The Art of Italian Cooking: Simple Recipes for the Home Cook
Great Italian food at home isn’t about complicated technique. It’s about a few quality ingredients treated with care: good tomatoes, real Parmigiano-Reggiano, fresh herbs and pasta cooked just right. These are the Italian dishes our family cooks most, and what each one teaches.
Start with the tomatoes
Canned San Marzano tomatoes crushed by hand are the backbone of our Revised Miami Spaghetti and Meatballs. Sauté onions and peppers until soft, bloom the dried herbs in the oil, add a splash of red wine and let the sauce reduce slowly. Time does most of the work.
Make your own dough
JD’s Pizza Dough uses Italian 00 flour, yeast, olive oil and kosher salt, kneaded in a stand mixer and left to rise, ideally slowly in the fridge. The same patience applies to fresh pasta: our Veal & Italian Sausage 4 Cheese Manicotti, a Pasta Throwdown winner, starts with eggs cracked into a well of semolina flour.
Master a cream sauce and a risotto
- Fettuccine Alfredo: butter, shallot, cream, Parmigiano and a grating of fresh nutmeg. Save a little pasta water to loosen the sauce.
- Asparagus Risotto: toast the Arborio rice, add wine, then ladle in simmering stock a little at a time while stirring. It’s slow, but it’s simple.
Family-style Italian-American classics
- Chicken Parmigiana, pounded thin so it cooks evenly, breaded with parmesan and topped with provolone.
- Debbie’s Baked Mostaccioli with hot sausage and bubbling mozzarella.
- Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells in a spicy arrabbiata, a lighter take on a baked pasta.
- Krista’s Pasta Salad for summer cookouts.
Tips for cooking Italian at home
- Salt your pasta water well; it’s the only chance to season the noodle itself.
- Buy a wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano and grate it fresh. The pre-grated kind won’t melt the same.
- Finish pasta in the sauce for the last minute so it absorbs flavor.
- Add fresh basil and parsley at the end so they stay bright.
See all of our Italian recipes or our pasta collection.
