Rigatoni Pie

I saw this and wanted to make it with Marcella Hazan's sauce.  I prepared it as per recipe in the link.  It is my favorite sauce for pasta, I think because of the butter.  

Instant Mashed Potato Gnocchi Al Forno

I was inspired to make this from watching the current season of Top Chef.  The world all-star chef won the day with instant mashed tater gnocchi.  I found a recipe here.  I tried once to make Ricotta and Parmigiano-Reggiano Gnocchi that did not work at all.  It turned into a big round blob of cheese while simmering and I haven't tried since...What I used today:

Bucatini Carbonara

I have never made this in life before.  I made this for my son after I talked him out of eating it on vacation.  I owed it to him.  😉

Bami Goreng

I saw Valerie Bertinelli cook this on food t.v. and it looked pretty good so I put it on my "to make" list as I love noodle dishes.  I liked the story of it being Eddie Van Halen's (R.I.P.) favorite dish his mom made and her learning it from Mrs. Van Halen for him.  If you google "bami goreng", there are oodles of variations/recipes on this dish.  Most said chicken and/or shrimp is used, not pork.  I don't know if this is her version or Eddie's moms the way she was taught?  Anyway, I had to make some edits using what I had at home.

Curry Noodle Soup with Popcorn Chicken & Wontons

I love looking at recipes on this site but haven't attempted any of her recipes until tonight as I find them overly complicated.  This one inspired me for dinner because of the curry and my son loves popcorn chicken.  Also, it's been depressingly rainy here, so soup is always appealing in those times.  I edited her recipe for ease and added pork/shrimp wontons to it.  What I used:

Spinach & Three Cheese Cannelloni

I saw "ready to bake" cannelloni shells while shopping so decided to make some.  I can't remember the last time I made this which is the reason I'm blogging it.  We didn't have any mozzarella so I subbed aged Gouda for it.  

Baked Chicken Cacciatore

It was a rainy, miserable day that matched my mood.  I had defrosted some bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and this is what I decided on for dinner.

Pasta alla Formiana

Another summer tomato recipe I decided to try.  This was going to be the side with braised short ribs tonight.  I really don't like pasta dishes where the pasta goes in raw and comes out cooked but I was curious as it's been a long time since I've done it... I chose pasta that looks like a rooster.  I've always wanted to try it and this seemed like the recipe for it.  

Spaghettini allo Scarpariello

Tomato season!!!!  Yay!!!  Yay!!!  I've been eating them every which way this month!  I didn't go to farmer's market today as I still had lots to use from last week's over buying.  I didn't have any more cherry or "sun golds" which is what you're supposed to use for this.  I just used all the super ripe tomatoes I had left.

Spaghettini al Limone (Lemon Pasta)

I was wanting something simple tonight so decided on lemon pasta.  There are a lot of variations of it out there, some with garlic.  I just used what I had on hand and kept it as simple as can be.

Cold Spicy Kimchi Noodles (Bibim Guksu)

Yay!  I actually had company for lunch today with a friend who likes spicy food and also eats healthy.  We ate outside, but this is progress and plenty of time past 2nd vaccines!  I thought I'd make some kind of salad, an upscale salad.  I looked at a lot of different recipes and based mine on this one.  The bold italic text is the sauce (Bibim):

Pasta e Fagioli Soup

I had an Italian boyfriend for a period of time and this title would come up in conversations (probably why I've never made it before, lol).  Anyway, I was craving hamburger soup but instead of my usual, I decided to give this a try.   What I used:

Zha Jiang Mian Chinese Spaghetti

I saw chef Ming Tsai make this on food t.v. (childhood favorites) and I knew I had to give it a go.  My only decision was to use ground pork or "Beyond Beef" meat substitute like he did.  In the end I had a pound of organic ground pork in my freezer so I used it.  Plus a pound of "Beyond Meat" costs almost $11 here!  I wasn't expecting to find fermented beans at my regular grocery store, but I did!  What I used:

BBQ Pork Chow Mein

I love all Asian fried noodle dishes.  I don't make them often as, let's be honest, it's just easier to order in.  Anyhoo, I decided to make chow mein tonight with fingers crossed it turned out good.  I had all these crappy, pricey (from non-Asian grocery stores), unhealthy chow mein noodles in the cupboard and finally settled on one - the one that most reminded me of chow mein from my younger days...  What I used:

Pork Tenderloin Stroganoff

I've made the beef recipe many times and many different ways.  I thought it would be good with nice lean pork (the other white meat, lol).  Tenderloin is like its name "tender" and perfect for this, I thought.  What I used today:

Pizza Pasta (Spaghetti Frittata)

Another frittata so soon after making one last week.  It came to mind with my leftovers and I've always thought it sounded interesting.   We had a wonderful spicy spag dinner with ground pork and hot Italian sausage meat sauce last night.  It was this or grilled cheese spaghetti sandwiches for brunch today.

Broccoli Cheddar Orzotto

I was watching "pandemic food t.v." (which I like because it's REAL, nothing is perfectly clean and mistakes happen like a true kitchen!  We usually only see perfect dishes and clean kitchens on food t.v.).  She made this and it looked yummy.  I decided to try it for next comfort food meal which turned out to be today.  I looked for some meat in my freezer and found some local apple banger sausages, so they went in.  I also had some roast chicken left over, so it joined the party as well.  For my personal take on it I used:

Pasta With Vodka Sauce

This popped up on my news feed and I couldn't stop thinking about it.  I had to make it.  A few weeks ago I ordered this in as a meal kit from a local Italian gourmet deli.  They used penne.  I'm using rigatoni.  Tonight I will compare it to mine.  What I used:

Bajan Macaroni Pie

While visiting Barbados last year, this dish was one of my favorite memories.  Below are pictures I took of it while there.  I decided it was time to make it.  I was able to order in fresh made bucatini from the farmer's market, so gave this a whirl tonight.  It is my understanding that every family has their own take on it, so I did my own too after perusing a few recipes...

Jjapaguri (Ram-don)

Day umpteenthillion in self-isolation.  Can't help feeling like a sitting duck...I have totally abandoned the news and research now except for what sneaks in whether I like it or not.  Just anxiety, panic, fear and sadness, all day, every day.  Anyhooo... I'm trying to start yoga, but apparently need help with my "tight hip flexibility".  Glad I'm by myself doing these exercises so no one can see me.  20 minutes of hip exercises makes me limp around the rest of the day.  😅  Well, exercise is like cooking isn't it?  Practice, practice, practice...