Category: pasta

Penne alla Vodka

From my cookbook Weeknight/Weekend, this penne alla vodka, or penne with vodka sauce, is one of those no-food-in-the-house dinners that I make over and over again. Aside from the fresh basil – and even that grows abundantly on my patio during the summer – every ingredient for this dish is always on hand in my kitchen….


Creamy Poblano Pepper Pasta

By Gretchen McKay From Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Except for some cherry tomatoes and a few zucchini, my garden was a bust this summer. I blame the deer who consider my backyard their personal cafeteria, and a fat groundhog who lives under my garden shed. But I did manage to harvest a handful of bright and shiny…


Make Your Own Pasta Sauce With an Unexpected Ingredient: Egg Yolks

The egg yolks in this dish create a velvety sauce that coats each and every piece of pasta. Heat from the pasta cooks the yolks so that they’re safe to eat, but you need to warm them up slowly or else they’ll curdle and turn into scrambled eggs. How to do it? Add hot pasta…


One-Pot Pasta for the Whole Family

This one-pot pasta with tangy tomato-basil sauce is a fast and easy weeknight dinner. All of your ingredients go into one pot, and with a bit of stirring and about 25 minutes, you’ll have a healthy dinner the whole family will enjoy. One-Pot Tomato Basil Pasta Serves 4 Active Time: 25 minutes Total Time: 25…


Fettuccine Alfredo

Why I love this recipe: Easy – Basic ingredients, a few simple steps, and a quick meal for any night of the week, but fancy enough for guests! This is the best fettuccine alfredo! Comforting – It’s warm, creamy, and everyone’s favorite! I love to serve it with homemade breadsticks and a wedge salad! Delicious from Scratch – Everything is better from…


30-Minute Tuscan Tortellini with Sausage and Spinach

Delicious Tortellini Recipe In One Pan The other day I was driving along and it started to rain. The Littles and I noticed runners, bikers, and walkers who simply kept on keeping on. No umbrellas or raincoats. As a runner, I’ve been caught in everything from showers to downpours and never by choice. Most of…


Soft Tomatoes? Turn Them Into This Fast, Fresh, Ultra-Summery Pasta

My children have an arrangement with an area farmer. After the weekly farmers market, he supplies them with surplus produce, which they sell at a roadside stand in front of our house. They split the proceeds 50/50, with the farmer getting half, and the boys dividing the other. What’s in it for me, you ask?…


Summer Pasta Primavera

I realize the title of this dish is a bit of an oxymoron — the word “primavera” means springtime in Italian. But, generally, when we think of pasta primavera, we think of pasta with a chorus of vegetables from any season. With roasted tomatoes, corn, and zucchini, this pasta primavera is an ode to summer….


A Handful of Ingredients Transform Into the Most Perfect, Creamy, Cheesy Pasta

Pasta with just butter and cheese might seem simple, but it actually has a fancy name when served in restaurants — fettuccine alfredo. To make this dish at home, use authentic Parmesan cheese from Italy (look for the Italian words “Parmigiano-Reggiano” on the rind of the cheese). When the cheese, butter, and reserved pasta cooking water are…


Your Family Will Be Very Pleased With This Gooey Baked Mac And Cheese

Macaroni and cheese was born in Italy. Since Italy is the land of pasta, that’s not very surprising. But did you know that an American president was the first to bring mac and cheese here? In the 1800s Thomas Jefferson tried macaroni and cheese on a trip to Europe and brought a hand-written recipe back to the White House. Recipe tip: Make sure…