Directions

The last decision – to top or not to top – is easily dispensed with. Resist the temptation to fiddle around with bread crumbs, corn flakes, tortilla chips and other ingredients that have nothing to do with the dish. When there is enough cheese in and on top of your creation, a brown, crisp crust of toasted cheese will form naturally. There is nothing more delicious.

The moral of the story: When in doubt, add more cheese.

INGREDIENTS

• 5 tablespoons butter
• 5 tablespoons flour

• 4 1/2 cups milk
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  DIRECTIONS

  In a saucepan, heat up the milk, and bring to a gentle simmer. In another saucepan, melt the butter and immediately add the flour. Lower the heat, and mix until the butter has absorbed all the flour and is the consistency of thick dough. Make sure the butter-flour mixture does not burn or brown. 
  
  Remove the saucepan from the heat, and whisk in a couple of ladles of heated milk into the butter-flour mixture. Whisk until the flour has absorbed all of the milk. Put the saucepan back on the burner over medium heat, and whisk in the remainder of the milk. Continue whisking until the sauce thickens and becomes a creamy velvety consistency.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced
• 4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 4 fresh sage leaves, chopped
• 1 sprig rosemary, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
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  DIRECTIONS

  Preheat oven at 400 degrees F. 
  
  Put the potatoes in a roasting pan and sprinkle with the basil, sage, rosemary and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. 
  
  Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil on the potatoes, put the roasting pan in the oven and bake until golden brown and tender, approximately 45 minutes. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound/450 g rigatoni pasta
• 4 tablespoons/60 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large eggplant, cubed
• 10 large sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 15 infornate olives, pitted and chopped
• 2 dried chile peppers, crushed, optional
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 (25-ounce/750 ml) jar tomato puree
• Salt
• 12 ounces/400 g freshly grated mozzarella
• Smoked scamorza cheese, as much as desired, roughly chopped
• Freshly grated Parmigiano cheese, for sprinkling
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  DIRECTIONS

  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
  
  While the rigatoni cooks in salted boiling water, prepare the sauce. In a saucepan heat up the olive oil and saute the eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, chile peppers, if using, and garlic, for a few minutes. Add the tomato puree and salt. Let the sauce cook for approximately 10 minutes on medium heat. 
  
  Drain the rigatoni; add the pasta to the saucepan, sprinkle with some Parmigiano and cook for another 30 seconds. Then place 1/2 the rigatoni in a baking dish, adding a layer of 1/2 the mozzarella, 1/2 the scamorza and another sprinkle of Parmigiano cheese over the pasta. Add the remaining rigatoni, and follow with a final layer of all the cheeses. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 ounces cubed pancetta
• 4 eggs

• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
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  DIRECTIONS

  Add the spaghetti to boiling salted water. 
  
  Meanwhile in a saute pan, heat the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the garlic, and pancetta, and cook for a few minutes. Remove the garlic when it is golden brown, and then lower the heat. 
  
  In a bowl, whisk together the milk, pecorino cheese, salt, and lots of black pepper. Separate the eggs, making sure not to break the yolks. Add the egg whites to the milk mixture, and mix well. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 pound mozzarella ball, cubed
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano
• 4 fresh basil leaves
• Salt
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  DIRECTIONS

  Cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water until al dente, about 6 minutes. While the spaghetti is cooking, begin to make the sauce. Mix the tomatoes and mozzarella in a large bowl. Add the best available extra-virgin olive oil, oregano, basil leaves, and salt, to taste. 
  
  When the spaghetti is ready, remove it from the water and add it to the bowl with approximately 1/2 cup of pasta water. Mix well, and serve immediately.