Aglio e Olio
Spaghetti with thinly sliced garlic, plenty of good olive oil and a pinch of chili. The pantry dish that comes together in the time the pasta takes.
Amatriciana
Guanciale rendered until crisp, crushed tomatoes and a shower of Pecorino Romano over bucatini. One of Rome's four essential pasta dishes.
Gricia
Carbonara without the egg, amatriciana without the tomato. Guanciale, Pecorino Romano and black pepper over rigatoni.
Carbonara
Guanciale, egg yolks and Pecorino Romano brought together with pasta water. No cream, and the pan comes off the heat before the eggs go in.
Cacio e Pepe
Four ingredients and no cream. Spaghetti, Pecorino Romano, toasted black pepper and starchy pasta water emulsified into a silky sauce.
Pumpkin Pie
Roasted pie pumpkin or butternut pureed with condensed milk and warm spices, including a little black pepper for lift.
Apple Pie
Grandma Foster's apple pie: Honey Crisp and Granny Smith apples with brown sugar, cinnamon and butter under a proper crust.
Pecan Whiskey Pie
Brown butter, whiskey and three cups of pecans in a blind-baked shell. Richer and less cloying than the pecan pie you grew up with.
Candied Nuts
Nuts tumbled in melted sugar with cardamom, ginger and a pinch of chili. Sweet, savory, and dangerous to leave within reach.
20 Hour Braised Chuck Roast, Sauce and Pappardelle
Chuck roast braised for twenty hours until it falls apart, folded through tomato sauce and served over pappardelle. Long on time, short on effort.
Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Brown butter, two sugars and real chocolate chunks, finished with flaky sea salt. Makes two dozen, and they rarely last a day.
Truffle Honey Panna Cotta
Set cream sweetened with Inaudi truffle honey and finished with pink Himalayan truffle salt. Sweet and savory in the same spoon.