The Pasta Peddler

Miki Sedia and Eric Amodeo together own and operate The Pasta Peddler out of their new location at the Horsefeathers Market. There they are able to offer all of their products, including fresh pasta, raviolis, pesto, and fresh sauce. They will be producing their pasta and ravioli there once the space is completed. They do not manufacture every day, so if you want to catch them in action, you will need to call ahead.

Their pastas are light and airy, not heavy or gummy. During September 2011's NOFA-NY's Locavore Challenge  I featured a pesto pasta recipe using The Pasta Peddler's Tomato Basil Linguini.  The tomato based sauces are heavy with seasoning and a bit on the sweet side, but I think it's more because of the fruit and not because of any added sweetener



The Basil Pesto is well balanced, being neither too oily nor too garlicky, just the hot Italian summer scent of basil and grated parmesan. I'm looking forward to sampling more of their pastas and sauces soon!






Since I last visited, back in April, all of the equipment was put into place and the shop is now churning out a incredible variety of pastas. It is quite the treat to stop in and see all of the strands of noodles dangling on long wooden dowels, drying, waiting to be packaged.

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone soup is made with at the very least cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, beans, and pasta. There are as many variations on this soup as there are stars in the sky, but this one is a Levay-Krause family favorite and I hope it will become your family's favorite.

Warm the sliced onions in a bit of olive oil, until they become soft. Add to a large stock pot or crock pot, along with minced garlic, chopped carrots and celery, 4 tbls fresh oregano, thick sliced cabbage, and diced tomatoes.

Brown the meat and add to the pot along with all of it's drippings. Pour in 6 cups of water and then the very well drained beans.

Add in 2 tbls each salt flakes and cracked peppercorns, and 1 tbls ground white pepper. Turn up to medium-high heat, stir well and cover. Twenty minutes before serving, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta until just firm. Drain and toss with a splash of olive oil. Add to the rest of the soup, stir, and then serve with bistro bread.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Start by making a court bouillon. Dice an onion, carrot, celery, fresh bouquet garni, salt, a splash each of white wine vinegar and a cooking sherry. Cook on low in butter and olive oil until very soft.





Puree everything smooth.
Add 6 cups of water.

Make whole wheat pasta. I used this recipe but added olive oil to it. Sugarlaws shows how to make make it without a pasta machine. Once sliced, toss in a bit of flour and set aside for the last seven minutes before serving.

Sprinkle a quartered chicken with olive oil and Old Bay Seasoning.




Cover with foil and cook for 25 minutes under a low broil or at 450* for 45 minutes. Set out to cool. Cube the breast meat.

Add 1/4 cup of the pan drippings to the soup base and blend with the stick blender. Add the cubed chicken and then the pasta and continue to cook for seven more minutes.

Serve with buttered bread and a salad.

Farfalle & Cheese - An elegant twist on traditional Mac&Cheese

Brown butter roux made with barley flour, First Light Farm & Creamery cheeses, organic sun dried tomatoes in olive oil and rosemary, and local heavy cream and butter.

Make the roux. Add the heavy cream and tomatoes. Use a stick mixer and blend till smooth. Add the cheese and stir until blended.




Boil one pound of Farfalle (bowtie), though any brass die cut pasta like spugnole, trofie or cappelletti will do.

Chunk up 1/2 pound of Cuba extra sharp white cheddar cheese. Shred another 1/2 pound and fold into the sauce.

Drain the pasta well and slide into a 9x11 casserole dish. Pour the sauce evenly over the top and using a wooden spoon turn over the pasta to coat evenly. The wood spoon prevents the pasta from being damaged.

Sprinkle the chunks of cheddar on top and cover with foil. Put into a pre-heated over, set to 400*.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil the last five minutes to lightly brown the cheese. Set out to cool for ten minutes.









Serve with a wild arugula salad and balsamic, olive oil, and mustard seed braised asparagus. A thick hearty red is best, consider a 2008 Palmina Barbera.

Black Rock Kitchen & Bar

Since it's opening, The Black Rock Kitchen & Bar has been near the top of our must visit restaurant's list. We had all decided that twice a month we would, the four of us, visit an eatery we have never been to. I picked up a pack of Buffalo Dining Cards from the Lexington co-op two months ago and we've been steadily working our way through it.

On top of all of this, this is Chef Berdine's home and since watching and cheering him on at the Nickel City Chef Battle earlier this month we had to go to eat his tasty vittles!

We weren't disappointed! The place was bright, clean and in the setting sun, very winsome. The stunning and provocative art was created by Jackie Felix.

My oldest had the macaroni and cheese and the lamb and sweet pea pastries with curried yogurt sauce.

 I had the ocean perch tacos with guacamole and pico de gallo.

The fish was light and crisp and had a superb sharp lime taste. The pico de gallo was fresh and well seasoned, the guacamole was delicate and not grainy or overly seasoned.

My husband picked the 12 oz strip steak sandwich with onions, peppers and provolone. The fries were perfect, right mix of crunch and softness.

Juicy huh? Was so good I nearly yanked it out of his hands!

This was the biggest hand formed burger I'd ever seen and she ate every bite! This was a fantastic visit, the girls really liked our time there and we will certainly be returning. 

Pasta e Fagioli

My pasta e fagioli is a beautiful, thick, hearty, and decidedly non-authentic dish. This dish has ground beef browned in minced garlic and a splash of olive oil. Once drained of excess fats, I added a large can of pink beans, boiled ditalini pasta, a large glass container of Muir Glen Garlic Roasted Garlic Organic Pasta Sauce, and the frozen remainder of the Asiago Cream sauce I made on New


Year's Eve since I had prepped it separately from the seafood and it had such a rich cheese flavor that perfectly suited this dish. I served this with roughly julienned carrots. They were woodsy and thick cored, extremely flavorful, quite earthy and I barely steamed them to keep them as close to raw as I could. I generally can't stand to eat a carrot raw. Don't know if it's the cold snap when you take a bite or the flavor, but I didn't want them fully steamed either. These turned out perfect!

New Year's Dinner

We celebrated our Yule dinner on New Year's Eve with all the family squeezed round the table. Much like Thanksgiving, the table was loaded with all kinds of deliciousness. There was a giant salad, sherry mushrooms, sweet potatoes in maple syrup and La Fiera's 2009 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo.

As it was our first year as a married couple I decided to start an old tradition of "Feast of the 7 Fishes". Some families have multiple dishes with fish or shellfish being the main ingredient, coupled with vegetables and/or pasta. I made one dish with three types of seafood; Salmon, Shrimp, and Lobster. 

The fettuccine pasta was perfect for building a nest for the sauce and fish. The cream sauce was 1 1/2 cups of milk, 1 cup of water, 8 oz cream cheese, and 12 oz freshly shredded aged Italian asiago cheese. It was rich without being heavy and the flavor from the asiago was heavenly! 

Creamed Potato, Leek, and Shredded Zucchini with Yellow Fin Tuna, Asiago, and Ditalini Pasta Casserole

Cream together potatoes, leeks, heavy cream, shredded asiago, parsley, chili powder, salt, pepper, and celery salt.

 Shred the zucchini and add to the cream. Then add in the flaked tuna. Boil the ditalini pasta, drain, then mix into the veggie cream sauce.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Day 15 - Chicken Tetrazinni

Breakdown cost of this meal.

Spaghetti from Pasta Peddler $7.50
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
2 tbls butter
1/4 cup chopped onion $0.25
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced $0.10
1/2 cup of ricotta cheese from Sorrento $1.00
1/4 cup of milk $0.50
2 cups shredded cheese $1.99
2 cups cooked and cubed chicken $1.15
2 tbls chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup diced sweet pepper $0.65

Total cost for 4 servings = $13.14

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook spaghetti according to package directions, add oil and salt to cooking water. Drain.
In large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes. Add cubed chicken, salt, pepper milk, and 1/2 cup of the ricotta cheese. Cook and stir until cheese melts and mixture is smooth. Then the other 1/2 cup of ricotta and stir until smooth. In a large bowl add spaghetti, parsley, peppers and 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Mix well. Transfer to 2-quart baking dish. Cover with the rest of the cheese and then lid or a layer of foil.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Remove foil or lid and continue baking 2 more minutes until cheese melts and just starts to brown.

Day 10 - Lagniappes - Eating Local

After a very long day we decided eating out was a better adventure than me trying to get creative in the kitchen. So we headed over to Lagniappes on Allen Street.


A seasonal delight; Lagniappes Fried Green Tomato Salad is crisp, fresh and boldly flavored. Cucumbers, a blend of greens, Romano cheese, and cayenne buttermilk ranch dressing support a layer of cool green tomatoes with hot crisp fritter exteriors. The tomatoes came from Gardens on Grant, an excellent all organic urban garden.

Lagniappes famous baked Mac and Cheese is taken to a whole other level with these two versions.

This dish is crawfish, sausage, onions, and peppers.

This one is sliced Cajun beef with pigeon peas, green olives, and peppers.

We also shared a bowl of traditional Red Beans & Rice with Andouille Sausage.

My youngest was dumbfounded and amazed by her plate of fried chicken, devouring and making all sorts of exclamations of how amazing the food was!

Eating local can be pretty fun if you give yourself permission to escape the kitchen and explore your city.

Day 5 - Pesto Pasta and Lake Effect Ice Cream

Breakdown cost of this meal.

Pesto Sauce from the co-op $2.29
Tomato Basil Linguini from Pasta Peddler $2.99
Crimini Mushrooms $2.99
Plain Yogurt from White Cow Dairy $2.99
Red Sweet Pepper $0.93
Rosemary and Sea Salt Bread $4.00

Blend the pesto and yogurt together and then add the vegetables, heating over a medium flame and stirring frequently. Boil the pasta. Dish and serve with Rosemary and Sea Salt bread and salad.

For desert we had Salty Caramel Ice Cream from Lake Effect Artisan Ice Cream $3.59


Total cost for 4 servings = $19.78