Pasta Recipes

I was amazed to learn of a French Tomato sauce (Sauce Tomat) as a young, CIA students many years ago. It's very different than the Italian sauce my mother made each week for Sunday dinner. I enjoy purchasing cases of inexpensive, local tomatoes in late summer called 'seconds'. These tomatoes are generally ripe, bruised tomatoes which I wash, chop and freeze to invite a taste of summer in my kitchen during the cold, winter months.

One of my first jobs in the restaurant industry was as a dishwasher/pot washer at a local diner. I worked hard to get my cleaning done quickly because the owners were generous enough to teach me how to prep—and eventually cook. I was eager to learn, and they were happy to share their knowledge. The chef–owner’s father, a former Army cook, took particular interest in teaching me to prepare lasagna, and it’s the same foundational recipe I still use today. That early mentorship shaped my approach to cooking and sparked a lifelong appreciation for authentic, classic dishes.

There are many different types of tomato sauce. This recipe is an Italian style sauce from the Vigna family. (my mother's maiden name) and my childhood memory of what tomato sauce or 'Sunday gravy' is. This is a great sauce for macaroni. A classic French Tomato sauce is quite different with a mirepoix, bay leaf & flour-delicious as well. An Italian marinara sauce has anchovies... all are different.

I remember learning to make crepes at the CIA using a small, square of pork fat with a slit cut into the skin for my finger to slide in & hold the fat to oil five crepe pans at a time. I remember being very hot & having very burnt fingers when I was done... but very proud. Crepes a la Reine was the first crepe recipe I learned as a young, CIA student in 1980's... we didn't eat many crepes growing up in New Jersey...