Tommaso’s Sinful Delights

This is a great dish to make when you don’t have a lot of time on your hands or just don’t feel like cooking much.  All of these items should be in your pantry already.  The olives and capers give the sauce a nice tang and salty flavour.  Serve with your favorite pasta and a simple salad as a meal or as a side dish. 

Tip:  The trick to making your sauce stick to pasta is adding a little of the pasta water to your sauce.  Pasta water acts as a thickener and your sauce will bind to the noodles better. 

Puttanesca Sauce

2 TBSP Olive Oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup pitted Greek olives, chopped
2 TBSP capers
1 TBSP anchovy paste
1 TBSP Italian seasoning
28 oz tomato puree
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to directions on package. 

Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat in a saute pan.  Saute garlic for 1 minute.  Add olives, capers, anchovy paste and  herbs, and saute for a minute more.  Add tomato puree and simmer for 10 minutes. 

When your pasta is al dente, drain reserving 1/2 of water from the pasta.  Toss pasta and the 1/2 c pasta water in the  sauce.  Stir until pasta is coated.

Serve with fresh parmesaean cheese.

A late family friend who taught me the ins and outs of gourmet cooking always told me, “Good is good.” The saying especially holds true when it comes to the proper cookware.

I read an article in the NYT a year or so ago that went on to say no chef needs to buy über expensive cookware. A $15 frying pan is good enough. I beg to differ with that, especially if you’re not a professional chef. Yes, as some of you know I am a pot snob, but I swear by All-Clad and Le Creuset. The polished stainless steel of All-Clad is certainly beautiful to look at, but it’s also functional. All-Clad is fantastic for sautéing, providing even heat distribution (Farberware doesn’t hold a flame to All-Clad — quite literally.) The All-Clad can be put in the dishwasher too! The less hand washing, the better.

A cast iron skillet and dutch oven are also must-haves for any chef. Le Creuset is a well-made product that will last a lifetime. Some of my Le Creuset dutch ovens that were handed down to me, have been around for decades. A cast iron pot is essential for simmering soups, sauces and for braising as well.

You do pay for what you get. A small investment in the proper cookware will last you a lifetime and will pay for itself in the long run.

Here is a reccomended list of cookware every home chef should have:

1-8qt cast iron stock pot
1-3qt stainless steel saute pan
1-10″ stainless steel frying pan
1-8″ nonstick omlette pan
1-4qt stainless steel sauce pan
1-2qt stainless steel sauce pan

*Note: You don’t have to spend alot and purchase your cookware at luxury kitchen boutiques such as Williams-Sonoma. They can be found at any outlet store and on eBay for much less (nobody has to know!)