Who's Eating Our Pasta? Episode 3

We have a special one here for our 3rd Episode! Nolan Rogers is a family friend from Uniontown (so he may be slightly biased) who has become quite the globe-trotting culinary expert. He's carefully & creatively concocted some of the best looking dishes with our pasta. In addition, Nolan is proudly serving his country in the US Air Force. It's blatantly obvious from his interview how passionate Nolan is about food. Keep an eye out for this guy on Instragram (https://www.instagram.com/boho_oki_eats/).

-Where did your interest in cooking come from?

This is a great question to reflect on. I think early in life, I associated cooking with family time and good vibes. It was time to disconnect from the stress of the real world and create a divine dish and share it with the people I loved the most. Anytime we went to Mema's house, she and my Grandfather were always cooking something and encouraged us to be a part of it.

My love for creating and experimenting with new culinary ideas blossomed around the age of 16. I was working at my Uncle's "food truck" type of establishment basically doing all of the side work and prep. It was a typical burger joint that had chicken tenders and fries on the menu, pretty standard menu. During the slower hours after the rush, I began to stray away from the monotony of just burgers and chicken strips. I started mixing different sauces, spices, methods of cooking. Experimenting in small batches and keeping the good ones and soon began making daily specials with some of these whimsical creations. I was no longer an assistant cook, I was a mad scientist in a kitchen. This was the beginning of how I learned to love the culinary world. Cooking has not only served as my creative outlet in a strange time, but it has evolved into something I am very passionate about.

-How have your travels influenced how you cook and eat? Alternatively, how did growing up in the Pittsburgh area influence your culinary interests?

This is a question I could spend hours discussing. Travelling and cooking are my two favorite things in the entire world and I learned later in life the importance of how the two flawlessly fuse together. I have to give credit to the late, great Anthony Bourdain who was my favorite chef personality who had numerous shows and books about his travel and cooking. He didn't create your typical touristy chef show; he dined and drank with the locals at places you wouldn't find on TripAdvisor and got lost in the city. He took it upon himself to learn the history and influence of wherever he was visiting and explained how it directly correlated to the culinary aspect in a quirky, sarcastic fashion. I learned a valuable lesson from his adventures. For example, I don't go to Paris to wait in line for 3 hours to take an elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower.. I want to mingle with the locals and find the best bœuf bourguignon, dabble in some fresh-baked baguettes with locally made camembert, and drink wine made by 5th generation French vintners. I've lived abroad for just over a decade now so I create a lot of "fusions" between dishes I've learned to know and love from travelling and living in other countries. My cooking style and creations are heavily influenced from constantly moving and embracing different cultures. Ill try anything twice. I can't really chime in on how Pittsburgh area really influenced much unfortunately other than being around family. Cooking promoted togetherness and a safe space from real world problems all while providing one of our basic human needs... A delicious meal

-What do you typically cook on a busy weeknight vs. weekends?

So this is most certainly depending on what kind of day I'm having. Some days I'm feeling enthusiastic about it and others I kind of just keep it simple and easy. Even on weekdays where cooking is minimal, I still try and keep it delicious. Last night I slow simmered chicken in mango habanero salsa and added cumin to make it like a chicken fajita rice bowl. **Cook book coming soon**. I love the freedom of creating in the kitchen, so I am really bad about measuring. I add ingredients to taste, smell, and feel. I am a firm believer that recipes should only be guidelines or inspiration for whatever you create and truly making it your own

Sorry, I went on a tangent.. I get excited about this stuff. Weekdays are the simple, easy but tasteful dishes. The weekends when I am not working, I have time to make sauces from scratch and gather ingredients from the market and make a little bit more complex yet whimsical dishes.

-What type of cuisine do you like?

I love it all man. As mentioned before, I have been incorporating the cultures I've learned about in my culinary adventures. I love the idea of fusing together two different styles of cooking to really take your tastebuds on a roller coaster ride. I made parmesan encrusted stuffed shells last week but used chicken slow simmered in enchilada sauce as the filling and covered in cheese. That's the beauty of cooking, there is infinite combinations and possibilities. I think that's why I am so attracted to food truck style dishes. The boho style that might not always be the "social norm" and always keeps you guessing as to what kind of flavor town you're going to adventure to next. I hope that answered the question :)

-What did you like best about the pasta?

Oh man, where do I start. I think low key what I like the best is making a pasta dish for friends with Cucina Calabrese pasta and bragging about how I grew up with the family and now they make the worlds greatest pasta! But for real, the pasta is incredibly consistent and the flavors are absolutely incredible. I would never disrespect the brand. Every time I use your pasta, the sauce is from scratch and the proteins with it are all locally sourced. My favorite thus far has been searing some scallops in a white wine sauce with the Chesapeake pasta as well as chicken diavolo with the sriracha noodles.

-What do you think of the texture or flavor compared to other pastas?

The flavor as aforementioned is absolutely incredible and pairs so well with any theme. The hemp pasta I like to use more earthy pasta like chicken tetrazzini. The Sriracha and Chesapeake are by far my favorite but I incorporate all of them! The texture is phenomenal. It is full bodied and has almost a bounce to it when chewing. I learned the true meaning of al dente when venturing through Southern Italy and no, I do not throw pasta at the wall to see if it's "ready" haha. Ditching my Western style pasta timer methods and embracing the art of true "to the tooth" pasta preparation ensures that every single dish with Cucina Calabrese is perfection.

Well.... at least the pasta is, there's a good chance whatever I make is the polar opposite of perfection. I can spot the difference between your pasta and off the shelf, store bought pasta. Store bought feels and tastes starchy and empty, similar to how cup o noodles. Not knocking instant ramen but living in Japan now, I'm spoiled with some of the best ramen joints in the world. Once you've had the best, forget the rest.

-How do you typically prepare the pasta?

I think the most common preparation is typical pasta, sauce, and protein dish. Al dente and reserving a bit of the pasta water to mix in later depending on the desired consistency of sauce. Even minimalistic sauce like a white wine garlic sauce is more than enough to really compliment the pasta and bring it to life. If I am hosting a party, Ill use it to make a pasta bake in a casserole dish.

-Why or when would you choose this over you basic, cheap pasta?

I honestly have not bought any of the cheap, store pasta since I've had the opportunity to create with Cucina Calabrese. Sooo to answer your question, I always 110% of the time choose this over any other pasta. I love that it is versatile pasta and can be cooked with many different styles. I even used it for buffalo chicken Mac n Cheese recently.