Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Pasta Crock: The Louder, the Better

A baked red-sauce and cheese pasta dish with a thick crunch and béchamel sauce. Typical kid foods are composed of simple and delicious flavors, which is why I think you might be fibbing if you said there wasn’t something off the kid’s menu that you occasionally crave. Mine is Pasta […]

Sauces, Dressings, and Condiments

Pistou

Makes about 3/4 cup Pistou is the subtly different French version of pesto, the fragrant Italian herb paste. While pesto typically includes nuts, pistou may or may not. The key ingredients for both are basil, olive oil, garlic, and cheese. In fact, the first version of pistou was essentially a […]

Main Dishes

Pizza Margherita

Makes three 12-inch pizzas If you don’t have yeast on hand (or the motivation to make the dough!), we bet your local pizza restaurant would be happy to sell you some to-go dough. Set out toppings for a fun make-your-own pizza activity to help beat cabin fever.

Main Dishes

Polenta with Sausage Sauce

Serves 4 Dried mushrooms are great for adding richness and savoriness, but they can be a little pricey. As an alternative, look for bulk mushroom powder (you’ll just need a pinch) or you can omit them altogether. For a dairy-free version of the polenta, use olive oil instead of butter […]

Main Dishes

Potato Gnocchi

Makes 1 1/2 lb dough Cooking and drying your potatoes properly, and mixing in just the right amount of flour, is the key to success. While you are just learning to make these dumplings, we strongly suggest that you prepare a couple of test gnocchi first so that yours won’t […]