Italian Dinner Ideas?!

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

I made this last night for dinner and it is simply divine! Its a lot easier than it looks...I would LOVE the recipe Mark mentioned as well, the one with bacon and caramelized onion with red sauce...I hate it when fellow users do not allow email


Scarpetta’s Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Garlic Basil Oil Recipe

adapted from Scott Conant and Scarpetta

Serves 4

Chef Conant likes to use 20 ripe plum tomatoes (no canned). My adaptation includes canned tomatoes as well because I find it works better. Tomatoes used for canning are picked at the peak of ripeness, and many times the fresh tomatoes I find at the market are just so-so. Feel free to use all fresh, all canned or a combination. Don’t expect the usual sauce-heavy spaghetti. Conant’s recipe is light; the barely there sauce combined with the basil-garlic oil is so full of intense flavors, you don’t need to drown your pasta.

4 ripe organic tomatoes (preferably plum tomatoes)
One 12-ounce can of San Marzano or organic whole tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of crushed red chili pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ounce freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about 1/2 cup)
6 to 8 fresh basil leaves, well washed and dried, stacked and rolled into a cylinder and sliced thinly crosswise into a chiffonade
1 pound spaghetti, either high-quality dry or homemade

For the Basil-Garlic Oil:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6-8 whole cloves garlic
10 whole fresh basil leaves
Generous pinch crushed red chili pepper flakes

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Have a large bowl of ice water nearby. Cut a small X on the bottom of each tomato. Ease the tomatoes into the pot and boil for about 15 seconds, then promptly move them to the waiting ice water. (Continue with the remaining tomatoes.) Pull off the skin with the tip of a paring knife. If the skin sticks, try a vegetable peeler using a gentle sawing motion. Cut the tomatoes in half and use your finger to flick out the seeds.

2. In a wide pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat until quite hot. Add the fresh and canned tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and season lightly with the salt and pepper. (I always start with a light hand with the salt and pepper because as the tomatoes reduce, the salt will become concentrated.) Let the tomatoes cook for a few minutes to soften. Then, using a potato masher, chop the tomatoes finely. Cook the tomatoes for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tomatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened. (You can make the sauce, which yields about 2-3 cups, ahead of time. Refrigerate it for up to two days or freeze it for longer storage.)

3. While the tomatoes are cooking, make the basil-garlic oil. Heat a small saucepan over low heat with 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic cloves, basil leaves and pepper flakes. Keep the heat on low to allow the ingredients to warm slowly and release their flavors. When the garlic is lightly browned, turn heat off and let cool for 10 minutes. The longer you let the oil sit, the more infused the oil. Strain the oil, discarding the solids.

4. To cook the spaghetti, bring a large pot of amply salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti until just shy of al dente and drain, reserve a little of the pasta cooking water.

5. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and cook over medium-high heat, gently tossing the pasta and the sauce together with a couple of wooden spoons and a lot of exaggerated movement (you can even shake the pan) until the pasta is just tender and the sauce, if any oil had separated from it, now looks cohesive. (If the sauce seems too thick, add a little pasta cooking liquid to adjust it.) Remove the pan from the heat and toss the butter, basil and cheese with the pasta in the same manner (the pasta should take on an orange hue). Drizzle with just a bit of the basil-garlic oil on each plate (you might not use all of it).



TY Mark, Can't wait to try it!

this is my son's favorite pasta dish that I make.

LINGUINE WITH RED CLAM SAUCE


1 pound dried linguine, cooked to package directions

2 T olive oil
1 T minced garlic
? t red pepper flakes

2 cans (6.5 ounces each) minced clams, drained, reserving juice
2 cups marinara sauce

? t salt
? tsp pepper

? cup chopped parsley


Heat olive oil in large saucepan. Add garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook 15 seconds.

Add the reserved clam juice and marinara sauce, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 15 minutes. Season with the salt, pepper and parsley. Add clams and heat for a minute.

Toss with the pasta and serve with Parmesan cheese.



And my ex-wife, who HATED to compliment my cooking, said this was the best pasta dish she had ever had.


Pasta with Roasted Bell Peppers and Basil

1 pound Penne or other short pasta
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
? teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14 ? ounce) can whole tomatoes, un-drained and chopped
3 pounds (6 large) bell peppers, roasted & peeled (red & yellow work the best)
? tsp salt
? tsp freshly ground pepper
? cup thinly sliced fresh basil
? cup fresh ground Parmesan cheese (or more to taste)


? Cook pasta per package instructions and drain. Keep warm.
? Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium low heat. Add onion, fennel seeds and garlic, cover and cook 10 minutes (stirring occasionally) or until onion is tender.
? Add tomatoes and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
? Meanwhile, cut roasted peppers into Julienne strips. Add pepper strips, salt and pepper to tomato mixture and heat for 3 minutes.
? Combine pasta, tomato mixture and basil into a large bowl, sprinkle with Parmesan at the table.



In case you don’t know how to roast bell peppers:

? Halve, seed and remove the membranes and stems from the bell peppers
? Flatten, skin side up, onto a vegetable sprayed foil on a cookie sheet
? Place under broiler for 10-15 minutes, watching very closely
? When skin is mostly black, remove to a paper bag and refrigerate
? After cooling 15 minutes or so, remove and discard the blackened skin

The easiest pasta sauces that get great results without too much effort Carbonara, Alfredo, Puttenesca, all'amatriciana, Marinara. I especially like the all'amatriciana (bacon and carmelized onions in a red sauce)

Ms. Libby

This is very similar to mine (I use Mark Bittman's recipe from a cookbook). You can replace the guanciale with pancetta or bacon (good luck finding guanciale). I also use all parm cheese instead of the combination (too much work and cost buying two cheeses for this dish).

http://champaign-taste.blogspot.com/2008…

I LOVE Italian food and can never get enough of it. This website has the BEST lasagna recipe that I have made many times over. I have also made all of the manicotti's and ziti and love them also. Here is the link.
http://www.easy-groundmeat-recipes.com/I…