Digital Dinner Party! April 5th, 2020

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Hi guys,

How are you all holding up today!?

I know we are navigating interesting times right now, and I wanted to do something to help us remember that we are all connected, even in this time of social distancing. So I thought, why don’t I throw a digital dinner party. Or depending on where you are it can be a digital lunch party. 

The idea is that we can come together online to share a super simple, super yummy meal. 

My suggested meal a starts with a simple shrimp tagliatelle followed perhaps by a mix green salad, and perhaps a crisp glass of white wine or maybe a rose’.

Now, because some of you have allergies and/or other food preferences this recipe is super easy to adapt. You can make vegetarian/vegan (just don’t add the shrimp). You can even make it gluten free by using a gluten free pasta. If you’re allergic to shellfish you can substitute the shrimp for a jar of high quality tuna in olive oil. (Those of you who have had Italian tuna, you know it’s a whole different ball game, but I digress.)

The point of the matter is I’d love to see you all there. I’ll be sharing your pictures all day and answering any questions you all may have over on Instagram. Please use the hashtag #digitaldinnerparty and of course @doingitaly.

The dinner party will take place on Sunday April 5th (7-9pm Italian time, 1-3pm Eastern Standard time) which should give you more than enough time to buy any ingredients you may need.

What we’ll be doing:

• Live cooking class where I show you how to make the dish

• Q&A where I answer any questions you may have

• Break - where you’ll have time to make your dishes (and ask me any additional questions during the process)

• I’ll be sharing pictures of your final products

• All while sipping on a glass or two of wine

 I’m so looking forward to seeing you there! 

Tagliatelle pasta with cherry tomatoes and shrimp

(Tagliatelle con gamberi e pomodorini)

INGREDIENTS (for 2)

• 7 oz. (200 grams) Tagliatelle Pasta (or another long pasta of your choice)

• coarse salt or kosher salt (to taste)*

• 7 oz. (200 grams) medium sized shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 12-15 shrimp)

• 9 ounces (250 g) cherry tomatoes, halved (about 1 pint)

• 3 tbsp. olive oil

• 1/3 cup white wine

• 1-2 clove of garlic, diced

• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

• 1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

• 3/4 tsp salt (to taste)*

• 1/4 tsp black pepper (to taste)*

• 6 fresh basil leaves

Note. This is a super simple recipe with very few ingredients, which means the better quality raw ingredients you get, the better this dish will taste.

UTENSILS

• 1 Large pot 

• 1 Large pan (I’m kind of obsessed with the Le Creuset nonstick frying pan line. We have the 12in that we use for eggs and veggies and the wok that we use for just about everything else.)  

• 1 Strainer 

I had whole jumbo shrimp, which I shelled and deveined. Obviously you can skip this step by purchasing it already done.

DIRECTIONS

1.    Bring a large pot of boil water to boil.  

2.    Meanwhile, place large pan on stove, heat to medium high with one tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil. Pat dry shrimp. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook on shrimp each side for 1-2 minutes, until no longer translucent. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside. 

3.    Add 2 tbsp. olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, salt, black pepper, pepper flakes (if using) and wine to pan. Cook for approx. 2-3 minutes on medium high until wine has cooked off. Cover pan with lid or plate and cook for another 10 minutes on low until tomatoes are soft but still slightly holding their shape. 

4.    Add kosher salt to boiling pot of water. Cook pasta 1 minute under package suggested cook time. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water*** (you won’t use all this water but once it’s gone it’s gone, so keep a little extra), then drain pasta. (Do NOT rinse pasta.)

5.    Add ¼ cup of cooking water, pasta, shrimp, parsley to tomato sauce. Cook for another 2-3 minutes (to finish cooking pasta and to combine flavors). Add more pasta water as needed to achieve desired consistency. Tear basil leaves you’re your hands or roughly chop, then add to pasta. Serve and enjoy! 

NOTES

*When learning how to cook, I hated to see salt to taste. I had no idea what I was doing in the kitchen. Certain things if you add salt to the end, it's just never going to be enough. But too much, and it's over… So I like to add a general guideline. Use more or less, as you wish. This amount will change depending on the specific ingredients you're using (ex. freshly ground vs pre-ground black pepper) and personal preferences.

**Italian garlic is stronger than the garlic you’ll generally find in the States/abroad. So in Italy I’d only use one clove for this dish, and maybe even keep it whole. 

***Just in case: Pasta water is the water that the pasta is cooking in. It going to be a little cloudy, salty, and starchy. The starch in the water will help the sauce bind to the pasta, giving it a bit of “creaminess” without actually having to add cream.

PRO TIP

If you get whole shrimp (like I did) you can cook the heads and shells in a little bit of water with a bay leaf and then add to the tomatoes while cooking (without the lid) to infuse extra flavor to the dish. 

Photo Credits: Wine by Vincenzo Landino. Photos of pasta by me Thea

If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments box below.