Italian

Shrimp and Avocado Pasta

For me, cravings often manifest themselves as an emotional reaction to something I see, rather than from a recollection of something I’ve actually eaten. I was out grocery shopping the other day and as I walked through the mall connecting the grocery store to the train station, I noticed a big glossy poster outside a [...]

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Best Lasagne

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Growing up, in a Japanese-American household, we had an interesting mix of foods that graced our dinner table. It’s only after I left home that I came to recognize them as comfort foods. Mac and Cheese didn’t make the list, but Japanese Curry and Spaghetti with Meat Sauce were some regulars. Lasagne is another classic [...]

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Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

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The secret to making a great spaghetti and meat sauce is to build layers of flavor (beyond the meat and tomatoes), and to allow them to meld together in a balanced way. It’s a fairly simple thing to do when you’re including dozens of ingredients and simmering them together for hours, but I wanted to [...]

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Spaghetti Carbonara

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Spaghetti alla Carbonara is one of my favourite fall-back meals when there is nothing else to eat in the fridge. All you really need is some dried pasta, cured pork, good cheese and a fresh egg to pull off a delightfully rich and satisfying meal. It’s one of those dishes where less is more, so [...]

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Pork Sugo with Strozzapreti

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Fall is one of my favorite seasons. The golden sunsets cast long shadows, vermillion leaves scurry around in circles carried by the brisk autumn breeze, and in the kitchen, it’s the season of slow-cooked melt-in-your-mouth roasts and home warming braises. Perhaps it’s driven by some primal nesting instinct, but as the thermostat falls, I yearn [...]

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Spaghetti and Meatballs

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With the mercury falling faster than the stock market, I decided to bridge the gap between summer salad and winter braise using the last batch of tomatoes ripened under the waning summer sun to make spaghetti and meatballs. As usual when I’m making an old favorite, I went searching through my archives to see how [...]

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