Linguini with Clam Sauce

You know what's gotten out of hand in this God forsaken country of ours? Political correctness, I'm so damn sick of hearing "Happy Holidays" instead of "Christmas", or "Chanukkah", or the fact that a local school had "Peter Rabbit" come to the school last week instead of the "Easter Bunny." Isn't the backbone of any and all understanding of a subject, knowledge of that subject. Why must we constantly sweep religion and tradition under the rug and replace it with a stark, sanitary blanket that is supposed to somehow include all peoples. What's next, we call Thanksgiving, sitting down at table day, I guess New Year's is safe, unless of course you're on the Chinese calendar, what about Independence Day - is there some vague reference to that non main stream political party there? Should we call it, Democrats, Republicans and Independence Day. Seems rather foolish doesn't it. I just feel that maybe, just maybe, the decrease in tolerance across this nation is somehow related to ignorance of other peoples heritage, traditions, and religion. Maybe, just maybe instead of pushing these things aside and replacing them with safe names we should be teaching our people about the differences that surround each and every holiday, whether it be religious or secular.

Stepping off soap box now and back into the kitchen where my bitch ass belongs.

While driving back from Vermont a few weekends ago CB and I stopped off in Montpelier to go to a few of the used book stores. I found the most amazing book titled The Italian Ingredients Cookbook. What a find, I paid $7, and it is chocked full of the most amazing Italian recipes, but the best part is that the first half of the book is a veritable teaching lesson in Italian ingredients. This recipe came from that cookbook, it was simple, delicious, and best of all cheap to make.

Recipe: Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion very finely chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 can (14oz) chopped tomatoes
2/3 c dry white wine
1 can (5oz) clams in natural juice, drained and juice reserved
12 oz dried spaghetti
2 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley plus more for garnish
salt and pepper

1. Heat the oil in a sauce pan, add the onion and cook gently, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes, until softened but not brown.

2.Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, wine and reserved clam juice, with salt to taste. Add a generous grinding of pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring, then lower the heat. Cover the pan and simmer the sauce gently for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.Meanwhile coil the spaghetti into a large pot of boiling salted water and cook for 12 minutes or until al dente.

4. Drain the spaghetti. Add the clams and finely chopped parsley to the tomato sauce and heat through, then taste for seasoning. Pour the drained spaghetti into a warmed serving bowl, pour on the tomato sauce and toss to mix. Serve immediately sprinkled with more parsley.

Rating = So Damn Good