Recipe for Pasta Diane

(Pasta with Pancetta, Basil and Mozzarella)

This is one of those magical dishes that is so much better than the sum of its parts. The real secret to this dish is the ingredients aren’t brought together until seconds before serving. The melting fresh mozzarella and tomatoes combine in a warmed serving bowl to produce a wonderful, silky pink cream sauce that is unlike anything else, melded with flavors of basil, garlic, and crisp bacon. The magic only lasts for about 25 minutes so make sure you time it correctly and don’t perform the final step until everyone is at the table, fork in hand, and ready to eat.

This recipe evolved over many years in our home kitchen, once we worked out the basic technique and ingredients, we experimented with other things to see what helped the dish and what didn't, and this is where we ended up. (Diane's biggest complaint is I'd make something that turned out good, but would never write down how I did it.) So here it is, and I dedicate it to Diane for all of her patience. Hope you like it!

-Chris

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

• 1 28-oz can whole tomatoes (or 2 lbs fresh tomatoes)
  
• 1/2 lb diced Pancetta (or Bacon, 1/4” pieces is best)
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 1 lb pasta
  
• 1 package (about 3/4 lb) fresh whole milk mozzarella or Buffalo-milk mozzarella, diced into 3/4 inch cubes.
• 2 handfuls (about 1 cup) fresh basil leaves, cut into 1/8 inch strips
• 1/2 teaspoon each red pepper flakes & ground black pepper

Steps:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil for the pasta.
2. Heat your serving bowls in a 250 degree oven. It's important to start this early so they’re nice and warm, the hot bowls are a key part of the dish.
3. Drain tomatoes, reserving juice. (use a strainer set over a bowl to catch the juice.) Break up the tomatoes a bit with a fork or your hands into large chunks, they will break down more as they cook.
4. In a non-reactive pan, sauté Pancetta over medium heat in 1 Tbsp of the olive oil until crisp. Remove to paper towel and leave the drippings in the pan. There should be about 2 Tbsp of drippings, if not, add more olive oil.
5. Add pasta to water, cook until just al dente (8-9 minutes). It will finish cooking in the sauce.
6. Raise pan to medium-high. With your tomatoes ready, add 3 minced garlic cloves to the pan. In about 30 seconds, or whenever you first smell garlic, add tomatoes and about ½ their juice, stir, raise heat to medium-high to bring tomatoes to boil.
7. Cook the tomatoes over medium-high while the pasta cooks, break up any large chunks with the back of your spoon. Stir regularly. Keep an eye on the level of liquid, add more juice one tablespoon at a time if it starts to look dry.
8. Drain the pasta, then add to the tomatoes. Add the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Toss well and place back over heat. The pasta will absorb some of the liquid from the sauce at this point, so be ready to add more tomato juice (if needed).
9. Get your warmed serving bowls ready.
10. Add the bacon, basil, mozzarella, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to the sauce; toss and cook for about 45 seconds over high or until the mozzarella just starts to melt (leaves stringy streaks in the pan), then spoon into bowls and serve. I will sometimes load the bowls directly at the table.

Sprinkle some grated parmegiano reggiano at the table, the pasta should be plenty salty from the cooking water and the bacon.


Tips:

• Consume within minutes of serving, you want to catch it right as the mozzarella is melting and releasing its liquid but before it melts completely. You have about 25 minutes, after that it will still be good but not as great. If you get a large mass of cheese forming in your bowl, just break it up with your fork.
• The type of bacon doesn’t matter all that much, but it’s important to cook it crisp and don't add it until the end so it retains its crispness. Pancetta, Country Ham and Prosciutto all work very well. Regular strip bacon works, but try to avoid brands that are overly smoky.
  
• Cook the garlic very quickly, 30 seconds, or until you can just smell it. You want fresh garlic flavor, it will finish cooking with the tomatoes.
• You could use about any pasta, but we like a larger rigatoni with ridges, it seems to hold the sauce best. Spirals would be good as well. We prefer dried pasta over fresh because the firmer noodles stand up better.

Haleakala Volcano by Motorcycle

Today we rented a Harley-Davidson at Hula Hogs in Kihei. We got a Heritage softail with saddlebags:

First we drove up through Kahului, where the airport is, then turned east to Paia.

We had lunch at the Paia Fish Market which was incredible.  

Diane had a chicken quesadilla which was one of the best we've ever had. I had an Ono fish burger which was just amazing. We got a caesar salad as well. Pretty good for $25!

Next we turned south and headed up toward the crater. We went from sea level in Paia up to 10,009 feet which is the summit of Haleakala and the highest spot in Hawaii!

You could feel it get cooler even 10 minutes inland. The sky got cloudier. Once we entered the park and started to climb, it got cooler and cooler. At first it was green and looked like Long Island with rolling hills, grassy cow pastures and small spots of tall forest. As we ascended higher, around 6,000 feet, we started to enter the cloud layer and it got much cooler, foggier and wetter. It never actually rained, but it felt like you were constantly being sprayed in the face with a mister. At it's worst, there was maybe 10 feet of visibility, and all you could see were the lines on the road ahead of you. We crawled along as it got worse and worse. We had sweatshirts to take some of the chill off, but it was still wet, windy and cold. Better to take the car next time. Finally, we arrived at the park entrance, and maybe 1,000 feet later we finally rose above the cloudline and the sky turned a brilliant blue. The scenery was amazing, you had this beautiful lush mountainside, but you could only see about 500 feet down, then it was like you were standing above a swirling sea of white clouds. It was drier but windier up here, and the light was incredibly brilliant. We took a few photos (click the pictures below for links to the album). Too many to post here!!

The crater is like the surface of Mars. Up that high there are no trees and only very small and few plants.  

We stopped at the visitor's center then went up the summit. There are some special plants up here called SilverSwords that don't grow anywhere else in the world.

We headed back down, and it was a little easier because we knew the road a little better, but it was still cold back inside the cloud. But we made it!

Back down on the highway we continued on to the winery, which was nice, but now the mist had moved down a little and cooled off the road a bit more. Amazing that you could see the ocean from here but it was 20 degrees cooler!

The winery was very nice, they had two kitties outside to greet us and a beautiful tasting room with wonderful free samples.  

Maui Snorkeling to Molokini Crater reef sanctuary

Today we went snorkeling at Molokini on an organized catamaran. The trip left from the Maui Prince resort.

The boat we traveled on didn't look like it was large enough to hold all of the people who were waiting to board. It pulled right up to the beach and they lowered a staircase so we could get aboard.



Here's where we were headed: Molokini Crater.



















This is the submerged top of an ancient volcano. The volcano is not active any more, and now fish and corals live inside the partly submerged crater, and birds nest on the dry parts. It's much larger than it looks. Our boat sailed inside and we anchored right near the inside wall, then they pushed us into the water!







But under the water!









The sharks were friendly!






Here's mommy on the ride back:



After the crater, the boat took us to a sea turtle feeding/cleaning spot where we swam with these guys:



The come to this reef to get cleaned by the tiny reef fishes. They're very friendly and curious, and will come right up to you. The ones we were swimming with liked to stay on the bottom, however, and didn't come out to play.



Inside the cabin of the boat they had food and drinks, first it was breakfast, then snacks, then lunch and Mai Tais. They also had a TV showing Finding Nemo if you were bored with the real thing outside.

Day 2 - May 3, 2009

The next morning, Diane was up early, got us bagels and made coffee with the machine in the room. Diane turned over the tablecloth on the balcony outside and we had our second al-fresco dining experience. However, good as it was, this era of $4 bagels and $3 Cokes needs to end. We decide to go out shopping in order to break this black-market strangle-hold once and for all. We journey up through Kihei and find a Long's Drugs with everything we need. Along the way, we had spotted "Life's a Beach" restaurant which Diane said someone told her was good. Sensing another "Satisfied Frog" in the making, I am able to talk her into a place right next door called WokStar which is an asian fusion sort of place with a very nice menu. Diane gets a chicken satay with peanut dipping sauce, brown rice, while I get an Indo noodle bowl with shrimp and peanut sauce. The beach bum dude with the macbook sitting outside enjoying the free WiFi informs us that everything on the menu is good. I believe him. The food is amazing. The ambiance is beachy-eclectic, which means picnic tables and pillows for your ass. But the food is really quick and good. We head back to the resort very satisfied.

We spend the next few hours at the pool, getting sunburned. Diane tries unsuccessfully to communicate with the towel-attendant girl, and finally concludes she is deaf. We debate and for dinner decide to try Nick's Fishmarket Grill which is about 20 yards from where we'd spend the afternoon lounging by the pool. Nick's is very nice, service is pleasant and prompt. They take very good care of us. We order calamari and some wine, both are very good. Diane decides to try the diver scallops and I get a the grilled ahi mignon. I can tell after her first bite that a switch is forthcoming. The warm-jello-cube texture of the sea scallops is not a huge hit 90 degrees to my right. I try offering polenta fries, but they're very garlicky and she's enthralled by her herb gnocchi. Once again a meal is saved by a backup side dish. If only chefs across the world could recognize the power of this dynamic.

Dinner, May 2, 2009

The room's nice. Top floor, center, just like she said. Room's warm, we're still adjusting to this new humid climate, so some AC would be nice. Oh great, it has one of those lovely motion detector thermostats I like so much. Also likely to be the "dummy" kind that tries to tell you the temperature in the room is 10 degrees cooler than it actually is. More on that later. We stock up on supplies at the resort general store and have some nice wine and goat cheese on the terrace to celebrate our arrival. It's still early, so we go down to the pool and check out that scene. The pools are lovely (there are 3), including one adults only pool that is far less interesting than it sounds. The drink and food prices are outrageous, but that doesn't stop us from ordering some, a little first day indulgence. We head back upstairs to decide on dinner.

We looked at a few menus for resort restaurants, and the room service one doesn't look all that bad. They arrive a little late (in fact the turn-down crew got there at the very same moment, so we had quite a party). The room service guy was nice, he set us up on the balcony with a nice tablecloth. I got the macadamia-nut encrusted mahi-mahi, Diane had a prawn sandwich. Very good, plus a nice spinach salad that I ate most of and a Napa chardonnay from the store downstairs made for a nice night.

Maui, Hawaii 2009 Trip Log

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Left Phoenix, landed in Maui at the airport.  Airport was plenty empty, beautiful hewn wood architecture gave the airport a "lodge" feel, but ultimately the long walk from the gate to baggage claim felt like a long race track to get to the start of our relaxing vacation.

Got the rental car from Thrifty and proceeded south to the Wailea resort area.  The road was really quite nice and the shortness of the trip made me appreciate how compact Maui really is.  

Arriving at the resort, we pulled up to the Valet Stand/Arriving Guests area.  The first question asked of us by an overeager valet was whether we wanted to leave the car with him at 28 bucks a day.  No deal, I can park it myself and save the hundred-fifty-a-week. I've got kids to put through Pre-K, ya know???  Who pays for this crap anyway?  Such would begin our week of hourly shakedowns by the Fairmont Kai Lea.  We approached check-in to be greeted warmly but also to be told our room was not ready and would we mind waiting or giving a cell phone number so they could call us when it was ready.  I complied, on the condition they watch our luggage.  Went away to park the car.  As soon as we had decided to walk 10 steps to the lobby bar for an opening drink, the desk clerk is hailing us, informing us our room is ready.   So we turn on our heels and head toward her to obtain our room keys and listing of (all but valueless) Fairmont Presidents Club benefits.  She tells us it will be a wonderful suite on the top floor, one of the best in the resort.   We'll see....