Alice Waters: A Perfect Angel

Cute, no?

Isabel made an angel food cake last night, using Alice Waters' recipe (Simple Food). Perfection. I've had some sorrowful experiences with angel food cakes, but this came off without a hitch, baked by an 11-year-old. What surprised me was that it had no flavorings -- no almond, no vanilla. And didn't need any. We served it with homemade apricot sherbet (Fruit.)

But the true star of last night's meal: Fettuccine with Bolognese sauce.

Waters' homemade pasta (Simple Food) appears unbeatable. My mother and I first tried it a few weeks ago (we get together to make pasta once a week) with extraordinary results, duplicated last night. Silky sheets of dough that cooked into tender, lovely fettuccine. We topped the dreamy noodles with the best Bolognese sauce (Simple Food) I've ever made. 

I'm trying to avoid superlatives because I think I use them too often, but I have searched my memory and this really was the best Bolognese I've ever made. I think the secret is hand-chopping the skirt steak instead of using pre-ground beef, which tends to form clumps. This was full of nubbly little bits of meat and pancetta, and it was fabulous.

With recipes this good, Alice Waters can talk down to me anytime.

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