We made this.

By ourselves.

Alone in the kitchen.

We didn't break anything and the meal was great! Try it.

 

Lidia's Basil-Pistachio Pesto Pasta

  

Ingredients:

* 3 cups packed fresh basil leaves

* 2 cups packed fresh parsley leaves

* 1 cup toasted unsalted pistachios

* 8 cloves garlic

* ? teaspoon salt

* 1? cups plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

* 1 pound spaghetti

* ? cup grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano

 

Directions:

 

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for pasta. In a food processor, add basil, parsley, pistachios, garlic and salt. Turn on processor and add 1 1/2 cups of the olive oil in a slow, steady stream. Process to make a smooth paste, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

 

Add spaghetti to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Scrape half of the pesto into a large skillet over low heat and add 1 cup pasta water. Use a spider to drain pasta and transfer to the skillet. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and toss to coat the pasta with the pesto. Off heat, toss with the grated cheese.

 

NOTE: This recipe makes twice the amount of pesto you will need for 1 pound of pasta. You can freeze half of the pesto for future use, just pack in a plastic container with a thin film of olive oil. Thaw in refrigerator before using. You can also cut the recipe in half if you just want enough for 1 pound of pasta. 

 

Now for the movie - well, it could only be:

 

The Big Night

 

Primo and Secondo are two brothers who have emigrated from Italy to open an Italian restaurant in America.

 

Primo is the irascible and gifted chef, brilliant in his culinary genius, but determined not to squander his talent on making the routine dishes that customers expect.

 

Secondo is the smooth front-man, trying to keep the restaurant financially afloat, despite few patrons other than a poor artist who pays with his paintings.

 

The owner of the nearby Pascal's restaurant, enormously successful (despite its mediocre fare), offers a solution - he will call his friend, a big-time jazz musician, to play a special benefit at their restaurant. Primo begins to prepare his masterpiece, a feast of a lifetime, for the brothers' big night... Written by Tad Dibbern

 

Here's a link to the trailer