My favorite spaghetti & meatballs

Cold season, we've had enough of you. Please send sunshine.

I've pretty much had a cold for 15 days. The taste of Tylenol cold medicine seems permanently lodges in my taste buds. The kids have had non-stop runny noses and now my husband is down and out. So it was time to pull out the only thing that would help: pure, unadulterated comfort food.

This spaghetti and meatballs is a household favorite. The kids love it; my husband swears it's the best he's ever had. And I love it because it means I make one meal instead of my usual gig as a short-order cook.

I might not be able to make cold season go away, but this dinner will warm you up for sure. My other go-to for an easy, family-pleasing dinner is my chicken cutlets with white wine and garlic. This one comes from mom and is a recipe I grew up on.

And by the way, if you try one of my recipes, leave a comment and let me know what you think. What did you change? Or feel free to ask questions and I'll reply.

Spaghetti & meatballs
Adapted from Genius Recipes by Kristen Miglore

Classic comfort food, this is my all-time favorite spaghetti and meatballs. The tomato sauce is my version of Marcella Hazan's and has only 4 ingredients.The meatballs are the classic from Rao's, full of Parmesan cheese. I make a double batch and freeze some for easy dinners.

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 8 oz. ground veal
• 8 oz. ground pork
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 1 cup good quality olive oil

Tomato sauce

• 2 28-oz. cans whole peeled tomatoes in juice
• 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 1 large onion, peeled and quartered
• Salt, to taste
• 1 pound spaghetti
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

Cooking Directions

1. To make the meatballs, combine the beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add the eggs, cheese, parsley and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Using your hands, blend the ingredients together. Mix the breadcrumbs into the meat mixture. Slowly add the water, a little at a time, until the mixture is quite moist.
2. Heat the oil in a large saute pan. When the oil is very hot but not smoking, form meatballs that are about 2 inches in diameter and add them to the oil in batches. When the bottom half of each meatball is very brown and slightly crispy, turn them over and cook the other side. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.
3. To make the sauce, put the tomatoes in a saucepan, breaking them up with your hands. Add the butter, onion and salt to taste. Cook at a low simmer for 45 minutes or more (until it reaches your desired thickness), stirring occasionally. Smash the tomatoes with a spoon as it cooks.
4. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for another 30 minutes so that the flavors blend.
5. Cook spaghetti according to directions on the package and toss with the sauce. You can discard the onion if you want, but it's actually really delicious. Top with the meatballs and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Seafood scampi

Easter has come and gone. The highlight was my little Nutmeg trembling with excitement when she discovered that the Easter bunny brought her the last remaining Paw Patrol Pup she needed to complete her collection. Tiny hands literally shaking as she tore off the paper, squealing as loud as she could. Seeing that little face erased my irritation at having to go to 7 stores to find it. The kids make the holidays a joy.

And this was Good Friday dinner, inspired by a pasta dish served at one of our favorite restaurants on Martha's Vineyard: The Square Rigger. It's a home-cooking type of place that serves up super fresh seafood and big slabs of beef. Summer vacation can't come soon enough. In the meantime, this dinner will suffice.

Seafood scampi

Use whatever seafood you have or can get fresh. I often use lobster when I can get it and sometimes use only shrimp. One whole lobster would do the trick. Or increase the amount of shrimp if that's all you've got.

Ingredients

• 5 Tbsp. Extra-virgin olive oil, separated
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (or more if you're only using shrimp)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup langostino tails, thawed if using frozen
• 3/4 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered (or one plum or vine-ripe tomato, seeded and chopped)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black papper
• 4 scallops, thawed if using frozen
• Juice and zest of one lemon
• 1/2 pound pasta of your choice (linguine, fettuccine)
• 2 Tbsp. fresh chives or parsley, chopped

Cooking Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Heat 4 Tbsp. of the olive oil in a large sautee pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds (don't let it burn).
3. Add the shrimp and white wine and sprinkle with a little salt. Simmer for 2 minutes then flip the shrimp.
4. Meanwhile, add salt to boiling water then add the pasta.
5. Add the tomatoes and langostino tails to the pan with the shrimp and simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Season scallops with salt and pepper to taste.
7. While the pasta cooks, heat remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a small non-stick skillet over high heat. When hot, add the scallops and sear for about 1 minute on each side. They should be nicely brown and caramelized. Remove from pan and keep warm.
8. Reduce heat under shrimp to low and stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice. When pasta is al dente, strain and immediately stir into the shrimp mixture. Let it combine for a minute or two, then divide among 2 pasta bowls. Top each with two scallops and sprinkle with some chopped chives or parsley.

Angel hair pasta with chicken, white wine and garlic

I'm a cookbook junkie. Big surprise from a food blogger. (We can and will psychoanalyze my addiction in a future post.) But mid-week, I don't always have time to consult my "friends" (aka Mario, Ina, Laurent, Thomas, etc.) So this is one of my go-to dinners. Few reasons:

1. I almost always have all the ingredients on-hand - garlic, white wine, chicken, parsley, pasta
2. I can make it in about 25 minutes. 
3. I can make it any time of day and heat it for dinner. So if I'm working from home, I can throw it together at lunchtime. If I'm in the office, I can whip it up when I get home.
4. Everyone claps when it hits the table. Yes, the kiddies actually cheer for this one.

Number 4 is my favorite. And if I make a little extra, lunch for the next day is done for the kids too!

So working moms, make this one tonight. No joke. My husband loves it. My kids love it. Makes for a happy night. (and if you use regular wine instead of cooking wine, BONUS! a glass for mommy!)

Angel hair pasta with chicken, white wine and garlic

I think this originated with a recipe my mom clipped from a newspaper when I was a kid (in other words, longer ago than I'd care to admit). I first made it in college. I no longer even look at a recipe to make it. In other words, it's easy!

Ingredients

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup white wine (I use Pinot Grigio, but you can use cooking wine or whatever you have on hand)
• 1 small bunch fresh parsley leaves, chopped
• 3/4 lb. Angel hair pasta, or pasta of your preference
• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Cooking Directions

1. Cut each chicken breast into 4 thin pieces (you can skip this step, but I find it improves the taste and makes the chicken more tender).
2. On a small plate, mix together flour with salt and pepper to taste.
3. If you are going to serve the dish immediately, start bringing a large pot of water to a boil for your pasta. If you're making the chicken ahead, wait and cook the pasta just before serving.
4. In a saute pan with a lid, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat.
5. When the oil is hot, dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture. I don't worry about shaking off the excess - it thickens the sauce and adds more flavor. Place them in the pan and cook until golden brown. Turn them over and brown the other side. Transfer chicken to a plate.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the garlic, being careful not to brown it. Let it cook for about 30 seconds, then pour in the wine. Bring to a simmer and let it cook for 5 minutes.
7. Return the chicken to the pan along with any juices that have accumulated. Season to taste with more salt, if needed. Sprinkle the parsley over the top and cover.
8. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, flipping the chicken halfway through. During the last 5-10 minutes cook your pasta and drain.
9. To serve, put pasta in bowls and top with chicken and plenty of the sauce. Finish with a generous sprinkle of Parmigiano-Reggiano.