Mac and Cheese for grown-ups.
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Macaroni and Cheese
Finally, a Mac and Cheese that kids will love and parents will be happy to serve.
Continue readingBaked Pasta with Mozzarella and Tomato
You could call this lazy man’s lasagna, but it’s really a cross between lasagna and Mac and Cheese. It’s a perfect solution when you want the taste of lasagna but don’t want to do all the work. Assemble it in the morning and bake it at night.
Continue readingSpaghetti and Meatballs
The secret to forming meatballs is to keep your hands wet, which prevents the meat from sticking to your fingers. These meatballs, along with provolone cheese and your favorite sandwich trimmings, can also be stuffed inside a baguette or a sub.
Continue readingLinguini with Shrimp and Feta Cheese
This dish tastes wonderful at room temperature, which means you can make it ahead of time if you’re expecting dinner guests. Prepare the sauce early in the day and then cook the pasta later. Dinner can be on the table in 10 minutes.
Continue readingSpaghetti Carbonara
In my house this is often referred to as “Bacon and Egg Noodles.” It is another quick dish beloved by my children and their friends: it has the requisite and perfect combination of salty and creamy flavors.
Continue readingFettuccini Alfredo
Creamy and rich, this is the pasta my children beg for. (In fact, my daughter, Lauren, swears she could eat it every day.) And yet there’s nothing childlike about it.
Continue readingPasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce
I’ve been making this creamy, chunky pasta sauce since I was in college, and while I have endlessly altered it, it never diverges too far from the original.
Continue readingPasta with Smoked Salmon
Smoked Salmon doesn’t last very long in my house, but on those rare occasions when there is some left over from a Sunday brunch, this pasta salad offers a perfect vehicle to use it up.
Continue readingPasta with Artichoke Hearts
I hate to admit it (but must) that adding marinated artichokes to hot pasta sounds bizarre but in reality truly delightful. This dish can be made more substantial by adding poached or grilled chicken, diced tomatoes, and/or fresh mozzarella cubes.
Continue readingPasta with Garlic and Olive Oil
At Italian restaurants they call this pasta aglio e olio, but no matter the name, it’s a quick and easy dish, great for a late-night supper when there’s really nothing in the pantry. If you’re lucky enough to have a loaf of bread or the ingredients for a Caesar salad, you have yourself a fine meal.
Continue readingNo-Nonsense Ten-Minute Pasta Sauce
This sauce is the perfect one to make when there seems to be nothing in the house.
Continue readingBouillabaisse with Rouille
Most recipes for bouillabaisse call for fish broth to be made as their first part of the recipe. If you are the type to make fish broth, you probably have a recipe for it; if not, no recipe I could include would induce you to make it. You can go to a good fish market or specialty store and purchase ready-made fish broth or substitute a mixture of two cups bottled clam juice and two cups water.
Continue readingPasta Alfredo with Broccoli Rabe
This is a quick and easy pasta dish that takes no longer to make than the time it takes to boil the spaghetti. It is a perfect introduction for those who haven’t tried broccoli rabe, but if you know you don’t like it, substitute spinach.
Continue readingCashew Noodles with Asparagus and Peppers
This is a great dish to make in the summer when you can barely stand to be in the kitchen. The only cooking required is that you boil water, and even the hottest kitchen can tolerate that.
Continue readingWild Mushroom Risotto with Radicchio Salad
Egyptian pharaohs forbade their subjects to eat mushrooms because they considered them to be the food of the gods and saved them for themselves, but I see no reason not to share this luxurious risotto with your guests.
Continue readingSaffron Risotto with Pan-Broiled Fennel Shrimp
“When you are making a risotto, you should be in perfect harmony with yourself. You shouldn’t be nervous or angry. It’s a ritual that is going to give you so much pleasure later that it’s worth spending 15 or 20 minutes over a hot stove stirring very slowly… It’s the dish of romance. If you rush it, it’s never good. (Pino Luongo, A Tuscan in the Kitchen, Potter, 1988)
Continue readingClassic Lasagna
Although I didn’t eat lasagna until I was in my twenties and only made it for the first time when I was in my thirties, it represents comfort to me. While a bad lasagna can be heavy; a good one is enriching, warm, substantial and yet light.
Continue readingCoconut Black Bean Risotto
Although this sounds like an odd combination of Italian technique and Caribbean ingredients, it tastes absolutely wonderful. You can also serve this as a vegetarian entrée.
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