• Render the guanciale. Add the guanciale (or pancetta) to a large skillet and cook it over medium heat for about 10 minutes until it becomes crispy and golden in color. You really want to be patient when doing this and allow the guanciale to fully render in its fat for the most flavor. Then once it’s nice and crispy, transfer the guanciale to a plate, but leave the fat in the skillet. You'll need about 2 tablespoons of fat, if it's too much, scoop some out.

• Boil the pasta. While the guanciale is rendering in the skillet, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Then add the rigatoni and cook till it’s al dente, which is typically about a minute less than the package directions suggest. When the rigatoni is done cooking, reserve 2 cups of the starchy pasta cooking water, and then drain the pasta.

• Start the sauce. Add the freshly ground black pepper to the rendered guanciale fat in the skillet and cook for about a minute. Then add just 1 cup of the reserved pasta water, turn the heat on to high, and bring the mixture to a boil continuing to cook until it reduces by about a half.

• Add the pasta. Add the cooked rigatoni to the skillet. Then toss the pasta together with the rendered fat and pasta water mixture with a wooden spoon adding more of the reserved pasta water if necessary. The rigatoni should be thoroughly coated in the sauce and not dry. 

• Add half of the cheese. Stir half of the finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese into the pasta until it’s fully incorporated into the sauce. You want the sauce to be both creamy and look glossy.

• Add the guanciale. Add the crispy guanciale into the pasta and toss to combine. 

• Finish with cheese and serve. Garnish with the remaining Pecorino cheese and more freshly ground black pepper. Then serve hot and enjoy!

1. Salt the water generously. Do not be afraid to salt your pasta water well. I’m talking like a full rounded tablespoon. Dry noodles don’t have much flavor and salting the water really well helps to season them as they cook.

2. Reserve cooking water. Make sure to reserve the 2 cups of pasta cooking water. The starch in the pasta water works to thicken the sauce and also adds salty savory goodness too along with the guanciale and hard Italian cheese.

3. Quality ingredients matter. It’s important to use higher quality products for the most developed flavor in simple Italian recipes with very few ingredients. So using a nice Pecorino and guanciale will make a difference in the outcome of the dish.

4. Grated cheese works best. Freshly finely grated Romano cheese melts the best when tossed into the pasta sauce.

5. Do not add salt to the sauce. You do not need to add any additional salt to this recipe. Between the salted pasta water, cured meat, and cheese your pasta alla gricia will be well seasoned.

Ingredients

• Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Spray a bundt pan with cooking or baking spray.

• To the bowl of your mixer add sour cream, eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla, Limoncello and lemon zest. Mix on medium until well incorporated.

• In another bowl mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix for about a minute until all the flour is incorporated, do not overmix.

• Pour the cake batter in the prepared bundt pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.

• Bake for about 40 minutes or until golden brown. To test for doneness insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and if it comes out clean it's done.

• Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a rack and let it cool completely.

• Add the ingredients for the glaze to a small bowl and whisk. Add more powdered sugar or Limoncello until smooth. Drizzle Limoncello icing over cake and garnish with lemon zest.

1. What is a good limoncello substitute: Unfortunately there really isn't a great substitute. You could try using a little lemon extract or lemon juice but you will not get the sweetness like you would from limoncello.

2. Nutrition: Nutritional information is per slice, assuming 16 slices per cake. Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Creamy Dressing

• ½ cup Greek yogurt

• ¼ cup mayonnaise

• 2 tablespoon white vinegar

• 1 teaspoon sugar granulated

• ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste

• ½ teaspoon pepper or to taste

Cucumber Salad

• 2 English cucumber seeds removed, sliced

• 1 small red onion sliced thin

• ¼ cup dill fresh, chopped

• ½ cup feta cheese

Instructions

Notes

• 1 white cabbage (about 1kg / 2lbs before trimming)

• 2 carrots

• 2 sticks celery

• 4 scallions

• 1 cup mayonnaise (preferably organic)

• 4 tablespoons buttermilk

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

• ⅔ cup pecan nuts (fairly finely chopped)

• salt (to taste)

• pepper (to taste)

  METHOD

  1. Trim and shred the cabbage, either by hand or with a food processor.

  2. Peel and grate the carrots, and finely slice the celery and scallions.

  3. Whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, maple syrup and vinegar and coat the shredded vegetables with this dressing.

  4. Season, and toss through the chopped nuts.

   

Crust

• 1½ cups pastry flour or all purpose flour

• 1 tbsp brown sugar packed

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup shortening cold and cut in cubes

• ¼ cup butter unsalted, cold and cut in cubes

• 4-6 tablespoons ice water

Filling

• ⅓ cup butter melted

• 1 large egg beaten

• ½ cup brown sugar packed (light or dark)

• ½ cup corn syrup light or dark

• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Optional

• ½ cup raisins

• ½ cup pecans chopped

Instructions

• 20–24 jumbo pasta shells

• 1 lb. ground beef

• 1 medium onion diced

• 3 tablespoons taco seasoning

• ¾ cup water

• 1 cup salsa or salsa style tomatoes

• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

• 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

• 1 (10 ounce) can Rotel tomatoes drained (or diced tomatoes)

• 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper finely minced

• green onion (optional garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9×13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. 

2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook the shells according to package directions and drain well.

3. Meanwhile brown the ground beef over medium-high heat in a large skillet. When it is about halfway through the browning process add the onion and continue cooking until the beef is browned and onions are soft. If needed drain any excess grease from the skillet. 

4. Add the taco seasoning and water to the ground beef mixture.  Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the salsa and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Once cooled stir in half of each cheese. 

5. Spoon the seasoned ground beef mixture into the shells and lay them in a single layer in the prepared dish. Top with the remaining cheese, Rotel tomatoes, and minced jalapeno. Bake covered for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Sprinkle with minced jalapeno or green onion.  For best results serve promptly.  

• For a little more kick substitute minced serrano pepper for the jalapeno. Serrano peppers have a Scoville heat ranking between 5000 to 15000 while jalapenos have a Scoville heat ranking between 2000 to 5000.

• Any kind of tomato is great on top of these shells. I have used fire roasted tomatoes, sliced grape tomatoes, and quartered cherry tomatoes with good success.

• Where gloves when mincing jalapenos or other hot peppers or at the very least do not touch your face and thoroughly wash your hands after handling the peppers. To tame the heat remove the veins and seeds with a spoon.

• Pro Tip – don’t risk dropping the ground beef in the sink to drain the fat. Simply tilt the pan and use a paper towel to absorb the grease.

• Add a few extra shells when boiling the pasta as inevitably some of them will tear.

• Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave at a reduced power.

• Freeze for up to 3 months in a sturdy container.

Ingredients

Tips 

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

Put the rice in a strainer and rinse it. Always do this. Throw the tomato in a food processor and puree it until it is just chunky juice. You should get about a cup. Chop up the onion, carrot, and zucchini into pieces about the size of a dime. Take 2 tablespoons of the chopped onion and put it aside. You will use that shit in a minute.

In a big pot with a lid, heat the olive oil up over a medium heat. Add the big portion of onion and let it cook until it starts soften and get golden in some spots, like 5-7 minutes. Add the carrot, zucchini, oregano, thyme, and paprika. Cook for about 1 minute. Add the rice, pureed tomato, garlic, and broth. Throw in a pinch of salt and bring it all to a boil. Once it is boiling, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to low so it cook at a gentle simmer. Let it go for like 30-40 minutes or until the broth is absorbed and the rice is tender.

While the rice cooks throw the beans, 2 tablespoons of onion from earlier, olive oil, vinegar, and oregano in the dirty food processor and run it until everything looks smooth. It’s cool if there still are some tomato bits in there. Add a little pepper and stir that shit in. Taste and then leave it alone for a bit.

When the rice is done, sherry vinegar, and lemon juice to it. Cover and let that sit for a minute. Taste the rice and add salt, pepper, or more seasoning until it tastes good enough to meet your standards.

Chop the bell peppers in half lengthwise and scrape out all the seeds. They aren’t hot and taste bitter so throw them away. Add a spoonful of the bean mixture inside each pepper and spread that around. Toss any remaining bean spread into the rice pot and stir it around so the rice is extra creamy. Add spoonfuls of the rice to each prepared pepper until it is all nice and packed in. This can absolutely be done the night or morning before. Just stop here and store them in the fridge.

 When you're getting hungry, heat up your grill to a medium-low heat. Spray it down with a little oil so that the peppers don’t stick. Spray the tops of each pepper lightly with oil too so they don’t dry out. Grill the stuffed peppers for about 10-12 minutes. You want the peppers to start to soften and get some good looking grill marks on them. Top with fresh basil, black pepper, and paprika, and serve warm.

* If you don’t have it or the store doesn’t, just leave it out. Not a deal breaker.

** You can use navy, cannellini, whatever kind of creamy bean you got.

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

Warm up your grill to a medium high heat. Throw the garlic cloves from the bulbs, papery skin removed, along with the olive oil and pinch of salt into a food processor and run that shit until it forms a paste. Or use a jar and do it with a fork, up to you. Either way, put the mixture in a jar and set it aside.

In a medium sauté pan warm up the tablespoon of olive oil over a medium heat. Add the panko, stir it around until everything is coated in oil, and keep stirring until it starts to look all toasty and golden brown in there, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the lime and salt, stirring until all that’s combined.

Throw the corn on the grill and brush over the garlic oil mixture. Close the lid and let that roast for 5 minutes on each side, rotating and brushings on more of the oil as you go. When every side has some good-looking char marks, take them off the grill. Sprinkle the toasted bread crumbs over each cob, toss on the cilantro, then shake on a little paprika to make those look legit. Serve right away.

• 1 13.5oz. can full-fat coconut milk 

• 8 oz. fresh spinach 

• 1 yellow onion 

• 2 cloves garlic 

• 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger 

• 2 Tbsp olive oil 

• 2 tsp ground cumin 

• 1 tsp garam masala 

• 1/2 tsp turmeric 

• 1/4¼ tsp cayenne pepper 

• 1 large tomato 

• 1/4 cup water

• 3/4 tsp salt (or to taste) 

• Add the coconut milk and spinach to a large pot. Stir and cook over medium heat until the coconut milk is warmed through and has wilted the spinach. Remove from the heat as soon as the spinach has wilted to avoid over cooking the spinach.

• Transfer the warm coconut milk and spinach to a blender and pulse until the spinach is in small pieces (you can choose to blend until smooth, if you prefer). Set this mixture aside.

• Dice the onion, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to a large skillet along with the olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft (about 5 minutes).

• Add the cumin, garam masala, turmeric, and cayenne to the skillet. Stir and cook the spices with the onion, garlic, and ginger for about two minutes more.

• Dice the tomato and add it to the skillet along with about 1/4 cup water. Stir and cook the tomato with the other ingredients, dissolving any browned bits off the bottom of the skillet, until the tomato has broken down (5-8 minutes).

• Finally, add the coconut and spinach mixture to the skillet and stir to combine. Allow the mixture to heat through, stirring occasionally.

• Taste the creamed spinach and add salt to taste. Start with 1/4 tsp, adding more as needed until the flavors pop (I added 3/4 tsp). 

• You will need a mixer with paddle and mixing bowl.

• 4 slices white bread 

• ¾ cup soft butter 

• ¼ cup Grana Padano cheese 

• ¼ cup Swiss cheese 

• 1 cup yellow Cheddar cheese 

• ¼ teaspoon fine ground white pepper 

• 1 tsp (5 mL) Worcestershire sauce 

1. Set your broiler to high 

2. Whip butter in mixer. 

3. Add Grana Padano, Swiss, and Cheddar cheeses, white pepper and Worcestershire sauce into butter mix. 

4. Mix until all well blended and you reach a spreadable texture. 

5. With broiler on high, lightly toast one side of bread. 

6. Remove bread and allow to cool to room temperature. 

7. Evenly spread the cheese mix on the four slices of bread on untoasted side. 

8. Place under broiler until golden brown. 

9. Remove, slice, and eat immediately.