• 1 cup of milk
• 1.5 tbsp. of butter
• 1.5 tbsp. of all-purpose white flour
• 3 tbsp. of grated or ground Parmesan cheese
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• Kosher salt and pepper to taste
• Freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
• Fresh pasta

1 tin diced tomatoes (28 fl. oz/796 ml)
1 tin crushed tomatoes (14 fl. oz/398 ml)
1 tbsp. double concentrate tomato paste
1 onion
garlic (2-3 very large cloves)
1 oxo
1/2 pint red wine
italian seasoning (basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme)

3 tbsp. cooking oil
1 onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/2 pound cured chorizo or other spicy hard sausage, casings removed and sausage cut into thin slices
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 pound cavatappii (or other fun pasta shape)
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

In a large frying pan, heat the oil over moderately low heat.  Add the onion and saute until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the garlic, oregano and chili powder and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add the chorizo, tomato paste and broth to the pan and stir.  Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.  Add the black beans, the lime juice, and the salt and remove the pan from the heat.

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the cavatappi until just done, about 13 minutes.  Drain; toss with the sauce and parsley.

1. Saute onion in oil, add ground meat and brown
2. Drain ground meat of any excess oil
3. Add 1 bottle of pasta sauce and one can of tomato sauce, and oregano
4. Beat an egg, put in container of ricotta cheese, pepper
5. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes

LAYER:
meat mixture
noodles
ricotta
meat
mozzarella
noodles
ricotta
meat
mozzarella

• 1 pound dry spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 ounces pancetta or slab bacon, cubed or sliced into small strips
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the spaghetti will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs in the sauce.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet firm (as they say in Italian “al dente.”) Drain the pasta well, reserving 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you wish.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Add the pancetta and saute for about 3 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered. Toss the garlic into the fat and saute for less than 1 minute to soften.

Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss for 2 minutes to coat the strands in the bacon fat. Beat the eggs and Parmesan together in a mixing bowl, stirring well to prevent lumps. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble (this is done off the heat to ensure this does not happen.) Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency. Season the carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt. Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley. Pass more cheese around the table.

• 2  cloves garlic, minced

• 3/4  teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes; more to taste

• 2  tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1  28 ounce can diced tomatoes

• 3  tablespoons vodka

• 1/2  cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

• 1/4  cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

• 3  tablespoons heavy cream

• 1/2  teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 3/4  pound rigatoni (about 4 cups)

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the garlic and red pepper flakes in the oil until they’re fragrant and sizzle steadily for about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and their juices and the vodka, and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to a steady simmer, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and cook to intensify the flavors and reduce the sauce slightly (by about one-quarter), 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Puree the tomatoes using a hand blender or a regular blender. If you used a regular blender to puree, return the sauce to the saucepan. Stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmigiano, the parsley, cream, salt and pepper, and more red pepper flakes if you like. Simmer to incorporate the cream and reduce the sauce slightly, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and keep warm.

4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta, stirring occasionally, until it’s just tender to the tooth, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain well and return the pasta to its pot. Add the sauce, set the pot over medium heat, and cook, stirring, to let the pasta absorb some of the sauce, 1 minute. Serve immediately with a sprinkled with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmigiano.

2 cups baby spinach (packed)
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour

Wash the spinach. Do not dry. Transfer it into the pan all together with the water on the leaves. Cook for about 5 minutes.  Then transfer into the blender and blend. Add eggs and salt and blend it all together.

Transfer this mixture into a larger mixing bowl and add flour. Mix together with a spoon, and as the dough thickens use your hands. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes. Noodle dough is supposed to be very hard. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest of about 20 minutes.

 
Using a dough scraper or a knife, split the dough into about 10 parts. Do not try to tear it. Set your pasta maker to the widest setting. Feed the first part of the dough through slowly. Fold it and feed it again at the same setting. Reduce the setting and feed once. Repeat this process of reducing the settings and feeding the dough through until you reach desired thickness. Form my experience, the best thickness is to go about half way through (I have 7 settings, 7 being the widest, and I stop at 4).