Blog Archives
Arrivederci!
I don’t normally worry about disappointing my waiter. Our final dinner in San Diego, it was clear I might have done just that and my gushing over my dinner was not going to sway him.
Arrivederci Ristorante is a neighborhood restaurant, which is always the best kind. We stumbled upon it after aborting another dinner plan on the way to the airport. It was charming and the staff was friendly and very good at their craft.
The wine was excellent and the food was impressive.
It was clearly a local hangout and quite busy on an early Sunday afternoon. We had two hours before our flight and I was not all that hungry, even though the menu held many temptations. My original order was for what looked like an excellent soup. It must have been, because they were sold out.
I then went with my standby. I’m from a very traditional Italian family. Good sauce on good pasta with a great bread is really all you need. Meatballs or sausage are an option, not a necessity. (I look at pizzas much the same way – if your crust and sauce are not excellent it doesn’t matter how much stuff you throw on top, you’ll never overcome that deficit.)
You’d be surprised how badly most restaurants do this simple dish, treating it almost as a throw away. They put all their effort into fancy pastas, cream sauces and sun-dried tomatoes topped with fancy cheeses and multiple additions. Often they are good, very good, but I really judge an Italian restaurant on the basics. A great sauce is a requirement. I’m quite often disappointed.
Arrivederci looked promising. The dipping sauce they served with the most excellent bread was fresh, tangy with just the right amount of spice. It was kissed with fresh basil, so it didn’t overpower the delicate tomato flavor. They took it seriously.
So when the soup was unavailable, I knew exactly what I wanted. A simple pasta, sauce and meatballs. I was not disappointed. The sauce was fresh, well spiced, light and served on top shelf linguine that was perfectly al dente. The meatballs, which are quite often done poorly, were perfect. Moist, filled with flavor, not filler, a good complement to the sauce.
So how did I come to disappoint my waiter? I was only able to eat about a quarter of my plate (as you can see from the picture above, I could have served 4 with it) and since we were about to board a plane I couldn’t take leftovers with me. I assumed TSA would frown on a doggy bag. No matter how he tried to convince me, I could neither clean my plate nor take leftovers with me – though I would have really liked to have them at lunch today at work. No matter how much I raved about my meal, I don’t think I convinced him how wonderful I found it. The face he made when he walked away was priceless. It was sweet. I’d go there again in a heartbeat.
They also have a pizzeria down the street which I can only assume is some of the best pizza anywhere.
My friend had one of their gnocchi plates, which was equally delicious – and the gnocchi was light as a feather and the sauce was delicate, not overpowering as some cream sauces can be. We finished the meal with a really good coffee. Dark, rich with a chocolate finish (we’re coffee fanatics and love a good brew). From staff to atmosphere to food and drinks, there was nothing to disappoint here.
Mmm… Stuffed shells
I dithered about what to do with the ricotta we made yesterday until Mrs J mentioned stuffed shells. Perfect!
I didn’t have that much ricotta so I knew I would have to stretch it out with other stuff. I never measured the ricotta but the recipe I used mentioned 1-1/2 cups could be expected and that was pretty close. I added a cup pf shredded mozzarella, half a cup of shredded Parmesan, an egg, about 1/4 cup of chopped parsley, some red pepper flakes, and some dried oregano and basil with a bit of salt and a grind of black pepper.
These were arranged on top of some tomato sauce in a casserole dish.
Then topped with more tomato sauce, this time with some meat, and the rest of the ricotta mixture and a sprinkle of Parmesan.
I covered it with foil and baked it at 350 for 30 minutes.
Then baked it for another 15 minutes, uncovered.
I will be making more ricotta. It’s easy, and the flavor and texture is better than any I have brought back from the supermarket.\![DSC_2153 [1024x768]](http://whats4dinnersolutions.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/dsc_2153-1024x768.jpg?w=604&h=399)
A Quick Dinner

Busy doing chores and packing for my trip. What to do for dinner? Especially when I’m trying to deplete my refrigerator of fresh foods that will certainly go bad while I’m gone. How about a quick pasta dinner (sorry no pictures, did I mention I was busy packing)?
I put the pasta on to cook. Meanwhile I placed some cleaned baby spinach in a plastic colander, diced up a couple of tomatoes and pulled out some spices. I tossed the tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. When the pasta was ready, I drained it in a colander that I held over the spinach colander, wilting the spinach with the hot pasta water. I set the spinach aside and quickly rinsed the pasta with cool water. I drained the spinach well and then tossed the pasta, spinach and tomato mixture together. Toss with some Parmesan and dinner is served.






![DSC_2398 [1024x768]](http://whats4dinnersolutions.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/dsc_2398-1024x768.jpg?w=604&h=399)

![_DSC9400 [1024x768]](http://whats4dinnersolutions.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/dsc9400-1024x768.jpg?w=604&h=401)



