5 Italian Comfort Meals for Binging Your Favorite Shows
Eat like your favorite waste management family.
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Welcome to Forkcast—our weekly meal plan with five recipes, a grocery list, and tips to keep dinner easy. This week’s lineup comes from our editor, Kelly.
As cooler evenings roll in and summer energy fades, comfort food starts calling my name. There’s nothing better than twirling a bowl of pasta or simmering a rich, saucy cut of meat while catching up on all the shows I missed while frolicking in the sun.
This week’s Forkcast takeover with DIRECTV brings the best of both worlds—pairing Italian-American classics from the kitchen with the classics in the MyEntertainment Genre Pack that yes, I'm rewatching again… But it also gives you access to more than 50 live channels, platforms like Hulu & HBO Max. Together, we’re turning weeknight dinners into something to look forward to, not just get through. Andiamo.
Scroll down for full grocery list and tips.
The Plan
Breakfast: Nonno Corrado's Everyday Italian Bread
It tastes like olive oil and yeast, but covered in thin layers of mortadella, toasted with honey, or used to sop up leftover ragu, it sings.
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Featured Video
Lunch: Antipasto Orzo Salad
To bulk it up, top it with folded prosciutto, or mix in cubes of salami or Parmesan.
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Bake the braciole in the oven while making the sauce on the stovetop and then pour the sauce over the finished braciole.
Food | Recipes
Dinner 2: Raos Meatballs
Spaghetti and meatballs doesn't have to be a meal that you slave over and simmer all day, nor does it need to put you into hibernation once you've eaten it.
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Dessert: Mixed Berry Tiramisu
Creamy, sweet, the perfect midweek bookend each evening.
Food | Recipes
Grocery List
Produce
- 1 small bunch Italian parsley & basil mix
- 6–8 lemons (enough for 4 cups juice + zest)
- 2 large yellow onions
- 1 small jar sun-dried tomatoes (~14 pieces)
- 1 small jar olives (¼ cup needed)
- 1 small pack salad greens (1 handful)
- ½ cup blueberries (1 small container)
- ½ cup strawberries, chopped (1 small container)
- 3 tablespoons freeze-dried strawberries (optional garnish)
- 2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
Dairy & Eggs
- 6 large eggs (buy 1 dozen to cover needs)
- 1 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
- 2 ⅓ cups Parmesan or Italian cheese blend (or 1 wedge Parmesan to grate)
- 1 ¼ cups whole-milk ricotta (1 tub)
- 1 cup crème fraîche or sour cream (1 small tub)
- 1 ½ pounds fresh mozzarella8 ounces mascarpone cheese
- 1 cup heavy cream (1 pint)
- 5 tablespoons butter (buy 1 standard pack = 1 lb / 4 sticks)
Meat & Fish
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ pound ground pork
- ½ pound ground veal (or 2 pounds mixed ground meat blend)
- 1–4 pounds flank or flat iron steak
- 8 ounces thick-cut bacon
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
Pantry
- 12.5 grams active dry yeast (1 packet)
- 500 grams all-purpose flour (1 small bag)
- 15-ounce can tomato sauce (or 1 large jar quality passata)
- 1 jar marinara sauce (your favorite brand)
- 1 cup Port wine or other red wine (small bottle)
- 1 pound ziti rigatti pasta (or substitute 1 short pasta type for all recipes)
- 6 ounces orzo pasta
- ¼–½ cup pesto (1 small jar)
- 1 cup berry jam (small jar)
- 24 ladyfingers (1 pack)
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon St. Germain liqueur (optional small bottle)
The Pointers
- If bread is going stale, don’t toss. Throw it in a food processor and bake for quick breadcrumbs at home.
- Orzo cooks fast and easy, make extra for lunches or side dishes all week.
- Brown the meat of the braciole first to lock in juices, finish in the oven for tenderness.
- Our Test Kitchen creator, Noah Tanen, tackled a traditional Italian Sunday Gravy, watch it here for the history and more pointers.
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5 Summery Meals That Start with Rice
Soak up the sun (and sauce) with these recipes.
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Spilled Milk
What do you listen to when you cook? We're tuned in to Spilled Milk podcasts -- food and hijinks from Molly Wizenberg and Matthew Amster-Burton.
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Creamy Coconut Milk Rice Pudding
Gena shares a bright, creamy vegan dessert that we'll probably be eating for breakfast, too.