Pasta Burro e Parmigiano (For Americans: “Alfredo”)

Last updated: December 20, 2025

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 L water
20 g kosher salt
175 g capellini
30 g really good French butter
30 g Parm-Reg, grated

Directions

2 L water
20 g kosher salt

Heat the water and salt in a large pan over high heat.

175 g capellini

Add the pasta to the water, and cook for 2 minutes less than whatever the al dente time is. Transfer to another pan large enough to toss the pasta and turn the heat to medium. Reserve 350 ml (about a cup and a half) of the pasta water, though you’ll likely only need 200 ml.

30 g really good French butter
30 g Parm-Reg, grated
Reserved pasta water

Add the butter and toss to create the sauce. Remove the pan from the heat and give it a minute to cool down before adding the cheese. If you add the cheese while the pan’s too hot, it’ll turn into glue. Add the cheese and a splash of the reserved water and stir or toss to combine. The sauce should be fairly thick, thick enough that there shouldn’t be extra sauce in the bowl when you finish eating. Almost all of it should stick to the noodles.

The Best Mashed Potatoes (Pommes Puree) You’ll Ever Have

INGREDIENTS

Yukon Gold potatoes
25% by weight really good butter
15% by weight heavy cream
Diamond Crystal kosher salt, to taste

RECIPE

Weigh the potatoes. Multiply that weight by 0.25 to find the needed amount of butter, and by 0.15 to find the needed amount of heavy cream.

Put the potatoes in a pot large enough to cover them with at least an inch of cold water. Add enough cold water to cover them by an inch. Turn the heat to high. Once the water starts to boil, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. That means only occasional very small bubbles. Cook until you can insert a sharp knife with almost no resistance.

When the potatoes are done, pass them through a tamis into a large bowl. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water—occasional v small bubbles, remember?—and add 1/3 of the butter and 1/3 of the cream. And a large pinch of salt. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to beat the fat into the potatoes. It’ll look really loose for a moment, but trust me, the potatoes will absorb it. Once it’s absorbed, add the second third and repeat until you’ve incorporated all the fat. Taste for salt, and add more if needed. (It’ll probably be needed.)

Keep warm until ready to serve.

Want to see this in video form? 👇
(Note: the amount of cream and butter in the video are different than listed above, but both are really good.)

Cilantro Lime Beurre Blanc

Last updated: February 18, 2026

Ingredients

1/4 c sliced garlic
1/4 bunch cilantro
6 black peppercorns
2/3 c dry white wine (150 ml)
1/3 c lime juice (75 ml)
1/4 cup heavy cream
8 oz butter, cut into small chunks, chilled
3 tbsp vegetable/chicken/any kind of stock

Recipe

1/4 c sliced garlic
1/4 bunch cilantro
6 black peppercorns
2/3 c dry white wine (150 ml)
1/3 c lime juice (75 ml)
Add to a 1.5qt saucepan over high heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer—around medium low—and simmer until liquid is down to 1 tbsp, about 20 minutes.

1/4 cup heavy cream
Add to the saucepan, increase heat to medium, simmer until it'll coat a spoon, about 5-10 minutes.

8 oz butter, cut into small chunks, chilled
3 tbsp vegetable/chicken/any kind of stock
Reduce heat to low. Add butter to the saucepan one piece at a time, whisking constantly to maintain the emulsion. Strain into small saucepan and stir in stock. Keep warm until ready to use.

Halibut en papillote

Serves 2

• 4 tbsp butter, plus one tsp, as needed
• 2 halibut fillets
• Kosher salt, as needed
• Asparagus tips, from half of one bunch
• 1/2 c mixed olives (I used a mix of kalamata, castelvetrano, and others.
• 4 tbsp non-pareil capers
• 1 tbsp Italian parsley

Heat the oven to 400˚F. Brown the 4 tbsp of butter in a small saucepan. Meanwhile, cut a piece of parchment paper roughly 16 inches by 24 inches for each fish fillet. Fold the parchment paper in half to create a seam, then open it back up. Place the fish along the seam skin side down and season with kosher salt. Add asparagus tips, olives, capers, and parsley. Spoon the brown butter over everything. Butter the perimeter of the parchment paper, then fold it back in half, pressing to seal the sides. Working from top to bottom, fold the parchment paper in on itself toward the fish (like this). Transfer to a parchment paper-lined sheet pan. Cook for 10 minutes per inch of thickness.

To serve, plate the packet and slice to vent the steam.

5 Minute Quinoa

I'm just gonna come right out and say it...

Quinoa tastes like grunt.

Which is expected since people who talk about quinoa usually fit into one of three categories:

1. health nuts who prioritize pseudoscience over taste [you know who you are],
2. people who claim to eat healthy but overeat whatever health food they're crazing on and,
3. Mexicans.

[One of those is false.]

I'm in the fourth category:

Culinary Geniuses.

“Quinoa tastes like grunt.” — Anthony LeDonne

I love quinoa not because it contains a ton of complex carbohydrates, or because it's a formidable intestinal pipe cleaner, but because it's super easy to cook in bulk and makes a great base for other dishes. [Translation: I'm lazy.]

I make a batch on Sundays and add it to dishes throughout the week.

For breakfast, I fry some quinoa in a little butter/olive oil, mix in some browned greens, and throw a few fried eggs on top.

For lunch, I'll top it with pan-fried salmon, blanched leeks, and beurre blanc.

For dinner, I'll eat a steak and just stare at the quinoa [a man can only take so much fiber].

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Ingredients

Makes 6 Servings

• 350g /  1 box of Quinoa
• 700g / 2.5 C Water/Stock/Broth
  We'll call this the "liquid" below. Get ready.
• Salt to taste
  Side note, the reason restaurant food tastes better is salt. Properly wielded it will make everything taste better. And if you're worried about your sodium intake, check the labels on all the prepared food you're shoveling down your pie hole before cutting salt out of a home cooked meal.
• 0-45g / 0-3 Tbsp Butter/Olive Oil
  We'll call this "fat" below. The quantity used it up to you. The more you use the better it'll taste.

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Recipe

1. Heat the base of a pressure cooker over high heat. Add fat.
2. Add quinoa.
3. Toast for a few minutes. Stirring occasionally. VERY occasionally. Go have a few sips of wine. Check Facebook. You're trying to brown this stuff, not just warm it up. It should smell toasted. This will probably take 5-10 minutes to smell toasty. It's okay if you under toast it. It's not okay if you over toast it [cuz then it's burnt, yo.]
4. Add liquid and salt. Seal pressure cooker and cook for 5 minutes. Start the timer as soon as pressure reaches 1 bar/15psi (usually the second red line).
5. Run warm water over the top of the pressure cooker to depressurize and remove the lid.
6. If there's residual liquid, put it back over medium heat for a few minutes without the lid. If not, you're done!