Risotto: Step Aside Rice-A-Roni

For some reason Risotto is thought of as this Italian delicacy served in fancy restaurants. I blame Seinfeld. Risotto is peasant food! They took rice, cooked it in broth and ate it. There's no mystery in the making, no revelation that is being guarded by an armed staff of chefs. In fact I can show you how to make it right now and the only thing you'll really need is extra arm power, because it does involve a lot of stirring.

You can't cook, so order takeout - best pizza

As requested, here's a review of Keste:

Let's get this out of the way first: this place rocks! I've been three times now, and I've noticed three things consistently:

1) The pizza is exceptionally good, consistently.

2) The service is Europe-slow, but accurate.

3) With the closing of Una Pizza Napoletana, this is the best pizza joint in Manhattan. I haven't been to some of the greats in Brooklyn (Grimaldi's, Motorino, Franny's), so I can't compare with those, but this easily betters Lombardi's, Veloce, John's and Joe's.

For those not in the know, a pizza upskirt is a shot of the bottom of the crust; this allows you to see the char left behind by a good oven (or lack thereof, by a bad oven).

Pasta: Penne with Sausage & Peppers

Serves 4 to 6
(depending on who’s eating and how well you made it)

When you come from a New York borough OTHER than Manhattan, it’s pronounced sawsage ‘n’ pepezz. If you never heard of the other boroughs that make up New York City, then you’re a noob and you really need to get out more. And by the way, wandering over to Canal Street after 5 pm doesn’t improve your NYC street cred either. Get a metro card and get on the Q, loser.

The Pasta Sauce That Made Me Famous: Or Should Have…..

You want it? You got it! This is my family recipe for damn good tomato sauce. Actually it’s more of a pizzaola sauce, but it’s still damn good. Ever go to a restaurant and order spaghetti and meatballs, only to be disappointed by the sauce, or the pasta, or everything? Well now you don’t have to suffer! I’ll admit, when I’m totally tired after a long day at work, I’ll pop open a jar of good sauce, but if you make this in advance and freeze it you’ll only be a few minutes of defrosting away from a great meal.