Me And Mario

A couple weeks ago, trapped in some distant hotel room on a snowy day I happened to catch a couple minutes of ABC's The Chew on what I assume was a particularly Italian day. Mario Batali was making a version of aglio olio spaghetti. A simple preparation with olive oil and garlic -- an easy dinner dish James always likes. Batali's version had not just chili pepper flakes but chopped, jarred hot peppers. James has been liking a little heat in his dinner lately so I carefully tucked that recipe away thinking I could improve on the classic and make James' dinner even better. Well either Mario or I got carried away. For the first time ever James declared me a bit heavy handed with the spice -- he politely kept eating between coughs. I'd like to blame Batali but for now I'll stick with tried and true just a while longer.