It was fun starting a new food tradition this season

I was surprisingly ambitious on Christmas Eve. Instead of my usual smorgasbord of fruits, cheeses, crackers and dips, I whipped up an Italian feast. 

My 18-year old nephew, Bill, was coming to visit, and I heard my inner Mario Batali calling to make something special for him. I'm proud to say he's a smart and well-behaved young man, who speaks Italian and plans to visit the boot as soon as he graduates college. Admittedly, I wanted to impress him.

After a few contemplative laps between my cookbooks and the Internet, I selected Michael Chiarello's Pasta Puttanesca, an arugula Caprese salad, garlic toast and a Christmas cannoli cake. Generally when I have guests whose adventurous-eating quotient isn't known to me, I check to see if there's anything I shouldn't serve. I discovered Bill's would-rather-not-eat-list included olives, onions and sliced tomatoes.

As we all know, teenagers can be fussy eaters. Bill on the other hand is generally quite experimental. He just knows what he likes and doesn't like. But I remained resolute in preparing his themed dinner, so I needed to do some serious tweaking.

I used my last two quarts of homemade Ruskin tomato sauce from the freezer but omitted the kalamata and picholine olives the recipe called for. I thought the clam juice, anchovies and capers also might be deal breakers. So I ditched them.  

By the time I was through accommodating Bill's palate, I had nothing that resembled a puttanesca. But it didn't matter. He loved my sauce, which I named Pasta Ruskinesca. 

I have to say, I never felt more Italian.

PASTA PUTTANESCA

2 teaspoons chopped and smashed anchovies

2 teaspoons salted or canned capers, rinsed and chopped

2 cups marinara sauce

1/4 cup clam juice, preferably unsalted

Freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons hot chili paste, finely chopped

1/2 cup each Kalamata and Picholine olives, pitted and quartered

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano leaves

2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley, optional

1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Smash an anchovy fillet with the flat side of the knife. After the capers are rinsed, mash them in the same manner.

Whisk the marinara and clam juice together in large sauce pot and season with fresh black pepper to taste. Add the anchovies, capers and chili paste, then stir. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Check and adjust the seasoning.

Just before serving, warm the sauce and toss in a pan with some hot pasta. Top with grated pecorino. Add some pasta water, if desired, to thin out the sauce, which is also terrific over grilled fish or on bruschetta. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Source: Adapted from www.foodnetwork.com.