Best pasta dish?

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marmalady...buckytom.....nice!

Man we would have a blast united as a group! :LOL:

I have to say for me...I enjoy cooking for guests......when I am alone with my wife....while I enjoy the food.....but seeing people's eyes light up in awe just makes it all worth it....

I do a lot of restaurants...always searching for the ultimate dish...and how they went about it and how I could do even better if possible....

When I have a dish that just blows me away...the urge of making usually walks by me.....fear of not getting as good as that! :LOL:
 
Being that I made this dish last night, AND it was a knockout, AND it is a pasta dish, I figured I'd post it here....

OK, now.... FOR THE RECORD..... I do cook fancier pasta dishes. I'm totally into Bolognese and wicked pan sauces for my pasta. I make a Sunday gravy that is second to none. (Well, second only to my Mom's.) However, this pasta dish is just too darn good NOT to share. This is my Grandma's recipe. It is so easy, you won't believe it. It will vanish in seconds, just like it did last night.

You can cut it in 1/2, but believe me, it goes too quick that way. Trust me....


Italian Style Mac n Cheese


Here's what you'll need.


2 pounds of Rigatoni
2 sticks of unsalted butter
2 pounds (large brick) of Velveeta cheese
2, 28 oz cans of whole peeled tomatoes
6 large cloves of garlic, creamed or passed through a microplaner
4 leaves of basil, stems removed, chiffinade (bundled and sliced very thin)

Cook off the pasta in salted water. While you're waiting for it to cook, make the cheese sauce. Cube up the butter and Velveeta. Place the cubes in a large sauce pot. (My 8 quart stock pot is the perfect fit.) Stir them over low heat till they start to melt together. Hand crush the tomatoes into the butter and cheese. (I always discard the white, hard stem areas.) Pour the tomato juice in as well. Add the garlic and basil. Simmer and stir the cheese sauce till your pasta is 95% done. Turn the heat off the cheese sauce, drain the pasta, then pour the pasta directly into the cheese sauce. (This is why you need the 8 quart stock pot.) Stir to coat evenly. Make sure the burner is off. Every 3 minutes or so, stir the pasta and cheese. In 15 minutes or so, the cheese sauce will set, giving you the easiest, cheeseest, goodest, can I have 3rds please?, OMG I need this recipe, bestest, quickest pasta dish on Earth.

You can quote me on this. I wrote the recipe out three times last night. Now, I'm just gonna direct people to this link. :)

RJ
 
ardge, we are gonna be very good friends since you called it "sunday gravy", lol. when ever someone mentions gravy, they always think brown. but not us paisan! we have both red and brown gravies...
 
Too lazy to retype it, but I posted a recipe for a lasagna with a real twist on "Whats your favourite pasta sauce", where I use pepperoni as a layer (3 times)(at least) that I really like...and don't cook the lasagna noodles (using them dry) that you guys might find interesting, if not, in fact deliscious!...

I've posted my "penne and peppers" recipe elsewhere, and jkath seemed interested, and was going to make it for her hubby; if you can't find it, let me know and I'll re-do it that you can see it on this thread too, but believe its a Sizzlin' authored thread, and still on this parent page...

Lifter
 
Lobster Fettucine Parmesan:

You can use scallops or shrimp too, if you wish.

8 oz uncooked fettucine
2 tbsp butter
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tbsp chopped shallots
12 oz uncooked lobster meat, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp diced pimiento, drained
1/8 tsp white pepper
1 1/2 cups half-n-half
1/3 cup fresh grated parmesan
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, if desired

Cook fettucine, drain, and keep warm.

Melt butter in large skillet over med heat; add mushrooms, shallots and lobster. Cook over med heat about 3 min or until mushrooms are soft and lobster is opaque. Stir in flour, pimiento, salt and pepper; cook for a minute. Add half-n-half; cook over med heat until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Add cheese; cook a min or until cheese melts, stirring constantly. Server over fettucine... garnish with fresh parsley.... makes 4 servings.
 
Lifter said:
I've posted my "penne and peppers" recipe elsewhere, and jkath seemed interested, and was going to make it for her hubby;

Lifter

Which I did..........and he (the Italian) loved it!
 
The pasta I make that gets rave reviews is actually so simple to make -

can of good-quality whole tomatoes (I use an imported one - white can with drwaings of red tomatoes on - starts with am "M") sorry
olive oil
about 3 TBS chopped garlic
a good handful of fresh basil cut chiffonade
kalamata olives, pitted
salt and pepper to taste

Gently heat olive oil then add the chopped garlic. Let cook for just a few minutes to release the flavor into the oil. Add the tomatoes that you have squished into pieces with your hands along with the juice from the can. Salt and pepper to taste. Let this simmer for about 20-30 minutes - you want the extra juice from the can to become concentrated and not so watery. When done take off heat and add your basil chiffonade. Let cool on counter.

When ready to use add the amount you need to a skillet along with a few kalamata olives per person (have angel hair already cooked, drained, and waiting). Heat on medium until the sauce dries out even more. Toss in your angel hair and turn in sauce with tongs to coat well. Place a mound on each plate and scoop remaining sauce evenly over each one. top with kalamata olives and a good doze of freshly grated Parmesan.

To make this a complete meal you can top with a piece of grilled chicken, or grilled grouper, or if vegetarian you can grill/sautee some zucchini, fresh whole green beans, yellow squash, or whatever you like and you think will go with it.
 
I don't eat pasta often...but when I do its usually one of the following three dishes: All made by me....
Meatballs and Spaghetti (we find this to be a comfort dish)
Broccoli Rabe and Sausage
Shrimp Marinara over Angel Hair

OOP's..I lied I made a pan of Lasagna the other wk...Yum
 
Hit me with your best pasta dish!

I like spaghetti. Nothing special in my recipe - pasta, mushrooms, onions, ground beef, can of tomato sauce and some seasonings ie. garlic, oregano, pepper.

I used to make lasagna on an almost monthly basis years ago. It's a good make ahead meal. Assemble it ahead of time and bake it before dinner. Sometimes I would freeze a batch but it's necessary to cover it well before freezing lest the noodles dry out.

I used to buy a lot of "boxed" macaroni and cheese. I prefer mac and cheese from scratch but my family isn't too enthusiastic about from scratch mac and cheese so I make it maybe once a year, if that.

Occasionally I make baked ziti. Just the usual with nothing spectacular in it but it's good 'though the recipe I use makes an awful lot considering we're a three-person-household now.

My husband likes "beefaroni" as he calls it. That's macaroni elbows with tomato sauce and ground beef. I usually make that when we need something made ahead.

Sometimes I make - usually in the summer when I want to make dinner ahead of time - a salad of macaroni elbows, tuna, boiled eggs, peas, a little bit of chopped onion, and mayonnaise. I thin the mayonnaise with a little bit of milk. I mix all ingredients together and sometimes I put them all on a bed of lettuce. Chill for several hours.
 
Ardge said:
Being that I made this dish last night, AND it was a knockout, AND it is a pasta dish, I figured I'd post it here....

OK, now.... FOR THE RECORD..... I do cook fancier pasta dishes. I'm totally into Bolognese and wicked pan sauces for my pasta. I make a Sunday gravy that is second to none. (Well, second only to my Mom's.) However, this pasta dish is just too darn good NOT to share. This is my Grandma's recipe. It is so easy, you won't believe it. It will vanish in seconds, just like it did last night.

You can cut it in 1/2, but believe me, it goes too quick that way. Trust me....


Italian Style Mac n Cheese


Here's what you'll need.


2 pounds of Rigatoni
2 sticks of unsalted butter
2 pounds (large brick) of Velveeta cheese
2, 28 oz cans of whole peeled tomatoes
6 large cloves of garlic, creamed or passed through a microplaner
4 leaves of basil, stems removed, chiffinade (bundled and sliced very thin)

Cook off the pasta in salted water. While you're waiting for it to cook, make the cheese sauce. Cube up the butter and Velveeta. Place the cubes in a large sauce pot. (My 8 quart stock pot is the perfect fit.) Stir them over low heat till they start to melt together. Hand crush the tomatoes into the butter and cheese. (I always discard the white, hard stem areas.) Pour the tomato juice in as well. Add the garlic and basil. Simmer and stir the cheese sauce till your pasta is 95% done. Turn the heat off the cheese sauce, drain the pasta, then pour the pasta directly into the cheese sauce. (This is why you need the 8 quart stock pot.) Stir to coat evenly. Make sure the burner is off. Every 3 minutes or so, stir the pasta and cheese. In 15 minutes or so, the cheese sauce will set, giving you the easiest, cheeseest, goodest, can I have 3rds please?, OMG I need this recipe, bestest, quickest pasta dish on Earth.

You can quote me on this. I wrote the recipe out three times last night. Now, I'm just gonna direct people to this link. :)

RJ

Hey Alex, here is the recipe I gave you last night in AIM. I think I am gonna make it today. Then again, I am hungry and ANYTHING sounds good right now.

RJ
 
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...or at least you could get a tattooed pasta bowl :chef:
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I'm with you, though, Ardge - pasta is my comfort food of choice!
 
This is a really good side dish and its a great way to use up some of the extra veggies you have in your fridge.

Cook up some elbow macaroni or any other pasta salad type noodle......look on the box and it'll tell you how much to cook for the number of people you want to serve. I like my pasta noodles to have a little bite left.......I don't recommend cooking till their really squishy. Drain and rinse in cold water draining off all the excess water. Put in a big bowl and toss in some fresh veggies cut up into small pieces. I like carrots (julianed), green/red/yellow bell peppers, cucumbers and red onions. Then I toss in some crumbled fried bacon. Then I add some ranch dressing from the bottle....keep adding till you get the creaminess consistency you desire. Right before I serve it I toss in some fresh chopped tomatoes and the greens from a scallion.
 
with putanesca sauce (tomato, spicey olives, capers, anchovies, basil)

with shellfish arrabita (crushed tomato, red pepper, garlic, rosemary, safron, orange zest, wine, shrimp, clams, mussles, scallops, calamari, etc. )
 
Robo410 said:
with putanesca sauce (tomato, spicey olives, capers, anchovies, basil)

with shellfish arrabita (crushed tomato, red pepper, garlic, rosemary, safron, orange zest, wine, shrimp, clams, mussles, scallops, calamari, etc. )

I've had good and bad putanesca sauce. Some were just too hot and some were just too something or other.... just not good. :ermm:

When dining at an Italian place, I always try to order something with clams. Cream or tomato, seafood is the way for me.

Shellfish Arrabita.... Mmmmmmmmm..... :rolleyes:

RJ
 
I have to do a Pasta Bar "action station" out in the dining room where I work. I usually put out about 15 or more different ingredients; shrimp, chicken, meatballs, calamari, scallops, broccoli/cauliflower, zucchini/yellow squash, onions and peppers, tomatoes, diced ham, peas, and I just started to put out some Kalamata olives. For sauces, my boss gives me Alfredo, Marinara, and a seafood sauce of some kind. I always bring out pesto. My boss always wondered about that, until he found out how popular it's becoming with the membership. I've also convinced many folks that the best sauce is a mix of alfredo and pesto (and yes, it's GOOD!). I have many folks come back up to me and tell me that the dish I sauteed up for them was the best they'd ever had.
 
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