Linguine alle Vongole pictures (1 of 9)
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Approximate to where I work, there is this charming little Italian restaurant–Trattoria Amici–with a very friendly hostess that serves some of the best Linguine alle Vongole I’d ever tasted.(The best one is here.)
My good friend E and I chanced upon Trattoria Amici not too long ago, when our Japanese counterparts were in town. Looking at the many choices on the Italian menu, E asked me what to order. I told her “Linguine alle Vongole.” She asked me what that was and I pointed her to the two old ladies sitting beside us (who happened to look like they have been dining at Trattoria Amici for their lifetime), slurping down their servings of linguine alle vongole…(get linguine alle vongole/linguine with clams recipe after the jump)
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Capellini with Cockle Clams pictures (1 of 6)
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Remember my Italian sweet basil plant that I told you weeks ago? Thanks to my nurturing hands, it’s blooming, growing, and abundant with leaves. Sometimes, I just pluck the leaves and straight away they go into my mouth. They are a quick pick-me-up and great as a palate-cleanser especially after some spice-laden Malaysian food. But the highlight has to be my newly “invented” recipe that makes good use of them–complete with my favorite clams!–capellini with cockle clams and lemon butter sauce.
I got the inspiration when I went to a cafe with my co-workers a few weeks ago. The capellini dish that I had was topped with shrimp and spinach in butter sauce. I made a slight twist and replaced the shrimp with cockle clams, used sweet basil leaves instead of spinach, and added lemon juice for some extra zest…
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My old roommate in San Francisco A taught me how to make pasta.
When we were living together in the bay area many years ago, I was in charge of making Malaysian and Chinese food in the kitchen, while A excelled in western food. She made killer mash potatoes (from scratch!) and great pasta. While we [...]
