When you really want something–I’m talking deep down from your knees can’t figure how your world is going to spin without it–creative thinking skills kick in. I’m cute, but I’m not that cute. I’ll admit it; I have been known to cook for love. I have won over a certain few with the likes of chicken pot pie, slowly simmering tender chicken breasts in a stock made from scratch and pressing bits of butter into flour with my fingertips and quickbreads warm from the oven stuffed with grated flakes of garden fresh zucchini folded into sweet cake batter with the freshly scrubbed side of my hand.
It costs a lot to make a television pilot. Camera, lights, sound, producer, director, editor and lipstick all add up. My friend Kelie and I put our piggy banks together and counted out 56 cents and some lint balls, but come Hell, high waters or A.I.G. fatcats riding to work on used bicycles, we are going to make this show.
“Sir, we need your skills, and your input. How do you feel about Carbonara?”
Asparagus Carbonara
This is a very quick and simple pasta, but you have to use the best ingredients that you can find. An egg, is not just an egg. Taste the difference between the mass-produced and a farm fresh egg, and you won’t go back. Asparagus should look lively and snap when you try and break it. Lastly, buy good pasta. Prince and Ronzoni, are no good. Buy Italian pasta, made in Italy. Find your favorite brand, and stick to it. I like De Cecco. You will need a little more than half a pound of pasta. Get two pans of water ready with enough salt to make it taste like the sea. One should be a pasta pot, and the other, a large saute pan. Slice up two pounds of asparagus the diagonal, leaving the tough bottom few inches of each stalk. Bring a pot of water to the boil, season with salt, and add the asparagus. Cook for four minutes, and drain well. Heat a frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil and gently cook two cloves of whole garlic, and a sprig of fresh herb until the garlic is golden. Turn off the heat.
Drop the pasta into the other pan of boiling water. In a small bowl beat together six egg yolks, with about a quarter cup of finely grated parmesan cheese, a little pinch of salt, and freshly ground pepper. Take a spoonful of the hot pasta water, and whisk it into your eggs. Repeat with another spoonful. As soon as the pasta is ready, drain well, and combine with the asparagus. In a steady stream, stir the egg mixture into the pasta, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Drizzle in a few spoonfuls of heavy cream, and another cup of parmesan. Taste for salt and pepper, and serve immediately.