As if to prove that not everything I cook has been vetted by America’s Test Kitchen, this comes courtesy of Alton Brown from Good Eats fame. A simple pasta dish of spaghetti, pasta water, cheese and black pepper.

For the pasta:
Bring 2 quarts of water to boil in a large pot with 1 T of salt. Add 1lb of spaghetti to water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1c of the pasta cooking water and drain pasta.

Meanwhile, multitask and build the sauce!:
1/3c extra virgin olive oil
100g (3.5oz) Pecorino Romana cheese, grated, plus extra for garnish
50g (1.5 oz) Parmesiano Reggiano cheese, grated
1.5T cracked black pepper, plus extra for garnish

In a large bowl, combine olive oil, cheeses and pepper into a paste. Add 3/4c of the reserved pasta water and stir. Add pasta and vigorously stir for 2 minutes. Add additional pasta water as needed to maintain a lovely sauciness. Garnish with black pepper and Romano cheese!