In honor of next week's release of Michelle Obama's cookbook, American Grown, we baked up something sweet, and now we're onto another one of America's favorite comfort foods, mac and cheese. I was initially a little wary of this version because it didn't call for making a roux, which gives most mac and cheese recipes that creamy, hearty texture. In the first lady's recipe, you simply stir Read more

For reasons that are beyond my control, the other day I found myself faced with a pile of colorful vegetables that were too beautiful and flavorful to go unused. Not wanting to be wasteful (it is Eco Month, after all), I decided to keep things straightforward and cook everything together with some white wine and fresh herbs, and mix it with some penne pasta. The flavor of the bell peppers is Read more

Just because you're short on time doesn't mean you shouldn't make your own pasta sauce! This quick and spicy bacon-tomato pasta sauce is chock-full of flavor and takes only about a half hour to make. I had applewood smoked bacon on hand, but next time, I will use pepper bacon to add a little more complexity to the dish. To really heat things up, I used two jalapenos with no seeds — feel free to Read more

After a very late night the evening before, we were kicking ourselves for signing up for a Bertolli demo with Fabio Viviani at 9 a.m. the next day. But he greeted us with coffee (scratch that — cappuccinos!), and gave us a warm Italian welcome (you'd have never known that he'd gone to bed at 4:30 a.m.). "I'm not famous enough to have my own party in South Beach, but I do like to cook," Fabio Read more

While in Miami, we had the chance to nurse our hangovers, Italian style. Chef Fabio Viviani's Bertolli demo was filled with laughs, mispronunciations, and homemade, fresh fettuccine. All in all, it was great fun, and we were surprised to learn that making pasta at home doesn't have to be the headache that it's made out to be. With a food processor, a pasta press, and a few staple ingredients, Read more

There are some commonplace Italian pasta recipes that are so simple yet stunning that I'll find myself on a streak of making them two, three, six times a month. Spaghetti cacio e pepe falls under this category. So do pasta carbonara and spaghetti aglio e olio. But after years of making these dishes, I didn't think there were many more minimalist pasta combinations to discover. Then I stumbled Read more

Nothing warms the soul more than a comforting bowl of pasta, especially when it is covered in a creamy brie sauce and topped with mushrooms, onions, and spinach. Already, this dish is a fast and easy dinner, and I shaved off even more time by using the quick-cooking angel hair pasta, but any pasta variety will do; just pick your favorite. Quickly dice the mushrooms and onions to get them Read more

Sea urchin is often a polarizing ingredient. Yoo Eatz encourages us to muster some courage and embrace this culinary adventure in the form of pasta. What's so gross about sea urchin? Even some of the most adventurous eaters I know will make the most horrific faces when the topic comes up. I asked my husband about this — he generally recoils when I suggest that we share a pair of nigiri at the Read more