Quick baked Pasta...all local of course!

It has been a while since I posted..where have I been?  Working, running, and wandering the streets of Somerville/Cambridge to shop local for Christmas.  On my Plaid Friday shopping trip, I stumbled upon a new old favorite restaurant opening in Porter Square.  Rod Dee.  It is the best Thai take-out in the greater Boston area.  Don't argue with this statement, trust me.  How do I know this?  Well, back when I lived on the Fenway this was my Friday carbo loading spot.  For two marathon training sessions, the carbo loading was fueled by Rod Dee and their fantastic Pad Thai (carbs, protein, sodium..perfect pre-run energy).  True story, I placed my usual call for Pad Thai  and when asked my name and number I said Lisa, 617-oh Lisa yes, no problem.  My order and my name were so common yet they knew me...so you can imagine my extreme sadness when this wonderful local place (along with 5 others) burned down just about 2 years ago.  There was another Rod Dee in Brookline, but it was not the same..then I moved and I have not been able to replace this amazing place in the area..until now.  I am replacing it with itself and it cannot be happening at a better time.  Training for marathon number 3 is about to get underway...I cannot be happier that Rod Dee will be there just like old times!

This brings me to another wonderful, more traditional, carbo loading meal: spaghetti and homemade tomato sauce.  I made this the other night and decided last minute to throw is in the oven for a few minutes to baked and melt the Fiore di Nonno cheese that I topped it with..changed the whole meal!  Very simple. 100% local.

Dave's Fresh Pasta: Whole Wheat cut angel hair
My jarred local tomatoes (or dice canned tomatoes)
Garlic (Sherman's local)
Onion (Sherman's local)
a small chunk of carrot
Fiore di Nonno Mozzarella


I make a very quick sauce.  I remember my parents use to cook a traditional sauce all Sunday morning for our big meal of the day.  No time for that these days!   I just saute garlic and onion in a bit of olive oil in a medium deep pan..few minutes is fine.  My tomatoes already have basil in them..if yours do not, I suggest adding it.  I mix in the tomatoes, some thyme, salt, pepper and the carrot chunk (to eat some of the acid).   Bring to a slight boil and then let it simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes.    Boil a pot of water and cook the fresh pasta just a few moments..,right before the sauce is done.  Drain and mix into the sauce pan to toss and coat the pasta.  I then put a serving size into a small pan that can go into the oven and topped with 1 small mozzarella ball.   I baked it for about 5 minutes..just until the cheese melted and even browned a bit.   It was awesome because the pasta was so hot and the cheese was so melty..mmmm.    That extra 5 minutes of baking made a regular meal into something just a bit more interesting.  Simple but amazingly good!