Jamie Oliver does it again! This is the best tomato sauce I’ve ever made - and now I know the secret I haven’t seen from Giada - Balsamic vinegar and sugar. After I added these two ingredients, it was WOW!! I actually forgot to add the parm to the sauce, and I think it’s great without it, but if you’re a huge parmesan fan like me, you might want to add it, or sprinkle plenty on top. The recipe calls for plum tomatoes, but I had diced tomatoes - organic which I think helped because a lot of canned tomatoes that are already chopped can be bitter. So try to use plum tomatoes and smash them yourself in the sauce. This is an easy sauce you can make over and over, I count this better than Newman’s Own too. Here’s how it’s done:

Serves 4

1lb piece of ricotta cheese (I had a 15oz tub of it from TJ’s - I think it’s a bit different but still works)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 a dried chili, crumbled - I just used chili pepper flakes

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

knob of unsalted butter

2 14oz cans of good plum tomatoes

3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1lb pappardelle or fettuccine - whatever you want to use

handful of fresh basil, torn into pieces

2 handfuls of freshly grated parm cheese (optional in my opinion)

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Rub the ricotta with the olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano and chilli and place on a baking tray. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden and firm. In a pan, slowly fry the onion and garlic in the butter and a good drizzle of olive oil. Cook for 4 minutes until sweet and softened. Add the tomatoes, simmer gently for about 15 minutes, then mash the tomatoes with a spoon. Add the balsamic vinegar and the sugar and stir until you have a nice tomato sauce.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted boiling water (NEVER EVER put oil in your pasta water - it makes the pasta slick and it won’t hold the sauce) cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve a glassful of the cooking water, then drain the pasta. Toss the pasta with the tomato sauce and add a little of the reserved water to loosen, if necessary. correct the seasoning carefully to taste, then working quickly, add most of the basil and parm cheese. Place in a warmed bowl, rip over some extra basil and crumble the baked ricotta over the pasta.

I wanted to feel less guilty about eating a gooey rich mac&cheese, so I decided to add some veggies. I used zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes as the “noodle layers” and the mac&cheese as the sauce layers. It was awesome it just doesn’t serve as pretty as a true lasagna. I used a basic cheese sauce that’s used in a lot of recipes, and you can change the ratio and/or cheeses used in the sauce. I used about equal parts gruyére and cheddar - fontina and a blue cheese would also be a great compliment. I also put some images of the different stages in case I don’t explain it well. Here’s how it happened:

Serves 6

1 lb elbow macaroni, or any small pasta

1 quart of milk - I like to use whole milk for cooking

8 tablespoon (1 stick) of unsalted butter

1/2 cup all purpose flour

8oz Gruyére cheese, grated

8 to 12oz Cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1.5 cups bread crumbs

2 small eggplants, sliced thin

2 zucchini, sliced thin

2 tomatoes, sliced

salt, pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile heat milk in a saucepan, but don’t let it boil. Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan, about 4 quarts. Add the flour and continue to whisk for about 2 minutes. While whisking, add the hot milk slowly and continue to stir. Let the milk cook for another minute, until it’s thickened and smooth. Turn off the heat and add all of the cheese and stir until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and the nutmeg. In a large bowl, add macaroni and coat with the cheese sauce.

3. In a 13×9 inch oven proof dish, layer about 2 cups of the pasta on the bottom of the dish. Next, layer with the slices of zucchini, covering the bottom pasta layer. Add another layer of mac&cheese. Layer Eggplant. Spoon on one more layer of mac&cheese and top with sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle top with bread crumbs. Bake uncovered in the oven for about 30-40 minutes or until the top is brown and bubbly. Let stand for 5-7 minutes before serving.

I usually like to use my homemade pizza dough the day I make it, but life happens, you end up at a friend’s birthday party, and the dough goes in the fridge. It still works though, and the dough still get fluffy and crunchy. Just make sure you bring it to room temp before you start rolling it out. I’ll put my favorite pizza dough recipe below, and you can add oregano, parm, garlic, whatever you’re craving that day, just to the dough. The fillings are endless, and it’s a good way to use up things you have in the fridge before they go off. Most of the ingredients for the dough you already have in your pantry, and its good to have the active dried yeast in there too, and you can make homemade leftover calzones or pizzas any night. I used cherry tomatoes from the farmer’s market, buffalo mozzarella torn, and prosciutto. Bake at 500F for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is oozing and the crust is hard to the touch. Note: Make sure you slice a few vents in the calzone so it doesn’t explode. No fun. Here’s how I make my pizza dough:

1 cup warm water (105-115F)

1 envelope active dry yeast (Fleischmans is the most common)

1 teaspoon honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1. In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, honey, and 1 tablespoon olive oil, stirring to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. Add about 1.5 cups flour and the salt, mixing by hand or with a large spoon, until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue add the flour 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until the dough is smooth but slightly sticky. You might not need all the flour. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth but still slightly tacky, 3-7 minutes.

3. Oil a large mixing bowl with remaining olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place (I place it on my stove while the oven is preheating), until its doubled in size, about 1.5 hours. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces for calzones, roll out with a rolling pin, place fillings in the center. Fold dough over and pinch down the ends. Cut vents in top of calzone, and bake for 15-20 minutes at 500F.