In the warmer months there's nothing quite so good on pasta as pomarola, and it's nice to have a variety of sauces to choose from. Leonard Bibbo has kindly shared some of his personal favorites, and included a quick & easy stuffed pasta and lots of other goodies that I'll be making often this summer.

Make a or purchase a pound of egg pasta, and roll it out dime thin. Cut into 3 " squares

In this version we are going to wind up with a triangle by folding the pasta across itself. They can be made larger or smaller, or even square, if you so desire.

Liberally sprinkle FRESH chopped basil and FRESH grated Parmigiano over one part of the triangle. Close triangle with fork along edges. Important to get edges thin. Cook until al dente in salted water.

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No Garlic or Onion used here

Seed 28-oz can of good Plum Tomatoes. I prefer Rienzi brand, without extra sauce added. If you have access to Price Costco try their imported Nina brand tomatoes. 108 ounces of delightful tomatoes from San Marzano Italy. I prefer to seed my tomatoes to get rid of the seed (healthier - no diverticulitis) and better tasting. Also, who needs the stem cap in the sauce. This is truly Filetto di Pomodori. Its a bit more work but worth it. Women hate to do this. I always get an argument from my wife before doing it, but congrats after. 28 oz of tomatoes and 1/2 pound of pasta are good for two.

In a 10-inch frying pan put 2 oz of extra virgin Olive Oil and sauté the tomatoes with 6 or 7 medium leaves of FRESH Basil for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with 5 or six twists of peppermill - black pepper. Add a splash of Vodka (Gordons or Smirnoff are best - avoid flavored Vodkas like Absolute). Mash down with fork or Masher - not too much. Cook until nice consistency. Not as watery as Marinara but spreadable over Pasta. When sauce is done, remove basil & salt lightly to taste. Stir in one tablespoon of unsalted butter to finish sauce. If you want "A La Vodka" add Heavy cream, stir and cook 1 or 2 min more to get proper consistency.

Climax:

Put pasta in frying pan and coat with sauce. Serve with Fresh ground black pepper and FRESH grated Parmigiano. Cooking in a frying pan is great. Can usually mix pasta for four people there also. More than that, mix everything in a warmed pasta bowl.

Variations:

• Another variation to finishing the original sauce - instead of butter, use one tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Gives it a fine creamy "what is that?" taste.
• Another variation to the A La Vodka Sauce - Coarsely chop 3 slices of medium thickness Prosciutto and sauté in about 2 oz butter. Remove when limp. Add 1/2 cup LeSeur peas ( frozen or fresh - Canned peas not permitted) and sauté until 2/3 done. Then add 1/2 cup chopped Champignon (white) mushrooms and continue sauté until peas are finished. Add back Prosciutto and mix all with A La Vodka sauce. GUARANTEED to blow your mind..... Don't forget the fresh grated Parmigiano.

The above sauces can also be used with Penne, Rigatoni, Bow ties, Spirals etc.

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For the same 28 oz. can of seeded tomatoes, mince 2 thumb size (or slightly smaller, if you prefer) cloves of garlic and lightly sauté in 2 1/2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, in a frying pan. A 10-inch diameter pan is a good size for this. The garlic should, at most, just start to turn a light golden - no more. Add tomatoes and cook covered for 5 minutes under medium heat. Mash down with fork or masher - not too much mashing. Add 5 or 6 twists of pepper mill w/ black pepper, 2 med. size leaves of Basil and a sprig of parsley. Cook semi-covered for another 10 to 12 minutes at most. Remove from heat and remove basil and parsley sprig. Salt to taste. Add 1/2 pound Linguine to pan and coat with sauce. Liberally sprinkle a good amount of fresh chopped Italian parsley over entire pan. Serve immediately. Add more fresh ground black pepper or a little red pepper to each dish. Cheese is NEVER used with this dish.

Variations

You can add peeled and deveined shrimp 3 minutes before removing from heat. You can also add some clam juice in the initial cooking stage and 1/2 can of drained and rinsed clams from Indonesia, Thailand or Japan 4 or 5 minutes before removing from heat. These clams are far superior to any chopped, minced or whole American Clam. Try them, you're in for a nice surprise. They are like the small Italian Vongole. Again, no cheese.

The above sauces can also be used with Spaghetti, Penne, Rigatoni, Bow ties, Spirals etc.

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Use the marinara sauce recipe above, adding some red pepper seeds to the olive oil when sautéing Garlic. After cooking tomatoes for 5 min add splash of vodka and another clove of minced or crushed garlic. Cook semi covered for about 20 minutes to just get rid of excess water. Salt to taste. Coat Penne in pan with sauce. Sprinkle good amount of fresh chopped Italian parsley. Serve with plenty of Fresh ground Parmigiano cheese available.

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This superb dish is usually made with thin cutlets called Scallopini. These thin cutlets are first pounded even thinner with a metal meat tenderizer type pounder; next covered with a thin coating of dry rubbed sage or, in season, a layer of fresh sage leaves and after this, they are covered with a thin slice of Prosciutto which is then pinned to the Scallopini with tooth picks or, better yet, thin metal skewers.

Instead of Scallopini, I prefer to use small rib veal chops about 1/2 an inch thick. They are very tender. I cut the bone almost away but leave it hanging on. A little elegance here. The chop is pounded flat and dressed in the same manner as the scallopini.

Put one tablespoon of unsalted butter and one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan, heat and let bubble but not brown. Then cook the veal 3-4 minutes on each side, and remove to warm platter when done. You will have to add equal amounts of butter and oil as you cook, depending on the amount to be cooked.

Now for the piece de resistance. Most restaurants will deglaze the frying pan, to make a sauce, with a little more butter, or oil or combo of same. Some cook books tell you to use water to deglaze the pan. YUK! Several years ago, we were having Veal Saltimbocca at Ruggiero's Restaurant in New York City's Little Italy. The light sauce covering the veal was superb. After a little coaxing, I was told that when the veal was done they added a bit more butter to the pan, melted it and then added a dry white wine to create this delicious sauce. (The sauce is ready when the sharp smell of alcohol was gone.) I like to use half unsalted butter/half extra virgin olive oil and a Chablis or Pinot Grigio for the deglazing. No salt is used with this dish because the Prosciutto supplies it all. And now a surprise:

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A variation I have never seen on a menu anywhere but guarantee you will like: Veal Saltimbocca GianLeonardo.

One evening, while preparing the chops for Saltimbocca (see above) while at home in N.Y. for the Easter Holidays, I discovered we had no white wine and the liquor store was closed. I really don't enjoy the veal without the wine sauce. My wife had cut a ripe tomato for the salad we were to have with the veal. I confiscated the tomato, diced it and added it to the pan after the veal was cooked ( with a little butter and oil added beforehand ). I added a small amount of salt ( tomatoes always need salt ) and a few good twists of the peppermill. Then to this I added some burgundy red wine. When the fumes were gone, I added this sauce to the veal and WOW!!! I did not know how it would turn out when I started -- it was a great surprise.

I made it for dinner guests the other night, serving it with grilled Portobello Mushrooms, oven-baked quartered red potatoes and a mixed lettuce salad. We drank a fine Zinfandel wine, which I also used to make the sauce. I had to use scallopini because you can't find veal rib chops here in South Carolina.

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The following are two delightful recipes I got a long time ago from a very fine Chef who could do wonders with any kind of seafood. His name was Ardo, of Dennis and Ardo, Route 116, Somers, N.Y. Both gentlemen are deceased and I am pleased to share these recipes with you:

Clams Casino

The clams should be small - 3/4 to 1-inch size - much smaller than cherry stones. You have to try hard to eat only 6.

Open clams to half shell and save juice. Place clams, on half shell, on baking dish and pour sieved clam juice over. Place one teaspoon of Casino Butter (see below) on each clam and a one-inch square of bacon over that.

Bake @ 350 F. until bacon is just eatable, basting clams while cooking. This is absolutely the best - thanks to the creativity of the late Chef Ardo.

Casino Butter:

One of the very fine chefs that I knew made Casino butter this way. Recipe is for one pound of unsalted butter but can be divided into 1/2, 1/4 etc.

• 1 lb. unsalted butter to stand until warm room temp.
• 1 whole roasted sweet red pepper (or pimento). If using red pepper, cook on open flame until skin is blackened, let cool and remove skin and insides.
• 1 whole green pepper, skin on, insides removed.
• 2 cloves of garlic -- index finger size, or if you're a garlic freak, thumb size.
• 1 large sprig of Italian flat leaf parsley.

Put all ingredients, except butter, in a blender and reduce to liquid or as close thereto as possible. Next, stir into warm room temperature butter until thoroughly mixed. If using red pimento from jar, no salt is needed. If using roasted sweet red pepper, after all ingredients are mixed, taste for adding salt. Using lightly salted butter for this just will not do. Place mixture in refrigerator to harden - if use is immediate - or put in freezer if for future use.

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Like the recipe above, I got this, which also works well with trout and sole, a long time ago from a very fine Chef who could do wonders with any kind of seafood. His name was Ardo, of Dennis and Ardo, Route 116, Somers, N.Y.

Soak the crabs in milk for 15 minutes, drain, lightly salt and pepper then lightly coat with flour. Heat half Extra Virgin Olive oil and half unsalted butter until bubbling but not brown. Sauté about 1 1/2 minutes each side (depends on size of crabs) and remove to warm platter. (Add 1/2 butter and oil to pan as needed while cooking.) When done cooking, add good tablespoon unsalted butter to pan, then squeeze juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon in pan to deglaze. You have to taste for the right tang and this depends on the amount you're making. When right, put plenty of chopped fresh Italian parsley in pan, stir, and pour over crabs.

For fish with skin on, like fresh trout or similar, lightly coat inside with salt and pepper, and inside and outside with flour, and cook as above.

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All recipes © Leonard Bibbo.