I know it is hard to believe but sometimes I get cook’s block. It is like writer’s block except I can not think of a single thing to make for dinner. So earlier this week Dana requested something from chicken and something from ground beef. I went to the store and picked up the basic [...]
Fettuccine Alfredo is one of those dishes that sounds complicated and time consuming. There is nothing farther from the truth. Basic Fettuccine Alfredo has 7 ingredients and takes roughly the time to boil the Fettuccine to make. I spiced this recipe up by adding one ingredient to the basic recipe. Daring isn’t it. However, Asparagus [...]
This week Dana got a year older. For her sake, we will not divulge the exact age. However, her only request was to have lasagna made with beef and not Italian sausage. So I whipped up some homemade noodles and put together her Birthday Lasagna. It was a great little lasagna. I may not be Italian, but I [...]
Dana’s favorite meal of all time is baked ziti. I have never made it, so I decided to tackle it. I used a basic marinara sauce and then went from there. My first problem was that the local grocery stores did not carry ziti. They carried penne and rigatoni. I opted for the bigger rigatoni [...]
Posted in All, Italian, Recipes 
Tags: baked ziti, Italian, mozzarella, parmesan, Pasta, ricotta, ziti 
2 Comments »
When I was a kid we used to get Strombolis’ from a little pizza place near our house. They were not rolled like typical a Stromboli but were folded in a half-moon shape like a Calzone. However, the biggest difference was that the stromboli had sauce inside of it and the Calzone had sauce on the side. [...]
Every once in a while Dana and I go out for dinner. When we do, I always see Dana ordering Penne alla Vodka. So I figured I should tackle this recipe. I wanted to make the sauce from scratch and have that great vodka flavor. Although the alcohol burns off, not all of the flavor [...]
Posted in All, Italian, Recipes Tags: Italian, penne, penne ala vodka, penne alla vodka, sauce, vodka 1 Comment »
The other night I asked Dana what she would like for dinner and she immediately said, “Spaghetti and Meatballs”. Easy, however, Dana is Italian and I did not want to offend her. So I asked if she had a recipe. She said, “meat, egg, bread crumbs and spices”. That left just a little bit to [...]
Last week I made an impromptu dinner for Dana. I wanted to make pasta, but I did not have a bread side. So I looked through my fridge and found an extra pizza dough. I know, yes, I have pizza dough in the fridge. I decided to make it into a garlic bread-like swiss roll. [...]
Posted in All, Baking, Italian, Pizza Dough, Recipes Tags: garlic bread, Italian, rolled garlic bread, side dish, ultimate garlic bread 1 Comment »This months issue of Food and Wine has a some great pasta recipes in it. One that sparked my interest was Orecchiette with Veal Capers and White Wine. Orecchiette is the pasta that looks like little ears. Unfortunately no store around me has this type of pasta. Further, I am not the biggest fan of [...]
After a long weekend of being in Airports I wanted a nice and hearty meal. So I searched around and came across a nice and easy Ravioli recipe from Giada. The recipe does not require you to make pasta and it includes some of my favorite ingredients such as; mushroom, spinach and marscarpone cheese. Top [...]
Pienza Italian Market – 3 stars My parents came to town this last weekend and since it was Mother’s Day I made brunch reservations at Pienza Italian Market. Pienza Italian Market is located in the Gaylord National Hotel at the National Harbor. They have a large outdoor dining area that is located underneath the giant [...]
Every once in a while you need a quick meal and don’t have any jars of marinara lying around. Or, if you are like me you like to make your own, but don’t have time to let it simmer for 2 hours. I made this quick sauce that took only 15 minutes to make.
Posted in Italian, Pasta, Pizza, Recipes, Sauces Tags: basic marinara, Italian, Marinara, quick and easy marinara, Recipes, sauce, whole tomatoes 7 Comments »
