Super Delish Cherry/Grape Tomato Sauce

Cherry Tomato Sauce over spaghettini was an amazing hit for a Lenten Friday recently. I will definitely make this again in the summer when Jersey tomatoes are hot and heavy.

This cooks up in minutes. Literally.

It's from a really awesome Rachael Ray cookbook called, "Everyone is Italian on Sunday." Best title ever! I love this cookbook, and I strongly recommend it.

The recipe offers you options. You may use cherry or grape tomatoes. I used grape.

You may use red onions, white onions, spring onions or scallions. I used a white/yellow onion.

For cheese, I used pecorino.

You can serve over any pasta you dig. I used spaghettini.

Here's the recipe. So easy!

Cherry Tomato Sauce
From "Everyone is Italian on Sunday"
By Rachael Ray
(Serves 4-6)

3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small red or white onion, or 1 bunch scallions or spring onions (white parts only), finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped or thinly sliced
2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
A handful of fresh basil leaves, torn
Salt and pepper
Grated ricotta salata, Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino cheese, for serving

In a skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat the oil (3 turns of the pan) over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, over the pan and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes to sweat the onions.

Add the tomatoes, shake the pan, cover and cook until the tomatoes begin to burst, 8 to 10 minutes. Mash and stir the sauce. Add the basil. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve: Cook one pound pasta to al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Toss together the sauce, starchy water and pasta. Top with cheese and serve.

Late Night Pasta

During the school year, my din din often goes down around 10 p.m. with a glass of vino and some DVR'd trash TV.

Piano teachers get on the clock once the school dismissal bell rings out, so this leads to some interesting eating times.

Me - I like to fine dine when everybody packs up and leaves and my brain is clear of Mozart, scales and phrasing. The kid is in bed. Oh, and the school forms are signed. The school lunch is packed up. The laundry is started. The great room is tidied. The mail is sorted.

I mean really, does it ever end?

So yeah, then I eat dinner.

Here's a perfect recipe for such cirumstances:

Spaghettini with Prosciutto, Peas and Arugula.

It comes together in 20 minutes and is just right for good eats after a working momma finishes her day.

My recipe serves one, but you can easily double or quadruple it for the fam.

Spaghettini with Prosciutto, Peas and Arugula
Serves one

4 ounces spaghettini
Olive oil
1 fat scallion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1-2 thin slices of proscuitto, chopped
1/4 cup frozen peas
2 cups arugula
1/4 cup half and half
Pasta water
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmiggiano to taste, grated

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook your pasta as instructed on the package.

In a large saucepan, add olive oil. Heat over medium heat. Add scallions, garlic, red pepper flakes. After 3-4 minutes, add the prosciutto. Raise heat slightly. Saute for five more minutes. Season with pepper and a little bit of salt. (The prosciutto brings saltiness to the game.)

Add half and half and a ladle of pasta water. Add peas. Cook until peas are heated through and the sauce bubbles a bit.

Add pasta and arugula. Toss. Add another ladle of pasta water. You can add a splash of half and half, too, if you desire.

Turn off the heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil.

Top with parmiggiano.

Enjoy with your fave wine, a mindless show and solitude.

Italian Cooking for Stoonads: Aglio e Olio

Last time I made Aglio e Olio it was so outrageously delish I said to self: This should go on the blog.

Then my other self replied: Really, Susan. What jackass doesn't know how to make pasta with a bunch of oil and garlic?

My reply was something like: I never really made Aglio e Olio until adulthood. My moms never made this. Not until reading Lidia Bastianich cookbooks from cover to cover did I really understand what to do. Maybe the people will want this recipe.

Sure, I had seen this classic yet basic dish on menus at Italian restaurants forevs, but I never order pasta with garlic and oil when dining out because it defeats the purpose to me. (When I actually go to a lovely restaurant, I like to get all wild and crazy: Risotto, lamb, lobster. You feel me?)

This is as basic as it gets, I think. Of course, I could be wrong. There is something that happens at just the right moment to make a pasta dish magical. So maybe you do need some instruction on what to do.

In my opinion, the key to success with Aglio e Olio is to use a great olive oil (I love Cento); fresh fresh fresh flat leaf parsley - and a lot of it; and a good amount of the water in which your pasta cooked. And of course, high quality pasta is a must. I always use DeCecco or Barilla and sometimes fiddle around with the high falutin gourmet stuff. But really DeCecco and Barilla are my go-to brands. And cook the pasta to instruction. A timer is your friend, my friends.

Aglio e Olio Spaghettini
Serves 2

1/2 lb. spaghettini or thin spaghetti, preferably DeCecco
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling, preferably Cento
6-8 cloves minced garlic
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Pasta water
To serve: Olive oil and grated parmigiano cheese

In a large pot of salted water, cook your spaghettini to the directions on the box to al dente.

As soon as you add the pasta to the water, add 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil to a large saucepan over medium heat. Immediately add garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook slowly over medium heat. Do not burn the garlic!!

Once the garlic and pepper are fragrant, add two ladles of boiling pasta water to the saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer.

Using a pasta ladle, transfer cooked pasta directly to the simmering garlic sauce in the pan. Toss gently so that the pasta is coated in the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for another minute or two. Add another ladle or two of pasta water. You do not want dry pasta! Drizzle with more olive oil and top with parsley. Toss. Turn off heat. Serve with parmigiano cheese.

Perfection!