Pasta Arrabiata

I can't talk about arrabiata pasta without telling you about Sergio, the guy who taught me what arrabiata means in Italian.

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Italian Chicken Sausage, Mushroom & Tomato Pasta

This Italian Chicken Sausage & Mushroom Pasta features two of my favorite shortcut ingredients to use when making quick dinner recipes--chicken sausages and flavor-packed mushrooms!

I recently told you about how much I love keeping a few packages of chicken sausages in my refrigerator because they make it possible for me to get dinner on the table in minutes. I partnered with Al Fresco this season to share a few easy dinner (or really anytime!) recipes like these Andouille Chicken Sausage Tacos with Mango Pineapple Salsa. 

Today it's all about an easy pasta dinner!

You already know that pasta is a crowd-pleasing lifesaver, but sometimes it can get a little overwhelming figuring out how to keep it interesting. Sure you can open up a jar of your favorite sauce and call it a day (and I do that a lot!), but this time of year, I love to take advantage of all the gorgeous fresh produce and whip up a fresh sauce that is loaded up with veggies and healthy proteins. It might seem complicated, but I promise that it's not.

One of the ways to keep things moving quickly is to start off with Al Fresco Italian Chicken Sausage. It's already fully cooked, which means you just have to slice it and heat it up in the pan along with a few other ingredients. Because the chicken sausage is also fully seasoned with incredible herbs and spices, it adds way more flavor to your dish than you would need by starting with raw chicken breasts or thighs.

My best tip is to start your sauce while waiting for your pasta water to boil. By the time the pasta is ready, the sauce will be too, so you just combine and serve!!

For this easy pasta recipe, I used mushroom, onions, a few handfuls of fresh cherry tomatoes, and some fresh herbs mixed in at the end. Mushrooms add tons of flavor as they cook down, and there are few things better than ripe summer tomatoes!

Like with all my recipes, I'd love for you to make this one your own. Swap in or add your own favorite vegetables (maybe zucchini or a handful of spinach?) or choose a different chicken sausage flavor (Roasted Pepper Asiago is another one of my favorites!).

There's really no way to go wrong with a simple staple recipe like this one!

****This post was sponsored by Al Fresco. As always, all recipes and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands like Al Fresco who make it possible for me to keep creating more great content for you!

Italian Chicken Sausage, Mushroom & Tomato Pasta
Serves 6

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 pound small to medium dry pasta (such as bowties, penne, rotini, etc.)
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons Olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 pound button or baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, grated or crurshed
1 package Al Fresco Sweet Italian Style Chicken Sausage, sliced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions 
Bring 1 gallon of water to a rolling ball. Season boiling water with 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt. Once water is boiling, add the pasta and cook 1 minute less than package directions.

While the water boils and pasta cooks, start the sauce. Heat olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and mushrooms, season with a pinch of kosher salt, and let cook 3-5 minutes until they start to soften and reduce.

Add the garlic and sliced chicken sausage and continue to cook, about 10 minutes until the mushrooms are fully cooked and the sausage as browned slightly on the sides. Add halved tomatoes, broth, oregano, and red pepper flakes.

Drain the pasta, reserving one cup of pasta water. Add the cooked drained pasta to the sauce and continue to cook until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 2-3 more minutes. (If sauce is too dry, add a 1/4 cup or so of reserved pasta water to loosen it.)

Remove from heat and stir in parsley and cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper as need.

Serve immediately.

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Chunky Marinara Sauce

I made this super easy Chunky Marinara Sauce recipe on TODAY Show last week with Kathie Lee and Hoda, and figured I'd share the recipe here, too. It was a segment about "cooking with kids," and I brought my friend Vicki's daughter Lexi along to make some fun dishes with me!

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Pasta with Spanish-Style Garlic Shrimp (Gambas al Ajillo)

Eugene and I recently spent a few days in southern Italy, eating our way around Naples and the Amalfi Coast. Though I lived and studied in Tuscany when I was in my early 20s, this was the first time I’d been back to the country in 10 years, and it made me so happy to experience a bit of that beautiful life again. 

In Naples we stayed by the water, looking out at the Mediterranean Sea with the island of Capri seemingly close enough to reach by swimming. Though known for their pizza, Naples also does seafood and pasta incredibly well, and the two were all I wanted to eat while there.

I love how Italians eat pasta. It's a staple of the Mediterranean diet, and they serve it with seafood and seasonal veggies and the rich flavors of good local oil and garlic, producing beautifully balanced meals that are as nutritious as they are satisfying.

Another common theme within their dishes is simplicity. A plate of pasta with clams, for example, is essentially that—perfectly cooked pasta tossed with simply cooked clams, good oil, and a few seasonings. Ordered, cooked, and served within minutes because there is nothing complicated or time-consuming about it.

It reminded me a lot of a dish I ate often while growing up. Gambas al ajillo, or Spanish-style garlic shrimp, has long been one of my family’s favorite dishes. It’s a classic tapas recipe, originally from Spain, which can often be found as an appetizer at most Spanish restaurants.

We often ordered a few dishes of it to share before a meal, quickly eating the sweet and slightly spicy shrimp before getting to the good part—the hot and super garlicky olive oil at the bottom of the dish.

(This is where we battled over each other to dip in chunks of bread, trying to grab every last bit of it.)

Like the pasta in Italy, it’s one of those Latin recipes where the simplicity is part of the appeal. There are really only a handful of ingredients—garlic, oil, shrimp, and a few seasonings—but the final dish is so much more than the sum of its parts.

Back home and craving pasta again, I decided to bring the two together; uniting the pasta and style of cooking I’d loved in Naples, with the flavors of my childhood, for a Latin-Italian fusion that satisfied all those yearnings.

For this recipe, I used a box of Ziti from Barilla, with whom I’ve partnered to create a new recipe inspired by Latin flavors. Barilla boxes fill my cabinets even when we aren’t working together, and they’re forever my go-to for quality pasta that cooks up perfectly and doesn’t stick, and generally just makes my life easier.  

Barilla recently introduced Latino Italian Fusion, which is all about combining two family favorites--Latin flavors and spices with traditional Italian ingredients. It's exactly the way I love to cook, and so I'm excited to be able to work with them again on this!

One of the (many) things I love about this dish is how quickly it comes together. You infuse the garlic oil and cook the shrimp while the pasta boils and then bring it all together in a single pan. The whole thing takes about 20 - 25 minutes and only uses a few ingredients, but it’s packed with flavor. (Your house will smell amazing, too.)

This recipe serves 8, which is perfect if you have a big family, or you can save the leftovers to enjoy for lunch or another meal. One of my favorite tips for portioning out pasta is to remember that a typical serving is about the size of a baseball (click here for more perfect pasta cooking tips).

I hope you’ll give this recipe a try, and then perhaps get inspired to try to pull in some of your own favorite traditional flavors to create something new for your own family. Recipes don’t have to be complicated to be good, and that’s perhaps the best lesson of all!

For more easy pasta recipes, visit Barilla.com. This is a sponsored post written as part of a partnership with Barilla, however, the recipes and opinions are entirely my own.  

Pasta with Spanish-Style Garlic Shrimp (Gambas al Ajillo)
Bring together Spanish flavors with Italian technique to create an easy pasta dinner recipe that will satisfy the whole family.

Serves: 8

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
1 pound Barilla ziti or other small pasta (penne, orecchiette, mezzi rigatoni, etc.)
Kosher salt
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 large garlic cloves, smashed and minced
1 teaspoon red chile flakes + more for garnish
2 large garlic cloves, sliced (this is in addition to minced garlic above)
2 pounds extra-large shrimp, cleaned with tails and shells removed and reserved (you will use these in the recipe)
Zest and juice of 1 whole lemon

Directions
Bring a large pot filled with 4 quarts of water to boil, and season generously with salt. Cook pasta 2 minutes less than noted on the box.

While the pasta cooks, heat 1/2 cup olive oil over low heat in a large heavy saucepan or skillet. Add the smashed garlic, chile flakes, and reserved shrimp shells and/or tails. Cook gently on the lowest heat for about 5-7 minutes to infuse the oil with flavor. Remove from heat, strain out and discard garlic and shells, and return flavored oil to pan.

Add shrimp and sliced garlic to oil and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until shrimp are mostly pink. When pasta is ready, drain and add along with, lemon juice and zest. Season with a pinch of salt and some black pepper. Toss well to coat, and continue to cook 1-2 more minutes or until shrimp are full cooked.

Remove from heat and taste. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper, as needed. Serve immediately garnished with a bit more chile flakes on top, if desired. 

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Papardelle with Pork & Pumpkin Ragu

This Papardelle with Pork & Pumpkin Ragu was born because, upon getting home from Italy a couple weeks ago, I promptly found myself daydreaming about pasta.

The truth is, I don't actually feel like I ate enough of it while I was there. Before our trip, I had fantasies of long lunches in the sun with multiple courses and glasses of wine, followed by lazy walks through ancient cobblestone streets, afternoon naps, and equally lush dinners.

We only had about four and a half days in Italy--a brief detour at the tail end of a two-week trip spent primarily in Greece, but I figured it would still be enough time...

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Penne with Zucchini and Yogurt Cream Sauce

After a long weekend away, we came back home to an empty fridge and (on my part) not much motivation to cook. Summer weekends tend to do that--a couple days of waking up with the sun on the beach and going from one restaurant or cafe to another zaps me of all desire to operate in a normal routine.

Can't life be like vacation always? (Or at least all summer?)

On days like this, my go-to is pasta, and this easy dish of Penne with Zucchini and Yogurt Cream Sauce can be made with the kind of ingredients you might be likely to have hanging around in your pantry or fridge: yogurt, spices, and some kind of vegetable (zucchini in this case, but honestly anything you have would work--roasted butternut squash, broccoli, frozen peas or corn, bell peppers, etc.).

The base of the sauce is yogurt, which is stirred into the hot pasta, creating a light, but creamy, sauce with just a tiny bit of tang.

It's a simple, but satisfying dish that's perfect for those days when you need to keep things easy.

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Loved this Penne with Zucchini and Yogurt Cream Sauce recipe? Here are three other easy pasta recipes you might like:

• Chimichurri Pasta Salad
• Rigatoni with Chorizo and Spicy Chipotle Cream Sauce
• Creamy Avocado Mint Pasta

And let's connect so you can find out the next time I post! Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates.

Thanks so much for reading!

Penne with Zucchini and Yogurt Cream Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 pound penne pasta
Olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 large zucchini, diced
3 large garlic cloves, sliced
1 1/2 cups thick Greek-style yogurt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 cup grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions
Prepare pasta according to box directions.

While pasta cooks, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the onions. Saute 1 minute, then add the zucchini and garlic, and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until slightly tender.

Drain the pasta and return to pot (remove from heat). Add the cooked zucchini and onions, along with the yogurt, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano. Stir well to coat, then add the grated cheese and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Garnish with red chile flakes, if desired.

Serve immediately.

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Spicy Mexican Mole Baked Ziti

Well, it’s officially freezing here in NYC!

I’ve been spending my days layered up in leggings, sweaters, fuzzy socks and booties, even the occasional blanket-worn-as-a-shawl!

Very stylish, I can assure you.

The other thing I do to stay warm is look for any and every excuse to turn on the oven. Cake? Let’s do it! Reheat leftovers? Into the oven! Toast? Why not! I’ve been baking desserts, braising meats, broiling fish—really just about everything.

And since I knew I had to create another easy Latin-inspired dinner recipe for my sponsored Barilla partnership, I figured it was about time for a rich and comforting baked pasta dish. Hence, this gorgeous Spicy Mexican Mole Baked Ziti!

So much Latin-Italian fusion going on here.

Growing up in northern New Jersey, I ate a LOT of baked ziti. It was the ultimate cozy dish for cold winter nights, and a total crowd-pleasing recipe.

This is one of those Sunday dinner kind of recipes, when the whole family is over and you’ve got lots of hungry mouths to feed. The leftovers are amazing, too, making busy Monday and Tuesday just a little bit easier on you.

I added a bunch of Latin flavor to a traditional baked ziti recipe, by using a spicy, flavorful Mexican red mole sauce.

Mole is actually a name for several different kinds of Mexican sauces made from a mix of ground roasted chiles, tomatoes, chocolate, and spices. It’s rich, smoky, spicy, and full of complex flavor. Traditionally, making mole meant hours in the kitchen of roasting and grinding.

Now while I actually did make mine from scratch, you could easily use a good store-bought sauce—there are so many great ones available today so there is no need to spend hours in the kitchen like Abuela used to. Look for it in the Latin aisle of well-stocked grocery stores, or even online.

Mixed with regular old canned crushed tomatoes and a bit of chipotle adobo sauce (also easily found at the grocery store), it creates the most amazing smoky pasta sauce ever. It’s a really cool way to infuse a little bit of classic Latin tradition into your everyday.

For the cheese, I used ricotta cheese and shredded queso Oaxaca, which is a Mexican cheese that’s very similar in taste and texture to mozzarella.

I used Barilla Ziti for this recipe for obvious reasons (this is baked ziti, after all), but you could easily substitute your favorite Barilla pasta shape. Something like penne or rigatoni would work well, too.

Whichever shape you choose, I think Barilla's pasta is particularly perfect for baked dishes like this one because the quality is such that it really holds its shape once cooked, and doesn't break up or get all clumpy.

When making baked pasta dishes, it’s really important to undercook the pasta to avoid getting mushy pasta after the additional bake time. Even al dente is a bit too much in this case!

I recommend cooking the Barilla ziti for about 8 minutes, then immediately draining and rinsing under cold water to stop the cooking. When you put it in the oven to bake, it will finish cooking and your final dish will come out absolutely perfect!

Just 45 minutes in the oven until super bubbly and melty, and you will have an amazingly easy dinner to serve the whole family.

For more easy pasta recipes with Latin flavors, visit pastaatuestilo.com. This is a sponsored post on behalf of Barilla, however, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive sentiments towards Barilla or their products. I only work with companies that I genuinely use and love. Thanks to them--and you!--for making all this possible.

Mexican Mole Baked Ziti
Serves 8-10 

Ingredients 
1 box Barilla Ziti pasta (or other small tube shape like penne)
Kosher salt
Olive oil
1 pound button mushrooms, sliced
2 cups Mexican red mole sauce (store-bought or homemade)
2 cups crushed tomatoes
3 tablespoons chipotle adobo sauce
1 pound ricotta cheese
1 pound queso Oaxaca or mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions 
Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil. Cook the ziti for 8 minutes, or until just slightly harder than al dente. Drain, rinse under cold water, and toss with olive oil. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet set over medium heat and sauté the mushrooms until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Whisk together the red mole sauce and the crushed tomatoes. Add all but 1 cup of the mole-tomato mixture to the pasta, and toss gently to coat.

Add the ricotta, the adobo sauce, and 3/4 of the shredded cheese (reserving the rest), and the cooled cooked mushrooms. Fold in gently until evenly mixed.

Pour pasta into a baking dish, cover with the remaining mole-tomato sauce and top with the remaining shredded cheese.

Bake for 45 minutes or until bubbling.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.

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Creamy Avocado Mint Pasta

I have thrown away far too many overripe avocados in my life. I feel bad about this, but it happens. I've come to terms with it. Just like retail outlets build a theft loss into their budgets, I build in an avocado loss.

Because the thing with avocados is that they exist on their own schedule. You can't rush them, and when they're ready, you'd better be freaking ready, too.

It's like giving birth.

(I'm assuming based on things I've seen on television.)

I eat avocado almost every single day. I've recently fallen in love with these little avocados called Gator Eggs. They're small--about half the size of a regular Hass avocado, and the perfect little single serving. They sell them in packs of six, and usually ripen beautifully one or two at a time, so I can get through a whole week of them.

But this week, the alligator eggs were *not* cooperating. I was waiting and waiting and waiting, but they were all rock hard, until suddenly they were all ready. All of them. AT THE SAME TIME!

And I panicked because it was late and I needed a quick way to use them all up. I knew that even waiting until morning could be too long. [Again...like childbirth? Maybe? I probably should stop with this analogy I know nothing about.]

Anyway, this pasta. A creamy sauce with hints of fresh mint and spice from garlic and red chiles. Eugene loved this stuff. He called it guacamole pasta, but I think the mint makes it less guacamole-ish than actual guacamole.

It's creamy, it's dairy-free, and it's very, very good.

Give it a try soon, because time and tide and avocados and babies-about-to-be-born [I assume] wait for no [wo]man.

Disclaimer: please note that despite all the childbirth references above, the only thing I'm pregnant with is ideas.

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Love Always Order Dessert? Let's connect! Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading!   

Creamy Avocado Mint Pasta
Serves 2-4

Ingredients
1/2 pound small shaped pasta (such as penne or orrechiette)
2 ripe avocados
3/4 cup fresh mint leaves, rinsed and patted dry
2 large cloves garlic, peeled
1 large lime, juiced
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes (optional)
Kosher salt to taste

Directions
Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil, and cook pasta according to package timing for "al dente."

While the pasta cooks, prepare the sauce: In a food processor or blender, combine the avocados, mint, garlic, lime juice, olive oil, water, and chile flakes, if using. Puree until very smooth, adding a tiny bit more warm water a tablespoon at a time if it is too thick. You're looking for a sauce with the consistency of a loose mayonnaise.

Season with kosher salt and puree again to combine evenly.

Add the sauce to the cooked and drained hot pasta and toss to coat. Divide into plates and garnish with a bit of fresh mint and a pinch of chile flakes.

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Chimichurri Pasta Salad

Chimichurri--the savory, spicy herb sauce from Argentina--is one of my absolute favorite condiments. Typically served with churrasco or other grilled steaks, it's also fantastic used in other dishes as a spread or sauce. In this pasta salad recipe, easy homemade chimichurri takes the place of pesto for a light dish that's perfect on its own or as a side with your favorite protein.

This is the second out of three Latin pasta recipes I'm creating for Barilla this Fall, and it's one that I think will work well all year long. Enjoy it warm or room temperature in the cool months, and serve it as a cold pasta salad when the weather heats up again. It's perfect for those days when you're looking for a quick and creative alternative to rice or the other usual side dishes

The trick to make this dish sensational is to make the chimichurri from scratch--a super simple process (you really just need a blender or a food processor and about 2 minutes!) that really makes all the difference as it allows you to control the ingredients and adjust the seasoning so that it is perfect for your family.

Do they love spice? Feel free to pump up the red pepper flakes. Or play around with the herbs you know your family loves.

While traditional chimichurri is made with just parsley, I like to add cilantro to brighten up the dish. If you're not a fan, you can just skip it and use all parsley (or replace it with another favorite herb like basil or mint!).

I love using Barilla® Plus® multigrain Elbows for this dish. They're 44% higher in protein, have almost twice (!) as much fiber than traditional pasta, and--due to the small shape--create the perfect balance between sauce and pasta in every mouthful.  It's a natural choice for a pasta salad, and a great way to introduce your family to more nutritious whole grain pasta.

(And don't worry, because the taste and texture is seriously just as good as the regular kind. Eugene--who is notoriously picky about these things--couldn't even tell the difference!)

I served my pasta salad as a side with grilled steak, the way I would typically serve rice. The chimichurri flavors worked perfectly with the steak, and the savory pasta was a welcome change to the usual rice and beans. You can also dice up grilled chicken or cooked shrimp and toss with the pasta to make it a complete meal all on its own.

Have you ever served pasta as a side dish with your dinner? What other kinds of protein would you pair with this dish--let me know in the comments below!

For more easy pasta recipes with Latin flavors, visit pastaatuestilo.com. This is a sponsored post written as part of my ongoing partnership with Barilla, however, the recipes and opinions are entirely my own. I have not been paid to publish positive sentiments towards Barilla or their products.

Chimichurri Pasta Salad

Serves 8

For the pasta:
1 pound Barilla® PLUS® elbow pasta (or your favorite variety)
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

For the chimichurri sauce:
1 1/2 cups fresh parsley with only the bottom two inches of stems removed (about 1/2 average sized bunch)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions
Bring 1 gallon of water to boil in a large pot. Once the water is boiling, season  with 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt.

While the water boils, combine all the chimichurri ingredients in a food processor or blender, and puree until very smooth.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook 1 minute less than package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water, and add the cooked pasta to the sauce, tossing to coat well. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.

Let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, or chill in refrigerator overnight. The flavor will improve after a couple hours of sitting.

Pasta can be served cold or warm as a side with steak, chicken, or other protein.

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Rigatoni with Chorizo and Spicy Chipotle Cream Sauce

As much as I tried to fight it, it seems that Autumn has officially come and settled in for the next few months. Along with jackets and warmer clothing, I find myself being drawn to heartier, more comforting recipes for dinner. The kind of dishes that come together quickly, and are best shared in large bowls around the table with family and friends.

This Rigatoni with Chorizo and Spicy Chipotle Cream Sauce is a new favorite pasta dish that I'm fairly confident will be making many appearances on our table during the coming months. It's the first of several Latin-inspired pasta recipes I've been creating as part of my partnership with Barilla this Fall, and I have to say it may be hard to beat!

Creamy and comforting, it uses some of my favorite traditional Latin ingredients--smoky chipotle peppers, spicy Mexican chorizo, bright fresh cilantro, and combines them in a rich and creamy sauce that's incredibly satisfying, and perfect after a long day of work.

For this dish, I chose Barilla Mezzi Rigatoni--a small pasta shape that is perfect with the rich sauce as it seems to scoop it up in every bite. You can easily substitute any of your other favorite small pasta shapes--penne or large shells would work well, too--to personalize the dish for your family.

Depending on what pasta shape you choose, be sure to cook them 1-2 minutes LESS than the package directions so that you get "al dente" perfection (that's about 9 minutes for the Mezzi Rigatoni, but may be a couple minutes more or less depending on the pasta shape you choose) before adding to the sauce.

(Click here to check out some of my favorite tips for cooking perfect pasta every time.)

Note that if you have a busy week, this is actually one of those dishes that can be prepared in advance. I love to make a big batch on a Sunday afternoon when I have more time, then reheat during the week.

It's a great way to enjoy a homemade meal and quality time with your family, without having to spend much time during the busy workweek to prepare it. All you have to do is toss together a quick salad to serve along with the pasta, and you have a complete meal the whole family will enjoy together!

For more easy pasta recipes with Latin flavors, visit pastaatuestilo.com. This is a sponsored post written as part of my ongoing partnership with Barilla, however, the recipes and opinions are entirely my own. I have not been paid to publish positive sentiments towards Barilla or their products.

Barilla Rigatoni with Chorizo and Spicy Chipotle Cream Sauce
Serves 8

Ingredients
1 pound box of Barilla Mezzi Rigatoni or other small pasta shape (like penne or large shells)
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 pound fresh Mexican chorizo, removed from casings (you can also substitute fresh turkey or chicken chorizo for a lighter option)
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon smoked spanish paprika (optional)
Zest of one whole lemon, finely grated
3 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely minced + more for garnish
1 cup grated cotija cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Bring 1 gallon of water to boil in a large pot. Once the water is boiling, season  with 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt.

While the water boils, place a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Cook the onions for 2-3 minutes, until translucent, then add the fresh chorizo, breaking it up with a wooden spoon and cooking until fully browned (about 5 minutes). Add the red bell pepper, garlic, the chipotle peppers (use 1 or 2 depending on how much spice you like), the paprika, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, the heavy cream, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a gentle simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. Remove from heat.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook 1-2 minutes less than package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water, and add the cooked pasta to the sauce along with the cilantro and return to the heat for 1-2 minutes, tossing to coat well. Add a little bit of the reserved pasta water to thin the sauce if it seems too thick.

Remove from heat, stir in the cotija cheese, and season with black pepper and additional salt to taste. Garnish with additional cilantro just before serving.

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5 Tips for Cooking Perfect Pasta

Let's talk pasta! Last month, I visited Chicago for the first time. It was a quick trip--actually quicker than I initially anticipated (thanks, stormy weather!)--but it was still an awesome trip because I got to visit the headquarters of Barilla, with whom I'm partnering this fall to create easy pasta recipes with a Latin twist.

[I'm also super excited to be sharing spokesperson duties with two of my favorite blogger ladies--Nicole of Presley's Pantry, and Laura of Las Recetas de Laura!]

It's kind of a perfect project for me since pasta has always been an important part of my food life for as long as I can remember.

Growing up in a predominantly Italian New Jersey town just 20 minutes outside of New York City, dinners out usually meant Italian--from the local casual red sauce spots to the more elegant restaurants across the bridge, we ate pasta just as often (if not more!) than we ate Puerto Rican food.

The conference rooms at Barilla all have pasta-related names!

In fact, whenever my mom needed a quick meal that satisfied all of us without complaint, she almost always reached for one of the pasta boxes she kept stocked in the pantry, turning out recipes that combined those traditional pasta shapes with the Latin flavors and ingredients she grew up with.

A regular at dinnertime was something she called "Puerto Rican Spaghetti," which was (let's be honest here) really just normal spaghetti with a few Latin spices tossed in, but which kind of exemplified the beauty of the immigrant experience in the US--bringing together different cultural traditions to create something new (and delicious!).

My love for Italian food was also one of the main reasons I moved to Florence when I was 21 to attend culinary school. I wanted to learn as much as I could about cooking in the country known for some of the best food in the world.

As a busy student with limited funds, we ate pasta just about every single day--popping into a tiny lunch spot for a daily €10 special that featured a bowl of pasta (the simple, but luscious, carbonara was my favorite!) with a glass of house wine and a small dessert.

Pasta played such a huge role in the food I ate growing up, that I was really surprised to learn that it's actually not the case for other Latino families in the US. And that's why I'm excited for this opportunity to show how pasta can be an amazing vehicle for sharing our individual traditions in a new and creative way.

While in Chicago, my fellow blogger ladies and I spent most of our day at the Barilla test kitchen, learning pasta cooking techniques from Chef Lorenzo Boni, the Executive Chef of Barilla America, and Mexican Chef Carlos Gaytan (whom you might know from Top Chef!).

While there, we also learned some great tips for cooking perfect pasta dishes that I definitely have to share with you:

1. Al Dente Pasta is Healthier Pasta 
You might already know that pasta tastes better when it is cooked al dente, an Italian phrase that means the pasta is not mushy and still has a bit of bite to it, but another benefit is that when cooked this way, the pasta has a lower GI that allows your body to better digest and use the healthy carbs without spiking your blood sugar.  

2. Finish the Pasta in the Sauce 
All Barilla pasta boxes come with suggested cook times for each individual shape. Chef Lorenzo recommended always taking the pasta out of the water 2-3 minutes before the recommended time, and then finishing it in a pan with the sauce--whether bottled or homemade. This way, the hot pasta combines evenly with the sauce, and you end up with a perfectly balanced dish.  

3. Use a Big Pot with Enough Water 
The number one mistake most people make at home when cooking pasta is not using enough water. We try to cram it all into a small pot, but this causes the pasta to stick and cook unevenly. To prevent this, pull out your biggest pot and fill it up with water. A good rule of thumb to remember is a minimum of 1 gallon (4 quarts) of water per 1 pound box of pasta.

4. Don't Add Oil to Your Pasta Water 
Some people think adding oil to pasta water will keep the pasta from sticking, but in fact, the oil doesn't affect the pasta in any way. If you remember from science class, oil and water do not mix, so the oil will always just float on the top of the water, and then rinse away when you drain the pot. (Extra bonus? If you use Barilla pasta, you actually don't even have to worry about the sticking since it's specially formulated to not get clumpy when you cook it--total win!)  

5. Do Add Plenty of Salt 
One of the most important (and easiest!) tips for the best tasting pasta dishes is to salt your cooking water generously. Adding 1-2 tablespoons of salt per gallon of water will season the pasta perfectly and evenly as it boils so that it already tastes amazing even before you add it to the sauce. My own favorite way to remember this is to taste the water before adding the pasta and checking to see if it's salty like the sea. If so, then you're good to go. If not, add more! Chef Lorenzo also recommends always using sea salt because the minerals add a little bit of extra flavor.

Do you have a favorite tip for cooking perfect pasta? Or do you ever combine pasta with flavors you grew up with? Let me know in the comments below! And stay tuned for more tips and recipes featuring Barilla pasta over the coming months.


This is a sponsored post on behalf of Barilla, however, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive sentiments towards Barilla or their products. Thanks for supporting companies like Barilla who make it possible for me to keep creating great original content and recipes for you!

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How to Make Stovetop Mac & Cheese

When it comes to comfort food, Mac & Cheese is my ultimate.

It's my lazy day food. It's my sad day food. It's my "damn it! nothing is going right today-food." It's what I want more than anything else on the days I'm feeling a bit low or exhausted, and it's usually the most reliable way to know that I'm coming down with something.

Forget the sniffles; it's the mac & cheese cravings that give it away!

Growing up, I was always a fan of the Velveeta kind. I was probably about 8 or so when I started making it myself, and can remember standing just barely over the stove, pouring in the box of shells, letting them clatter loudly into the pot of boiling water.  The sauce came in a foil packet, and would have to be squeezed out like toothpaste, falling over the pile of drained pasta in a thick, cheesy coil that would melt into a salty, creamy sauce when stirred.

When I was about 14 or 15, my friend and I were occasionally asked to babysit our pastor's younger sons, Nicky and Joseph, along with a few other kids from the church. Their mom left us boxes of Kraft Easy Mac to make them, my first experience with the "blue box."

I'd let the boys help stirring in the butter and milk and neon orange cheese powder. I didn't like the bland, chemical-y way that kind tasted, but they gobbled it up, along with the Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies we baked for dessert.

Those boys grew up to become international super stars, so now I can add "cooking mac & cheese for the Jonas Brothers" to my resume.  (I've bathed and dressed them, too, but that's a totally different story.)

These days, I much prefer the homemade kind of mac & cheese--still creamy and pretty much just as quick, but oh. so. much. better.

A few days ago, a friend and I entered into a bit of a wager...and I lost. As his prize, he requested a recipe for "really good homemade mac & cheese." He also confessed that his microwave is his "#1 cooking implement" and that he's scared of the stove. A challenge if I've ever heard one!

Homemade mac & cheese basically consists of four elements:

Pasta + Seasonings + Cheese + White Sauce = Mac & Cheese!

Let's break it down.

Step 1. Pasta!
The pasta part is super easy. You can use any kind of boxed pasta that you like, from dried shells or elbow to large penne. My favorite is gemelli--little twisty pasta that just feels really fun to eat, and is what you see pictured here. But really, it's up to you.

Pick your favorite, cook the entire 16oz box according to the directions on the box in lots of salted water (typically about 8 minutes), drain it (don't rinse it!), and set it aside while you make the sauce.

Want a cool tip? People never really know how much to salt their pasta water, and usually don't add enough. The best way to remember is that pasta water should be salty like the ocean. Remember the last time you went to the beach and got hit in the face with a mouthful of saltwater? That's what you want in order to get the best tasting pasta (same goes for boiling potatoes, vegetables, etc.)

Step 2. Cheese!

The cheese is also super easy. You can really pick any kind you'd like or even mix a few kinds. My go-to is using half a pound of extra sharp yellow cheddar cheese and half a pound of a slightly milder white cheddar. I then stir in a cup of grated Parmesan for a tangy kick. You can do all cheddar or even something like Gruyere or fontina, for a stinkier more "adult" version.

One thing I do recommend is buying the kind of cheese that comes in a block and grating it yourself; it'll melt better and give you a creamier sauce. The cheese that comes pre-grated has fillers added to it to keep it from melting in the bag so it won't melt as smoothly and you'll get a grittier texture.

(If it's all you can find, though, go ahead and use it. It'll still be delicious!)

Step 3. Seasonings

Seasonings for mac & cheese are very personal and completely customizable based on what you have and what your personal tastes are. I like to use the combo of seasonings above: dry mustard, paprika, black pepper, salt, and a bit of cayenne for spice.

You can use all of these or just some.

• Salt and pepper are definitely necessary. Do NOT skip these.

• I like the tang that the dry mustard powder adds (I use Colman's), but you could also replace it with regular (wet) yellow mustard or just skip it completely

• Paprika is pretty much just there for color, although sometimes I use smoked paprika for a smokey final dish. 

• You can use cayenne or replace it with Tabasco. If you prefer milder foods, just skip it. (I, personally, like the bit of heat it adds)

Just make sure to have everything measured out and ready to go before you start your white sauce!

Step 4. White Sauce
I think this is part that freaks most people out about homemade mac & cheese, but I assure you it's simple. And once you learn how to make it, you'll be able to make SO MANY AWESOME DISHES. White sauce is another name for "bechamel," which sounds terribly fancy and complicated, but is really just milk thickened with flour and butter.

You start off by melting half a stick of butter (4 tablespoons) into a pot set over medium-high heat, letting it melt completely and get foamy.

Then you dump in 1/3 cup of all purpose flour (you can also use whole wheat flour for a "healthier" version, but let's not kid anybody here).

Immediately stir that flour into the butter and let it cook for about a minute, stirring the entire time. It'll start to smell a little bit nutty and get just the tiniest bit golden.

You then pour in four cups of milk and stir into the flour mixture quickly. I like to switch to a whisk here for a smoother sauce, but don't worry if you don't have one. Just use what you have. I once made this using a pancake spatula because my friend didn't have anything else.

Don't stop stirring it! This part will take about 3 or 4 minutes, and you have to keep stirring it pretty much the entire time until it thickens. (You can take a few breaks, but don't walk away.) It's a good arm workout!

You're looking for the sauce to get thick and start to coat the sides of the pot and the back of the spoon.

When the sauce is coating the spoon, you can pass your finger through the back of it and see if it makes a line (like the photo). If it does, you can stop. It's perfect! Next, lower the heat to the lowest setting, leaving the pot there.

Tip: Did it get too thick, too quickly? No worries! Just add another 1/2 cup of milk and stir it in until it's perfect. 

Now it's fun time!

Add your spices, and stir them in until completely incorporated.

Add all your cheeses! Stir those in really well, too. You want them to melt completely into the sauce (about 30 seconds to 1 minute).

Now add that cooked pasta you already made and stir it into the cheese sauce until it's all coated.

Taste it! Is it good? Does it need more salt? Maybe more pepper? Maybe a little bit more spiciness? Go ahead and add it.

Now serve yourself a big bowl, and enjoy!

By the way...this recipe makes a lot because this keeps and reheats really well. I like to divide it into containers and put some in the fridge and some in the freezer for future mac & cheese eating. To reheat, just put it in a pot with about a 1/4 cup or so of milk and stir it for a minute or so until it's heated through and creamy again.

(And yeah, you can use the microwave if you prefer, too.)

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Easy Homemade Stovetop Mac & Cheese Recipe
This comes together really quickly, so make sure you have all your ingredients measured out and ready to go when you start making the sauce. You'll have homemade mac & cheese in less than 30 minutes!

Ingredients
1 pound (16oz) box of small dry pasta (such as elbow macaroni, penne, gemelli, or shells)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup all purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce (optional)
1 teaspoon paprika (optional, used smoked paprika for a smokey taste)
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder or wet yellow mustard (optional)
1 pound (16oz) extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated (or use an equivalent mix of cheeses)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (the fresh kind, not the dry powdery stuff!)

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to boil, salt generously, and cook pasta according to box directions until "al dente." Drain pasta and set aside.

Make the white sauce. Before starting, make sure you have measured out and prepared all your spices, the flour, the milk, and the cheese you will be using in the sauce.

Place a large pot over medium-high heat and melt the butter until foamy. Add the flour and stir in for one minute until fully incorporated with the butter. Slowly pour in the four cups of milk and stir continuously until the sauce thickens and coats the back of the spoon.

Add the spices, and stir in. Add the cheeses and stir in until completely melted and incorporated. If the sauce seems a bit thick, add in a 1/2 cup or so of milk and stir in completely to thin. Add the cooked pasta and stir in until completely coated.

Serve immediately. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for up to six months. Reheat on the stove with additional milk to thin the sauce, or in the microwave.

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