Italian - Page 2 of 5 - How To Cook Like Your Grandmother

How To Make Sloppy Giuseppe

February 18, 2010 (Updated March 23, 2014) by Drew Kime

Dinner, Pork Italian, recipe card, Undieting

Sloppy Joe is is a classic what's-in-the-fridge kind of meal. "Let's see ... I've got ground beef, onion, green pepper, and some leftover tomato sauce. I know! I'll throw it all together, add some spices, heat it up and put it on white bread." You do realize that's mostly what's in those cans of Manwich, right? Well, that and a bunch of corn syrup. And guar gum to thicken it up because it's mostly water. So I got to thinking: How would this come out if I were looking in someone else's fridge, … [Read more...]

How To Make Gnocchi

January 28, 2010 (Updated March 23, 2014) by Drew Kime

Dinner, Pasta Italian, recipe card

Gnocchi is a tough one. Starting with how to pronounce it: NYO-kee, like the "ny" sound from "canyon" but with a long "o" sound after. Then is the texture: light and fluffy in the mouth, but settles really heavy in the stomach if you eat too much. (My father-in-law -- both parents Italian immigrants -- said when he was growing up they called gnocchi "sinkers".) The secret, I've decided, is to remember that they are, after all, mostly potatoes. Would you eat a plate full of mashed potatoes as … [Read more...]

How To Make Tomato Pie

September 21, 2009 (Updated March 24, 2014) by Drew Kime

Dinner Italian

I've heard some people use the phrase "tomato pie" to talk about pizza. Makes sense, but that's not what I'm talking about here. This is a pie crust filled with tomatoes, the way you'd do an apple pie. But it's got a topping sort of like a quiche. And you won't believe what it's made of. … [Read more...]

How To Make Your Perfect Lasagna

September 15, 2009 (Updated March 23, 2014) by Drew Kime

Dinner, Pasta Italian

Look around and it's not hard to find people claiming to have the perfect lasagna recipe. The problem with that is we're all different. Some people like spicy sausage, some like mild. Some like a hint of garlic, others want to keep tasting it for three days after. Saying you've got the "perfect lasagna" is like saying you've got the "perfect ice-cream". It just doesn't work that way. (Unless you're talking about Baskin Robbins' Rocky Road. That's the perfect ice-cream. But I'm ruining my … [Read more...]

How To Make Personal Calzones

February 16, 2009 (Updated March 23, 2014) by Drew Kime

Dinner Italian

Take-out calzones tend to be doughy and light on the fillings. I like making my own so I can flip that around and load them up with as much as they’ll hold.

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