Cat De Orio
Host of Check, Please!We invited lifestyle expert and host of Check, Please! Cat De Orio to cook up BRUNCH! LUNCH! and DINNER! The former litigator put her foodie passion pedal to the metal, steering her kitchen dreams into a recipe-filled consulting company: Culinary Curator. We love Cat’s down-to-earth mix of creative and foodie skills, which takes her recipes of basic ingredients into elevated dishes worth celebrating. Using simple ingredients that you’re bound to find already in your pantry, Cat dishes up three quick and easy recipes that any novice chef can whip up. With over 1000 TV appearances under her chef’s hat, we’re dying to pick her brain on how to wine and dine at home, and impress our friends, too! Watch and learn—and dig in!—as Cat serves up Pasta Puttanesca, The Perfect Pesto and Asparagus & Poached Egg Salad.
We’re getting silly in the kitchen with Cat who’s dishing up some serious flavor with some essential Italian ingredients.
HOST + CREATIVE D. Graham Kostic | FILMS Emily Hard | TEXT Alaina Africano
DINNER: Pasta Puttanesca This pasta is so quick and easy that it’s literally named the “whore pasta” since prostitutes could make it in between clients! And some tips for the perfect pot of al dente spaghetti: Use 1 gallon of water to every pound of pasta to ensure it doesn’t stick together and always salt the water the pasta is being cooked in, never add oil.
Watch the video above to get more pro tips from Cat herself, and snag the recipe here to whip up this pasta next time your friends are over >>
+++
LUNCH: The Perfect Pesto Our midday main event? Cat let’s us in on all the amazing munchies you can pair with her Perfect Pesto! Swipe some on a sandwich, or even stir into greek yogurt as a dip with crudite. Take your standard vegetable or minestrone soup to the next level by stirring in a teaspoon of pesto. Add it to your morning eggs, or serve with steak. Maybe even baste shrimp or chicken with pesto before grilling. Swap out your traditional tomato sauce base for a pesto base on a pizza. Create your pesto creations—the options are endless. And Cat lends her expertise on the perfect pesto no matter what time of year (basil in summer, arugula in winter, etc).
Watch the video below to see exactly how we make this perfect pesto >>
+++
BRUNCH: Asparagus & Poached Egg Salad We’re excited to welcome this asparagus and egg combo to our next brunch feast. Cat lets us in on the expert secrets to perfectly poached eggs every time.
First, crack an egg into a small ramekin or prep bowl. Fill a small saucepan about an inch deep with water and bring to a boil. Add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir quickly! Gently slide egg into the center of the saucepan, remove from heat and cover for 4 minutes. Use a slotted to spoon to remove your poached egg from the pan. And if you’re not serving the egg immediately? Plunge egg into an ice bath to stop from cooking, and remove when you’re ready to serve. Bon appetit!
Watch the video below to see how to make the Asparagus and Poached Egg Salad >>
Keep up with Cat on Instagram @CatDeOrio + Checkplease.wttw.com