For National Pasta Month try this “spaghetti sundae” inspired by a dish from VP3 Restaurant in Jersey City, New Jersey.

RECIPE: SPAGHETT & MEATBALL SUNDAE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COOK the spaghetti according to package directions and drain, reserving a few tablespoons of the pasta water. While the pasta cooks, heat the sauce and the meatballs.

Spaghetti and meatball “sundae.” Photo courtesy VB3 Restaurant | Jersey City.

3. MOLD the spaghetti into a tower. You can do this freehand with tongs and a large fork, or use whatever mold you have. We used a chinois (SHEEN-wah—French for “Chinese,” referring to the Chinese-style strainer). You can also try a large funnel, jumbo martini glass or a sundae dish.

4. ADD the meatballs, sprinkle with the grated cheese and top with the mozzarella ball. For a final touch, add the basil “sprinkles.”

The easiest way to differentiate them: Spaghetti is round, linguine (the proper Italian spelling–linguini is an incorrect Americanization) is flat. It is sometimes referred to as flat spaghetti.

All pasta evolved regionally into different shapes and sizes.

For the “cherry on the sundae,” you want a mozzarella ball, not a slice. Fortunately, mozzarella balls are made in several sizes, from perlini, the size of pearls, to bocconcini, large bites. They are sold fresh in water by Bel Gioso, Lioni and other companies.

You can use any size with this recipe. We prefer the largest, bocconcini, because it will sit on the top of a mound of pasta, as in the photo at the top of the page. But even the smallest size, perlini, can be scattered around the base of the plate.

From left to right: perlini, perle, nocciolini, ciliegini, bocconcini, ovoline, half pound, one pound. Image courtesy Lioni Mozzarella. Visit their website for a greater description of the different sizes of mozzarella.

The Brussels sprouts in this photo were grown at The Chef’s Garden in Huron, Ohio. But you can look for stalks with leaves at your local farmers market. If the leaves have already been removed, ask the farmer to bring stalks with the leaves intact next time.

In our house, buying a handsome stalk of Brussels sprouts from the farmers market is a rite of fall. But even if you buy the sprouts already trimmed from the supermarket, you can make the delicious Balsamic Brussels Sprouts recipe below.

Using the leaves of cruciferous vegetables for presentation is a free way to add interest to food. Beyond serving as a bowl or plate, the leaves can be torn into a salad not dissimilar to the now-ubiquitous kale (which is also cruciferous), julienned and stir-fried, and otherwise cooked.

And of course, you can use the leaves to hold other foods.

Even the stalk of the plant has culinary uses. Use Brussels sprouts stalks as you would use broccoli stalks.
 

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 425°F. Trim the cores of the Brussels sprouts and cut them in half vertically. Save any loose leaves that fall off and cook them as well.

2. TOSS the Brussels sprouts in a large bowl with the pancetta, olive oil, balsamic, garlic, salt, and pepper. Spread in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet, place in the oven and roast until deep golden brown (30 to 35 minutes), tossing once during roasting.

3. REMOVE from the oven and toss with the optional ingredients. Transfer to a serving plate and serve hot.

The Brussels sprouts plant (Brassica oleracea) is a beauty: A stalk that grows to about four feet tall, crowned with large, wide graceful leaves. The sprouts, edible buds which resemble tiny heads of cabbage, grow from the bottom of the stalk to the top, in a charming progression from smallest to largest.

If Brussels sprouts look like tiny cabbages, it’s because both are members of the cruciferous family of vegetables. Other members include arugula, bok choy, broccoli and broccoli rabe, cabbage, cauliflower, cress, daikon/radish, horseradish/wasabi, kale, kohlrabi, mizuna, mustard greens, rutabaga, tatsoi and turnips.

While they are thought of as a cool-weather crop, Brussels sprouts can be found in markets year-round. The peak season is September through February.

Few foods are more unpleasant than overcooked Brussels sprouts. The same is true with other cruciferous members: Excessive heat releases an unpleasant-smelling and -tasting chemical compound. But cook them lightly, and they are bites of pleasure.

Brussels sprouts are exceptionally rich in protein, dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, including glucosinolate, a phytochemical and an important cancer-fighting phytonutrient. All cruciferous vegetables contain glucosinolates, but Brussels sprouts are especially loaded.

They are also cholesterol-fighters. Steamed Brussels sprouts actually have a have better cholesterol-lowering effect than raw brussels sprouts. The plant fibers do a better job of binding when they’ve been steamed.

Brussels sprouts are an excellent source of vitamin C; one cup provides more than your daily requirement. Vitamin C, along with vitamins A and E, also found in the sprouts, protect the body by trapping harmful free radicals. Brussels sprouts are one of the best vegetable sources for vitamin K, which strengthens bones and helps to prevent, or at least, delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Is there a better reason to eat them often?
 
 
MORE BRUSSELS SPROUTS RECIPES

As strange as “Brussels sprouts pizza” sounds, it is delicious. Other cruciferous members, like broccoli and arugula, often find themselves topping a pizza. Consider adding some fresh goat cheese in addition to the mozzarella and tomato sauce.

Or, try these:

 
TIPS

What are lionfish? You’re about to find out (and with a lionfish ceviche recipe, too). With the demand for Chilean seabass, halibut, swordfish, wild salmon, and other popular fish, retail prices for premium fish are so high that you might as well go to a restaurant for it.

 
We recently wrote about how trash fish, once discarded when netted along with more popular varieties, are becoming popular with restaurateurs and home cooks who want more affordable options. A fish restaurant in New York City, Seamore’s, recently opened with exactly that type of menu.

Now there’s nuisance fish: invaders that are upsetting the local ecology. The “poster fish” is lionfish.

Though beautiful to look at, they are the bane of the Caribbean.

A recipe for lionfish ceviche is below, but you can substitute any fish.
 
 
WHAT ARE LIONFISH?

Voracious predators native to the Pacific and Indian Oceans, lionfish were brought (or tagged along) to the Caribbean, where they happily hang out among the coral reefs.

 
 
TAKE A BITE

The only good news is that, once the lionfish is cleaned and the venomous spines are removed, the meat is lovely. It is a delicate, white flaky fish, firmer in texture than halibut, with a flavor profile somewhere between grouper and mahi-mahi. It readily accepts any flavor and technique a cook wishes to use.

With a new name, lionfish could become as popular as the Patagonian toothfish (renamed Chilean seabass for marketing purposes) and mahi-mahi/dorado (dolphinfish).
 
Any suggestions?  
 
RECIPE: LIONFISH CEVICHE

Ingredients

[2] Lionfish have 18 venomous spines: 2 pelvic spines, 3 anal spines, and 13 dorsal spines (photo © Jayhem | photos #1, #2 and #3 via Wikipedia).

[3] A red lionish. Lionfish are also called firefish, turkeyfish, tastyfish, or butterfly cod (photo © Alexander Vasenin | Wikipedia).

[4] Lionfish tastes like a cross between grouper and mahi-mahi. You can cook it or use it raw, in ceviche or sushi (photo courtesy Euro USA).

1. CUT the lionfish, peppers, onion, avocado, and scallions into small cubes. Mix all ingredients together and marinate for at least two hours before serving.

2. GARNISH with fresh herbs and serve.
 
 
SEEK OUT THE UNFAMILIAR

When you see an unfamiliar fish at the market, don’t hesitate to try it, especially if it’s well priced. Retailers wouldn’t sell it if it didn’t taste good—and the fresher, the better.
 
 

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That’s a perfect salad recipe in our book. But how else can you make a fall-inspired salad? Start with your favorite lettuces. Then, add two or more selections from the fall produce list.

Aim for fall colors: a bit of orange,

FALL FRUITS

Use them diced or sliced, raw or cooked:

 
FALL VEGETABLES

You can get lots of inspiration just by strolling up and down the produce aisles, looking for appealing colors and flavors.

[2] Beets and oranges scream fall (photo © Socarrat Paella Bar | NYC).

[3] Broccoli and cashew salad on pinto beans with red onion and red bell pepper (photo © Souplantation [permanently closed]).

SALAD BASE

Before you add the greens, fill the salad bowl with cooked beans, greens, or legumes.

 
SALAD GARNISHES

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all ingredients. We like to emulsify it in the blender to prevent separation.
 
 

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The fall cool-down began here last week. But we knew fall was in the air more than a month ago, when the fall-flavor product samples started to arrive.

Fall is perhaps the best season to get into the flavor spirit. As the choices of warm-weather fresh produce narrow, pumpkin, squash and foods flavored with “fall spices”—allspice, cinnamon, clove, ginger and nutmeg—give us something to look forward to.

Consider all the seasonal specialties with pumpkin:

BREAKFAST: You can start the morning with pumpkin spice oatmeal, pancakes and muffins; spread your toast with pumpkin butter; and pop pumpkin marshmallows into your cocoa. Or, just grab a pumpkin scone and a pumpkin spice latte.

BREAK: With your morning or afternoon “coffee break,” switch to Zhena’s Vanilla Spice Harvest Herb Tea or Republic Of Tea’s Pumpkin Spice Seasonal Black Tea, with a a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie or pumpkin biscotto.

LUNCH: How about Chobani’s Greek Yogurt Flip, with Pumpkin Harvest Crisp to toss into the plain yogurt? (Pumpkin Harvest Crisp comprises pie crust pieces, glazed pumpkin seeds and pecans.) We also liked Chobani’s seasonal blended Cinnamon Pear yogurt.)

DINNER: There’s pumpkin soup, pumpkin pasta, roasted pumpkin alone or with other vegetables, rice, even in a green salad. And by all mean, have a pumpkin ice cream hot fudge sundae for dessert. We’ll save the pumpkin cocktails, crème brûlée, bundt cakes and pies for another time.

Here’s the first batch of what we’ve enjoyed so far:

 
For snacking, we’ve enjoyed:

TOP: Talenti’s Pumpkin Pie gelato contains real pumpkin and actual pieces of pie crust. MIDDLE: Flip some Pumpkin Harvest Crisp into your yogurt. BOTTOM: Dandies pumpkin mini-marshmallows, vegan and kosher.

 
There’s more to come, so stay tuned! But first note: Most of these are seasonal specials. Eat up!