Now I know how congressmen feel: making sausage

Pasta poured forth in the Culinary Foundations III classroom kitchen today, along with a half-dozen versions of link sausage.

At our station, we encased two kinds of the cured meat -- Swedish potato sausage and andouille. Both were delicious, and there was enough to take home. (Photo shows the Swedish potato sausage in the lower left, the andouille in the upper right.)

We also jammed through the making of three pasta dishes in 90 minutes, using freshly made pasta and other ingredients.

First was butternut squash and ricotta ravioli, fried and served with a marinara sauce. I had made that very sauce the night before at home, so I knew that getting it on the stovetop early to intensify the flavors was the key.

Second was fettucini served with a parsley pesto and one link of the andouilli that had been blanched and sautéed with onions and red bell pepper.

Third was pappardella -- 3/4-inch wide pasta noodles -- served with a mushroom cream sauce and sauté of chicken.

The action was hectic, almost frantic, in getting the dishes plated on schedule. Each had its special elements and flavors, and each was completed with satisfaction.

Culinary school quotes of the week, Week 10

Call my lawyer
"You don't want egg shells in your pasta. What's that going to do? Probably get you into small claims court."
-- Chef Dan Fluharty (right, with pasta) as he pulled a small piece of shell from the mix in a pasta-making demo.

Call 911
"I had a knife emergency."
-- Culinary student Aline Brown explaining why her pommes duchesse overcooked. She dropped her chef's knife, bending its point and having to work it back to sharpness. All the while, her potatoes were in the oven, getting browner and browner ... 

Call the seasoning police
" It was 'just' beans and rice. But it goes to show you the importance of good seasoning."
-- Chef Dan Fluharty revealing that in another class, students neglected proper seasoning because they thought the food was too basic for it.

Call an audible
"I'm sticking with aioli. Hollandaise is too much pressure."

-- Culinary student John Briggs (left) after I said I would make hollandaise sauce to go with my artichoke for our competency exam. Despite making hollandaise successfully in practice, I decided at the last minute to go with the relatively easier-to-make aioli.
Call the doctor
"Lola's pans had butcher twine wrapped tightly around the handles. The dishwashers knew never to wash those pans or Lola would come apply those pans to the sides of their heads."
-- Chef Dan Fluharty on how a breakfast cook he knew cared for her egg pans, seasoning with salt, a little oil, a little heat and a lot of towel massaging rather than applying soap and water.

SPQR reopens Sept. 30; new menu details

An excited and affable-sounding Matthew Accarrino is putting the final touches on his menu for the reopening of San Francisco's Fillmore Street classic, SPQR.

In an email Wednesday evening, Accarrino (right) explained his approach: "The goal is to lighten and refine the great neighborhood restaurant that SPQR already was. I'm thrilled to be at the helm of such a popular and loved restaurant. I can't wait to cook for the neighborhood and beyond."

SPQR, at 1911 Fillmore St., closed Sept. 14 for a dining room remodeling and change in the menu with the hiring of Accarrino, who comes from the kitchen of Craft in Los Angeles. Owner Shelley Lindgren said in an email Wednesday that the reopening, originally set for Sept. 29, will be the next day.

Lindgren, who also owns and operates A16 in the Marina district, gave these details -- confirmed by Accarrino -- on SPQR's new menu:

"Matthew will have the same spirit of SPQR on the menu but set up a tiny bit different.  He is making housemade focaccia. There is a snack section with fun bite-sized nibbles to enjoy with a glass of vino or start the dinner, then there will be an antipasti section which includes salads, local ingredients, seasonal and traditional with his twist. He makes wonderful housemade pastas. One of my favorites is his ravioli with ricotta and lamb's quarters and a carbonara that is topped with an egg, another unique spin to the dish."

The biggest news in the reopening of SPQR may be that Fillmore Street, already crowded with hungry people much of the time, but especially on weekends, will get another place serving brunch. Lindgren said the popular spot will be open for brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.

   (Photo credit: Matthew Accarrino's Facebook page)

Pasta sans gluten: quite a treat

Quinoa pasta has been around a while but had a coming out party on Bravo TV's Top Chef Masters in July when competitor Michael Chiarello prepared a dish with it (photo above) for a group of vegan diners.

It had its coming out in my kitchen today. I made it with my own tomato sauce*, and the meal was delicious.

The pasta was a pleasant gold color. It cooked in about the same time that wheat pasta does. The one difference was the way it stuck together, even with a small drizzle of olive oil. For much of it, I had to separate the strands by hand, just as Chiarello did on Top Chef Masters.

Pasta made from quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is more expensive than wheat pasta, but for those with gluten allergy or worse, celiac disease, it is gluten free.

Quinoa is an ancient grain-like seed that was cultivated by the Incas perhaps as far back as 3000 BC.

Like another significant New World contribution to global eating, the tomato, quinoa was at first shunned by Europeans. But it has made a comeback as a delicious and healthy source of protein.

It will make many an encore in my kitchen, prepared in iterations beyond the classic spaghetti strands.

* Quick, fresh tomato sauce recipe for pasta: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan. Add 4 diced medium red ripe tomatoes, 1 diced (seeds, spines removed) jalapeño, 2 diced cloves of garlic, 1 diced medium white onion, 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano. Bring to a boil, then lower to simmer until liquid from tomatoes is reduced, 30-45 minutes. Spoon atop pasta, add grated fresh parmesan cheese.

(Photo credit: www.bravotv.com)