Italian Dinner!!! featuring Amalfi Baked Lemons, Amalfi Salad and Lone Linguine with White Truffle Oil

Last Friday I decided to make a bit of a fancy meal for Husband and I for dinner. My sister bought me "Jamie's Italy" for Christmas and I've been wanting to try some recipes. I chose 2 recipes from the aforementioned book and one recipe from Nigella's "Kitchen". The Jamie Oliver recipes were the 2 Amalfi recipes and the linguine belongs to Nigella.

The Amalfi Baked Lemons really intrigued me. It's just so different than anything I've ever had before or tried to make before so I was really looking forward to trying it. I decided to serve my dinner in courses and to prepare each course fresh for serving. I thought "What's the rush it's Friday? Right!?!" Husband wasn't to fond of that approach. I think he was looking for a massive plate of food all in one shot, but as the chef for the evening it was my opinion that mattered!! The ingredients for the baked lemons are easy and straight forward. And while you might be thinking "Who wants to eat baked lemons???",I have good news for you. This is actually a cheese dish. The only part of the lemon you use is the rinds, which you fill with buffalo mozzarella and a couple other items. Then you bake until the cheese is ooey and gooey and infused with a subtle but fantastic lemon citrus flavour. I thought this dish was a really nice change from the ordinary. Husband found this dish passable.

So, round one I hadn't won Husband over and he was making it known that he was still quite hungry. I forbade him from snacking on cookies between courses. I'm not sure Husband is familiar with the adage patience is a virtue! Round 2 was Amalfi salad. No greens for this salad. It's an uncomplicated dish, but very fresh and refreshing. Everything is very thinly sliced and tossed in an oil & vinegar dressing then at the last moment you add in orange. The orange is quite vital I feel because it balances the strong flavours of the radish and onion. I liked this dish as well, Husband liked it better than the baked lemons but still he was not satisfied.

My last and final chance at impressing Husband was the Lone Linguine with Truffle sauce. Now I know that husband loves pasta and I know he likes truffle so I was feeling pretty good about this one. Sure it doesn't have any meat (always a negative for Husband) but still I held out hope. Even though this dish is really quite quick to prepare I still couldn't keep husband's hands out of the cookie jar which was disappointing but apparently he was on the verge of starvation and the only thing between him and certain death was a chocolate chip cookie. Anyhow, this recipe calls for white truffle oil but as I had black truffle oil in the cupboard that's what I used. The sauce is made with raw egg and the trick to the dish is stirring the sauce into the still hot pasta over your still warm element but not having the egg "curdle" for lack of a better term. What you do get if you can avoid that scrambled egg effect is a gorgeous and velvety truffle cream sauce that is to die for. I thought this dish was amazing! Husband found it to be good but he thought it was more of a base of a sauce and there should be more to the dish. I have to tell you though I could not disagree with him more. This dish is like a little black dress. Uncomplicated, simple, classic and stunning. The pasta acts as a canvas for that amazing and unmistakable flavour that is truffle. I feel like this dish is a piece of culinary artwork. Maybe not everyone is going to get it but if you truly do love food and flavour then you simply cannot ignore that this dish is nothing short of an Ode to the truffle.

In the end, even with Husband's lack of enthusiasm for the meal, I managed to quite enjoy this culinary expedition. What better way to armchair travel than through the kitchen?