Sunday, July 18, 2010

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!


2 comments:

  1. We had so much fun! Thanks for making dinner and dessert :) The pasta was delicious and the rum balls were even better (and the John Cusack movie? kind of amazing).

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  2. Haha...agreed on all accounts!

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