fresh tagliatelle (mushroom, chestnuts, sage)

Looking back...I hung out with a lot of cool people who contribute to Atlanta's food scene this winter break.

Stuff like this always has me wondering why people even read my blog or decide to meet some 21 year old punk kid who's a complete stranger to them for that matter. Don't get me wrong - I think I'm a pretty nice guy... Okay fine, a little nerdy and shy at times but hey, I'm a pretty likable guy right? Right??

In any case, I was blessed enough to meet The Blissful Glutton herself before I booked out of town to school. I'm gonna be honest - I was pretty damn intimidated at first, meeting someone so influential and respected around town. Will it be okay if I don't like something she likes? Will a small fry like me be crushed by her presence? To my relief, Jennifer was funny, friendly and very down-to-earth which erased any prior thoughts in my mind she might be like Anton Ego from Ratatouille (okay, not really. I knew she wouldn't be like that). She's pretty awesome and you should definitely stop reading my awful writing now and go read her blog instead right now.

Still here are you? We ended up eating at La Pietra Cucina, a creation by Bruce Logue who was a sous-chef at Mario Batali's Babbo in NYC. We ordered a variety of dishes and while I enjoyed all of them, one dish in particular stuck out the most - the Gabby's Fettucini. Sauteed fall mushrooms with sweet chestnuts, hint of sage and a pound of butter made this pasta a perfect dish for the chilly weather. After eating such an inspiring dish, it was a no brainer that I'd try to make it myself back at school.

The first problem I ran into was the lack of wild mushrooms in Athens. There is no Whole Foods or Trader Joe's so right off the start I was stuck with button, shiitake and oyster mushrooms. To make up for the lack of powerful wild mushrooms, I bought dried chanterelles and rehydrated them to use in my pasta. Gotta work with what you have people!

I was pretty pleased with how the pasta came out given what I had. The fresh pasta helped make the dish extra special and made me realize why I don't make fresh pasta more often - it's a pain in the ass to roll out without a pasta machine.

See? I'm a nice, likable guy right? Hey, I can even cook...!

Fresh Tagliatelle (Mushroom, Chestnuts, Sage) 
Inspired by Gabby's Fettucini from La Pietra Cucina

Ingredients:

- mixture of wild mushrooms (shiitake, oyster, button and rehydrated chanterelles in my case)

- 2+ tablespoons of butter

- a bunch of sage, chiffonade

- roasted chestnuts, in little pieces

- dried or fresh fettucini or tagliatelle

- 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

1) Make the pasta. This is so easy and simple to make at home. Just combine 100g of flour, 1 large egg and a tablespoon of olive oil and blitz until it resembles wet sand. Pour out to a lightly floured work surface and knead for a couple minutes until smooth and elastic. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.

2) After the pasta's chilled, roll it out using a rolling pin (not recommended) or a pasta machine. After it's thin enough, cut into tagliatelle and set aside until you need it.

3) In a hot pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the mushrooms (rehydrate any dry mushrooms per package instructions) and saute until it starts to brown and reduce in size. Finish off with a tablespoon of butter to give it a nice, rich, nutty flavor.

4) Add in sage a minute before the mushrooms finish cooking.

5) This is where you gotta multitask: if you're using fresh pasta, cook it in salted, boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes before the mushrooms finish cooking. If you're using dried pasta, you want to cook it just before al dente and by the time the mushrooms finish cooking so about the same time you start sauteeing the mushrooms. Overcooking the mushrooms is more forgivable than mushy pasta though.

6) Add a splash of the mushroom stock from the liquid the dried mushrooms were in and squeeze about a tablespoon of lemon juice over the pan.

7) Toss in your pasta with the chestnut bits and toss a few times until well incorporated.

8) Finish the pasta with another tablespoon of butter and mix. Serve immediately.

Grating some fresh parmesan cheese over the pasta wouldn't be a bad idea either. I mean it's salty, delicious cheese - the dish can only get better.