very cheesy, sorta fancy big shells
i'm back!
I. Am. Back! What I initially envisioned as a short summer break ultimately turned into a bit of a long sabbatical (thank you for your patience; I hope you’re all having a great fall so far!). But now I’m here. Ready. Reinvigorated. Re…ally excited to make pasta together again.
Other than doing a bit of traveling, spending time with family, and reading a bunch of books, the extra time off gave me the much-needed mental space to think about Pasta Social Club, about where it started and where it’s going. If you’re newer to my work, you might not know that Pasta Social Club started in 2019 as a supper club in New York, a series of casual dinners that brought food-loving strangers together around the table. It was about helping people (me included!) make new friends in an increasingly lonely world. Over time, and due to unexpected circumstances (read: a global pandemic), the direction of Pasta Social Club changed, necessarily veering away from intimate social gatherings toward virtual pasta-making classes, content creation, recipe development, and food writing.
I love writing. I love teaching. I love developing and shooting recipes. And I really, really love seeing you cook those recipes in your own kitchens—few things are more rewarding than that. But with the thrill of these new endeavors, I lost track of the most important part of Pasta Social Club: the social. So, although I’ve been quiet over here and on social media for the past few months, I’ve been diligently planning behind the scenes, and I have some new, socially driven initiatives percolating for 2025. I can’t wait to share more of that with you soon.
In the meantime, here are a few updates that I hope will encourage more of that social energy:
Paid Subscriber Virtual Class Discount: Paid subscribers will not only have access to all new Pasta Social Club recipes and tutorials (like today’s super-delicious, slightly fancy shells and cheese), but I’ve now implemented an exclusive paid subscriber discount of 50% on all public Pasta Social Club virtual classes. When a new public class is announced, a discount code will be included in the header of that newsletter—and you can already put the first one to use for my upcoming virtual colorful pasta holiday party on Sunday, December 15! We’ll cover colorful pasta dough and transform it into a variety of festive filled shapes like caramelle and tortelloni. Click here for details and tickets.
Of course, if you’re not ready to become a paid subscriber but want to join the class, you can absolutely purchase a ticket at full price. And if you decide to go paid now, reply to this email and I’ll send you the code.
All Subscriber Pasta Hotline & Chat: I’ve (finally) opened the Pasta Social Club chat thread here on Substack! Think of it as a place to share your creations with the community, as well as a direct line to me and other subscribers to answer all of your pasta- (or other cooking-) related questions. Best way to prep and store pasta for a big gathering? How to substitute whole wheat flour in your dough? I got you. (I recommend downloading the Substack App for this if you haven’t already.)
Private Virtual Pasta Classes: Every holiday season, I release a limited number of private virtual classes, which make a great gift or a fun, cozy activity to do at home. For more details and to purchase directly from my website, click here.
If there’s anything you want to see more of, please don’t hesitate to let me know, whether in the comments or privately at pastasocialclub@gmail.com.
Alright, let’s get to today’s recipe. It feels essential to share some sort of pasta and cheese recipe this time of year, and this one’s inspired by a dish I enjoyed a couple of months ago while visiting Japan. You, like me, might be surprised to learn that Japan (and Tokyo in particular) has a robust pizza culture, what some have dubbed Tokyo Neapolitan. The Japanese are known for their unparalleled dedication to quality—to perfection—and so their pizza is no different: If the Japanese are going to take on pizza, they’re going to make some of the best. And I can attest to that being true. Tokyo Neapolitan pizza is exceptional.
There are several spots in Tokyo boasting great pies, and although we only went to one, I imagine I’d have loved them all. Our choice was Pizza Studio Tamaki, a hole-in-the-wall spot off an alley, decorated with neon signs and vintage Italian posters that made me feel cooler than I am. We sat at the counter and watched the makers stretch dough, arrange toppings, and slide pie after pie into a uniquely Japanese woodfire oven—lower to the ground than Italian ovens, for better air circulation and less smoke—that burns only local wood (Japanese oak, cherry blossom, beech). We ordered two pies: a classic Margherita and the “5 Formaggi”. Both were excellent, but it was the five-cheese that instantly became one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had.
I am not one to typically gravitate toward very rich cheese dishes, and that’s exactly why the 5 Formaggi blew my mind: This pizza was not only punchy, complex, and deeply flavorful, but it was also beautifully balanced, surprisingly subtle, and inexplicably light. It was served with a tiny pitcher of clear Japanese honey for drizzling, and the combination of the salty, savory cheese and delicate, sweet honey had my eyes rolling in the back of my head.
Now back home, I’ve attempted to replicate the experience of eating the 5 Formaggi pizza in pasta form. “Mac and cheese” would be a misnomer here: This dish is less heavy American cheese pulls and more refined Italian pasta ai quattro formaggi. Its foundation is cream, not a roux. There’s not shred of cheddar in sight; the cheese selection is plucked straight from Tokyo. And it’s finished with a zingy honey-rosemary gastrique (a fancy word for a sweet-and-sour sauce) to cut through the richness. I opted for big shells (conchiglioni) because they’re kind of sexy and make a statement (who says you can only enjoy them stuffed anyway?), but any large short-cut shape will do, preferably one with ridges and crevices for the sauce to pool. Make this during a cold, cozy weekend at home or as an easy way to impress a few guests this holiday season.
PS: If you’re juggling a mountain of Thanksgiving cooking this year, I might not suggest this hands-on dish for that particular occasion, but I’ve got plenty of other crowd-pleasing recipes from the archive like:
*Particularly appropriate for Thanksgiving!
Thank you all for being here; wishing you a very happy and healthy holiday!
—Meryl
Conchiglioni “5 Formaggi” with Honey-Rosemary Gastrique
Serves 2 to 4