Simple, Rustic Italian Fare, on a Budget

Chef Missy Robbins Shares Secrets to Making Ultimate Italian Cuisine, without Spending Hours in Kitchen, and on a Shoestring!

(CBS)  Missy Robbins has received critical acclaim for creating classic Italian specialties with a contemporary twist, as executive chef at the newly-opened A Voce in the Time Warner Center in Manhattan.

Her mantra: keep it simple!

Missy accepted "The Early Show Saturday Edition"'s challenge of preparing a quick and easy Italian meal on a meager budget of $35, as our "Chef on a Shoestring."

And as such, Missy's chef's hat was automatically tossed into our "How Low Can You Go?" competition. The "Shoestring" chefs with the lowest ingredients totals will be invited back to prepare our big holiday bashes at the end of the year.

FOOD FACTS

Ricotta: Technically, ricotta is not a cheese at all, but a cheese by-product. Its name, ricotta, means cooked again, an obvious reference to the production method used to make it. Ricotta is a fresh, soft, snowy white cheese with a rich but mild, slightly sweet flavor. The texture is much like a grainy, thick sour cream. Ricotta is naturally low in fat, with a fat content ranging from 4 to 10 percent. It is also low in salt, even lower than cottage cheese. (Source: www.about.com)

Alla Carbonara: The Italian term describing a pasta dish of spaghetti (or other noodles) with a sauce composed of cream, eggs, Parmesan cheese and bits of bacon. The sauce is heated only until it begins to thicken (2 to 3 minutes). It's important that the pasta be very hot so that when the sauce is poured over it, the eggs will briefly continue to cook. Fresh green peas are sometimes added for flavor and color. (Source: The Food Lover's Companion)

Granita: A frozen mixture of water, sugar and liquid flavoring such as fruit juice, wine or coffee. The proportion is usually 4 parts liquid to 1 part sugar. During the freezing process, granitas are generally stirred frequently to produce a slightly granular final texture. (Source: The Food Lover's Companion)

RECIPES

Baked Ricotta with Chilies, Herbs and Arugula

INGREDIENTS:
1-1/2 pound ricotta cheese
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
6 mint leaves, torn into small pieces
1/4 pound arugula
4 thick slices country bread
Salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons chili flakes
1/4 cup olive oil plus 1 tablespoon

METHOD:

Starting the night before, drain the ricotta in a colander to get rid of any excess moisture.

Pre-heat an oven to 450°F.

Drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil on top of parchment set on a cookie sheet. Divide the ricotta into 4 mounds and season with salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of the chili flakes. Drizzle another teaspoon of oil over the ricotta and place in the preheated oven. Bake until the ricotta is set and slightly browned around the edges.

At the same time as the ricotta is baking, drizzle the bread with olive oil. Toast the bread in the oven until golden. Using a spatula, place the ricotta onto 4 plates. Sprinkle herbs and arugula over the top as well the remaining chili. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Serve with the toasted crostini.

For more recipes, go to Page 2.

[credibility2]

Most pantries already have on hand spaghetti ($1.25), eggs ($1.19), coffee ($1.19) and cocoa powder ($.99). Factoring these into the total, the realistic amount is only $29.45, or $4.62 less than your posted total. I don't think it's fair that you factor into the cost for these meals items that the average household has on hand or normally is expected to have on hand as running food staples.