This easy pasta with tomatoes and arugula recipe was inspired by a seaside lunch in Capri at Ristorante La Fontelina (see more here). This is a super-simple recipe, and it’s perfect for a lunch or a light dinner. Serve it as an appetizer with grilled fish for a heartier meal, and pair it with a crisp white... Continue Reading
Chef Michael Tusk of Quince and Cotogna is a master of pasta. We had the privilege of attending his pasta demo at this year’s Relais & Châteaux GourmetFest in Carmel. As an aside, Tusk is also very fashion conscious and shares our love for Lanvin sneakers and beautiful watches, but we digress…Read on for his pro... Continue Reading
One of our favorite things to make at home is pasta. We still love really good dried pasta like this, but you can be so much more creative with fresh pasta. It also cooks much more quickly. Our go to recipes are in the SPQR cookbook. The recipes are really reliable and the instructions provide lots of... Continue Reading
When we found this pumpkin “Fiori di Zucca” pasta last weekend we couldn’t resist. How perfect for fall? The orange torchio shape really does resemble a zucchini flower, and as it turns out, they are delicious. There are quite a few ways you could use this pasta (including two great suggestions on the box), but we turned... Continue Reading
One of our favorite things about the Amalfi Coast is the abundance of lemons. They are everywhere, and they are huge! We needed a simple weeknight dinner last week and had lemons and egg pasta on hand, so we put together this quick pasta dish inspired by a lemon pasta we had on our trip.... Continue Reading
Shellfish stock is such a simple and basic recipe, but it’s hard to find a place that will sell shells. We started saving our shrimp, crab, and lobster shells in one of these bags in the freezer. We had to shell ten lobsters last New Year’s Eve. Where did those shells go? Into the freezer. When we make shrimp,... Continue Reading
We visited Alta Maria Vineyards on our trip to Santa Ynez Valley. The wines were fantastic and Jim, our host, suggested pairing their Gold Cost Chardonnay with a spaghetti with anchovies, capers, French butter, and garlic. We had to try it and it was delicious. We always say that when you’re making... Continue Reading
It seems like a lot of people stress too much about what to eat during the week and a lot of the literature out there makes weeknight dinners way more complicated than they need to be. What would you think if we told you that you could make an almost Michelin-star quality weeknight meal in... Continue Reading
We’ve mentioned one of our favorite cookbooks, Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook of Sorts in several posts. It is a beautiful book and has lots of simple and flavorful recipes inspired by Venice. One recipe we keep going back to is Russell Norman’s version of pasta with clams or in Italy, spaghetti alle vongole. We could... Continue Reading
Cacio e Pepe is a simple Roman pasta dish made with cheese and black pepper. It’s simple, yet delicious! It only takes a few ingredients that we usually have on hand, so for those nights where nothing is planned or we didn’t make it to the store – we make cacio e pepe. We like... Continue Reading
Bechamel is one of the five mother sauces in classic French cooking, but it’s not just for French food. It’s the base for a lot of creamy Italian pasta sauces, gratins, our favorite blue cheese sauce, and even nachos. There are a lot of recipes online, but we’ve come up with something so simple and easy... Continue Reading
This gorgeous romanesco inspired us to make a different kind of pasta sauce this week. It tastes similar to cauliflower but has a vibrant color and appearance. Pureed cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and romanesco make great bases for a healthy pasta sauces.