- 1 day ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Here's what's happening on the ranch. I'm taking a kitchen trip to Italy, making Italian-inspired
00:09favorites. First, since Italy's at the top of my travel wish list, sensational creamy shrimp pasta,
00:16perfect for a pasta lover like me. I can't wait to eat crispy fried eggplant in Italy,
00:23but until then, I'm making my version on the ranch. And the same goes for a pea and burrata
00:29salad that's a triumph of simplicity and deliciousness. Then finally, for a taste of the
00:35Dolce Vita olive oil caramel sundae that's a social media sensation for all the right reasons.
00:42It's all about cooking Italian-ish and dreaming of Italy. Of all the places in the world I want to
00:51visit, Italy is at the top of the list and Ladd feels exactly the same way. We do have a trip
00:58planned sometime in the future. We are impatiently awaiting it. Meantime, I love cooking Italian-inspired
01:07dishes in my kitchen here in Oklahoma. So I'm going to show you how to make creamy shrimp pasta.
01:14It is absolutely amazing, and hopefully it'll tide me over until I can get across the pond to Italy.
01:22All right, I've just been frying some colossal shrimp in a little olive oil and butter. I just sprinkled
01:28them with salt and pepper, and they are looking amazing. So I'm going to go ahead and drop in
01:33the pasta. I'm doing linguine. I know there is a whole lot of Italian food that does not involve
01:40pasta, but pasta is certainly my favorite. So this shrimp is pretty well cooked. I got it nice and brown
01:49around the edges. And you don't want to overcook shrimp because it can get tough and a little bit
01:55rubbery. So I'm going to get it out. And I'm going to go ahead and make a delicious creamy sauce.
02:03And it's got all of those shrimp flavors in the bottom of the pan. So it is just going to be
02:09marvelous. All right, I'll let the shrimp hang out. I'll be back. And then I'm going to scrape all this
02:16deliciousness right into the skillet. I've got some garlic, some finely minced shallot, or you could
02:23just do red onion if you like, and some fresh rosemary, chopped really, really fine. All right,
02:31now I've got a couple of other ingredients, some capers and sun-dried tomatoes. And then I'll just
02:39stir this around. I'm going to sprinkle in a little bit of salt and pepper. Oh my gosh,
02:44I love everything in this pasta. You know, Lad and I have been married almost 30 years. And I will say
02:52we have not done a lot of traveling. We had one excuse after another as to why we couldn't start
02:59traveling yet. But I think we're getting a little closer to wanting to take that plunge. Our 30th
03:06anniversary is a couple years away. So Paige is really lobbying for us to start planning that now.
03:13She knows if we don't lock in the flights and hotels that we probably won't make it. So I'll keep you
03:20posted. All right, I'm just going to cook this mixture for a couple more minutes.
03:27Okay, this mixture is looking amazing. And it's about to get more amazing with a little bit of
03:34white wine. A little bit is a relative term. And I'll also add some vegetable stock, but you can also
03:43do chicken stock if you prefer. And what makes it creamy is cream. And it doesn't take too much. I'm
03:51just adding about half a cup each of the wine stock and cream. So I'm going to add a little more pepper
03:59to the mix. That pasta is going to be ready in no time. So if I play my cards right, this sauce is going
04:07to get bubbly right when the pasta is ready. Okay, that is all mixed together. So I can add in the
04:14shrimp. You don't want to add the shrimp too early because again, you don't want it to overcook while
04:19the sauce thickens. I'm also going to add some chopped spinach and basil leaves. Just going to mix it in
04:28with the spinach. And then I'll toss this together. And I mean, it's so simple. Did you see how fast
04:36that came together? It's just amazing. Oh my gosh, this looks incredible. Not as incredible as I'm sure
04:44it's going to be when Lad and I finally set foot on Italian soil. But again, I've got a little ways
04:53before our 30th anniversary. All right. Now the pasta is ready. I make so much pasta, I can look in
05:03and see that it's ready. I have a lot of practice. All right. And then just dump the pasta right in.
05:11You don't even have to fully drain it because it's usually nice to have a little pasta water in the mix.
05:17Then I'm going to turn off the heat under the pan and just toss and toss until that luscious,
05:27beautiful sauce is positively coating every last noodle. Noodle is not an adequate term to describe
05:37what is in this dish. My gosh. The color of this sauce is magical. I think those sun-dried tomatoes
05:46really helped that along. All right. I'm going to grab some parmesan and grate it on in there.
05:54Whoops. Dropped a chunk. And this is something you can just kind of sprinkle it in the pan,
06:00but also you can do it on your plate. And there's really no rule or limit to how much you add.
06:07So I'm going to serve it up.
06:09Oh my gosh. The sauce is so silky and beautiful. Oh, it does not get better than this. All right.
06:23Oh my goodness. Now all it needs is a couple of basil leaves.
06:27I don't know what to say. I can't wait for my trip to Italy. I know the pasta that I'm going to have over
06:36there will make me totally forget this plate in front of me. But for now, this is all I have.
06:43I'm kind of happy about it.
06:45Today, I am dreaming of my future trip to Italy. Lad, if you're listening, please book that trip.
06:56We got to get it on the books so we don't blow it off any longer. Well, until I do go to Italy,
07:03I am enjoying making Italian-inspired recipes. And I'm going to share the second one with you,
07:08which I am extremely excited about. I'm making fried eggplant. Honestly, this has been one of my
07:15favorite Italian-inspired dishes for a long time. I remember eating fried eggplant when I was in
07:22college at a restaurant in Los Angeles, and I absolutely loved it then and still love it now.
07:30I'm going to show you a really cool way to make it. Right now, I'm peeling the skin off of an eggplant,
07:36and I actually blackened the eggplant, kind of charred that skin over a stovetop burner,
07:43and then I put it in this bowl and covered it with plastic wrap so it kind of steamed everything,
07:49and it's making that skin a lot easier to remove. All right, I think I got all of that skin off.
07:57Wiped my hands a little bit. That was a messy proposition.
08:00So, now this is the fun part. I'm going to mash this just a little bit with a fork.
08:06And you just kind of want to mash it until it's slightly flatter. I want to get it about half an inch thick.
08:13And then you wind up with this whole eggplant that's been kind of charred and mashed.
08:20And I'm going to fry this in one piece. So, I think that's a good thickness.
08:27Okay, I'm going to let this sit for just a minute, and I'm going to get the breading ready for the fried eggplant.
08:32So, I have seasoned flour, have a beaten egg, and I'm going to make a breadcrumb mixture
08:38with just regular breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese.
08:43And I'll season it with salt and pepper.
08:47You can also add some minced parsley if you want to, or Italian seasoning if you like.
08:54I'm just going to kind of keep it plain because I think the eggplant is so delicious,
08:58and it kind of speaks for itself.
09:01All right, now I'm going to bread the eggplant.
09:04But first, I'm going to use these paper towels to pat the excess moisture.
09:10And there is a lot of moisture in an eggplant.
09:13All right, that is looking pretty good.
09:16So, I'm going to bread it.
09:18And if you play your cards right, you should be able to pick it up in one piece.
09:23And I'm going to dredge it in the seasoned flour.
09:26I might have to turn it over a couple times and sprinkle some on top.
09:30Just make sure it's all coated.
09:34And then into the beaten egg.
09:36This is just the standard breading.
09:39I think they do this in Italy, too, from what I hear.
09:43All right, and then once it's coated in the egg, it goes into the breadcrumbs.
09:48And you're going to get this really nice, substantial coating.
09:53And I'm going to leave the end kind of uncoated.
09:56So, it'll have this cool eggplant shape.
10:00All right, look at this beautiful breaded eggplant.
10:03I love that it's all intact.
10:06All right, I'm going to go fry it now.
10:09And I've got some vegetable oil and it's heated up.
10:12So, I'm just going to carefully lower this beautiful baby right into the oil.
10:17Now, I just need to fry this for about three or four minutes until it's golden on both sides.
10:23So, I'll see you after that.
10:28This fried eggplant looks amazing.
10:31Okay, now I'm going to put it on a pan with paper towels.
10:37All right, I'm also going to grab some arrabbiata sauce.
10:42Arrabbiata translates to angry.
10:44So, it's my angry sauce.
10:47I love that.
10:49Okay, now to serve, just carefully slip this onto a platter.
10:57I like the paper towels initially because it drains a lot of that excess oil.
11:02I love to serve arrabbiata with this because the eggplant is a little bit on the mild side.
11:08And so, the spice and the sauce just kind of adds a little bit of interest.
11:14I'm really going for it with this sauce.
11:17Okie doke.
11:18And then I'm going to garnish the eggplant just with a few things.
11:23I'm going to add some lemon wedges.
11:27And then you can just squeeze it right before you eat.
11:30And then I'll sprinkle on some sea salt or kosher salt.
11:35Some honey, just a little bit of a drizzle.
11:38You don't want it to be sweet.
11:40It just adds a little bit of interest.
11:44And then, I don't mind, a little pinch of crushed red pepper.
11:51And to finish it, just a pretty sprinkle of parsley.
11:56My gosh.
11:58Ah, this makes me want to go to Italy even more.
12:02Lad, I'm getting impatient here.
12:05You wouldn't like me when I'm impatient.
12:07Just kidding, but please go book that trip.
12:16My sister Betsy and I both love Italian food equally.
12:21And Betsy happens to be an amazing cook.
12:25Well, recently she made me a dish with burrata cheese and fresh peas.
12:30And I looked at her like, where has this been all my life?
12:34It is absolutely delicious.
12:36And it's great for entertaining.
12:38So I'm making a really simple salad dressing.
12:42Starting with olive oil.
12:43I'm adding a little bit of honey.
12:45And some lemon juice.
12:47Just a really tasty, simple vinaigrette.
12:50Some salt and pepper.
12:52And quite a bit of fresh garlic.
12:57I like to grate the garlic on a little plainer zester.
13:01So then you don't have big chunks of garlic in the salad dressing.
13:05It basically disappears, but you get all of that flavor.
13:08And then I have a whole bunch of fresh chives.
13:12I'm going to put chives in the dressing and in the salad itself.
13:18And then I'll get the lid.
13:19I think I got everything.
13:20Shake it up.
13:23I wonder if they use mason jars to make salad dressing in Italy.
13:27I wonder a lot of things about Italy.
13:30I can't wait to get there and answer all my queries.
13:33I have to prepare and basically start walking and exercising a year before I go.
13:39Because I plan to go and do nothing but eat.
13:43All right.
13:43So for the peas.
13:45This is part of what makes this salad so incredible.
13:48I used fresh peas and you can get them at a lot of supermarkets now in the produce section.
13:55And basically I put them into boiling salted water and cooked them until they were just tender.
14:02And then I took them out and I've let them cool to about room temperature.
14:08So now I'm just mashing the peas with a fork.
14:12And that's what makes this salad so amazing.
14:15Mashing it really releases that flavor.
14:17But then I also have some big chunks that I'm going to leave whole.
14:22It's a visually gorgeous salad.
14:26Okay.
14:27That looks good.
14:28Really amazing texture.
14:30So I'll drizzle in some of the dressing.
14:33And I'm going to save some to kind of drizzle over the top.
14:36You don't want to totally inundate the peas.
14:38You just kind of want to give them a light coating of that flavor.
14:43And this is part of what makes the salad so incredible.
14:47Just kind of torn mint leaves.
14:50And I'm adding quite a bit.
14:52It has a very strong mint flavor.
14:55And there's something about peas and mint that just complement each other so well.
14:59And with that creamy burrata cheese, it's absolutely out of this world.
15:05Have I mentioned I love this salad that my sister made for me?
15:08I don't think I've mentioned it enough.
15:12So I'm basically going to make a nice kind of foundation of this pea mixture right in the center of the platter.
15:20And I'll make kind of a little well in the center.
15:24And it's going to receive the burrata cheese.
15:28So this is burrata, which is basically mozzarella filled with a really creamy mozzarella mixture.
15:38And you can leave it whole if you want.
15:39But I kind of like to tear it open and reveal that creamy interior.
15:46I mean, it's already basically a work of art.
15:50But it always is nice to drizzle on a little olive oil.
15:54And then I have some sea salt and some black pepper on that bright white burrata.
16:03And you cannot forget lemon zest for this salad.
16:07And it goes on the peas and on the burrata.
16:11I mean, if you looked up fresh in the dictionary, it would have a picture of this salad.
16:15It's just fresh and bright and beautiful.
16:20And I still have some dressing, so I'll do a little drizzle around the edge.
16:25Forgot about the extra mint leaves.
16:28I could just keep adding and adding things.
16:31Okay, and the last sprinkle, I promise.
16:34Just a few extra chives.
16:36Okay, the salad is totally complete.
16:40But I'm going to grab some bread out of the oven.
16:44And then you have the option of kind of serving it as a salad with bread on the side.
16:52Or you could serve it as an appetizer.
16:55Put a little spoon, put these in a basket, and people can kind of scoop it onto the bread and eat it that way.
17:02This is just sliced baguette with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
17:06And I just baked them in the oven until they were crisp.
17:09They look good, too.
17:11Well, I don't think I'll ever be able to thank my sister Betsy enough for sharing this beautiful Italian-inspired dish with me.
17:19It is a total winner.
17:21How do you say winner in Italian?
17:26Whenever I picture myself in Italy, I'm always eating one of two things.
17:32It's either pasta or gelato.
17:35Truly one of my favorite things.
17:37So I am going to channel that now and enjoy some gelato with, are you ready?
17:43Olive oil caramel.
17:45It is incredible.
17:47So easy to make.
17:48No cooking required.
17:50It's a social media sensation that I think is going to stand the test of time.
17:55It is delicious.
17:57So it starts with olive oil.
17:58And I'm going to add just a little bit of butter, tablespoon to a third a cup of olive oil.
18:05And then I'm going to stir this together and mash the butter and kind of get it going a little bit.
18:13Okay.
18:13Now, if that butter is room temperature soft, it'll basically mix in with that olive oil.
18:19And when the butter is all mixed in, it's time to drizzle in some maple syrup.
18:24And I'm going to treat this kind of like I'm making a salad dressing almost.
18:28I'm just going to drizzle in the same amount of maple syrup as olive oil.
18:34So about a third a cup or so.
18:36And I'm just whisking with the fork as I drizzle it in.
18:40And you're going to wind up with this just absolutely incredible, silky caramel sauce that hasn't even been cooked, which I think is a miracle.
18:52All right.
18:53That looks great.
18:55And then needs a little bit of sea salt.
18:57So I'll sprinkle that in.
18:59I love salted caramel of any form.
19:02This isn't technically caramel because it's not cooked, but it's going to be so good over the gelato.
19:09The color of this is so beautiful.
19:11It's basically the color of olive oil, which makes a lot of sense.
19:15A little bit deeper.
19:16So now it's gelato time.
19:19I'm just going to make a really simple little gelato sundae.
19:23And it's great because these days you can get gelato in so many supermarkets.
19:28How many scoops should I do?
19:30I say three.
19:32You agree, right?
19:34I just want to fill this dish and make it look extra pretty.
19:38All right.
19:39The third scoop goes in.
19:41And, of course, you could do any flavor of gelato that you like.
19:45This sauce is delicious with anything.
19:48So it's sauce time.
19:51And you don't want to be shy with this.
19:54Just drizzle it.
19:56Look at that color.
19:58It's amazing.
19:59I've actually seen plenty of people just drizzle straight olive oil on gelato, which is very intriguing to me.
20:07But I kind of like this approach.
20:09It's a little bit of a bridge between actual caramel and just straight olive oil.
20:14And then I have these wonderful cherries, luxardo cherries, and chopped pistachios, or as my daughter Alex used to say when she was a little bitty toddler, pistachios.
20:30This seems like it was like a year ago.
20:35Now she has a baby of her own.
20:37All right.
20:39I think I'll make this for Lad later.
20:41I can just see it now.
20:43He'll finish this delicious gelato sundae.
20:45And he'll say, hey, honey, I think it's time we plan that Italian vacation.
20:51And then I'll say, let's do it.
20:53I'll go pack my bags.
20:55I wonder if it'll play out like that.
20:57We shall see.
20:59Bye, friends.
Be the first to comment