 of our Q&A, here is the link: https://paulayoo.com/blog/?p=1014)

I worked with Domenica when we were both reporters for The Detroit News back in the early ’90s. Since then, Domenica has gone on to write for The Washington Post and publish several acclaimed cookbooks.

We are also hosting a signed book giveaway contest with Domenica. Please comment on this blog (or on any Foodie Friday blog this month) and you will automatically be included in the prize drawing. Or you can email me at paula at paulayoo dot com to join the drawing. A winner will be picked at random and will receive a signed copy of Domenica’s latest book, THE GLORIOUS PASTA OF ITALY (Chronicle Books 2011). The winner will be announced on Friday October 28, 2011. And stay tuned for Part 2 of  our Q&A with Domenica on Friday October 14th and she will share a special pasta recipe for our Foodie Friday blog on Friday October 21st! Yum! 🙂

For more info on Domenica, here are her links:

http://www.domenicacooks.com/

Twitter.com/domenicacooks

(Keep reading after the jump for Part 2 of our two-part Q&A with Domenica about pasta, Italian cooking and her heritage, and thoughts on the food industry, reality TV cooking shows, and more fun topics!)

Meet food critic/author/cook Domenica Marchetti!

Part 1 of Q&A with DOMENICA MARCHETTI

Domenica Marchetti bio (from her website http://www.domenicacooks.com/):

Domenica Marchetti is the author of The Glorious Pasta of Italy, Big Night In, and The Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy, all published by Chronicle Books. Her articles and recipes on contemporary Italian home cooking have appeared in The Washington Post, Cooking Light, Fine Cooking, Food and Wine, and at Leite’s Culinaria and NPR.org, and her book Big Night In was named one of the best cookbooks of the year by the editors of Food and Wine. She is a graduate of Columbia School of Journalism and a former newspaper reporter. Her web site is domenicacooks.com and you can also find her at facebook.com/domenicacooks.

Pt. 2 of 2-part Q&A

— Q: The Atkins and low-carb diet was a huge trend in the past decade. Even today, many people still follow a low-carb diet. Pasta is often seen as the “bad guy” for people who swear by low-carb diets. What is your response to that? What pasta recipes from your book do you recommend for people who are on a low-carb diet?

— A: I’ve never paid attention to diet trends. Pasta and noodles are featured in the cuisines of many cultures, not just Italian, and the people from most of these places do not have the weight problem that we Americans do. I have long subscribed to the “everything in moderation” philosophy—good ingredients and judicious portions make all the difference. Italians tend to eat smaller portions of pasta, and they don’t douse their pasta in sauce, the way Americans have become accustomed to doing.

— Q: I know you love all types of food and not just Italian cuisine. What are some of your other favorite cuisines? Are there any fun new gourmet foods that you have tried and liked? (For example, Korean tacos from a food truck, etc.) What’s your favorite non-Italian pasta-type dish (for example, Vietnamese pho etc)? 

— A: This is such a tough question, because I like so many different cuisines. I love good Middle-Eastern food. I still miss the excellent chicken schwarma we used to get in the Detroit area. I also adore the spicy flavors and stewed legumes and meats featured in Ethiopian cooking. I love pho, the Vietnamese beef and noodle soup. We have a number of good pho houses here in the D.C./Northern Virginia area. I also love a good bahn mi (sandwich). My favorite non-Italian noodle dish is a spicy Malaysian noodle soup called curry laksa. The restaurant I get it at serves it with fried tofu, shredded chicken, and shrimp. It’s got a lot of heat and lots of lemongrass flavor. I adore it. I can never bring myself to order anything else when we go there.

— Q: Do you watch any food reality shows? What do you think about the recent explosion of TV celebrity chefs and the rise in popularity and interest from the general public about cooking and chefs in general? 

— A: For a couple of seasons I watched Top Chef . However, I find all these shows too much alike to keep my attention for long. The schtick gets old. And I really am turned off by the way the judges admonish and “scold” the contestants as they pick apart their recipes while the contestants stand there before them looking like contrite schoolchildren.

There is no question that celebrity chefs and TV shows about food have sparked a new, and hopefully enduring, interest in cooking on the part of the public. I encounter many people of all ages who are stepping into the kitchen for the first time, or who have tackled all kinds of challenging projects in the kitchen because they feel emboldened to do so. I love that. That said, I find that most “cooking” shows these days are more about entertainment and competition. They always seem to go for the shock factor. I don’t think many of them actually teach good, useful cooking techniques anymore, though there are a few (I enjoy the cooking programs on PBS, in particular Jacques Pepin’s shows and the new show Pati’s Mexican Table. I would love to see more of those types of cooking shows.

— Q: For your latest book, how did you gather up all these pasta recipes? Are they all from your own recipe ideas or are they improvisations of what your mother made? When you create new recipes, do you like to improvise? I’m curious what the creative process is behind writing a recipe for a cookbook and how you approach this process.

— A: The recipes are a mix. Some are recipes from my mom that I have been making for years. Others are my versions of classics, such as the Linguine with White Clam Sauce I mentioned above. Some are recipes that I came across during my travels to Italy. One example is Spinach Codette with Sausage and Peas. Codette means ‘little tails’ in Italian. They are hand-rolled spinach noodles, about the size of haricots verts (skinny green beans), tossed in a simple sauce of sausage and peas. I had it years ago at one of my favorite restaurants in Abruzzo, and recreated it in my kitchen when I got home. Others are recipes I’ve made up in my kitchen. One that comes to mind is BLT Bucatini. I took the classic ingredients from a BLT sandwich and Italianized it, using pancetta for bacon, arugula for lettuce, and slow-roasted cherry tomatoes. Then I tossed those ingredients with cooked bucatini, which are fat, hollow noodles (lots of fun to eat). When I first started working on The Glorious Pasta of Italy, I thought it was going to be tough to write about a subject that has already been written about so much. But what I found out is that there is always more. That’s the wonderful thing about cooking. Cuisine is always evolving and there are always new recipes to be found.

— Q: Do you have a favorite pasta dish from your latest book? What about your family – is there a pasta dish that they must eat at least once a week?

— A: Such a tough question. I have too many favorites to choose. But my kids’ favorite, hands down, is Spaghetti alla Carbonara, a classic Roman pasta dish. It’s spaghetti tossed with sautéed pancetta (cured pork belly) or guanciale (cured pork jowl), beaten eggs, and lots of pecorino cheese and ground pepper. I don’t make it every week, though, because it’s rich.

— Q: Do you shudder at the microwaved/pre-packaged pasta meals in the frozen food section? Do you think that making fresh pasta is cheaper than buying  pre-packaged pasta meals? How do you convince folks who are used to living on microwaved food to make the change to cooking fresh food instead?

— A: Without a doubt making fresh pasta is cheaper than buying pre-packaged pasta meals. It’s nothing more than eggs and flour (or sometimes just flour and water). Three eggs make a pound of pasta—enough to serve 4 to 6 people dinner. But of course there is the time investment. A great alternative is boxed pasta, which is also economical and can be dressed in a thousand different ways.

There is no comparison between processed food that is microwaved in a plastic tray and food that you cook yourself. It’s a question of changing peoples’ mindset about cooking and food. For generations we’ve been told that cooking is drudgery, that it is not worth our time, that we can and should rely on processed products where all the “hard work” has been done for us and all we need to do is snap open a lid and zap the thing “meal” in the microwave. It’s not just a matter of calories in, of fueling our bodies. When you cook well and eat well—whether you are cooking for one or for an extended family—you are doing more than fueling your body. You are also fueling your spirit and soul. This may be a cliché, but it also happens to be true.

— Q: Please tell us about your next book projects! Are you ever interested in writing a novel with food as a central plot point? What about reality TV and cooking shows – would you ever want to host one or compete on a cooking show like The Next Food Network Star?

— A: I am working on my next book, The Glorious Vegetables of Italy, which is scheduled to be published by Chronicle Books in 2013. So I’ve been spending lots of time in the kitchen and at farmers’ markets—no complaints! In addition to The Glorious Pasta of Italy, I have another new book that is just out—Williams-Sonoma Rustic Italian. It’s a collection of seasonal, contemporary Italian recipes.

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Thanks Domenica for a great Q&A! Domenica will also share a special pasta recipe from her book for our Foodie Friday blog on Friday October 21st. And the winner of our contest will be announced on Friday October 28th.

To participate in our book contest drawing, please comment on this blog or email me at paula at paulayoo dot com to be included in the prize drawing for a signed copy of THE GLORIOUS PASTA OF ITALY from Domenica!

Stay tuned for next week’s blogs, too. Until then… as always, Happy Writing! WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT! 🙂