"Show me someone who can make a great dish with just a few 
ingredients and that's a great cook." Chef Ricco DelucaThis recipe comes from my good friend Chef Ricco and is part of a new series for me. Not only is there a recipe, but there are a bunch of questions and answers about the recipe and the techniques used to make it. Let me know what you think of ...

This recipe is a combination of two recipes from "In the Kitchen with Rosie". I like to cook using very little fat, however she tries to stay under 5 grams per dish, which I think may be a little extreme. I think it tastes better with a little more, which I had added to the recipe. Hope you like it! - Home Cook Jane...

Ground Meats – I used an already blend of beef, veal and pork that I found at the market that was being marketed for using in meatloaf but worked perfectly for this recipe. My butcher at my local farmer’s market also sells a blend but if you can’t find it sold like this, you can buy the ground meat separately.

This hearty and flavorful Bolognese sauce can be made in a Dutch oven or a slow cooker. Like most braised dishes, it gets better with chilling and reheating. It also freezes very well, so make a lot--some to eat now, and some to freeze for another time. Trust me, you'll be glad that you did.

Chef Bertrand Chemel's gnocchi are mostly ricotta held together with a little potato and flour. They are airy and pillowy and served in a cream sauce with Brussels sprouts and black truffle. Truly an exceptional dish.

Loaded with basil, cilantro and spinach, the goat cheese "cream" sauce tastes just like summer and is super-quick to make in the food processor. The farfalle is the perfect pasta for this dish, although rotini or penne would work well, also.

My daughter Nell loves fettuccine Alfredo so when she was browsing the April 2013 edition of Cuisine at Home, she was thrilled to see this recipe for Spring Salmon Pasta.  My wife was out for a business meeting for dinner so Nell decided she would make it all by herself for my youngest daughter and me. I was in the basement doing a quick workout on the treadmill ...

According to reader Cherie, this is the World’s Best Shrimp and Fettuccine dish. She says that this is a favorite for dinner parties, that it is easy to make and impressive to serve. It does, indeed, sound like a winner, Cherie. Chicken stock and white wine are a classic combination for seafood-based pastas. If you have fish stock or shrimp stock, substitute that...

Kids Can Cook Fettuccine with Simple Lobster Sauce My nine year old helped me throw this one together. We had some cooked Maine lobsters leftover from the weekend and wanted to use them in a dish everyone would eat. I was thinking Lobster Fra Diablo but wasn't sure my girls would enjoy it so I came up with this simple alternative. My nine year old Maddie has Cerebra...

This is a very simple recipe that was given to my by Chef Paolo Monti's. The fresh sauce for this recipe isn't extremely heavy but works well with and is heated by the cooked fusilli.

What's great about Gnocchi is you can think of them as a substitute for mashed potatoes and serve them with pot roast, braised short ribs, or even ossobucco. On the other hand, you can think of them as pasta and serve them with many of your favorite pasta sauces like I did in this recipe.

Contributing writer Marlee says this dish is particularly special to her because it has been in herfamily for decades now. It comes from the June 1989 issue of Bon Appétit magazine. I know I will enjoy the combination of onions and chicken in cream sauce as much as her family does.

I call this basic recipe "Lasagna - One Two Three" for three reasons. It's as easy as one-two-three to make. It's just as easy to make three at a time so you can eat one now and freeze the other two for another time. It is delicious!

Quintessential comfort food, macaroni and cheese is creamy and filling as is, but there are almost endless ways to vary it. Start with this basic stove-top cheese sauce and then add whatever you'd like to personalize it. My older daughter admits that this is better than the kind that comes in the blue box. High praise indeed!

The bitterness of broccoli rabe is mellowed with a blanch followed by a saute in a generous amount of olive oil. Add a touch of heat and plenty of garlic, this simple pasta dish by my friend Chef Ricco is one of my favorites.

I chose this recipe because we had most of the ingredients in-house including the orecchiette pasta, sausage and cherry tomatoes. We didn't have any aged provolone cheese so I substituted freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I also didn't add the crushed red pepper but put it on the table for anyone who cared for it and the turned out to be only me and my wife.

This is a very simple and flavorful pasta dish that serves as a great side dish, as is. Add some cooked chicken or fish to it, and it becomes a meal. This dish would be just as at home on the weeknight dinner table as it would be on menu for a dinner party.

A chef friend of mine once described a good cook as "one who can make a great dish with only a few ingredients." This dish is a great starter because it only has a few ingredients but they must be chosen and prepared carefully to make it work. When you sauté the garlic in the oil, make sure you get a good whiff, it's one of the greatest aromas in cooking and one you...

The word strozzapreti is Italian for 'priest choker' and there are several stories as to how this pasta received this unfortunate name.

We came up with this simple pasta dish on the fly. In the time it took us to cook the pasta, we were able to prep and prepare a simply delicious sauce. My daughter picked out the mezzi rigatoni from the pantry but a penne pasta would have worked just as well. I wouldn't use spaghetti or linguini for this dish because of the sauce. Heartier pastas work well with heartier sauces, and this was definitely a hearty sauce.

My wife left Michele Urvater's Monday to Friday Cookbook on the kitchen table opened to this recipe before she left for work. Unfortunately I didn't see it until about an hour before she was scheduled to arrive home. So I hustled around the kitchen to see what ingredients I needed and in less than an hour turned out a delicious pasta dish. This one is ...

Here's a "shortcut" meal that takes as long as it takes to cook ½ pound of penne pasta. It's quick, easy, and delicious, and if there are any leftovers, you'll have a great lunch the next day.

Riccioli Pasta with Wild Mushroom Sauce & Grilled Chicken Needed a “quick & easy” recipe for dinner last night. My wife pulled out a bag of frozen chicken tenders from the freezer in the morning and marinated them in balsamic dressing before heading out to work. She “mentioned” we should use up the fresh, wild mushrooms in the refrigerator from the Fa...

I found this recipe on a box of penne pasta last night that I cooked for my kid's dinner. It's a simple, straightforward recipe that I adapted a little but I can't wait to try. If you read my blog or visit my web site, you'll notice I am always on the lookout for a new idea for a recipe and often product packaging is one of the best sources for discovering them.

I did a little research on the Internet for several variations of this dish and came up with the following. This is a simple, easy to prepare meal that is perfect any time of the year but especially now when produce is at its best locally.

This is one of those "Good As It Gets" recipes. By that I mean when you take that first bite you are going to say, "It doesn't get any better than this!" I love food and there are not many recipes that I prepare that I don't like but every once in a while you come up with one that you can't believe you made.  It's just that good and I rate this recipe as one of ...

This is one of those meals I made to avoid going out to buy ingredients. The first version was a little blah, so this version is one that I had my friend Chef Ricco tweak. It is full of flavor and still kept me from having to go to the store.

Because the sauce is thick, I like to serve it with penne pasta but you can use whatever you and your kids like. Serve it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese to give it another layer of flavor and you have a nice meal.

The kids wanted their ravioli without sauce, just a little butter. My wife took some of the peas and added them to the ravioli and carrot fennel sauce making it a better dish. Kind of creating a meal on the fly.

As part of my Reluctant Gourmet Cookbook Challenge, I suggested looking for recipes from cookbooks you haven't used in a while, but I just purchased the new Chef Marc Vetri cookbook, Rustic Italian Food, and couldn't wait to give it a spin. This recipe for Rigatoni with Chicken Livers is served at Marc's Osteria restaurant here in Philadelphia, and I have been told it's their most popular request. I know I order it as a table appetizer every time we dine there.

In fact, it's my opinion finding short cut meals that you and your family enjoy are an essential part of planning out your week's meal schedule. In my case, I don't usually plan out the week but it's a really good idea if you can manage it; I just make sure I have enough short cut ingredients in the house at all times.

I love this dish so much that I've already posted this recipe twice on my site at Pasta with Garlic and Oil and Linguine with Garlic and Oil. This version from reader Dawn included pepper flakes, basil and Parmesan and is definitely worth checking out.

On some nights, I am all about quick and easy meals where I take shortcuts but still turn out a delicious dinner.

A vegetarian lasagna dish brimming with layers of spinach and roasted red peppers. So full of flavor, you won't even miss the meat.

Pasta with Nettles, Sorrel and Lemon might sound a little out there, but it sounds good to me. Creamy with ricotta and full of fresh herbs, this dish just might make you a nettle-head.

Last night I needed to come up with a quick meal for the family. My oldest daughter had a tennis clinic so we started a little late. We talked about going out for dinner but both girls said they had too much homework and wanted to stay in and order takeout sushi.  These girls will find any excuse to order sushi but I said no to that so now what do I prepare? I l...

Sun-dried tomatoes bring a tangy, colorful twist to this pesto. The sauce perfectly coats both the shrimp and the pasta. This is a great meal for seafood pasta lovers.

This pasta dish takes the traditional flavors and colors of Insalata Caprese and transforms them into a filling pasta dish that is perfect for summer. Enjoy!

After days of eating fresh seafood, we were craving some pasta but still wanted Jersey corn & tomatoes. So I whipped up this simple pasta recipe using some leftover corn from the night before and fresh mozzarella purchased before the trip at Costco.

This unusual but tasty sounding combination of veal, gorgonzola cream sauce and butternut squash puree definitely puts a gourmet spin on lasagna. This is not your mom's lasagna, that's for sure.

This incredible looking pasta recipe comes from cookbook author Diane Brown who just published The Seduction Cookbook: Culinary Creations for Lovers in January 2004. She is a restaurant industry professional and proprietor of Intimate Catering. She teaches aphrodisiac cooking classes at Sur La Table and The Learning Annex. . To learn more about Diane and re...