Chapter Four

Pastas

Mac and Cheese

I firmly believe that it is almost impossible to screw up a dish that consists of cheese and pasta, so instead of messing around with a classic, I decided to do mac and cheese the way I know best: creamy pasta with a super-crunchy crumb crust on top.

Ingredients

Equipment

Instructions

  1. 1. Mix Alfredo sauce into the pasta. If you don’t have Alfredo sauce, you can use plain butter; just be sure to soften it in the microwave before mixing it into the pasta.
  2. 2. Sprinkle a layer of Parmesan and a layer of cheddar cheese on top of the pasta.
  3. 3. Crush about two handfuls of croutons into crumbs in a bowl and sprinkle them on top of the pasta.
  4. 4. Microwave the dish until the cheese melts and the crouton crumbs settle into the pasta — about 1 minute.

Lemon-Pepper Pasta

Lemon-pepper pasta is one of those dishes that I made constantly in my college dining hall and continue to make in my New York apartment because it is so simple, yet somehow tastes really fancy. Use cracked pepper in this recipe if you have it — it elevates the whole dish.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Drizzle olive oil and the juice from a few lemon wedges over the pasta and toss to coat.
  2. 2. Mix in garlic powder, salt, and plenty of pepper.
  3. 3. Top with cheese.

Teriyaki Pasta

Stir-fry obviously tastes great over rice, but it tastes even better over pasta because most kinds of pasta are made to absorb sauces. I love using Teriyaki sauce, but you can mix and match with your favorite flavors, or just keep it simple with soy sauce.

Ingredients

Equipment

Instructions

  1. 1. Add teriyaki sauce, your protein pick, and vegetables to the pasta and either toss the pasta at a sauté bar or microwave for about 2 minutes.
  2. 2. Top with a squeeze of lime juice and/or chili sauce, if you'd like.

Alfredo Salmon Spaghetti

This dish is another one of my French host family’s greatest hits from my study-abroad term. The Alfredo sauce becomes infused with salmon flavor, and the whole thing tastes kind of like a salmon carbonara.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Flake the salmon fillet into the spaghetti.
  2. 2. Add a scoop of Alfredo sauce and gently mix the salmon and sauce with the pasta.
  3. 3. Season the dish with a few shakes of salt and pepper.

Pasta with Creamy Avocado Sauce

I have seen many variations of avocado pasta sauce on vegan cooking blogs, so naturally I decided to add cheese to my version. The result is a silky, tangy sauce that will mix up your pasta routine.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Mash the avocado in a bowl, and then mix in olive oil, crumbled feta, a little bit of garlic powder, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
  2. 2. Toss the pasta in the sauce, and add a little more feta and olive oil on top.