I love my mom’s flank steak marinade recipe. It is so easy and most of the prep happens the night before. This makes it a great choice for a dinner party. You marinate it over night and just grill it the night of dinner, leaving…
Let’s face it, 2020 has been a stressful year. Some friends and I decided we needed a break, so we rented a house on Lake Glenville for a long weekend. Lake Glenville is in Western North Carolina near Highlands and Cashiers. As with many mountain…
Today is National Pasta Day! I love pasta, so I thought I would post my Spaghetti Carbonara recipe. It is one of my go to recipes for three reasons: 1) it is easy to make, 2) it uses ingredients I usually have on hand, and 3) it is delicious.
This recipe cooks very fast and should be served immediately while it is still hot. Given that, timing on this is key. Start the pasta first and make the sauce while the pasta cooks. The pasta needs to be hot – right out of the pasta water – when you add it to the sauce since the heat from the pasta cooks the egg.
Skip to detailed instructions and pictures.
Step 1. Bring water to a boil for pasta. Add 1-2 tsp salt to the pasta water. Cook pasta according to the package directions (usually 9-11 min.).
Step 2. While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a sauté pan. Once the butter melts, add the garlic clove and pancetta. Sauté until pancetta is crispy and brown. Remove the garlic clove & discard. (Note: I tried this recipe using 1 clove of minced garlic instead of discarding the garlic and it was too garlicky – sauteing the pancetta and garlic together and then removing the garlic adds just the right hint of garlic.)
Step 3. When pasta is al dente (still slightly firm when you bite it), add to the pan with the pancetta. Add 1-2 Tbsp of the pasta water and simmer until the water is absorbed.
Tip: While you cook the pasta & sauce, put 1/2 c. of the hot pasta water in the serving bowl to heat it up. Dump the water before you put the pasta in the serving bowl – this will help keep the pasta warm while you finish and serve it.
Step 4. Remove the pasta from heat and place in serving bowl. Add the Parmesan and crack the egg over the top. Stir in the cheese and egg. The heat from the pasta will cook the egg.
Step 5. Top with more Parmesan and salt & pepper to taste. Serve immediately. This dish is best while it is hot!
My mom and I recently visited my aunt and uncle in Cape Cod. Whenever we visit them at the Cape, we absolutely HAVE to have to a traditional Cape Cod dinner of lobster and steamed clams (steamers). Everything in this meal cooks really fast, so…
Since things are starting to open in up a bit, my friend Pete and I decide to head out of town for a long weekend in Asheville, NC. We somehow managed to time our trip for the first weekend they had fall weather. Between the…
Growing up, my grandparents had a huge vegetable garden. When the tomatoes started coming in in the summer, Mom and Big Quin would both make lots of tomato sauce. They froze it so that we had homemade tomato sauce for lasagna and spaghetti sauce all fall and winter. When I got older and attempted Mom’s tomato sauce recipe I ran into two problems:
Given this I adapted the original recipe to use canned whole tomatoes and I cut the recipe to 1/4 of the original so it only makes about 1 gallon (16 cups) of sauce. Using canned tomatoes also saves a lot of time and effort since the skins have already been removed!!
This tomato sauce is the secret to my Mom’s lasagna and her spaghetti sauce. It is also great with albondigas (meatballs). I’ll post these recipes soon.
1 batch of tomato sauce = 4-5 lasagnas OR 4-5 batches of spaghetti sauce OR 6-7 batches of meatballs
Jump to equipment notes and detailed instructions. See Cook’s Illustrated for recommendations on the best brands of canned tomatoes.
Jump to detailed instructions.
Step 1. Coarsely chop the onions, garlic, parsley, basil, and oregano.
Step 2. In a food processor, add 1 can of tomatoes (including juice) and one quarter of the onions, garlic and herbs. Process for 20-30 sec until tomatoes are blended. Put in large stock pot. Repeat with remaining cans of tomatoes and veggies/herbs. This blends up the tomatoes, veggies and herbs to a smooth consistency – no large chunks of tomato or onion.
Step 3. Add brown sugar, salt, and pepper to the stock pot with the tomatoes, veggies and herbs. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for about 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
Step 4. When tomato sauce has reduced to a thick, uniform texture remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes or longer. This is so you don’t burn yourself when you pour the sauce into containers for freezing.
Step 5. Pour into 3-cup or 2-cup freezer containers. Freeze until ready to use. For lasagna and spaghetti sauce, I use a 3 c. container. For meatballs I use a 2-cup container.
For various reasons, I’ve been erring on the side of caution with COVID19. To support my favorite local restaurants I’ve been getting takeout, but last week I was finally ready to eat out again. Well, at least eat out on a patio. Since it was…
An important rule of travel is: when you invite yourself to visit someone, don’t show up empty handed. That is why when I went to visit my aunt and uncle in North Carolina, I brought this blueberry coffee cake. It is versatile – it can…
This week, pictures from my visit to Emilia-Romagna have been popping up in my photo feed. Since I got back from that visit to Italy, I’ve tried to recreate several of the dishes I had there. One of them is Tortellini in Brodo. Traditional Tortellini in Brodo is simple – handmade tortellini simmered in homemade chicken broth. Simple and delicious. My attempts were good, but the store-bought cheese tortellini just isn’t the same as the traditional Emilia-Romagna version. In Emilia-Romagna they fill it with mortadella, Parmesan, and other goodies. One day I will attempt making it, but not today. If I was going to use store-bought tortellini I needed to find a way to kick it up a notch.
As luck would have it, this year I have had an abundance of peppers from the garden. I have been looking for ways to use them. The peppers, planted next to the Thai basil, gave me an idea. I decided to add sliced hot peppers, Thai basil, and cherry tomatoes to my tortellini in brodo to give it a Thai spin. This was just the kick that the store-bought tortellini needed! As a bonus, it is quick and easy to make, too! Pair it with a salad or sandwich for an easy lunch or weeknight dinner.
Skip to substitutions or detailed instructions.
If you can’t find Thai basil, you could substitute cilantro or Italian basil
My friend, Ed, has been asking me to post this recipe since I started this blog. It is my grandmother’s Roquefort salad dressing recipe. She always kept a jar of this in the fridge and a salad with Roquefort dressing was on the table every…
Like everyone else, the COVID restrictions cancelled my travel plans this summer. I finally reached my breaking point and decided I had to go somewhere. After much deliberation on the safest way to travel, I decided to go visit my aunt and uncle in western…
If you’ve seen my roasted tomato & shallot ravioli recipe, you know I get lots of cherry tomatoes from my garden. This cherry tomato pasta recipe is one of my favorite to make with them. It is SO quick and easy! In the time it takes you to boil water and cook pasta, it is ready to eat. Pair it with a salad and a rotisserie chicken for an easy weeknight meal.
Skip to detailed instructions with pictures.
Step 1. Bring water to a boil for pasta & add salt to it. (See this advice from Bon Appetit on how much salt to use in pasta water – I tend toward the light end when adding salt since I often cook for people who are watching their sodium intake.) Wash tomatoes and basil.
Step 2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 c. pasta water before draining.
Step 3. While the pasta cooks, slice tomatoes in half. Chop the basil. Put tomatoes, crumbled goat cheese and basil in a large serving bowl.
Step 4. Drain pasta and add pasta to bowl with tomatoes, etc. The heat from the pasta will melt the goat cheese. Toss pasta & other ingredients. Add pasta water a little at a time until goat cheese sauce is the desired consistency. Add salt & pepper to taste.
Step 5. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Serve warm.
All week I’ve been dreaming of taking another trip to Croatia. It all started because I’m trying to recreate this amazing fish that we ate on that trip, so I started looking back through the pictures. The usual suspects and I went to Croatia a…
You would never know it from all of my posts about peaches this summer, but my blueberry bushes have been prolific. So I’ve spent the summer looking for the perfect blueberry cake recipe. What I have learned: there are a lot of good ones out…
I always plant cherry tomatoes in my garden. A few plants can produce LOTS of cherry tomatoes. As a result, I have some great cherry tomato recipes. This roasted tomato ravioli is one of my favorites. It is quick, easy, and delicious. Pair it with a salad or roasted green beans and it makes a great weeknight dinner!
A quick note: This recipe uses the family sized cheese ravioli. If you are using the regular 8 oz – 10 oz size, halve the recipe and be sure to use a smaller sheet pan to roast everything. (This keeps the juices from drying out before the shallots and tomatoes finish roasting.)
Skip to gluten free option or detailed instructions.
For a gluten free option, serve over quinoa or use gluten free pasta (2 c. of dried pasta should be enough for 4 servings).
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Line a rimmed sheet pan with aluminum foil. Clean tomatoes and slice shallots.
Step 2. Toss tomatoes, shallots, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil on the pan. Bake at 400° for 20-25 min. Stir 15 min in. If the balsamic vinegar is starting to dry out and burn, add 1-2 Tbsp of water. They are ready when the tomatoes pop open and the shallots are caramelized.
