Welcome To PASTA+PLAGUE
PASTA+PLAGUE was borne out of my quarantine in Italy and the admittedly dual desire to get the most out of it while hopefully giving something back— in this case delicious, authentic, inexpensive, and easy-to-make Italian recipes accompanied by weird, compelling, and occasionally gross tidbits from history.
As you read this, the world is undergoing a transformation. I can’t presume to know the reality of what these times mean for you and those you care about, let alone how they might end. What I can do is regale you with stories and quarantine-worthy dishes.
All of the recipes are from my own collection or collected from friends and family here. While dutifully transcribed as instructed, any possible substitutes, additions, or variations will be noted whenever I can. And I will ALWAYS post the recipe first, followed by any backstory. Quarantined with all the time on your hands or no, I get it, not everything’s a memoir. Sometimes you just want some damn spaghetti.
To that end, I believe that good history is good storytelling, at once factual and very much opinionated. Human history is far too absurd not to adopt a similar approach. While I always try to err on the side of sensitivity, even with the tongue-in-cheek macabre, consider this your heads-up.
I hope wherever you are you’re safe and in good spirits, or at least have access to some. If you’re not exactly feeling at home in this world right now, rest assured you’re not alone. Maybe the most any of us can hope for is that the places and events in our lives will surprise and enrich us in some way, that we might leave with something better than what we started out with.
Or else meet you on the proverbial Titanic. I’ll be holding a giant clam shell of lobster linguini with a bottle of bubbly sticking out of it like a Coronarita.
I intend to post stories and recipes on the regular until the need is no longer present or demands to take a different shape. Till then, make sure to give PASTA+PLAGUE a follow and always —
