“Dad’s Pasta” is the second episode of the 5th Season of the USAmerican television situation comedy Dad’s Casa. The plot centers on Dad remembering his Sicilian grandma, her lasagna, and when he went off to college.

 

Plot

Dad is sitting at the kitchen table thinking about Grandma Maria who died 20 years ago that day. It was the last day before he went off to college and the day, his parents gave him his first car, an AMC Gremlin. “She made a great lasagna” “Maybe you could make it”, suggests Carmella. Dad looks thoughtful and agrees. Dad finds the recipe in an old shoebox in the garage. “This is… a lot of specific ingredients. I’ll need to go into the city.” There’s a montage of Dad shopping in Little Italy. There’s a spice he can’t find anywhere so he takes a break to have a cappuccino and biscotti. Giving it another shot, Dad spots a little, old-looking, shop he hadn’t noticed before. Upon entering, Dad is enveloped by so many scents, his head spins. There’s more spices here then in the rest of the shops combined. I bet they have melange, Dad mutters. “Can I help you, young man?”, asks the shopkeeper. Dad does a double-take when he looks at her. She looks like she could be his grandmother’s sister. “Yeah, uhh, I’m not sure how to say it. It’s the last one here”. Dad hands over the lasagna recipe and points out the name. “Oh yes, that’s a special one, hee hee. Just a moment.” She retrieves the spice. Dad pays for it and moves to the exit. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. Don’t eat anything you make with this spice after midnight, unless you want straaaange dreaaaams.” Dad shakes his head and thinks ‘That was weird’. Dad burns part of the lasagna but beams when everyone (Carmella, the kids, and Horatio) loves the lasagna. Horatio takes some home in a doggy-bag. Later, Dad gets up because he is having trouble sleeping. He wanders down to the kitchen and has some lasagna before going back to bed. In the morning, Dad looks like he got some, but not enough, sleep. He wanders down to the kitchen to make coffee and sees an AMC Gremlin in the driveway. Dad rubs his eyes and wonders if he’s dreaming. Carmella walks into the kitchen and says: “Surprise!” Dad grins and kisses Carmella before running out to see the car.  A screaming Horatio, dressed in pajamas, is seen and heard running down the street.