Pasta

Judith Kelly from Guerneville, Calif., was looking for a recipe for pasta with shrimp and cherry tomatoes. She had a wonderful recipe for this dish that she found in a San Francisco newspaper 15 or 20 years ago that she unfortunately lost in the 1995 Guerneville flood. Some internet research on my part turned up a promising recipe from a site called eatbetteramerica.com. Their healthy adaptation of the classic garlic shrimp and pasta dish was delicious. At only 323 calories and 9 grams of fat per serving, the dish was surprisingly rich and full of flavor.

Facci is a new bistro-style Italian restaurant near Columbia. The good and very affordably food here is from chef Gino Palma-Esposito, who co-owns Facci with his wife Pilar. If his calling card is Neopolitan style pizza made in wood-burning ovens — crusts made from imported dough, sauce made from imported canned tomatoes — his open kitchen turns out very tasty, generously portioned, and thoughtfully assembled appetizers, entrees and pasta dishes, too. Just when you think Facci is playing it safe, it will come close to knocking your socks off, like with the best take on pasta with clams to show up in a long time, a ridiculously satisfying meatball appetizer, or a heavenly dessert like the zabaglione with strawberries.

If you like Italian restaurants where you feel as if you're eating in someone's home, you're going to love Grano. That used to be one of the great draws of Baltimore's Little Italy - that you could find small, family-run places where you could get a homey, low-key, not too expensive dinner. Grano, which recently moved to larger quarters where Dangerously Delicious Pies Savory House was in Hampden, now does that better than any other restaurant I've been to recently. True, it's not exactly family-run.

When I asked Blake Smith, who has a degree in finance, why he decided to open a pizzeria, he sounded incredulous: "You have to love pizza. C'mon." His new brick-oven pizza place is the Bagby Pizza Co. (1006 Fleet St., 410-605-0444, BagbyPizza.com), just open this week in Harbor East. It's in the old Bagby Furniture building, which is where it gets its name. His chef, if you can call a pizza maker a chef without sounding a little high-falutin', is Kyle Gillies. The menu features gourmet pizza, sandwiches, salads and pasta.

Who knew that Baltimore was hungry for a pizza and pasta place that was health-conscious, locally sourced and organic when possible? Pizzazz Tuscan Grille (711 Eastern Ave., 410-528-7772), in the Pier V Hotel but independently operated, has been a hit since it opened last month. At breakfast free-range eggs, soy sausage, turkey bacon, green smoothies and a wheat grass shot are on the menu - but also bananas Foster crepes and eggs Benedict. Later in the day you can get an Italian cold cut sandwich but also a Get the Glow Raw Wrap or a black bean vegan burger.

Savor a taste of Italy in only minutes with fish fillets topped with fresh tomato slices and melted parmesan cheese. Penne pasta tossed with fresh spinach completes this colorful dinner. Buy whatever white fish looks best at the market or use flash-frozen fillets, which I've found have a fresh flavor. Measure the thickness of the fish and cook 10 minutes per inch. Wine suggestion: I'd sip a nice Italian chianti. spinach penne pasta Cook: 10 minutes Makes: 2 servings 1/4 pound penne pasta 4 cups washed, ready-to-eat spinach 2 teaspoons olive oil salt and freshly ground pepper Bring 3 to 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Cook pasta 10 minutes or according to package instructions.

G. Franco Romagnoli , 82 Star of 1970s Italian cooking show on PBS G. Franco Romagnoli, who, with his wife, Margaret, helped introduce Americans to authentic Italian home cooking on the 1970s PBS series The Romagnolis' Table and in a series of best-selling cookbooks, died Monday in Boston. His son Marco confirmed the death but did not give a specific cause. At a time when many Americans believed that spaghetti with meatballs was an Italian dish, Mr. Romagnoli, a Roman by birth and upbringing, translated the basics of Italian cooking on a low-key show that emphasized simple dishes made with restraint.

With a name that conjures up white tablecloths, lobster tanks and snooty waiters, Sapore di Mare sounds a lot fancier than it is. It's not fancy at all, and that is its greatest strength. Sapore di Mare is the kind of place you'd come to when nobody feels like cooking, but no one feels like making a big deal out of dinner either. Located on a short commercial strip in Joppa, in what used to be a High's store, it's just a little more done up inside than your average pizzeria or sub shop.

On November 23, 2008, MARY ANTKOWIAK (nee Kowalczyk), beloved wife of the late Frank J. Antkowiak, Sr., loving mother of Barbara Schneider and her husband Walter, James Antkowiak, and his wife Thelma, Frank J. Antkowiak, Jr., and his wife Mary; dear grandmother of Madeline Pasta, Tiffany and Brian Antkowiak; cherished great-grandmother of Dylan Hooper and Kathleen Pasta; devoted sister of Tony Kowalczyk and his wife Gerry, Theresa Piasecki and the late...