Saturday, March 14, 2009

Pasta Dinner with Kym

Who doesn't love pasta? It's so versatile and easy. It can be any thing you want it to be. Many times it's just olive oil, garlic and salt & pepper and you've got a comforting meal. Well this recipe looked yummy but what will Chris think about it? Trying to get the man to eat his vegetables is always a challenge. This particular recipe I found in the April issue of Bon Apetit on page 55. The recipe is super simple. I of course did not follow the recipe completely but revised it ever so slightly to my taste buds. For instance I don't care for green beans (they squeak on my teeth) and I prefer asparagus and peas. I also added pancetta because I know the man would be looking for meat. My fabulous girlfriend Kym came over for dinner and brought a very nice Pinot Grigio. 

Recipe with my modifications:

Spinach Fettuccine With Pancetta & Green Vegetables & Lemon-Parmesan Sauce
1 package of Spinach Fettuccine (Trader Joe's)
2 Tbs of extra virgin olive oil
1 cup of chopped pancetta 
1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
8 ounces of trimmed and sliced zucchini
8 ounces of asparagus tops only
8 ounces of peas (frozen are fine)
1 & 1/2 cups of freshly grated Parmesan cheese + more for passing
1/3 cup of heavy cream
2 1/2 Tbs lemon juice

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid and return pasta to pot.
Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add pancetta, onion, zucchini, asparagus, salt and pepper. Saute until zucchini is almost tender, about 6 mins. Add peas and lemon peel. Toss 1 min. 
Scrape contents of skillet over pasta in pot. Add 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, cream, lemon juice, and 1 cup reserved cooking liquid. Place over medium heat and toss until heated thru & sauce coats pasta. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve passing Parmesan cheese. 

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Sunday, March 8, 2009

Magazines & Notebooks

A lot of my ideas come from magazines. I am a magazine addict! There are magazine stacks all over my house. After a 6 months or so I go thru my magazines and rip out the articles or pictures that are inspirational to me.  I then place these pages in a folder and eventually these ideas will go into a 3 wring binder.  I'm filling three binders at the moment. #1 is for recipes #2 is for party decoration ideas and #3 is for home decor.  #4 which I will be starting soon will be for clothes and shoes.