sam the man

This is my dad, Sam. According to friends he is known as Big Sam, Head Dishwasher of Teapots and Treasures, and a knock-off Mick Jagger. He's got a dad joke in his back pocket at all times, he's the first to say 'Salud!', and he's also the first one asleep at a party. Sam is the foodie of the family, he'll try anything, cook anything, and raves about food more than anyone else. We were blessed to travel as much as we did growing up and my dad was the first to order the craziest item on the menu. This photo was taken in Tuscany, Italy at our favorite cooking class, Opera Kitchen. It was his natural habitat, we drank red wine from a pitcher, ate hand-made pasta, mastered focaccia, and hung out with the property pup, Callie. The star dish of the cooking class had to be the sausage and zucchini pasta. We make it at home now and have tweaked the recipe a bit. So today we'll be plating up what I'll call Callie Pasta, Vesuvio pasta with sausage and zucchini sauce.

I won't lie, it took a while to decide just what recipe I'd be selecting to share with Sam. I went from a crepe cake to Guinness Beef Stew, to tiramisu, and finally ended up here with Callie Pasta. My dad has always loved cooking, which stemmed from his mom, Nana Barb, who you can read about here. Just like her, he'll make you anything you want at the drop of a hat. You're craving a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich at nine o'clock at night? Sure, give him two minutes! Do you want pancakes AND french toast for breakfast? Don't worry, he already has the griddle heating up. Food is a love language passed on through his lineage that holds strong to this day. Cheers Sammy!

Callie Pasta:

Serves approximately 5 people

• 1 pound of GENTILE PASTA VESUVIO DI GRAGNANO

• 4 links of fennel-free Italian Sausage, taken out of the casing

• .5 a shallot finely chopped

• 1/4 cup of white wine (a cheap pinot grigio is best)

• .5 tablespoons of garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon of white pepper

• 3 zucchini squash, grated (do not drain the liquid!)

• 3 heaping tablespoons of all-purpose flour

• 4 cups of low-sodium chicken broth

• 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

• Reserve 1 cup of pasta water right before draining

• Crushed red pepper for garnish

• Shaved parmesan cheese for garnish

• .5 tablespoon of TruOlive olive oil for garnish

1. Start by prepping the following: remove the casing from the sausage, grate the zucchini, and do not drain, and finely chop half a shallot.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauce pot on medium heat. Add the sausage to the pan and use a spatula to break it up while cooking. You want the sausage to be in very fine crumbles and cook until golden and a little crispy, approximately 10 minutes.

3. Once the sausage is cooked and turning light golden brown add the shallots to the pan. Stir continually to ensure the shallot does not burn, approximately three minutes.

4. After cooking the shallots, add 1/4 cup of white wine to deglaze the pan. Stir after 30 seconds.

5. Bring a pot of water to a boil.

6. Add in the grated zucchini with all of the liquid included. Let the zucchini cook on low-medium heat for about 4 minutes or until tender.

7. Cook your pasta until al dente, approximately 8 minutes.

8. Add the 3 tablespoons of flour one at a time and stir between each tablespoon. This will create a roux from the base of your sauce to thicken it when you add the chicken broth.

9. Once the flour is fully combined, add half of the chicken broth and stir. Once that is fully combined, add in the remaining broth and stir.

10. Reserve a cup of the cooking water and then drain the pasta. You can keep the pasta off to the side in the serving dish.

11. Add in the cup of pasta water, combine fully, and then add in the 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and stir again.

12. Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix to combine.

13. My garnish: drizzle of olive oil, crushed red pepper, and shaved parmesan. Enjoy!