Bucatini alla'amatriciana

This was one of my favorite dishes while I was living in Rome.  First, because bucatini is so much fun.  It looks like fat spaghetti, and is used in much the same way as spaghetti, but it's hollow in the center.  You'll get some impromptu music during the course of your meal... Second, because it just tastes amazing.  Don't let my picture fool you... it's so much more than pasta and chunks of tomato!  It's pretty simple to make, though some of the ingredients might be difficult to find.

Fresh Pesto

I never really liked pesto until I lived in Italy... probably because most pesto in the USA isn't fresh.  Since I've been keeping a summer garden, and basil being a fixture in it, I've started to perfect my pesto recipe.  I think I've gotten it down pretty well.

Penne with Cauliflower

This recipe I actually got from a cooking magazine in Italy.  Translating it from Italian challenged my Italian cooking vocab, but it was a good exercise.  And converting from metric to imperial was just as fun (not).  But thank goodness I figured it all out because it's pretty delicious!  I don't think I've ever heard anyone say the like cauliflower, but you would never know when you have it in this simple pasta dish.

Panzanella

At the same time I was living in Rome, a friend of mine was living in Tuscany.  We didn't know each other at the time, even though we went to the same university, but we now work together.  She shared this recipe with me, which she learned while living in Tuscany.  Tuscany has some of the best farming country in all of Italy.  And because of the all the farms and natural woodlands, a lot of the food is much more earthy and gamey than in other parts of Italy.  These seems like one of those recipes that you whip together when you have leftover bread that's about to go stale and a few too many tomatoes.  But it is a delicious snack or side dish!

Stuffed Zucchini

Every summer, we plant zucchini.  And every summer, we are up to our eyeballs in zucchini.  Last year, all that we knew to do with it was sliced in pasta sauce, grilled or in zucchini bread.  Being so abundant in Northern California, we figured there had to be more ways to utilize this delicious summer squash.  And there are!  This recipe is best with slightly bigger and fatter zucchini than what you'd find at the grocery store.  Homegrown zucchini that were left to grow a day too long are perfect. If you use smaller ones, you'll probably need more of them.  Or use smaller ones as a side dish.

Gnocchi

As a kid I thought gnocchi was really fancy.  It wasn't like regular pasta... it was like a little pouch of carb-y goodness.  Come to find out, it's made out of potatoes... one of my favorite foods.  It's commonly served with pesto because it coats the gnocchi better than a red sauce (though ragu is a pretty commonly used red sauce with gnocchi).  Since I originally posted this over a year ago, I've improved my gnocchi and pesto recipes.  I've actually moved the pesto recipe here.

The Rules about Pasta

Italy is very much about tradition and protocol.  Most people find that odd considering the very laid back Italian lifestyle.  But they are pretty strict on this!

Ragu Sauce

When we Americans think of pasta, usually spaghetti with a red sauce comes to mind.  Maybe a fettuccine alfredo. And that's it.  Friends say that after having lived in Italy I've become a "pasta snob," but when I've tasted so many amazing sauces and combinations, how can I not be?!  Since coming back, I find American Italian pasta dishes to be bland sauce on top of mushy pasta.  In Italy, all sauces are made fresh and delicious... nothing is canned or pre-made.  

When I was living in Italy, my Italian teacher has a friend of hers who was a chef teach us some real Italian recipes.  I'm still looking for the gnocchi recipe in my email somewhere, but here's the ragu.  

Buttered Tortellini

I love pasta.  As a broke college student, it was always the cheapest and easiest thing to make.  But when I was living in Italy, it was even cheaper and easier to make than ever.  And there are just so many variations it's easy to find something that fits your budget, schedule and tastes.

Tuscan Soup

A quick soup filled with good for you veggies!

Pasta con olio e aglio

This recipe I learned in Italy.  It's quite possibly the easiest way to make delicious pasta.