4-27-15 Jennifer’s Pasta - Spaghetti in a dill-lemon-butter sauce

Jennifer, the lovely lady at Midtown Market, asked me  if I ever made pasta with a dill sauce.  My answer was no, but I knew immediately what tonight’s dinner would be.

IGREDIENTS:

1.     Spaghetti

2.     Olive oil

3.     Garlic and Shallots thinly sliced

4.     Juice from ½ lemon

5.     Butter

6.     Cream – about 1 tablespoon

7.     Fresh Dill finely chopped

8.  Anchovy paste - about 3/4"

PROCESS:

While the pasta is cooking, lightly sauté the garlic and shallots in olive oil with a sprig of Dill – do not burn the garlic.  About 5 minutes before the pasta is ready (Al dente) remove the Dill and add butter and lemon juice.  Add the cream just before the pasta is done.  Add the pasta to the sauce and add the chopped dill and mix well, adding pasta water as needed.  Drizzle with Olive oil and serve with Grana Padana or Parmigianno cheese.

COMMENTS:

This was wonderful and I look forward to having it again, perhaps with diced Pancetta and/or peas, or perhaps just as it was tonight.  Thanks Jennifer.

ONE SUBJECT - THREE PAINTINGS

It was so much fun I did it again...and again.

#1  Pastel and ink

#2 Mixed media

#3 Pastel

TWO BARNS

It has been a while since I last posted a barn on this page.  Here are two barns painted with soft pastels about 15 years ago when I felt the need to divide the sky and foreground in stark, geometric patterns.

BOLOGNA ITALY IN CLAY

The first Bologna inspired art I created was a series of 13 clay mono types, focusing on the most prevalent architectural element in the city...the arch.

Bologna Series #2  13x21

Bologna Series #3  21x13

Bologna Series #4  14x12

OLDIES BUT GOODIES

What began as an attempt to create some storage space for recent paintings soon turned into a major task of re-organizing not one shelf, but the entire storage unit.  In the process I uncovered several paintings that had "slipped from my mind" over the years. (that sounds so much better than "forgot".)

Intensely Orange  Oil pastel on clay print 14x30"

Storm Clouds  pastel  13x25"

Brilliant Trees  mixed media  13x25"

All 3 of these paintings are available - price on request.

 

The daily dose of art MY LATEST WORK - A private commission

The Columbia Theater  watercolor  20x30

The daily dose of art THE DOT- Maybe more nonsense than art

What is a soul to do in those last few hours of a midnight shift in the ER?  The treatment rooms are empty and there is one patient in x-ray, so sleep in not an option.  For  me the answer was the small sketchbook that never left my side. 

It may not be art, but is was the art of surviving.

The daily dose of art COMMISSIONED WORK

Over the years I've been asked to paint schools, businesses, houses, and selected landscapes.  There have been several unusual requests; unfortunately I do not have a photo of one - a local junk yard that I painted as a surprise gift for the owner.  Here are two more:

The Family doctor's office  pastel on toned paper

Washington Street Barbers  watercolor

The daily dose of art MY MOST AMBITIOUS WATERCOLOR PAINTINGS

It seems fitting that the two paintings both have NYC as the subject.  In this first painting, the challenge was the two point perspective in the sweeping broad background buildings.  The painting is approximately 15x35" and I had to add extender on the drawing table to plot out the perspective.

 Union Square  watercolor  image 13x34 framed to 22x43  price on request

In the second piece I worked from a series of photographs, and the challenge was to arrange all the buildings in a way that achieved some semblance of geographic accuracy.  Obviously a bit of creative imagination was necessary to do this.

America's City  watercolor  16x45

The daily dose of art PEN & INK FAVORITES

As much as I enjoy the comfort of my studio, on the spot drawings possess a spontaneity and clarity that the studio cannot match.  Here are two favorites, the first done on the spot, the second in the studio.

Harvard Book Store

Power Plant