And now a science lesson!

Molecular gastronomy is a scientific discipline involving the study of physical and chemical processes that occur in cooking. It pertains to the mechanisms behind the transformation of ingredients in cooking and the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in general (from a scientific point of view). Now, you might be wondering what kind of food comes out of this school of thought, but you might be surprised to know that all cooking involves some sort of chemical reaction. That's really what cooking is. For example, adding gelatin to a dish creates a thickening reaction, and voila, science! Another example is our Chitarra pasta with oven roasted wild mushrooms, charred corn, chili flakes, extra virgin olive oil and crunchy bread crumbs topped with pecorino romano and a 2-hour egg. The 2-hour egg is what we're looking at here. It is cooked with a constant temperature and time, at 140 degrees for 2 hours. The result is a very creamy egg that creates an instant sauce for your pasta. I had the pleasure of eating this dish last weekend and it was fantastic!

To drink with your pasta I recommend the 08 Argiolas Rose from Italy. "The 2008 Argiolas SerraLori has a light semblance of effervescence. Made from Cannonau grapes, the Argiolas is a simple and straightforward Rose that is quite quaffable." quote via

Lastly, Benedictine, a liquor invented by a Venetian monk, using 27 plants and spices from the four corners of the globe. Produced by Benedictine monks until the late 1700's, the recipe was almost lost during the French Revolution, but was found in a manuscript in 1863 by Alexandre le Grand. He modernized the recipe and named it 'Benedictine.' It tastes of spice, honey, and citrus. It smells of arnica, vanilla, sandalwood, lemon, and incense. Fun Fact: the recipe is a secret and is therefore closely guarded. As a result the monks have created a "Hall of Counterfeits" to display others' failed attempts at cracking the recipe for their concoction.

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