playing with your pasta
If you’ve watched “Mustache Joe,” Joe Sasto, on Top Chef or Food Network shows, you know that he seems pretty laid-back. And in his new cookbook, Breaking the Rules, he explains why. He grew up with a mother who cooked. He spent a lot of time in her kitchen before going on to restaurant kitchens, and he learned that cooking is fun. He worries that home chefs worry about cooking. They worry about getting everything right and following the recipe exactly and having leftovers that will just get throws out. And he’s here to change all that. He wants cooking to be fun for everyone.
Breaking the Rules is a mix of Sasto’s favorite home recipes and scaled-down recipes from his professional gigs. He offers up simple recipes full of potential and adds in creative ideas to break the rules and to use up leftover ingredients. His recipes go from snacks and appetizers through
He starts with Crispy Crunchy, which I can’t be mad at. He offers up an assortment of fried dishes, like his Rice Paper Cacio e Pepe Chips, Santorini-Style Tomato Fritters, Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings, and Crispy Churros and Fonduta. He then goes on to Fresh and Light, like the Grilled Short Rib Lettuce Wraps or Kale Salad with Blueberry and Lemon Dressing. Then it’s on to Breaking the Bread, with recipes ranging from Rosemary and Blackberry Focaccia with Whipped Mortadella to Sesame Semolina Flatbreads, Staff Favorite Cornbread to Garlic Knots.
In Sharing Is Caring, the chapter on larger meals to be shared with family and friends, Sasto brings out his recipes for Risotto, Mom’s Meatballs, Black Garlic Butter Branzino, and Pork Chops with Mustard Berry Jus. In On the Side, he shares recipes that can be used as side dishes or small plates, like Carrots with Spicy Yogurt and Carrot Top Pesto, Blistered Shishitos and Dashi Mayo, Sweet Potato Wedges and Lemony Ranch, and Fresh Corn Polenta with Butter and Chives.
And after all that, we finally get to the pastas. First, in Dried Pasta Is Your Best Friend, Sasto offers up Sasto Bolo (his version of a Bolognese sauce), Butternut Mac N Cheese, Corn Cacio e Pepe, and Pasta alla Mezcal. In Made By Hand, he brings his Grano Treiso Dough to make any number of filled pastas, from Mezzaluna to Tortellini to Agnoletti. These can be paired with the filling of your choice, like the Brown Butter and Potato, Braised Pork and Roasted Pepper, or Chicken Parm. Then he brings the Potato Gnocchi and Ricotta Gnocchi. He finishes with Sweet Treats, like his Absolute Best Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies, Pistachio Calzones, Sweet Potato Pie, Matcha Tea-Ramisu, and Mom’s Crepes.
Throughout are important recipes that can be used to add flavor and elevate many dishes, like Fancy Mayos, Mom’s Red Sauce, Garlic Streusel, Classic Pesto, “Quick and Dirty” Pizza Dough, Fonduta, Whipped Cheese, Pickle Liquor (his pickle brine), Green Herb Oils, And at the end, there is a chapter of essential recipes, including Basic Pie Dough, Tomato Raisins, Garlic Confit, and Burnt Strawberries.
I loved the whimsy in this book and the many colorful photos. I’ve been a fan of Sasto for many years, and this book fits well with the big personality he shows on-screen. But I think the best thing about Breaking the Rules is the versatility he provides for home cooks wanting to build confidence. For him, cooking is about family. It’s about experimenting with flavors you love and finding what works best for you. Sasto has taken his years of cooking with his mother and his experience in professional kitchens and puts it all in these recipes, so home cooks can learn to have fun with their own cooking and share that with those they love. And is there a better reason to cook than that?
Egalleys for Breaking the Rules were provided by S&S/Simon Element through Edelweiss, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.
