Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
8-16 ounces sweet Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled
6 sundried tomato halves, thinly sliced
5 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup dry white wine
16-18 ounces flat pasta noodles such as fettucine, fresh or dried
12 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

Instructions
1. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, and add 2 tablespoons of salt.

2. If using dried pasta, drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until tender.  Drain the pasta.  If using fresh pasta, cook when finished with step 3.  

3. Meanwhile, in a 10- to 12-inch sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot. Add the garlic and cook until light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the sausage and sundried tomatoes and cook, stirring, until the sausage is cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain the fat from the pan, then stir in the tomato paste and wine and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

4. If using fresh pasta, drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until tender. Drain the pasta.  

5. Add the pasta to the pan with the sundried tomatoes. Return to the heat, toss in the basil, and stir gently for about 30 seconds. Serve immediately.



Comments
This recipe comes from one of Mario Batali’s books.  If I had to guess, I’d guess that I found it in Molto Italiano.  While many of his recipes call for ingredients I just can’t find, every recipe of his that I have made has been amazing.  This one is no different.  When I saw the name of it I knew, immediately, that I had to make it since it contains all of Art’s most favorite ingredients.  All in one dish!  How perfect is that?  

As expected, this has turned out to be one of Art’s favorite dishes and one that he requests on a somewhat regular basis.  (In this house, regular means 1-2 times a year when it comes to food.)  I made it this time with plum tomatoes that I’d roasted in the oven to dry out, just to see how it would work.  If you use sundried tomatoes, they’ll be much more visible in the dish.  The oven-roasted tomatoes worked perfectly in terms of flavor!

Shown here with Grilled Eggplant.

Ingredients
1 pound pasta (I use orecchiette or shells)
1 cup frozen peas
12 ounces center-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 large eggs
6 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated (About 2 cups)
3-6 cloves garlic, minced
Salt
Ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pasta as directed on package.  Place frozen peas in colander and drain pasta over the peas to thaw.  

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add bacon.  Stirring occasionally, cook until crisp.  Drain bacon and return to skillet.  

3. Add white wine to skillet and simmer until the wine is mostly reduced, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.  

4. Meanwhile, crack eggs into a bowl and whisk well.  Stir in cheese and garlic.  

5. Add hot pasta and peas to the egg mixture and stir well until the pasta is coated, the egg is cooked, and everything is evenly mixed.  Then add the bacon mixture and season with salt and pepper.  



Comments
I’m not sure where the original inspiration for this method came from.  I went through a phase where I was trying to find the perfect carbonara and would make a new recipe every week.  I tried baked carbonaras and stovetop ones like this, and this was the winner after months of trials.  I like that the garlic isn’t cooked so it’s nice and flavorful.  

I make this with orecchiette because I like to be able to stir pasta dishes that are sauced prior to serving.  I also like the way the orecchiette cups the peas and other ingredients.  

Shown here with Filet Mignon with Balsamic Syrup and Goat Cheese.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups orzo (about 9 ounces)
1/4 cup olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
1 15- to 15 1/2-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed, drained (Feel free to use a larger size can if you are a lover of chickpeas)
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
5 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)

Instructions
1. Cook orzo in large saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender, stirring occasionally. Drain orzo.

2. Whisk olive oil, fresh lemon zest and juice, and minced garlic to blend in large serving bowl. Add drained garbanzo beans, cooked orzo, and chopped fresh oregano; toss salad to coat. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper. Gently stir in crumbled goat cheese. Serve orzo salad warm or at room temperature.



Comments
This recipe is adapted from Epicurious.com.  The original recipe calls for 15 ounces of goat cheese which I’m pretty sure is a typo for “one five-ounce” log of goat cheese.  Quite a difference between 5 and 15 ounces!  I really enjoyed this dish and I’d happily make it again in the future.  The flavor was great and all the flavors came together wonderfully.  

Shown here with Roast Lamb.

Ingredients
10 ounces orecchiette (little ear-shaped pasta; about 3 cups uncooked)
1 pound small tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on size
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, minced
1 pound fresh mozzarella, diced into pea-sized pieces

Instructions
1. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain and return pasta to pot.

2. Meanwhile, mix remaining ingredients except for mozzarella.  Add pasta, stir to evenly distribute and then add cheese.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve.  



Comments
This is based on a recipe from Epicurious.com.  I’ve found that it is important to add fresh mozzarella after some of the heat from the pasta has had a chance to dissipate into the tomatoes and other sauce ingredients, otherwise the mozzarella will all melt and clump together and all of your pretty dicing efforts will be lost.  That’s what the original recipe instructed, and I did, so the mozz in this picture had to be taken back out of the pasta, rediced, and stirred back in once the pasta had cooled a tidge.  Learn from my mistakes and add the cheese last :)

I used beautiful orange tomatoes that are about 2 inches in diameter, so I eighthed them.  You want your tomato pieces to be about the same size as the orecchiette.  

Shown here with Mom’s Chicken.

Ingredients
2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped (about 3 medium)
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 pound pasta shells, cooked and hot
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Instructions
1. Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Immediately add freshly cooked pasta and lemon juice. Toss well. Season generously with pepper and serve immediately.



Comments
This recipe is from Epicurious.com.  If you forget the garlic, like I did, it will still be delicious.  It makes quite a lot and works as a cold pasta salad quite well also.  I used 4 tomatoes, 2 yellow and 2 purplish.  We all had seconds. Cold leftovers the next few days were also fantastic and I've modified the recipe to include the lemon juice I added.  It definitely enhanced the dish.

Shown with Baked Pesto Chicken.