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.

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.

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.