Today I am using 3 of the 10 inexpensive “superfoods” I told you about yesterday; pinto beans, kale, and salmon. Although I have to confess that I cheated a little bit and used fresh salmon (more expensive) rather than canned (inexpensive)… but only because I had it on hand and it would have gone bad otherwise, which just would have been stupid and wasteful.

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For my last appearance on Valley Dish, I asked the host, Tram Mai, what she would like to make.  After some 15 cooking appearances, it was the first time to make something of her choice instead of my choice or a specific themed assignment.  Tram requested a dish she had back in her college years in Los Angels at a restaurant called Crustacean.  After much online research, I compiled several people’s take on the roasted crab and came up with my own rendition.

The roasted crab is outstanding, but I think the real star of the dish is the garlic noodles.  The key is to find thick spaghetti, also known as spaghettoni or bucatini.  I found them at Whole Foods and in the Italian specialty aisle at the “big fancy” Fry’s on Tatum and Shea.

As for the crab, although the version we made on the live show used Dungeness crab, I’ve also tried with the pasteurized canned crab found at Costco and it tasted exactly the same… plus it’s more economical and so much easier!

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This is a delicious, lighter, summertime-appropriate version of spaghetti and meatballs.

Served at room temperature, it’s actually refreshing instead of hearty and heavy like your winter-warming version.

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Buffalo wings: check. Macaroni and cheese: check. Happy kids: check.  But, put the two together –  and Wow!

Another kid-favorite combo tomorrow…  oh, and Happy 4th of July!

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No doubt, you’ve dined in many Italian restaurants or perused enough cookbooks and food magazines to know what to expect when you order or see a recipe for pasta primavera.  A lovely pasta dish filled with fresh seasonal vegetables, primavera means spring in Italian, so freshness is what it’s all about.  But did you know that there was no such thing as pasta primavera on menus and in cookbooks until after 1975?

Although the dish is derived from centuries-old genuine Italian dishes, its name and widespread popularity were created by two culinary icons, Sirio Maccioni, the owner of Le Cirque in New York City, and Craig Claiborne, the legendary New York Times food editor and restaurant critic.

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If you do, then you’ll adore this Buffalo wing-inspired lasagna. I’ve got a Buffalo Mac and Cheese that I may have to have a class of my students whip up and then post here before the summer is over as well.

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Tuesday of last week was “Pasta & Cupcakes” day. This was one of the pasta recipes the kids (8 – 12-year-olds) made. It was a favorite, we’ll see if the teens feel the same about it this coming Tuesday.

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Connor was not a fan of the squash blossoms from the other day… although; Marissa, Dave, and I loved them. I felt I needed to make it up to him since he’ll only be home a few days before he heads back up to Flagstaff for summer school. I made this pasta with him in mind and then at the last minute, as I was about to throw in some goat cheese, remembered that he doesn’t like goat cheese as much as the rest of us.  That is the reason it is added at the end, allowed to just melt into the sauce and why I’ve made it “optional” – delish – with or without!  And if the roasted cherry tomatoes seem awfully familiar – they are, I’ve featured them here many times before, can’t help it, they are so good!

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Here is another of the recipes we served at my Dad’s 80th Speakeasy Party, representing his birth year, 1931.

In 1931 The Joy of Cooking was privately printed and distributed from the home by Irma S. Rombauer of St. Louis. It is one the most-published cookbooks and has been in print continuously since 1931 with more than 18 million copies sold. Mrs. Rombauer was struggling emotionally and financially after her husband’s suicide in 1930.  She had 3,000 copies of Joy printed by A.C. Clayton, a company that had printed labels for fancy St. Louis shoe companies and for Listerine, but never a book.  In 1936, the book was picked up by a commercial printing house, The Bobbs-Merrill Company.  Joy is the backbone of many home cooks’ libraries and is very often found in commercial kitchens as well. The illustrations were done by Irma’s daughter, Marion Rombauer Becker.  This recipe pays homage to one of the many famous recipes from the iconic cookbook – baked macaroni and cheese.

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I helped arrange the food buffet at a dear friend’s funeral on Saturday.  On such a sad and heartbreaking day, it is so joyous to see the best in people shining through. Everyone wanted to help, be involved, and just be there for the family. One of the lovely neighbors brought a large spiral ham for the buffet. There was quite a bit of ham left, so I cut it off the bone, packaged it up for the family, and quietly snuck the ham bone into my stack of platters and chafing dishes to bring home. On Sunday I made ham bone soup that I’ve packaged up, froze, and will bring back to my friends to enjoy once all the leftovers run out… which won’t be for quite a while!

One family member is gluten-free, so I separated and packaged a special batch for her before I added the macaroni.  This recipe is a bit of a departure from the standard ham and bean soup. It’s also substantially quicker with the assistance of canned beans.

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