Jonathan has flown off to England for a few days. None of us are good at separating, and tend to get stuck in trying to make light of the last few hours which is akin to putting a sperm whale on a slimming program. Somehow we ended up first in Bloomingdale’s, looking for a respectable shirt, and then empty handed, back on Lexington Avenue, west on 57th Street to find my favorite hamburger that is hidden behind a velvet curtain at the Parker Meridien; until yesterday when word must have not only gotten out, but been included in every Ed McMahn envelope in the nation. We were all there–the nation and my family–for as long as it took us to walk out the doors directly across the lobby on 56th street. Ferdinand agreed to take a raincheck on the fries and have a look at the model trains set up at Citcorp instead.
At home I made pasta with wilted baby spinach, fried garlic and peperoncino (red pepper flakes is a fine substitute.) Cook farfalle in loads of salted, boiling water until it is al dente. Meanwhile, in a heavy frying pan, heat up a little olive oil and add yesterday’s baguette, that has been cubed into half inch pieces. Saute until golden on all sides, and season with salt. Remove. Add another drizzle of olive oil and about 5 cloves of slivered garlic and heat until just about to go golden. Turn off the heat. Add about 10 red pepper flakes or one pepperoncino. Add half a pound of spinach for nine ounces of pasta. Turn the heat back on and saute the spinach just until it wilts. If you like, and you still have a minute before the pasta is done, you can lift the spinach from the pan and give it a rough chop so that it distributes itself throughout the pasta evenly. If not, don’t worry about it. Drain the pasta well, saving a bit of the cooking water in a cup. Toss the pasta with the spinach, drizzle with a little olive oil and a tiny bit of the cooking water, give it a few good handfuls of finely grated parmigiano reggiano, season with salt, and lastly, toss with the breadcrumbs. Taste. Have with wine. Have a thin slice of ricotta cheesecake for dessert. Say goodbye quickly and make all attempts to keep moving until he returns.