PASTA: THE MONDAY-TO-FRIDAY WAY
How the Monday-to-Friday system works, including matching meals to busy family schedules.
Tips on buying and storing all varieties of dried and fresh pasta, plus a chart of popular pasta shapes.
Stocking your refrigerator and cupboard—a quick overview.
Advice on preparing and serving pasta, including what to do if your pasta clumps together or is overcooked.
A collection of quick and easy sauces that go well with the pasta on hand: Enraged Tomato Sauce, Mariner’s Sauce, Creamy Corn Salsa, and more.
Comforting Pasta e Fagioli, Japanese-Style Bean Noodle Soup, Tingly Lemon Orzo Soup—nourishing bowls of soup in no time.
Cheese- and egg-filled pastas, including New-Fashioned Macaroni and Cheese, Linguine with Gorgonzola and Walnuts, and an Instant Lasagne—perfect to prepare on a workweek schedule.
Caribbean Chicken with Tender Noodles, Smoked Cajun Chicken and Mezzani, Turkey Tetrazzini with Butterfly Pasta—all one-dish meals that combine two favorite, fast ingredients.
The flavor and texture of seafood marries well with pasta, making it a natural Monday-to-Friday choice. Recipes include Shrimp Piquante with Fusilli, Fresh Tuna and Sun-Dried Tomatoes with Shells, and Rosy Creamed Sole Tossed with Fedelini.
Pairing meat with pasta results in inviting dishes such as Gingered Beef with Glass Noodles, Veal with Olives and Penne, and Hot Sausage and Sweet Currants over Whole-Wheat Pasta.
A full range of recipes that combine beans and grains with pasta—Coriander-Scented Lentils with Spaghettini, Garlicky White Beans and Sage with Orecchiette, Red-Hot Chick-Peas with Rigatoni, and more.
Any season is a good time to enjoy fresh vegetables with pasta. Try Thai-Style Broccoli with Rice Noodles, Ravioli with Curried Cauliflower, and Eggplant “Chinoise” with Penne, to name a few.
Easy meal-size salads that make good use of both fresh and leftover ingredients: Beef and Fusilli Salad with Horseradish Dressing, Chicken Salad with Wagon Wheels, and Couscous and Lentil Salad are included.
Pasta dishes that can be prepared using only what’s available in the pantry. Try “Chilied” Black Beans and Penne, Spaghetti with Lemon Bread Crumbs and Anchovy, and Rotelle with Tuna and Tomatoes.
A collection of recipes that are out of the pasta mainstream as well as some that are out of the Monday-to-Friday genre. Included here are slow-cooked dishes to make on a Saturday or Sunday and some unusual desserts made with pasta.