Cooking, Coffee, and Comic Books

Spaghetti and meatballs is such a wonderful, simple thing: sauce, meat, and pasta. But don't let that full you, it takes a bit of effort! It’s nothing very difficult--just a couple of important steps. Below is a recipe that I've adapted from Ina Garden's Real Spaghetti and Meatballs. Meatballs: 1 pound Italian sausage 1 pound ground beef 1 cup fresh white bread crumbs (4 slices, crusts removed) 1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs 1 tablespoon dried parsley 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 extra-large egg, beaten Vegetable oil Olive oil Sauce: 1 tablespoon good olive oil 1 diced onion 3 cloves minced garlic 1/2 cup good red wine, such as Chianti 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in puree, chopped 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Fo...

True confessions: I can't get enough damn pasta. I could seriously eat it EVERY DAY. I found this recipe on Bon Appetit for lobster pasta but I couldn't find any pre cooked lobster so I subbed it for shrimp. I also didn't feel like spending the money on fresh lobster. I also made a salad I remembered my friend Shie made. It's a simple tomato and cucumber salad with lemon, olive oil, salt, and pepper. You can find the recipes below. Spicy Shrimp Pasta 12 oz Spaghetti 3 tbs olive oil 1 lb Shrimp 1 Shallot 2 cloves garlic 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes 1 lb Cherry Tomatoes halved 1 Lemon (zest and juice) Cook spaghetti in pot according to package directions. Reserve one cup of pasta water. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat and add in a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook shrimp for just couple minutes on each side. Set shrimp aside. In the same pan, add rest of oil and butter, shallot, and garlic and cook for about two minutes. Add in tomatoes and cook until s...