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the review: spaghetti aglio e olio

November 3, 2014 adrienne robideaux

Saturday night was the first night that I cooked a full meal in over a week. Really and truly. I’m sure you think I've forgotten to write food reviews on this supposed food blog but in truth, I've forgotten to cook. 

I did not have a plan for what to cook so I asked the kids. To no one’s surprise, they wanted noodles and chicken. Challenge accepted. I decided on roasted chicken and vegetables, changing out the potatoes and squash for roasted carrots, cauliflower, parsnips, and broccoli. But how to incorporate pasta?

Enter my trusty Molto Gusto. This cookbook has very basic recipes for tasty weeknight meals. And the winner was spaghetti with garlic and oil (aglio e olio). 

I have been wanting to find a good recipe for this dish since I saw the movie Chef a few months ago. I know we’ve already talked about this, but please see this movie if you like food at all. I’m telling you that even if you see it after you’ve had dinner, you will still want to eat at the end of the movie. You will want to run out and find the nearest, most awesome food truck. You might even consider traveling to Portland to watch Chef just so that you can have your choice of food truck. And the soundtrack makes excellent kitchen music.

Back to the pasta. I tried to make spaghetti aglio e olio right after seeing the movie. It was not my best effort. Little did I know that I was not the only person who wanted to try this dish. I did not even think to search for the actual recipe from the movie but it turns out that the recipe is all over the internet. Everyone wanted this pasta. And I will be trying the movie version of the recipe. But for now, I think you should try the Batali version of spaghetti aglio e olio.

I roughly halved the recipe, using a guess at the pasta, five cloves of garlic, and only a quarter of the red pepper flakes because I was serving this to my kids. Good move on the red pepper flakes. Gus loved it, Théa thought it was too spicy. Rob and I thought the seasoning was perfect. The key to success on this one was to take the garlic and oil off of the heat right as the garlic began to brown. When I made this before, I overcooked the garlic, which made the entire dish taste burnt. This time, the dish was infused with a mild garlic flavor but did not taste like something that I was trying to force on Dracula.

I will certainly make this dish again as a side for a nice roasted chicken. I might even make it for lunch for myself on a cold, winter day. Give it a try and let me know what you think. 

P.S. This is a great article. 

In reviews Tags pasta, simple
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Saturday morning biscuits. #bakemore
Saturday morning biscuits. #bakemore
Almost done w this book and I have loved it so much that I want to go back and reread it so that I can absorb what I missed the first time. @ingridfetell ‘s take on interiors and architecture are more than a little refreshing in a sea of everyone’s living room looks the same (*cough* Instagram *cough*). Since it’s #followfriday (do people do that anymore??), you should definitely add @aestheticsofjoy to your feed and also check out her TedTalk. It’s short and sweet and may just inspire you to change things up at your house. #animalcrackerjoy (PS to my friends headed to @altsummit next month - @ingridfetell is speaking. Look her up in the app and let me know how it goes!)
Almost done w this book and I have loved it so much that I want to go back and reread it so that I can absorb what I missed the first time. @ingridfetell ‘s take on interiors and architecture are more than a little refreshing in a sea of everyone’s living room looks the same (*cough* Instagram *cough*). Since it’s #followfriday (do people do that anymore??), you should definitely add @aestheticsofjoy to your feed and also check out her TedTalk. It’s short and sweet and may just inspire you to change things up at your house. #animalcrackerjoy (PS to my friends headed to @altsummit next month - @ingridfetell is speaking. Look her up in the app and let me know how it goes!)
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Today’s edition of random stuff spotted while running - I feel the need to hashtag that #randomstuffspottedwhilerunning - is fabulous. Quite possibly the best gate ever.
Success at the @urbanharvesthouston tree sale!
Success at the @urbanharvesthouston tree sale!
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In the category of random things spotted while running today.... 🏃🏻‍♀️🦎 Maybe Rapunzel’s friend, Pascal, got loose? Maybe 11 miles was too long for my brain. also, MAJOR THANK YOU to everyone who had contributed to my fundraiser for @gotr_greaterhouston . We are 80% there. That’s $800 raised for girls to participate in the program. Whoohoo!! Only two weeks left of me harassing you all on this topic and then back to biz as usual (whatever that means). Thank you notes are coming to those who donated. Get on it for those who haven’t. #houstonrunners - I’m talking to you!! Don’t know what to give? $5 is great, $10 better, $19.30 is $1 for every mile I will run doing the #fairytalechallenge in two weeks. Link to give is you know where. 👆 thank you all!! (PS costume 1 is in the bag. Working on costume 2. More to come.)
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Can there really ever be too many #kallax #shelfies ? Asking for a friend. (Also how much do you think I hate that vent in the wall? 🤬) #designdork #workspace #homeofficedecor
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These 3-5th graders begin their #girlsontherun journey today. I’m feeling pretty grateful that I get to run along side them. 🏃🏻‍♀️ On my long training run for #princesshalfmarathon this week, I listened to the @onbeing episode with @abbywambach and @glennondoyle . So much good stuff and so many ideas I’m still working to unpack. I totally encourage you to listen to it. BUT the one thing that is absolutely relevant to this post has to do with @glennondoyle‘s first Love Flash Mob (seriously look this up if you don’t know what it’s all about). Glennon wanted to create a community of givers, so she limited the amount of each contribution in that first #loveflashmob to $25. She observed that people want to give, but get stuck on the amount and the timing and all sorts of other overthinking in the space between the ask and the actual give. Tell me that’s not spot on. 🏃🏻‍♀️ So. Here comes the ask. If you haven’t had a chance to support my #fairytalechallenge for @gotr_greaterhouston please please take a couple of minutes to do so now. The link is right there in my profile. 👆 Not sure what to give? $5 is perfect. Or if you are feeling generous, how about $1 for every mile I will run over #princessraceweekend ? That’s 19.2 miles or $19.20. Race dates are February 23-24. I’ll be thinking about all of you and all of these girls, and the girls you are helping to give access to #gotr while I run. 🏃🏻‍♀️ This is a cause that is so close to my heart. Thank you for supporting me and girls who need it. Happy Monday! 🏃🏻‍♀️


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