Sunday Dinner Series · No. 1

Sunday
Dinner

An Italian Evening — April 12, 2026

Cooking 2pm  ·  Dinner 6pm
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The Details

Everything you
need to know

📅
Date & Time
Sunday, April 12 · Dinner at 6:00pm
Come cook at 2:00pm
📍
Location
Hannah’s House — Oakland
Text me when you’re close
🍷
What to Bring
An Italian drink or an Italian dessert — your pick
📋
RSVP
Required · Intimate dinner, limited spots

About This Dinner

Small, intentional,
and delicious

I’m starting a monthly Sunday dinner series — kept small so it actually feels like a dinner, not an event.

Each month is a different cuisine. This one is Italian, and we’re going all in: fresh pasta from scratch, a spicy arrabbiata, Roman-style pizza, and a couple of salads to balance it out.

Come early and cook with me. The cooking is the point — it’s how we spend time together before we sit down to eat.

I want as many people as possible in the kitchen. Come cook — it’s part of the experience.

Evening Flow

How the night
unfolds

2:00 PM
Pasta & Pizza Dough
We start both doughs together — everyone gets hands in. Both need time to rest and rise before we can do anything with them.
2:30 PM
Arrabbiata Sauce
While doughs rest, the sauce goes on low — it wants 40 minutes of unhurried simmering.
3:30 PM
Stations Open
Roll and cut pasta, assemble the panzanella, make the arugula dressing, prep the miso-parm sauce.
5:00 PM
Set the Table
Crisp the gnocchi, preheat the oven to 500°F, shape and top the pizzas, set the table.
5:30 PM
Finishing Touches
Cook and plate the pasta, toss gnocchi with sauce, dress the arugula, get everything to the table.
6:00 PM
Dinner
We sit down and eat. Pizzas come out while we’re at the table — they’re the second act.

Salad

Burrata Panzanella

Serves ~14

Make this early — the bread needs time to soak up the tomato juices, which is the whole point. Assemble everything except the burrata and basil, then tear them over just before serving.

Ingredients
  • 3–4 lbsripe tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 large loafrustic bread (~700g), cubed & toasted
  • 1 smallred onion, thinly sliced
  • ½ cupextra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cupred wine vinegar
  • to tastesalt & black pepper
  • 4–6 ballsburrata
  • big handfulfresh basil
Method
  1. Toast bread cubes at 375°F until golden and crisp, 12–15 min. Cool slightly.
  2. Combine tomatoes, toasted bread, red onion, and most of the basil in a large bowl.
  3. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar. Season generously with salt and pepper. Toss gently.
  4. Let sit 20–30 minutes so the bread absorbs the juices.
  5. Transfer to a serving platter. Tear burrata over the top, finish with remaining basil.

Timing: Build this by 3:30pm — it gets better as it sits. Add burrata right before dinner.

Salad

Lemon Arugula
& Chickpeas

Serves ~14 Vegan

Sharp, peppery, bright — the palate cleanser between the richer dishes. Pine nuts and capers add texture and brine. Dress it at the very last second; arugula wilts fast.

Salad
  • 2 large boxesarugula
  • 2 canschickpeas, drained & rinsed
  • ½ cuppine nuts, toasted
  • 3 tbspcapers, drained
Dressing
  • ¼ cupfresh lemon juice
  • ⅔ cupextra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tspdijon mustard
  • 1 small clovegarlic, finely grated
  • to tastesalt & black pepper
Method
  1. Toast pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat, tossing often, until golden — 3–4 min. Watch closely; they burn fast. Cool on a plate.
  2. Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, dijon, garlic, salt, and pepper. Taste — it should be bright and punchy.
  3. Combine arugula, chickpeas, pine nuts, and capers in a large bowl.
  4. Right before serving, pour dressing over and toss quickly. Serve immediately.

Note: Prep everything ahead — keep dressing separate until the moment it goes to the table. Slightly underdress so guests can add more.

Pasta

Fresh Pasta —
Miso Parm & Pancetta

Serves ~14

The centerpiece. Dough at 2pm, rest for an hour, roll at 3:30pm, cook at 5:30pm. The miso adds a quiet depth to the cream sauce — you won’t taste “miso,” just something richer. Pancetta served on the side so the vegans are covered.

Pasta Dough
  • 1kg00 flour or all-purpose
  • 2½ tspkosher salt
  • 7 largewhole eggs
  • 10egg yolks
  • 3½ tbspolive oil
Miso Parm Sauce
  • 6 tbspunsalted butter
  • 4–5 clovesgarlic, minced
  • 3 tbspwhite miso paste
  • 3 cupsheavy cream
  • 3 cupsparmesan, finely grated
  • to tasteblack pepper
Pancetta (on the side)
  • 1½ lbspre-diced pancetta
1. Make the dough — 2:00pm
  1. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl or stand mixer.
  2. Add eggs, yolks, and olive oil. Mix until a shaggy dough forms.
  3. Knead 8–10 minutes on a floured surface until smooth and elastic — it should feel like soft leather, not sticky or crumbly.
  4. Wrap tightly in plastic. Rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
2. Cook pancetta — 3:30pm
  1. Add pre-diced pancetta to a large pan over medium heat.
  2. Cook 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crispy and rendered.
  3. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Set aside to serve on the side.
3. Roll and cut — 3:30pm
  1. Divide rested dough into 4 pieces. Keep unused pieces under a damp cloth.
  2. Flatten one piece and pass through a pasta roller on the widest setting.
  3. Fold into thirds, rotate 90°, repeat 2–3 times.
  4. Roll progressively thinner, stopping 1–2 settings above the thinnest.
  5. Cut into fettuccine. Dust with flour and rest on trays.
4. Make the sauce — 5:15pm
  1. Melt butter in a large wide pan over medium-low heat.
  2. Add garlic, cook 1–2 minutes until fragrant — do not brown.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk miso paste with 3 tbsp of the cream until smooth. This prevents it from seizing in the hot butter.
  4. Add the miso-cream mixture to the pan and stir to combine.
  5. Pour in remaining cream, bring to a gentle simmer, reduce heat to low. Keep warm. Taste before adding any salt — the miso carries plenty.
5. Cook and finish — 5:30pm
  1. Bring a very large pot of water to a boil. Salt it aggressively — it should taste like the sea.
  2. Cook pasta 1–3 minutes until just tender. Reserve 2 cups pasta water before draining.
  3. Move pasta directly into the sauce. Toss to coat.
  4. Add parmesan in 3–4 batches, tossing constantly off the heat.
  5. Add pasta water a splash at a time until the sauce is glossy and coats every strand.

To serve: Plate pasta, then set the crispy pancetta in a small bowl on the side — guests add their own.

A Few Notes
  • Add parmesan off high heat or the sauce will seize and go grainy
  • Fresh pasta cooks much faster than dried — start tasting at 60 seconds
  • If the sauce tightens up before serving, loosen with a splash of pasta water

Pasta

Crispy Gnocchi
Arrabbiata & White Beans

Serves ~14 Vegan

Spicy, hearty, and deeply satisfying. The sauce goes on at 2:30pm and simmers low while everything else happens. The gnocchi get boiled and then pan-crisped right before service — that texture is the whole trick.

Ingredients
  • 6–7 lbsstore-bought gnocchi
  • ¼ cupolive oil (for sauce)
  • ¼ cupolive oil (for crisping)
  • 8 clovesgarlic, thinly sliced
  • 2–3 tspred pepper flakes
  • 3 (28 oz)cans crushed tomatoes
  • 3 (15 oz)cans white beans, drained
  • 2 tspkosher salt
  • big handfulflat-leaf parsley, chopped
1. Build the sauce — 2:30pm
  1. Heat the sauce olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
  2. Add garlic and chili flakes. Cook 1–2 minutes until fragrant and just starting to turn golden.
  3. Add crushed tomatoes and salt. Stir and bring to a simmer.
  4. Simmer uncovered 30–40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until deep and slightly thickened.
  5. Stir in white beans. Simmer 10–15 more minutes. Taste and adjust salt and heat.
2. Boil gnocchi — 5:00pm
  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  2. Cook gnocchi until they float to the surface, about 1–2 minutes. Drain well.
  3. Spread on a sheet tray and let them dry for 5 minutes — this is what makes them crisp.
3. Crisp and finish — 5:15pm
  1. Gently reheat the arrabbiata sauce over low heat, stirring occasionally.
  2. Heat the crisping olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high until shimmering.
  3. Add gnocchi in a single layer. Do not touch for 3–5 minutes until the bottoms are golden.
  4. Toss and cook another 2–3 minutes. Work in batches — don’t crowd the pan.
  5. Pour warm sauce over gnocchi, toss to coat. Finish with parsley.
A Few Notes
  • The drying step before crisping is not optional — wet gnocchi steams instead of browns
  • The sauce improves the longer it sits; make it early and reheat gently before serving

Pizzas

Roman-Style
Pizza

9 Pizzas Total

Thin, crispy, Roman-style — the second act of dinner. Dough starts at 2pm alongside the pasta dough and needs 90 minutes to rise. Pizzas bake at 500°F while everyone is already at the table. Nine pizzas total across five varieties.

Dough (9 pizzas)
  • 4 tspsugar
  • 4½ tspactive dry yeast
  • 3 cupswarm water (110°F)
  • ½ cupolive oil
  • 3½ tspkosher salt
  • ~9 cupsbread flour or all-purpose
Varieties — 2 of each
Margherita + Ricotta Tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, ricotta dollops, basil after baking x2
Pepperoni + Hot Honey Tomato sauce, mozz, pepperoni — drizzle honey the moment it comes out x2
Mushroom & Caramelized Onion Ricotta base, sautéed mushrooms, sweet onions, fresh thyme x2
Sweet Bianca Ricotta base, sliced fresh figs, honey drizzle, crushed walnuts, fresh rosemary — finish with a pinch of flaky salt x2
Lemon Zucchini Olive oil base, thin-sliced zucchini, lemon zest, fresh herbs, flaky salt — no cheese x1 Vegan
1. Make dough — 2:00pm
  1. Combine warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let sit 5 minutes until foamy — if it doesn’t foam, the yeast is dead; start over.
  2. Stir in olive oil and salt.
  3. Add flour gradually, mixing until a cohesive dough forms.
  4. Knead 6–8 minutes until smooth and slightly tacky (not sticky).
  5. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth. Rise ~90 minutes until doubled.
2. Preheat oven — 5:00pm
  1. Set oven to 500°F with a pizza stone or inverted sheet pan on the middle rack.
  2. Let it heat a full 45 minutes — the stone needs to be genuinely hot for a crispy bottom.
3. Shape, top & bake — 5:30pm+
  1. Divide risen dough into 9 equal pieces (~200g each). Shape each into a ball, cover with a damp cloth and rest 15–20 minutes — this relaxes the gluten so the dough stretches without snapping back.
  2. On a floured surface, stretch each rested piece into a thin rectangle or oval — Roman style is rustic, not round.
  3. Top lightly. Less is more; overloaded pizza won’t crisp.
  4. Slide onto parchment and transfer to the hot stone. Bake 7–9 minutes until the crust is golden and the edges are bubbled.

Stagger the bakes. Start the first two while people are sitting down — fresh pizza arriving at the table every 8 minutes is the move.

What You're Bringing

Let us know
what’s coming

Drink, dessert, or both — claim it here so we don’t end up with five Aperol Spritzes.