fried pasta

Sounds terrible but its not. This is the same concept as friend rice but twice as delicious. Basically, this is what my mom used to do to use up left over pasta that never quite tasted right reheated in the microwave. All you do is throw the leftover pasta in a pan with a touch of oil and hot pepper. Constantly stir as its heating, throw in an egg if you like, add some capers, some fresh parsley if you have it- let the pasta stick a little to the pan so it gets nice and crispy. Then add cheese, remove from the heat and serve. This was one of my favorites growing up and still is today!

black linguine with a red dungeness sauce

So my parents came to visit not too long ago and I wanted to make something special- still super easy though. I got 1/2 a kilo of black linguine (which is an Italian specialty- pasta with squid ink mixed with the dough) which you can find at many specialty stores but unless you live near lots of Italians you might need to make a special order. OTHERWISE, just use regular linguine - or tagliatelle if you come across them. So thats the pasta- throw that in boiling water 15 minutes before you want to serve and you're done. For the sauce, again its the simples thing - just a plain marinara with something special. Dice a whole yellow onion and toss it in a large pan or pot with a little olive oil on the bottom and give a sprinkle of salt on low heat. Once the onions become transparent add a large can of diced tomatoes. Leave it on the lowest heat possible, stir occasionally and try not to let it boil- If you're in a rush and just came home from work, crank the heat up but watch the pot so it wont stick and you can have this done in 15 minutes... if you have the time, savor the moment and slow cook your food- my mother says it always tastes better that way... Well, I bought two half clusters of dungeness crabs- which have such a delicate taste- just add them in the sauce for the last 30-40 minutes it was cooking (if your speeding through this on a higher heat they really only need to cook a few minutes till after they're red). If you like use another type of crab, otherwise cleaned shrimp or lobster works great too. Using these types of seafood you get a very subtle non-overpowering seafood sauce. For me its just the right amount. Taste it to make sure you don't need any salt, shut off the heat (at this point your pasta should be done and drained), combine the linguine with the sauce, give it a good stir, add a generous amount of FRESH parsley and serve. This was one of those meals that was so good I ate until well after I was full. So worth it.

hot italian sausage

Now who doesn't like a nice sausage every now and again... well vegans, but still. If you want something quick easy AND DELICIOUS sausage is the way to go. These days, they make every variety and flavor you could ask for- pork, chicken, turkey, seafood, mushroom, hot, sweet, cheesy, with citrus, basil, parsley, jalapeño... you can be as healthy (or not) as you want with this. I know the Safeway by me (which never has anything) will only every have the most basic sausage (at best) but most grocery stores will have a variety. Even whole foods which will boast itself on its numerous varieties wont dare charge more than a dollar or 2 per link- so you really can get away with an inexpensive dinner going this direction. My favorite (that my dad would make ever since i was a little kid) is a skinny one filled with ground pork and cheese. MMMMM !!!!
Its a cinch to make to.. just throw your links in a pan with a few drops of olive oil (or just use a non stick pan) and put it on medium heat a few minutes till one side starts to brown then turn it over till the other side browns and you're done. Eat it between two slices of bread, with cooked onions and peppers, add to pasta or rice, or even make a dinner of just sausage and maybe a little salad on the side. 80% of the meal is prepared at the store- all you gotta do is drop it in a pan.

hummus.. any way you like it

So hummus is such a great appetizer or snack and its basic concept so easy you'll want to make this all the time. For your basic recipe, I get a 15 or 16 oz can of chick peas and throw them in a blender with about 1/2 a cup of sesame tahini, some oil, garlic, the juice of a lemon and salt. Thats it. Blend it till its smooth and it'll taste better than any hummus you've ever bought before. Now this is a great opp to experiment and invent a hummus-like dip you can claim your own. Substitute the chick peas for white beans or shelled edamame, add roasted peppers, mushrooms, chilies, nuts-- anything you think could work. This is super healthy and is great for a snack by yourself or out when you're entertaining a full house.

balsamic glazed carrots and mushrooms

An elegant side which can also be tossed over a bed of greens for a delicious salad. Get a container of plain white chopped mushrooms and throw them in a pan with a bunch of fresh little finger carrots with some butter, salt and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Cook until the mushrooms significantly soften and most of the liquid reduces. Add some chopped fresh basil and serve. DE LICIOUS!

fried fish again- just bumping it up a notch

So basically, this is the same recipe as the one I just posted but I just wanted to explain a little difference in presentation- also here is where you can get creative with how you want your meal served. With fresh anchovies (they taste nothing like salted anchovies you might be familiar with, these are just delicious little fish), clean them, open them up and butterfly them by running your fingernail (or a butter knife) between the spine and the meat- just leaving the tail. This way you have one large fillet using the whole fish. Again, flour like any other fried fish and drop in hot oil. Try also thinly slicing a lemon, flouring and frying as well. You can also try a fritto misto by getting a variety of fish, shrimp, even fruits and vegetables and frying them all together. Almost like a Japanese tempura.

fried fish

For me, every once and a blue moon I get a craving for fried fish. Not necessarily the fried whiting you'd find at Henry's on U St [yum yum !!] or many of the other soul food eateries in the area but the old school Italian style I was graced with for so many dinners growing up. Really it can be any kind of fish, large or small, pick it up fresh from the seafood dept and if you don't know exactly what you're doing have them clean the fish while they're at it. Take it home give it a good rinse and toss it in flour. Nothing special- it you want season the flour with salt, hot pepper flakes and dried parsley but you don't even have to. When you're ready just drop them in a deep pot with a finger of vegetable oil and fry till they turn golden brown. Remove, drain on a paper towel and serve with sea salt and lemon wedges.

sweet pepper soup

This is so simple, healthy and delicious you're going to want to make it all the time. Red, orange and yellow bell peppers have such full flavor little is needed to add to their natural great taste. Basically, with just a little olive oil (or if you'd like the soup a little richer add a bit of butter) and a sprinkle of salt, sautée or cook down the peppers with an onion until they soften. Remove them from the heat, let them cool for a few minutes, throw them in a blender, reheat back in the same pot, and serve with cilantro, some cracked pepper and if you like, with a spoon of plain yogurt or sour cream. This can be a completely vegan meal (if not vegetarian) and is SO easy to make. You can make it well in advance and just reheat or even freeze it in tupperware to pull out on a night where you want something light and quick.

mozarella e pomodori

A popular Italian salad. I've seen this many times as a side but have also eaten this on numerous occasions a a meal of its own. One of the simplest things you can do- get equal parts tomatoes and mozzarella (cherry or grape tomatoes and this type of mozzarella are called ciliegini). Toss in a bowl with fresh basil (or dried oregano), olive oil, a touch of vinegar if you like, salt and cracked pepper. Perfect with some toasted bread or just as is.

cavatelli with mussels, chick peas and tomato

This is such a great and refreshing dish my cousin Anna made a while back. It's not supposed to be served piping hot so its great for the summer (or any time really). Boil a pound of cavatelli (typically they're home made but you can buy this pasta in most specialty stores), drain and set aside, then to that add a can of drained chick peas, a pint of fresh cherry tomatoes (broken), a pint of store-bought fresh steamed mussels (or steam your own), a fistfull of loosly chopped parsley and serve. Its got lots of fresh flavors and great new recipe for seafood lovers.