November 7, 2026
 Hello Friends,
I love a classic dish that everyone thinks they already know by heart, because it usually means there is still a surprise hiding in it somewhere. Cacio e pepe is about as classic as pasta gets, just cheese, pepper, and starchy pasta water, no sauce required. So when I heard that a well-known pasta chef had started adding a splash of wine to the pan, I had to try it before I would believe it actually worked.
I made last week and shared it with my neighbor Rosa. She loved it and made me promise to write down exactly what I did differently this time.
The trick is toasting whole black peppercorns in butter first, then deglazing the pan with a splash of dry white wine before the cheese ever goes in. The wine pulls all that toasted pepper oil straight into the cream, so every bite tastes a little deeper than the version I grew up making.
Tonight's pick is Cacio e Grigio, a cheese and pepper pasta with one small, smart addition. It takes about twenty minutes, dirties exactly one skillet, and tastes like something a lot fancier than it actually is.
Happy Cooking,
Anisa
 Photo: That first toss, when the cheese finally turns into cream instead of clumps, never gets old.
Today's Recipe
Cacio e Grigio
Serves 4 | Prep 10 min | Cook 20 min
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Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti or tonnarelli
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns, coarsely cracked
- 1/3 cup dry Pinot Grigio (or another dry white wine)
- 8 ounces young Pecorino Romano, finely grated by hand (about 2 1/2 cups), plus more for serving
- Salt, for the pasta water
Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it lightly. Pecorino Romano is salty on its own, so go easier here than you normally would.
- While the water heats, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cracked peppercorns and toast them for a minute or two, just until they smell fragrant.
- Pour in the Pinot Grigio, let it bubble for about 30 seconds while you scrape up anything stuck to the pan, then turn off the heat and set the skillet aside.
- Cook the pasta until just shy of al dente, it will finish cooking in the sauce. Scoop out about 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water before you drain it.
- In a large bowl, whisk the grated Pecorino with the hot pasta water a little at a time until it turns into a smooth, loose cream. Add the water slowly or the cheese will clump instead of melting.
- Set the skillet with the peppercorn butter back over low heat, add the drained pasta, and toss. Pour in the Pecorino cream and keep tossing, adding more pasta water as needed, until every strand is glossy and coated.
- Serve right away in warmed bowls with an extra crack of black pepper and a little more grated Pecorino on top.
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Today's Pick
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Stainless Steel Digital Kitchen Scale with LCD Display
$9.99 $19.99
Eyeballing cheese and pasta water wrecks a cream sauce fast. This scale weighs down to the gram and switches units with one tap for silky results every time. Grab this deal before it's gone.
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Kitchen Hack
Got leftover wine from the bottle you opened for a recipe? Don't pour it out. Freeze it in an ice cube tray, then drop a cube into pan sauces, risotto, or gravy any night a recipe asks for a splash.
Hard cheese like Pecorino or Parmesan stays fresh a lot longer wrapped in parchment paper and then foil instead of plastic wrap, which traps moisture and speeds up mold.
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