Italian Feast On A Shoestring

Johanne Killeen and George Germon, a husband-and-wife team who have owned Al Forno, an award-winning Italian restaurant in Providence, R.I., for 27 years, took up the Chef on a Shoestring challenge on The Saturday Early Show and prepared a soul-satisfying Italian meal for four people on a budget of $40.

"On Top of Spaghetti" is the couple's second cookbook, and as you might guess, it focuses on their restaurant's popular pasta dishes.

Jo and George met while they were attending the Rhode Island School of Design. Each then went off separately to Italy, where they promptly fell in love with the country's food and independently decided to pursue culinary careers.

Upon returning to Providence, they wound up working in the same restaurant. The two fell in love, opened their own Italian restaurant and got married. They've won practically every culinary award, including a variety of James Beard awards and Food & Wine's Best New Chefs award. They have also cultivated many of today's hottest young chefs, including Suzanne Goin, Ken Oringer from Boston and Wylie Dufresne.

Their restaurant, Al Forno (which literally means "from the oven") was inspired by the opulence and style of Northern Italian cuisine, which makes extensive use of wood-burning ovens and open-flame grills. Among their new, creative dishes: the grilled pizza (George's invention).

Here is the Saturday menu:
Spaghetti
Beef-Stuffed Peppers
Cinnamon Ice Cream.

Below is an excerpt from their book, explaining their choice of menu for the show.

"Eating a meal in Italy is a ritual consisting of many courses. The basic meal starts with a primo, or first course, of pasta, risotto, or soup followed by a secondo, or main course of fish, meat, or poultry (eggs or an elaborate preparation of the vegetable of the moment also make a fine main course). A crisp salad or simply prepared vegetables come next. Dessert finishes the feast-most often with a bowl of fresh fruit or fruit salad, but it could be cheese instead. Variables on this formula abound: Sometimes there is an antipasto before the primo; sometimes there is a dolce, or elaborate sweet, at the end of the meal.

"Eating like this in a restaurant is one thing, but who has time to prepare all those courses at home every day? Our solution is to cook one recipe served in two parts: slow cooked braised meat, for example, whose cooking juices are generous enough to sauce a first course of pasta. Any number of stews work well for this two-for-one mode of eating. Savvy Italians have been preparing meals like this for many generations. Busy mamas (or papas) can give their families a steaming bowl of spaghetti or macaroni plus a protein course with just a little more effort than for a single dish. Followed by a simple green salad-and, perhaps, fresh fruit for dessert-it is a satisfying meal. This is a great way to eat at home and an easy way to entertain, too."

RECIPES

SPAGHETTI AND BEEF-STUFFED PEPPERS
Serves 6

Pale green finger peppers or Hungarian peppers are much more subtle in flavor than then bell variety and work well with delicate stuffing of beef and ricotta. Sautéing the peppers before filling them imbues the oil with their essence and gives a more pronounced pepper taste to the finished sauce.

We have found that the best peppers come from local farmers markets. It seems when we ask for sweet peppers they give us hot ones and vise versa. As a result, we have experience with both kinds when preparing this recipe. If you are as enthusiastic about spicy food as we are, try using hot peppers-taste a seed beforehand to determine their strength. Otherwise, you may find an unsuspecting guest at your table turning crimson and reaching for something to put out the fire.

Ingredients:
6 ounces ground beef
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh ricotta
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/3 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
6 large (7 to 8 inces long)light green finger, Hungarian, or hot spicy peppers
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup finely chopped onions
3 1/2 cups tomato juice, preferably organic
1 pound imported dried spaghetti or spaghetti
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano

Method:

1. In a bowl, gently mix together the beef, ricotta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, egg, parsley, and salt until well combined. Cover and refrigerate the filling for 30 minutes.
2. Slice off the top of the peppers at the stem and gently pull out and discard the seeds.
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet large enough to accommodate the peppers in one layer. Add the peppers and their tops and sauté gently, turning every so often for even cooking. When the peppers have softened and browned in pots-this will take 10 minutes or less-transfer them to a platter to cool.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter to the skillet with the chopped onions. Sauté over moderate heat until the onions are translucent and soft. Add the tomato juice and ½ cup water; cover and bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and keep the sauce at a bare simmer.
5. Meanwhile, stuff the cold filling into the cooled peppers, gently pushing the mixture into the peppers with a small spoon. Be careful not to rip the peppers. Attach the tops of the peppers to their bottoms with toothpicks to encourage the filling to stay in place. If you have extra filling after all the peppers are stuffed, make tiny meatballs-about ¾-inch in diameter-to cook with the peppers.
6. Put the stuffed peppers into the simmering tomato sauce. Gently drop in the meatballs if you have any. Cover the skillet, adjust the heat to maintain a simmer, and cook for 40 to 50 minutes. Don't worry if some of the filling escapes into the sauce. It will still be delicious.
7. To serve, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Generously salt the water and drop in the pasta. Cook, stirring often, until al dente. Drain the pasta and transfer to a heated serving bowl. Toss with the remaining butter. Nudge the peppers to one side of the skillet and spoon enough of the sauce on the pasta to coat every strand. Top with the meatballs if you have any. Serve right away as a first course with freshly grated cheese passed at the table. Keep the peppers covered on the smallest flame until you are ready for the main course.
8. Serve the peppers napped with some of the remaining sauce on heated plates, along with a crusty loaf of bread, followed by an ample salad.

Ingredients:
4 cups salad green
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon juice
sea salt sprinkle

Method:
Divide the greens between four plates; drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle with sea salt to taste.

AL FORNO'S CINNAMON ICE CREAM (from the couple's first book, "Cucina Simpatica")
Makes about 3 cups to serve 4 to 6 people

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
2/3 cup sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
8 espresso or French roast coffee beans

Method:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Scald over medium-high heat, stirring often until the sugar dissolves.
   
2. Set aside, uncovered, for 1 hour to steep.
   
3. Strain, chill, and freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.