Casa Italiana's chef, Jose, is by and large considered the best chef on campus... Rightfully so. He consistently dazzles the residents of Casa Italiana and the their lucky guests with his culinary exploits.

Jose comes from Guadalahara, Mexico, where he learned to make the incredible Mexican dishes for which he's renowned: Carne Asada, Mole Poblano, and Tamales. When Jose came to Belmont, California, in 1985, he began to work at Italian restaurants, grooming him to become a great Italian chef. It was during this time that Jose developed an interest and flair for seafood through famous Italian delights like cioppino and frutti di mare.

Before we introduce any of Jose's Mexican specialties, we're going to give you his personal favorite dish, linguine alle vongole.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. linguine
  
• 4 tbs. olive oil
  
• 4 cloves garlic
  
• 2 lbs. little neck clams
  
• 1 pinch peperoncino
  
• 1 tbs. parsley, chopped
  

Directions:

Let the clams drain in cold water for at least one hour. Steam the clams in a large pot until they open up. Do not overcook or they will get chewy. Remove from heat and cool. Remove the clams from their shells. Pass the clam's cooking liquid through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. Put the shelled clams into the strained broth and set aside.

In a sauté pan warm the oil, add the crushed garlic and a pinch of peperoncino. Remove the garlic when lightly browned. Add 2/3 of the clam broth, reduce by 1/3 and add the remainder of the broth along with the clams, the chopped parsley and remove from heat.

Cook linguine in plenty of well salted water. When al dente, strain the pasta, don't rinse it off, toss with the clam sauce over a high flame until desired conistency, approximately 2 mins. Serve.

Serves 6