Where Did That Name Come From?

Yesterday I begin my blog with my first blog entry-- a recipe I thought up on the fly—Radicchio pasta. I hope this will be a common occurrence on How To Be Toni because it is a common occurrence in my life.  So you might be thinking "I like Toni, all right, but I don’t need to learn how to be her".  Put your mind at ease, the name is merely a nod to a musical number in one of my favorite films: Funny Face staring Audrey Hepburn (another favorite). 

In the film Audrey Hepburn’s character, Jo is a beatnik working in a small Greenwich Village bookstore whose world is taken over by a magazine editor and a photographer. Jo is persuaded to go to Paris for a fashion show and photo shoot, but really to she wants to spend her time in café’s talking philosophy and hoped to meet the philosopher and father of Infantilism theory Prof. Emile Fostre.  Much to the chagrin of the magazine reps Jo wants to while away the hours sipping wine in grungy beatnik cafes talking about the philosophies she holds dear.  In a musical number called “How To Be Lovely” Jo gets a lesson in being “lovely” for a question and answer session with the press.  The song is catchy and perhaps one of my favorite scenes in the film.  It is common for me to walk around the house singing this song.  This blog is not exactly a guide on how to be me, but more of a venue to share fun things, stuff that I hope will make you smile, and remind you to be true to yourself just as Jo unrelenting does in the film throughout most of Funny Face.  They do have a Hollywood ending, but you know, that tends to happen in film.

Radiccio Pasta

I love to make meals from what I have on hand or what I get from my CSA share (community supported agriculture). Today I found the most lovely head of radicchio in my CSA share.  I am not a big fan of how bitter radiccio tends to be; but, I thought up this recipe in the hopes that it would marry the flavor and nutrition of the greens the with more mellow flavors of pasta and chickpeas. The result is very yummy! This recipe was off the top of my head so the measurements are approximate.  Use more or less of anything to get the flavors you most enjoy.

Radiccio and White Bean Pasta
1 to 2 cups gemelli or another small sized pasta
1 head radiccio washed and roughly chopped
3 cloves fresh garlic chopped
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 TSP crushed red pepper (more or less if you like)
1 Can (16oz) Chickpeas
Grated Parmesan cheese 
Salt to taste

Begin cooking pasta. Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet.  Add garlic and red pepper to the pan while the butter and oil begin to sizzle.  Begin adding the radiccio to the skillet.  Once the radiccio is wilted, and the pasta just slightly done, move the pasta to the skillet along with the radiccio.  Add up to 1 cup of pasta water to the mix while the pasta finishes cooking.  Add the chickpeas and cook until mixture is hot and most of the liquid has cooked off.  Add a handful of Parmesan cheese and toss.  Serve hot and top with more cheese if desired.