Happy National Linguine Day! My favorite way to enjoy this cut of pasta by far has got to be Binging with Babish’s Pasta Aglio e Olio inspired by Chef. It is so gratifyingly moreish yet so unbelievably no frills in its preparation, few rival this pasta dish in its elegant simplicity and repeatability in Soot’s Cook Nook. Buon appetito!

pine mushroom, parmesan & sage

I rarely enjoy pastas at restaurants but damn, this one was good.

The perfect dish to indulge my fatty, carby, salty fantasies in these dark moments. I don’t care that I had to go to the cheese shop for Aged Asiago or that I had to make ricotta from scratch. Thankfully, I had the other 3 cheeses on hand; also thanks to Todd Wilbur for cracking the recipe and to the server and chef at Todd’s local OG for the cheese intel!

BRIEF: “Beef, sous-vide egg, carrot, celery, tomatoes, onions parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, al dente spaghetti.” SOOT’S TAKE: This was all I felt like eating after today’s fishy lunch. I’m so glad it was available within walking distance and it was perfect.

EZPZ hot weather lunch with Calabrian chile paste to spice things up just a tad. The only stovetop work involved was cooking the pasta. 🙌

My current go-to method for a relatively fuss-free pasta dish using cherry tomatoes, zhuzhed up this time with some Burrata.

BRIEF: “Egg yolk | Parmesan cheese | Smoked duck | Al dente spaghetti” SOOT’S TAKE: The spaghetti was cooked to perfection. 👍

Happy National Eat Your Noodles Day! Is there a better excuse to get rid of that opened bag of bucatini and bacon you haven’t really had occasion to use otherwise? Love the crispy bacon and shrooms in garlic herb cream sauce combo!

BRIEF: “Chicken tenders tossed in a creamy pesto and chilli Padi Alfredo sauce. Its hot!” SOOT’S TAKE: Scrumptious! I would return for this.

Fancy-tasting, umami-packed pasta on the relative cheap made possible with a light, creamy duxelles-based sauce of white buttons and (just a quarter ounce of) dried porcini. Then to top it off, a crisp topping of maitakes seared in extra-virgin olive oil. Genius. I think we did good here!

Commemorating National Spaghetti Day with what may be my favorite spaghetti dish of all. It is remarkably simple yet deliciously indulgent in the way comfort food can be. It is also reminiscent of the first pasta dish I ever had at an Italian-Japanese restaurant in the Roppongi area of Tokyo that one night my mom and I had to lay over unexpectedly on the way to Boston so many, many, many moons ago. I am so glad to have found this recipe from because I think of that pasta dish often and this brings back warm and fuzzy memories of gentler times.

A riff on French onion soup but make it extra rich with a heavy cream- and gruyere-based sauce, creamy burrata, crispy prosciutto and a pound of pasta thrown in for good measure. May the heart and pancreas have mercy upon yours truly.

Simple and yummy solution to a hungry tummy.

BRIEF: “Australian grass fed minced beef, carrot, onion, celery, pomodoro, parmesan cheese.” SOOT’S TAKE: Worth a repeat.

Fusilli Corti Bucati tossed in a deliciously creamy cherry tomato vodka sauce. Another one pot wonder that’s up there among my “definitely gonna repeat!” list. Yummo! 😋

BRIEF: “Round shaped semolina pasta cooked in a creamy bisque broth, prawns, zucchini, confit peppers.” SOOT’S TAKE: I really enjoyed the pasta, more so than I did the prawns (even though those were also well done).

Happy National Fettuccine Day! “Delicious and deeply satisfying” is right. Apparently, Jackie O. was a fan and I am too! 🕶️

Happy National Pumpkin Day & day after World Pasta Day, except all I’m seeing is the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I love every element in this pumpkin-y pasta, from the chew of the bucatini to the flavorful, fall-forward sauce and breadcrumbs. Thank goodness I made a substantial batch coz I’m now sick with a respiratory bug.

It’s World Pasta Day! This one consists of tagliatelle and just 3 other ingredients (minus S&P). Buon appetito! 👅

Happy National Pasta Day and happy National Pumpkin Month! We can quibble over the semantics of categorizing 2 types of winter squash, but ya know what? If they’ve called it a butternut pumpkin since god knows when, it’s a goddamn pumpkin to me! 😁 So there, a cozy, satisfying meal to satisfy the fall nut in me. 😌

Had leftover passata in the fridge + it seemed appropriate with an episode of “Billions.” Buon appetito, amici!

Quick, easy and delicious.

Can something be so easy and so tasty at the same time? The answer’s a resounding YES.

Easy peasy lunch.

When you’re wondering about lunch and your leggy basil plants are hinting at an overdue prune job… Also love how the citrus from a whole orange and lemon really brightens this pesto.

Honoring the potential of brandy with pasta tossed with woodsy shrooms and a luscious herbed sauce of tomato with several swigs of Courriere X.O.

Felt like a baked pasta and this was simple and tasty enough, albeit with pricey roma tomatoes (because local tomatoes here are next to flavorless). Would repeat with canned tomatoes next time to compare. 🍅🤞🍅

Cheap & easy lunch

Happy World Pasta Day! I got to harvest some oregano from the pot for this simple and satisfying meal!