For me, the Italian American classic weeknight dinner staple is inevitably intertwined with an orange cartoon cat. Perhaps the manufacturers behind Stouffers frozen lasagna had invested in the constant lasagna feeding frenzy present within nearly every Garfield episode in the late 1980s. If they weren’t behind all the direct consumer marketing, then they should have been because I requested lasagna more than my brother requested canned spinach (thanks Popeye). The lasagna of my childhood was mostly noodles with marina and a small amount of cheese and meat sprinkled inadvertently throughout the layers upon layers of noodle.
Posts tagged homemade
Truffle Potato Salad
My husband loves anything truffle. Truffle butter, truffle salt, truffle eggs, and my truffle potato salad. He also doesn’t discriminate with his truffles. He loves all truffles equally, even gleefully claiming that he would bath in anything truffle. Two of our favorite people, Marina and Dave, used to live on the same block as Urbani Truffles in New York City. When we visited one December, during white truffle season, we made the oh-so-easy pilgrimage to Urbani. We opened the doors and were immersed in truffle. Everything smelled of truffle. I think my husband’s glasses fogged over with truffle shavings. It was his food heaven.
Split Pea Soup
As a child, I assumed split pea soup was laborious and time consuming-which explained why my father enjoyed the Campbell’s canned version. However, I was delightfully surprised, when I made this soup for the first time, at how terribly easy it was to make.
Mac & Cheese
What’s not to love about elbow pasta swimming in a bowl of warm, creamy cheese? My childhood memories of macaroni and cheese are my mother’s ingenious version of mac and cheese. Since we always had some spaghetti noodles in the refrigerator, she recognized that she could simply pull out some already cooked noodles and cover them with a slice of American cheese. Microwave for a minute or two and mix the noodles with the melted cheese. Voila. Homemade Eris-style mac and cheese. She predated Amy’s frozen-section single serving mac and cheese by at least ten years.
Vegetable Lasagna
There is no better time than August to open a cold beer and cozy up by the grill to enjoy the last days of summer. My husband enjoys grilling anything and especially loves grilling vegetables. Which is great for me because by August I am floundering for a creative dinner to use the abundance of zucchini and squash that I have purchased at the local farmer’s market.
Corn and Shrimp Bisque
If you have been to San Francisco’s revered restaurant Gary Danko, then you know the ingredients are the epitome of seasonal foods at their peak. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of enjoying a dinner at Gary Danko with my mom and corn-loving brother. While my mom and I selected scallop and lobster appetizers, my brother ordered the corn soup. I have been trying to replicate this ethereal sweet corn experience ever since.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
There is something magical about a warm chocolate chip cookie. Add a glass of whole milk, and it takes the experience to another level. So why not try my hand at homemade chocolate chip cookies?
