the pasta I make when I can't think

Hey there Reader,

There are nights when I don't want to think. I just want dinner to appear, taste like something, and not require me to stand over the stove for an hour chopping and stirring.

​Creamy bow ties with burrata — it comes together in minutes, looks beautiful without trying, and every time I put it on the table someone says this feels fancy. It's not. That's the whole point.

Just pull the burrata apart over the warm pasta at the end and let it do its thing. No extra steps. No technique. Just a really good bowl of pasta that tastes way fancier than it is.

basil tip Stack leaves on on top of each other and roll them up like a cigar. Use a pair of kitchen shears to cut across the cigar to julienne the basil. Or, cut into the tip of the "cigar" first then across for shorter strips.

A couple of tools that makes this even easier:

• Making pesto is so simple with a really great food processor.
• I love my Cutco scissors and also loved using this pair at Williams-Sonoma.

Another one for the weeknight rotation: pretty pink pasta.

Until next time...