La Cucina

"I'm a man's ideal of a perfect meal, right down to the demitasse." -- Comden and Green


I'm sitting at home in our windows-on-three-walls-plus-a-skylight den, watching a torrential downpour all around me. Sundays are long, slow days in these parts: I wake up at 8, spend the morning cooking, have dinner with my family at 1:00, then spend the rest of the day lazing around the house.

Sunday dinner -- when the whole extended family gathers at someone's house for an early afternoon meal -- is one of the few true Italian traditions we strictly honor. It happens every week, it's always a feast, and there's no excuse for missing it. Seriously. If you don't have to be at work, at school, at somebody's wedding, or at somebody's funeral, you'd better be there or risk the wrath of a dozen angry paisanos. And though I've been called an anti-feminist because of it, I delight in putting on an apron once a week, lugging out my great-grandmother's gravy pot and cleaver, and preparing this meal for my family. A normal, non-holiday Sunday dinner should include a little cheese and cured meat for antipasto, a pasta course with homemade gravy, some sort of meat (often cooked in the gravy), at least two vegetables, a simple salad, and, later on, coffee and cake. My grandmother prepared the same plain-yet-delicious homemade tomato gravy every week, but after learning how to work a whole meal's worth of nutrients into a pasta dish during college, I prefer to mix things up a little. This was today's offering: a flavorful pasta light enough for summer yet rich enough for a rainy day.

Penne with Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

1 pound penne, pennette, rigatoni, or similar pasta

1 jar (8-10 oz) sun-dried tomatoes in oil, finely chopped or food-processed, plus 2 tbsp of the oil

1 small onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 box Pomi strained tomatoes

½ cup white wine

2 heaping tbsp herbed goat cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Sautee the onion in the sun-dried tomato oil until nearly transparent, then add the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and sautee until the garlic is lightly browned. Slowly add the wine and reduce for five minutes, then add the Pomi, stir, and cover. Cook on medium heat for one hour, stirring periodically. Pour over cooked pasta, crumble the goat cheese on top, and toss until the goat cheese melts into the sauce. Serves six hungry people plus leftovers.