The Red Kitchen

posted 31 August 2009 | by nataliefinnegan

Let me introduce to you my husband and one of the owners of Louisiana Fresh, Kelly Cusimano, our very own internal culinary wizard (my words….Kelly will introduce himself by humbly saying “I sell Bananas…”). And I’ll introduce myself, Natalie Finnegan, a Mississippi native casserole eating one white tablecloth restaurant in my hometown kind of girl. Not a culinary match made in heaven. However, after years of sitting me down in our great local restaurants, dragging me on epicurean expeditions around the country and world, thinly disguised as vacations, and creating some of the finest meals I have ever had the pleasure to eat in our own kitchen, I am striving to reach at least some state of culinary competence.

Those of you who already know Kelly, know that he brings new definition to those people we describe as “Foodies.” While I’m standing in front of our coffee maker at 5.30 am most mornings, Kelly, already an hour into the work day at La Fresh, starts calling to ask “what do you feel for dinner?” Huh? I feel coffee. Not so for Kelly. What to cook that day is one the brain already and there is stays. The evening’s menu generally revolves around whatever fresh produce catches his eye that day. It would be impossible for our kids and I to eat and appreciate everything Kelly cooks by ourselves, so luckily we have many great friends who are always up for a meal. Now Kelly will be the first person to tell you that he is not classically culinary trained, but instead learned to cook at the feet of his French / Italian parents. Food and Family pretty much defines who we are…not a bad life.

At the request of our daughter in college and many friends, I’ll post here some of Kelly’s favorite recipes. Welcome to our kitchen. I don’t know what to tell you about it other than, it’s very very Red and the Viking bakes cookies unevenly but boils the water quite nicely. Kelly’s domain. His recipes. I promise to post some just as soon as I can pull him off the stove. Nat.

And from Kelly….

First, let me state that I am not a “Chef.” I can still break a sauce and burn any dish by getting side tracked by one of our four daughters or a good game on TV. I do not and cannot bake. My wife keeps trying to explain to me that baking is an exact science….not my usual style of cooking. I will try, however, to live up to her great intro and give you some recipes I think are simple, fun and fresh.

I try to shop on a daily basis (mostly because we are always out of toilet paper due to aforementioned four girls) for fresh cuts of meat or fish to accompany whatever produce I’m working with that day. I love all kinds of food and have been fortunate enough to travel and sample different types of cuisine….European, Asian, Central American. Even with all those great influences, I always seem to return to the creole comfort food on which this city was built and I was weened.

Feel free to bust me if these recipes do not work for you. I won’t repeat this on every recipe but always assume that Step 1 is “drink a bottle of wine…” Kel.

SIMPLE PASTA WITH ANCHOVIES.

1/4 Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic
8 anchovy fillets
1 T Oregano
1 pt. grape tomatoes, halved
2 T capers
1 bunch fresh basil
1 T crushed red pepper
1 lb spaghetti

Boil Pasta in a large pot of salted water.
In a large saucepan or deep dish frying pan, add olive oil, crushed garlic, oregano, tomato halves, anchovies, crushed red peppers and capers.
Cook until anchovies melt and tomatoes are soft but not mushy. Chiffonade basil (chiffonade – In cooking, this is just a fancy French word, meaning “made of rags,” refers to thin strips of fresh herbs or lettuce.)
Add pasta to tomato and anchovy mix and toss with basil.
Serve with Pecorino Romano or fresh Parmesan Reggiano. That’s it. Really.