Summer-Day Pasta adapted from Summer-Day Spaghetti

I decided the first recipe I should post about is the recipe for ~ Summer-Day Spaghetti.  *See the link below for the 1967 news article, written about the cocktail party that Bergdorf Goodman threw in honor of the launch of Simonetta's cookbook.  Choosing this recipe seemed a fitting meal for my first post.  :)

I made a few tweaks to the recipe, going for a little lower fat spin.  I used linguine instead of spaghetti; fat free evaporated milk instead of cream; and added a few things to top off the dish.  I thoroughly enjoyed my adapted version of Simonetta's recipe, hope you do, too!

Summer-Day Pasta 
serves 2-3

adapted from the ~ A Snob In The Kitchen recipe ~ Summer-Day Spaghetti & * the 1967 newspaper article on the NYC cookbook launch at Bergdorf Goodman 

Ingredients

• 1/2 Tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• 1/2 Tbsp butter
• 6 anchovies fillets
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• ** (keep the used, juiced lemon half for adding to the pasta cooking water)
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 6 Tbsp fat free evaporated milk
• 8 oz of dry pasta (I used a spinach & chive linguine from Trader Joe's)
• salt/pepper ~ to taste
• 1 Tbsp EVOO for dressing the pasta before serving (optional)
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• crushed red pepper flakes
• extra parsley for garnish 

Directions
Place olive oil, butter and anchovies in a pan & cook over medium heat.  Mash anchovies with the back of a spoon until they break apart.  When hot, add the chopped onions & cook until they are becoming soft and are starting to look translucent.  Add the lemon juice and parsley, stir and continue to cook over a low heat for 5 minutes.  Stir in the evaporated milk, do not let it boil.  When ready to toss the onion/anchovy mixture with the cooked pasta, taste & add salt/pepper, as desired.  Stir in some extra evaporated milk if it needs a little thinning out.

Cook the pasta according to package directions in a large pot, adding the reserved used lemon half to the boiling water.  When the pasta is al dente, drain, return to the pot, & toss with a little EVOO (if desired).  Toss the prepared onion/anchovy mixture with the pasta, taste & add additional salt/pepper if necessary.  Plate it up & garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and parsley.  Enjoy!

Welcome to my new blog ~ Cooking with A Snob In The Kitchen

My signed, 1967 vintage copy of the cookbook ~  A SNOB IN THE KITCHEN ~ written by Simonetta & published by  DoubleDay & Co., Inc.

Welcome!  My name is Vicki E, and I'm a food blogger who's been sharing photo's and stories of what I'm cooking in my kitchen, over at my other blog ~ Watching What I Eat.   I've decided to start another food blog, this time showcasing the recipes of a really amazing, relatively unknown, little vintage cookbook called ~ A SNOB IN THE KITCHEN.  I found out about this cookbook while reading another cookbook.  Whenever an author or a foodie is inspired by a cookbook, I take notice and will oftentimes get a copy of the cookbook for myself...just to see what inspires others.  After reading A SNOB IN THE KITCHEN, I now see what all the fuss is about!

This wonderful vintage cookbook, written waaaay back 1967, by the Italian fashion designer Simonetta, is not an easy book to find.  I'm thinking it had a very limited production run, so finding one is almost like finding a needle in a haystack.  Most are found by chance, and those that are around, are VERY expensive (at least what I've been able to find so far).  I was able to find a copy on Ebay, that is actually signed by the author, Simonetta.  Thanks to EB for finding this little gem and making it available for a price that was substantially lower than the others on the resale book market ~ what a guy!!  EB, you ROCK!  :)

I'm thinking (OK, romantically hoping) that since the book was found in Manhattan, maybe it was even signed at the 1967 cocktail party that I read about in a Google old news archived article ~ A Snob In The Kitchen ~ from the Lewiston Evening Journal, 6/17/67.  The story talks about how a cocktail party was thrown in Simonetta's honor, in early June 1967, in New York City, by the high fashion clothing store, Bergdorf Goodman.  She talked about cooking and shared one of her recipes with the reporter, who included it in her article.   My book was signed 6/5/1967, so just maybe it attended that cocktail party, too!

After getting my treasured copy, and reading it through... I find that there is something about this old cookbook that just speaks to me.  The little chitchat that runs all thoroughout the book is charming, and the recipes are simple, yet elegant at the same time.  I've decided to have a separate 'web cookbook' for all the recipes I will be making. I have no time frame for how often I'll post here, just that when I do make one of Simonetta's recipes, I'll share it on this blog.  I'll be tinkering with them just a bit, keeping in mind the lower fat way of eating we do now.  So, for any of you die hard foodies, those who like old vintage cookbooks, those who like how they cooked and partied in the 1960's, and for all of you who just like good food and cooking... Welcome to the blog that celebrates the cookbook  ~  A SNOB IN THE KITCHEN