anthony bourdain, we have your cacio e pepe!

if i could have lunch with anyone in the world....i think it might be anthony bourdain.

i love him. i love his shows. i love his style.
when i grow up, i would love to take his job- travel around the world to write and host shows about food and culture! that would be my dream job.

on my dinner guest list, tony would surpass benedict cumberbatch, demetri martin, and even jeff goldblum. jeff goldblum, my first crush ever. *sigh.

the other night, t and i watched an episode of anthony bourdain's show, the layover. we watched the italian episode, and t was immediately inspired to recreate the cacio e pepe that anthony had in rome, italy.

cacio e pepe, cheese and pepper.

cacio e pepe is a roman dish. one of the oldest italian dishes.
very simple dish- if made right, it is very delicious. if not, it isn't anything worth writing about.

cacio e pepe also happens to be one of anthony bourdain's all-time favorite dish!

t did an excellent job with his version of cacio e pepe.

how can something this simple taste soooo delicious?! 

i took a bite:

"hm...wow, it tastes like a grown up mac and cheese"

i took another bite:

"...mmmm, so simple yet so delicious. mmmmm. why is this so good?"

so simple- spaghetti with just butter, cheese, and black pepper.
the combination of the right amount of butter and cheese really brought out the taste of the black pepper. in other dishes, black pepper is usually just a condiment that you add to enhance flavors of a dish. but with cacio e pepe, it felt like the black pepper took center stage so you could really appreciate its flavor.

cacio e pepe can not be taken lightly. it seems simple to make but there is technique to making it right.

i learned that there were three important keys to making a great cacio e pepe :

1. cook the spaghetti al dente (dont overcook or undercook the pasta) with salted boiled water.

2. dont put too much or too little butter. the butter has to be enough to coat the pasta, but not too much that it overpowers the pepper taste.

3. important to keep some of the pasta water, instead of draining all the water. the left over pasta water is what helps to really mix the ingredients together.

are you up for the challenge? try it sometime.

anthony bourdain, if you are reading this... come over for dinner anytime.
we have your cacio e pepe down! 

on another note, mishka has made a new friend today. 

cacio e pepe (for two)

ingredients:

200 g spaghetti (we specifically used spaghetti a la chitarra)

3 tbsp butter

black pepper to taste

half a cup of grated pecorino cheese

1. boil salted water and once boiling, cook spaghetti.

2. place butter in mixing bowl. butter should be left out so it is room temperature.

3. when spaghetti is al dente, drain pasta water but make sure to keep some water just to coat pasta.

4. place spaghetti into bowl with butter. mix. 

5. add pepper and cheese. mix.

6. serve and enjoy!

-mai

t does it again! i think t needs to enter a cooking contest! my new friend and i loved it!
anthony bourdain will not be disappointed! WOOF!