Pasta Party!

The best way to eat food is to share what you make with friends. Today two of my dearest friends came over for a casual dinner of pasta, Chilean wine, and rum balls.

In my opinion, everyone needs a fool-proof pasta recipe they can tweak and change according to what's on hand. Here's mine:

What you need:

1 box whole wheat pasta

4 peddadew peppers

7-8 slices of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped coarsely

3 large green olives, sliced

4 large black olives, sliced

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tbs capers

juice of 1/2 half lemon

3 inches pepperoni, in thick julienned pieces

salt, pepper, garlic powder, red pepper flakes

2 Tbs fruity, salad olive oil

1/3 c baby tomatoes

Dijon mustard

3 oz Havarti cheese, cubed

(if I had time, I would have also added 1/2 a sauteed onion)

What To Do

Cook the pasta in the way described in a previous post (boiling, salted water with a splash of olive oil) and cook until al dente.

In the meantime, heat some oil in a saute pan and add 2 cloves of garlic. Add all the other ingredients, lastly being the salt and pepper.

Add this mixture to the pasta, then mix in the olive oil and about 1/3 cup sliced, fresh cherry tomatoes. You could add some cut basil here, too.

Finally, add the cubed Havarti. Havarti is a fast melting cheese, so this will probably start melding into the pasta quickly. Squeeze in the mustard (1 or 2 squirts), lemon, add the red pepper flakes, and taste for seasoning.

Finally, dust with a cover of pecorino cheese.

Tips from the Chef

Adding the following things can really make a pasta dish pop:

fresh herbs (basil, for example)

lemon juice and lemon zest

Dijon mustard

red pepper flakes

feta or goat cheese

Luckily, the other little ingredients really pack a punch and I just love them in any dish.

Thanks to my amazing friends who came over to spend a Sunday evening together.

I will miss you so much next year!