I. Live. For. Dinner.

I do. It is on my mind seven days a week. Before I have even cleared the table, I am already thinking about what I will make for dinner the next day. When I go to the grocery store, I shop for dinner. Breakfast and lunch are a No Man’s Land of “whatever we have in the fridge”. But dinner…dinner is special. Dinner has meaning.

While breakfast and lunch are both important meals, they just don’t rank with dinner. First of all…who actually thinks about food first thing in the morning? Coffee comes first in this house. Breakfast is just something you eat with your coffee. Lunch…well when it isn’t skipped completely, it is usually eaten standing up at the kitchen counter and it involves whatever was left over from the night before. Sorry.

But dinner. Dinner is the culmination of the entire day. Dinner requires some planning and effort. Dinner is savored. In this house, dinner is sacred.

Unfortunately many of us don’t have time for dinner. Sports, work, and other activities make cooking and meal time next to impossible. But I can honestly say that even if we are eating hot dogs and frittata (actually had this for dinner one night many moons ago) at 8:30pm, I make a conscious effort to set the table and have my family sit and eat dinner – together.

Mind you, dinner does not need to be fancy. In fact, the simpler the better…especially if time is not on your side. One of the easiest things to make for dinner is – you guessed it- PASTA! And one of the easiest pasta dishes is Pasta al Tonno.

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Around here, I cook nothing less than a pound, so this recipe is for 1lb of pasta. While the pasta cooks, in a large skillet, saute one small chopped yellow onion in about 3 Tbsp olive oil. Add two cans of “tonno” in olive oil (undrained). Then add a small 5oz jar of green olives (with or without pimentos) chopped. If you have them, 2 Tbsp of capers can also be added.

Mix well and let saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Then add 3/4c white wine and 3 to 4 Tbsp tomato paste. Mix well and season to taste with salt and pepper and a nice dash of red pepper flakes. Reserve about 1c of cooking water when you drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the skillet and mix well. If needed, add the cooking water , a little at a time, to thin the sauce.

Serve immediately…and while adding grated cheese to a fish dish is severely frowned upon is some places, this is the one time I make an exception.

Buon appetito!