Yes, this is the 3rd home-made macaroni and cheese recipe I have on this website, but I refuse to delete one because they are all delicious. Each one is different in its own way. This one adds a kick of spice to it with the addition of peppers.
Picture of my daughter with San Francisco in the background.
Ingredients:
3 TBS butter
3 TBS flour
3 cups milk (warmed)
5 ounces cheddar cheese (shredded)
5 ounces gouda cheese (shredded)
5 ounces American cheese (diced) – get this item from the deli, not the packaged stuff that tastes like plastic.
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 bell pepper (red, yellow or orange)
1 diced jalapeño pepper with seeds
Diced ham is desired
1 lb pasta of your choice (you want a short noodle like macaroni or fusilli)
Directions:
Get some water boiling and start cooking the pasta while you make the cheese sauce.
Combine butter and flour until it is a paste, add spices.
Add warmed milk and stir with a whisk until smooth and creamy.
Add cheeses one at a time, allowing each to melt before adding the next.
Add diced peppers.
Drain cooked pasta, combine the cheese and pasta together, add diced ham is you are using.
Hey friends! I am going through Scott’s book of recipes and getting them on this site so that I can access them while traveling and so that you can enjoy them too. Picture above is of the beautiful sunflowers Scott grows every year.
This recipe is simple, yet delicious.
Ingredients:
2 chicken breast (double this recipe if you have more mouths to feed)
1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, sliced
1/8 cup white wine
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 slices mozzarella cheese
Parmigiana reggiano, shredded
Fresh basil leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat olive oil in sauté pan on medium heat. Add chicken and brown on both sides, set aside.
Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, be careful not to burn it. Add tomatoes, wine, basil, salt and pepper to taste, and cook 3 minutes.
Return chicken to pan with tomatoes and cook on low for 10 minutes.
Place mozzarella cheese on top of chicken pieces and continue to cook on low until cheese is melted.
This Italian version of potatoes au gratin is the best scalloped potato dish I have tried. I bought a mandolin and wanted to try it out and now I have found a potato dish that everyone in the house enjoys. I can’t take credit for the recipe because it is in Scott’s book of recipes, so he deserves all the credit for this dish.
Picture above is the Pantheon during our trip to Italy in 2024.
Picture above of
Ingredients:
4-5 sliced potatoes
5 TBS butter
4 cups whole milk
1/4 cup flour
Pinch of oregano and nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmigiana cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
Slice the potatoes place them in cold water so that they don’t turn brown.
Prepare your cheese by grating.
Prepare your béchamel sauce by melting butter, whisking in flour and milk until thickened. Season with oregano, nutmeg and pepper. Add some grated parmigiana and taste to see if salt is needed.
Layer the dish by beginning with placing some béchamel sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish, a layer of potato, béchamel sauce, parmigiana and mozzarella, repeat layers until the pan is full ending with béchamel sauce and cheeses.
Cover with tin foil for the first 20 minutes in the oven and finish uncovered until the potatoes are tender and the top is slightly browned; about 50-60 minutes.
This is a recipe from my best friend Dawn. She sent it to me in 2001 and I am finally getting it on my recipe blog. You can use whole wheat flour if you would prefer a whole wheat tortilla. Picture above is Dawn and her mom in the 90s.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cup flour (white or whole wheat)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
Directions:
In a bowl, place the flour, shortening, and salt. Mix together with a fork until crumbly. Add the warm water and mix until dough is smooth and knead with your hands until mixture is combined.
Cover the dough and bowl with a towel for 10 minutes.
Separate the dough into chunks, depending on what size tortilla you want, and form it into small balls. If you have a tortilla press, use that to flatten the balls of dough. If not, use a dinner plate by placing the ball of dough on the plate and flatten the tortilla down beginning in the center and flattening out in a circle motion. Make them as thick or as thin as you want.
Heat a non stick pan over medium heat and heat tortilla until cooked on both sides.
This recipe was found on one of the nonna recipe sites we frequent. The batter of this eggplant recipe makes it unique and delicious, the mint is a must. If you want the vegetarian version you can omit the mortadella. Picture above from our Italy 2026 trip of the Roman Colosseum.
Ingredients:
Sauce;
Extra-virgin olive oil
Small onion, diced
28oz can crushed tomatoes
Fresh basil
Salt to taste
Eggplant batter;
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/4 cup parmigiana cheese, grated
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh mint, minced
1 tsp salt
2 large eggplants, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 1/2 cup water
2 eggs, beaten
12 ox mozzarella, fresh, cubed
12 slices mortadella
Combination of peanut oil and olive oil to sauté eggplants
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 fahrenheit.
Place olive oil in a pan and heat, add onion and cook until tender, add tomato, basil and salt to taste. Simmer for 20 minutes or more.
Add flour, parmigiana, garlic, salt, eggs and water in a bowl and mix.
Peel eggplant and slice lengthwise, 1/4 inch thick.
Dip sliced eggplant into batter and sauté on both sides until golden brown, set aside.
In a deep dish, coat the bottom with some tomato sauce mixture. Add a layer of eggplant, add a thin layer of sauce, add a layer of parmigiana cheese and mozzarella, add a layer of mortadella, repeat 4-7 layers depending on how much you are making.
If you are going to finish the last layer with mozzarella cheese, wrap in tin foil for the bake and remove 10 minutes before taking it out of the oven.
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
This is another recipe from Scott’s recipe book. He made it while we were in Italy with chicken and it was delicious, so you get to choose the protein. Serve with risotto, vegetable rice pilaf or potatoes. Picture above was taken on our Italy 2026 trip in Pisa.
Ingredients:
Bone in pork chops (or chicken if you prefer)
Mozzarella, sliced
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup of white wine
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes or fresh tomatoes with passata
Oregano, Italian parsley, thyme and rosemary to taste (fresh or dried)
Salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste
Fresh basil
Directions:
Salt and pepper your protein and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Add olive oil to a sauté pan on medium high and add protein to skillet, browning on both sides. Remove and set aside.
Add onion to skillet and cook until tender, approximately 5 minutes. Add wine and cook off the alcohol for a few minutes. Add tomatoes and spices and let simmer for about 10 minutes or longer.
Add protein back to skillet. Place sliced mozzarella on top of protein, cover the pan and cook for 30 minutes until protein is done and the cheese has melted.
Merry Christmas friends! You may have heard this story. This recipe has been circulating around for years claiming that a Neiman-Marcus Cafe customer asked for this cookie recipe and was charged $250 so she made the recipe go public. Whether it is true or not, this cookie is really delicious. I didn’t add the chopped nuts to mine but you may choose to do so.
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups oatmeal, blended (measure 2/12 cups of oatmeal and blend in a blender or food processor until a fine powder).
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
12 oz chocolate chips
4 oz Hershey bar, grated
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts, optional
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 Farenheit.
Cream butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey bar and nuts (optional).
Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Scott and I spent a month in Italy this year. We rented a cozy place in our favorite town, Lucca, which is within the Tuscany region. He made this amazing lasagna. Even the pasta was made from scratch.
The secret to this dish is the Lucchese Spice. He found it in Lucca, and the ingredients are mysterious but we are guessing it has nutmeg, cumin, and cinnamon in it.
Ragu-
Ingredients-
½ cup Celery, Onion, Carrot Diced
½ lb. Ground Pork or Sausage
½ lb. Ground Beef
28 oz. Tomato Sauce (Puree, Whole, or Crushed) I recommend Cento
28 0z. Water
½ cup Red or White Wine
Salt & Pepper
Lucchese Spice
Oregano
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVO)
You’ll need a Dutch oven or pot big enough to hold 60 oz.
Directions–
Add Celery, Onion, Carrot to pot on medium heat in about 2 TBS. EVO with some salt to help the veggies sweat. Cook until soft.
Add Pork and continuously break up pork until fine and cooked through. Don’t skip this process, patience is key. I usually do it on medium low and keep breaking it up until I like the consistency of the meat. You have to add some EVO if it looks like its drying out.
Repeat the same as #2 with the Beef.
Once the meat is finely broken up add ½ Cup Red (bolder flavor) or White wine, I prefer white. Cook until the alcohol smell is gone.
Add 28 oz. tomato sauce, fill can with water to extract the leftover sauce and add to pot.
Add Spices to your desired taste, but, about ½ teaspoon Lucchese should be enough, you can always add more of anything if you need as the sauce simmers.
Simmer Sauce for at least FOUR HOURS, I find the best sauce simmers for at least six hours. Add water if sauce looks to thick.
Besciamella-
Ingredients-
The simple equation to besciamella is 1 part flour to 1 part butter to 10 parts milk, and can be adjusted as you need.
5 tablespoons butter, (70g)
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour, (70g)
4 and 1/4 cups whole milk, (1 litre)
1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Parmigiano Cheese
Salt (optional) and pepper, to taste
Directions-
I like to do this about 30 minutes before I am ready to assemble the Lasagna.
Melt butter in saucepan.
In a separate pan, warm the milk, do not boil.
Once melted add flour and stir until mixed (no chunks). It should have the viscosity of Elmers glue.
On medium high heat add in the milk and stir vigorously with a whisk until it begins to thicken like pudding.
Add the nutmeg and pepper and mix well.
Grate some parmigiano into sauce, amount depends on you.
Noodles-
Buy a box, cook them. Or I can teach you how to make the homemade version.
Layering-
Directions–
Place a light layer of sauce or besciamella on bottom of casserole dish.
Place a layer of noodles overlapping.
Add ragu to cover noodles but not thick.
Add besciamella and spread out with ragu. It ain’t gonna look pretty but will mix well.
Grate a coating layer of parmigiano over layer.
Repeat until you get to the top or you run out of ingredients.
The top should be a layer of besciamella, or just another mixture of the ragu and besciamella. At this point you might have a lot of one or the other left over. No need to make more. And of course you’ll be wanting to add more grated Parmigiano on the top.
Bake at 400 Degree for 25 minutes. You can always cook a few minutes longer depending on your desire. Another method is 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes.
This cheesy potato recipe is very simple and tasty. The amount of ingredient should be proportionate to the amount of potatoes you use.
The website I found this recipe on is biteswithbri.com.
Ingredients:
Yukon Gold or red potatoes, cut in half
Garlic, minced
Thyme, dried or fresh, chopped finely
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmigiana cheese, grated
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F. Boil a large pot of salted water because you are going to precook the potatoes partially. Once the water is boiling, cook for 10-12 minutes. The potatoes should not be falling apart.
Strain the potatoes and toss with olive oil, garlic, thyme and salt and pepper.
Dip each cut side into the grated parmigiana. Press firmly so that cheese sticks.
Place on baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Finish off by sprinkling some cheese over the top too.
Chez Starz 