10/28/2026
Back on the fall menu: Chef Joey’s Mother’s Ziti with Cherry Tomatoes, Sausage, and Zucchini.
“When I was a chef at Pace in New York City in 2004, a New York Times restaurant critic ordered my ziti and said it was his least favorite pasta, so I got to talking to him about it afterward. I said, ‘How could you not like that pasta?’ And he said it was very pedestrian. My reply was, ‘Well, yeah—my mother taught me how to make it’ (awkward pause).
If he only knew how often this dish wound up on our table when my mother had to feed six kids and sometimes friends and neighbors after a long day at work. It is indeed humble, fast, and delicious.
You’ll probably find crumbled sausage in your grocery store, but if you can find only Italian sweet sausage links, just remove them from their casing and crumble the sausage into the skillet with your hands.”
— Joey Campanaro, from his cookbook Big Love Cooking
