Somehow, over the span of my 15+ years calling north Jersey my home, I never watched The Sopranos.
Pasta
Spring Lasagna
Today is my birthday, and for years, that meant I got to eat ribs and birthday cake.
Sausage Ragu
Pumpkin & Ricotta Ravioli
I bought a pasta maker with a gift certificate from last Christmas. Almost a year later, I’m finally using it. So. Typical.
Pasta Aglio e Olio
I’m a little embarrassed to pop back in here, after ignoring this space for so long. But hey, life gets busy, you know?
Minestrone Soup
The weather in suburban New Jersey today is ideal for the lazy vacation day I’m taking. It’s one of my favorite kinds of days: a grey and drizzly day in December during which I feel perfectly content to order Christmas presents from bed while snuggling with one of my loving pets. What it is, is the perfect afternoon for a bowl of soup. But all of my soup is in Brooklyn, frozen and waiting for me to have the forethought to thaw it before I want it. Where did I learn how to do that? Well, from my mother, who also has several soup varieties sitting downstairs in her freezer, perfectly frozen and hard as a rock.
Spring Orecchiette with Asparagus, Peas, Sausage, & Ricotta
Spring, is that you? Is that you peeping past the clouds and whispering in our ears with each faint breeze? I sure as heck hope so because I am done with winter. We all are. I’m ready to spend days out of doors again, walking around Brooklyn, grazing on little nibblies from food trucks and stopping for mimosas or pitchers of beer at bars with back patios. I love my cozy apartment but I’m ready to put the oversized sweater I wear at least once a week away now. I’m ready to frolic. I’m ready for sunshine.
And I’m ready for spring vegetables.
Pasta Alla Carbonara
What feels like a month ago forever ago, I took a cooking class with my dad, good ole Chris, at the Brooklyn Kitchen (otherwise known as that place that takes all my money every time I go in). I took him there as a Christmas present, so the class choice was all his to make. Brooklyn Kitchen has so many different classes to choose from and they’re constantly changing. Some stay the same due to popularity, like the Roberta’s pizza making class. Chris didn’t feel the need to attend that one because the recipe is online and he’s already mastered it, so he doesn’t need anyone to teach it to him. (I’ll back him up – my dad makes mad good pizzas, y’all.) If you’ve ever met him, you’ll probably know that he loves Rome from that one time he visited. And you’ll probably also know that on that visit, he had the best pasta alla carbonara ever at this small, hole-in-the-wall, local place. So when we saw there was a February Taste of Rome class in which we would make carbonara (as well as amatriciana* and cacio e pepe), my dad was sold. We were going.
A Pinch of Leftovers: Mussel Linguine
Over a few pinches of wine and our PBR Steamed Mussels, my friends and I began an informal yet helpful sort of focus group re: A Pinch of This. I had noticed how many leftover mussels there would be (note: a pound and a half of mussels plus hearty bread feeds three twenty-five year old gals no problem…you probably don’t need to cook four pounds of mussels) and began planning what to do with the leftovers. From that little discussion came the idea to post about what I make with my leftovers.
Pasta All’Amatriciana
a good hostess always keeps her guests waiting while she takes photos of the food.
I love Sunday night dinners. That’s one of the things I miss most about not living at home (let’s be honest; I’m still home for many Sunday night dinners).  So, every now and then, I like to have people over for a nice meal and a few pinches of wine on a Sunday.
A Pinch of This 