LA VENICE!  The very sound of this city's name and I
start to tear up (yes, i really do..).  This weeks' cooking demo at Whole Foods in Middletown NJ http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/middletown/ was held on Tuesday night, one hour before the snow
started to fall.  I cooked two pastas which are representative of the region in Italy known as the Veneto, Venice
being the major city of the region. It encompasses the lagoon area and the inland farmlands and hills.  Dairy
cows abound  so there is an abundance of cheese.  The fertile farmlands produce star quality vegetables,
one in particular, swiss chard.    The lagoons and the sea provide seafood that would make you swoon (yes, I
swooned at the Rialto Fish market, and any other restaurant and fish store I went to with their exotic
species of shellfish: scampi, caparazzoli(carpet-shell clams),razor clams, Canoce(mantis shrimp), baby
eels, prawns of all shapes and sizes, briny and fresh calamari, crayfish..almost an endless array....  So, being
that we are in the midst of a romantic weekend (Valentine's Day), and that the holiday has its' origin in the
ancient Roman holiday which honors an early Saint from Rome, or somewhere around central Italy, I thought
it was fitting to blog about the two pastas...Venice is one of the most romantic cities anywhere..my favorite city
in the world.  I get no compensation from the Venice Tourist Board, I just love it and promote it whenever I can.
  What says Valentine's Day more than
imagining yourself in a gondola, being serenaded by a gondolier accompanied by an Accordian player at sunset
on the Grand Canal??  You are going to have to think real hard to top that one...one word, Magical....and, being
that this is a food blog, after this evening of romantic beauty, we went for scampi and calamari fritti, served only
with a fresh lemon, and Spaghetti con Aglio e Olio, and Spaghetti con Vongole Verace..In fact, on that trip to
Venice, I may have had Spaghetti con Vongole Verace and some form of Scampi at least once a day (twice if
I really think about it...).
   One perfectly sunny afternoon we jumped onto a ferry and
sailed off to the Island of Burano in the Venetian Lagoon.  A very public experience interacting with the locals and
tourists alike, the balmy ride breezed through the lagoon and I really never wanted it to end.  The placid scenery
even kept the kids occupied.  When traveling, hang with locals...the experience is much more rewarding and
memorable.  Ok, did we eat in Burano?  OMG.  We found a seafood restaurant called RivaRosa,,it was from our
umbrella covered table I snapped that picture above.  The restaurant was traditional, yet somewhat trendy..crisp
white linens, all white service.  Not an old style trattoria, but,  a phenomenal experience all around. The food
was off the charts fresh and good, our choices: spaghetti con vongole verace (yes, again) and taglioni con
granceola,  a fresh made thin cut ribbon of egg pasta with a sauce sweetly flavored with threads of Adriatic
Spider Crab, granceola...a delicacy of this region...with a little tomato added...well....I sigh as I write...hands
down, from execution to portion size, the best pasta and seafood dish I've ever had.  The clam pasta coming
in right behind it.  The town water well was right to the side of us and just watching people stop for a drink or
to fill up bottles...amazing.  Again, this is what makes travel the best of all experiences.  Let's move back to the
Jersey Shore now to discuss the pastas from Tuesday night.

  So let's start with our ingredients..for the
first pasta, I made a Bigoli styled pasta with a hearty Swiss Chard and Gorgonzola Dolce sauce.  Bigoli are a thick
whole wheat pasta with a hole down the center, tough to find here in the States.  We used a WholeWheat Fettuccine
by Delallo, a very good producer of pasta in Italy http://www.delallo.com/products?filter0=whole+wheat&filter1=.  The
thickness of the fettuccine really works in this dish.  You'll need a lb.  Also, 1 minced shallot, 1 cup cubed Gorgonzola
Dolce, 6 tbs. cubes unsalted butter, 2 fresh sage leaves chopped, 1/3 cup fresh chopped flat leaf parsley, 1 large
bunch of cleaned Swiss Chard, ribs removed, and chopped, black pepper, sea salt.  Heat the 1/2 the butter and saute'
the shallots for 5 minutes.
 chopped swiss chard with ribs removed

 the shallots sauteeing in the butter

Add the Swiss Chard and salt, then cover, cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.  Now uncover, turn,
add the sage leaves, black pepper and the Gorgonzola.  Lower the flame and keep stirring,  then,add the rest of
the butter, keep stiring and in about 5 minutes or so, the cheese will have melted into a creamy, heady
sauce.  NOTE: do not use Blue Cheese, or aged Gorgonzola, this dish will be overpowered by too strong
a cheese. Gorgonzola Dolce is a soft, barely aged cheese from the North of Italy, very popular in the
Veneto and Lombardia regions.  When the sauce is done add the pasta and heat through, serve. Will feed 6
persons.
  blending the butter, Swiss chard and Gorgonzola dolce.

  tossing the pasta with the sauce.

Now onto romantic pasta in Venice II, Spaghetti con Vongole Verace.  For this dish use a regular spaghetti, cooked
al dente (as always) and pair it up with 3 lb of Manila Clams or Cockles.  Traditionally in the U.S. we use our really
good Little Necks, right here in my county, Monmouth, we have a phenomal clamming industry and purification plant.
After going to Italy and the rest of the Meditteranean I find the Little Neck meat too big for this delicate dish..I use the
Little Necks now for making Oreganato or Casino dishes, or for Cioppino or Zuppa di Clams.  Try the smaller clams
which mimic the small caparazzoli of Venice, a carpet-shell clam found in the Adriatic. Our ingredients for this dish
are 3 lbs cockles/Manila clams, 1.4 cup fruity olive oil, 4 sliced cloves of garlic,1/4 cup fresh chopped flat leaf parsley,
sea salt, chili pepper flakes, 1/2 cup dry white wine, juice of one lemon, 1 lb. spaghetti cooked al dente.
 In a large skilled or Dutch Oven,
saute'  3/4 of the garlic in 1/2 the olive oil over medium heat, no more than 3 minutes.  DO NOT LET IT BROWN.
Stir in 1 tsp. chilli flakes,1/2 the parsley and 1/4 cup of the wine. Bring to a boil.  Add the cleaned and scrubbed
clams and cover for 3 mintues, stirring occasionally,  Then, mix in the lemon juice, the balance of the wine and
the rest of the oil and garlic..  Cover for 5-10 minutes, check to see that all clams have opened.  When they are all open, you
are done.  Remove the clams with a slotted spoon.  Add the pasta to the pot and blend well, check for seasoning.
Toss in the clams and the remainder of the parsley.  Serve with more olive oil and chili.  Serves 6.
  Serving the pasta

  Are you noticing that the pasta is not swimming in
pool of liquids?  Major difference between the Italian-American type of pasta, and having it in Italy.  Before
you all stab me with your knife and fork, I'm not saying one is right, one is wrong.  Just sayin....try less sauce
on your pasta, don't over do the oil...when you plate the pasta there shouldn't be puddles on the plate is all
I'm getting at here. 

Here is Deb's plate of pasta con Vongole Verace
at the Riva Rosa Ristorante in Burano, Venice.  Take note of the size of the clams, their "carpet" design on the shell,
(hence, they are called Carpet-shell clams, or in the dialect, Caparazzoli), fresh parsley...no oil or sauce seeping
over the plate.  Now, I have given you a little tour of Venice, a romantic gondola ride, some pastas to make with
your significant other, the rest is up to you...Happy Valentine's Day.