#meatballs

#meatballs

Sfincione remains the perfect starter, a flower-shaped focaccia loaf that's become Funke's signature. Dusted with oregano and flaky salt, then veiled with the thinnest, most fragrant olive oil, it's a true delight.

I use a lot of vermouth actually. Obviously it's a fortified wine and so therefore it has a lot of flavor. When I'm doing pastas, for example, I'm using white vermouth sometimes. If I'm doing a seafood pasta with clams, it's amazing. People are like, 'What's that flavor in there?'

Who doesn't love pasta? When I need a hug-in-a-bowl type of dinner, something cheesy and saucy is always what comes to mind first. Even when I'm thinking about making a special dinner, maybe for a date-night in or a friend coming over, comforting pasta recipes are always top of mind. If you find yourself needing a little something to look forward to at the end of the day, consider making one of these comforting pasta dinners this week. They all pair perfectly with a good

Few low-prep dishes satisfy and delight on busy weeknights like one-pot pastas, and one of the best ingredients to take your pasta dishes to the next level is vegetable broth. Boiling dry pasta directly in vegetable broth instead of water imparts bolder flavor as the pasta soaks it up. Plus, you'll end up with a pot full of starchy cooking liquid from the boiled pasta, which can provide a solid base for building a pan sauce.

Classic spicy vodka rigatoni is such a glorious sight, beautifully orangey-red and glossy. That iconic look and luxurious texture sparked the idea for this dish. This pasta highlights the humble carrot by making it the star of the show and the base for a creamy, spicy orange sauce. I like buying carrots with the tops attached for this to make a lovely herby topping to balance the richness of the pasta, but if you can't find them, this dish is still a stunner.

Buttered noodles are one of the best comfort food dishes out there. There is something very homey about eating the slippery-slidey and carby pasta noodles topped with a copious amount of rich, salty butter. While much of the beauty of this dish is in its simplicity, there are numerous ways to doctor up your buttered pasta to give it a more sophisticated and adult flavor, and you can make yours extra savory by adding anchovies.

If you've ever visited Hungary or sampled some of the several Hungarian dishes you need to try at least once, it's likely you know about goulash - the European country's beloved national dish. While the meaty-stew goodness that is goulash (gulyás) has been a staple since the 18th century, it is possible to transform the hearty dish into a satisfying and delicious plant-based meal by swapping the beef for filling vegetables like turnips, carrots, and potatoes, protein-rich legumes, or even soy meat substitutes like tempeh.

In the 40+ years since its birth in Orlando, Florida, Olive Garden has not only expanded to over 900 locations, but the restaurant has also created a massive footprint in pop culture, appearing in sketches on Saturday Night Live, tongue-in-cheek punk songs, and an extended bit where Jimmy Fallon ended up owning the rights to the catchphrase "When you're here, you're family."

Italian cuisine is among the most famous in the world, and for good reason. Iconic dishes like pizza and pasta are fan favorites no matter where you are in the world. And these two categories of Italian food in particular showcase the most classic Italian sauce, red sauce. Red sauce can be a stewed tomato sauce or a simple marinara sauce. While traditional recipes uphold strict standards that ban certain ingredients, an unconventional yet gourmet upgrade to Italian tomato sauces is balsamic vinegar.

With a bit of slow cooking, those impossibly pert, shiny tomatoes relax and soften, releasing their juices to mingle in a deeply satisfying dish. A supporting cast of bold ingredients rounds out the mix. In this skillet dinner, spiced sausage, tender broccolini spears and piquant cheese join forces with the tomatoes. For a midwinter pasta dish, it doesn't get brighter - or more satisfying - than this.