Penne with Oyster Mushrooms, Prosciutto, and Mint

This meal seemed to be the perfect marriage of winter and spring flavors: Cheesy pasta and mushrooms complimented with delicate and light, prosciutto and mint. We used whole wheat penne to boost the nutritional value of this dish. The oyster mushrooms were perfect, not too earthy, they added a pleasant chewiness to each bite. The fontina cheese melted really nicely over the pasta and mushrooms and the nuttiness of both the cheese and the whole wheat pasta together was super yummy! The mint did add an unexpected layer of flavor but we weren't wow-ed by it. The prosciutto was a nice finishing touch but could easily be left out to make this a vegetarian meal. Overall, we liked it, we just didn't love it!

buon appetito,

Tempa

Tagliatelle with Spinach and Mascarpone

Before heading off to a hockey game the other day we feed a small crowd with jamie's pasta dish. Upon finding no tagliatelle at our local grocery store we used whatever pasta looked fun that was on hand. It was definitely a tad on the rich side, but pleased most diners. The leftovers came in handy in the following days for lunches. We liked it so much that we made it again a couple days later.

Eat well,

Kim and Dave

Tomato Macaroni Cheese

We hosted a gathering of friends the other evening, and being that our place is a tiny little studio, I wanted to make something that would be easy enough to eat from small plates while standing. I introduce to you: Jamie's Tomato Mac and Cheese. It was easy, flavorful with just enough reminiscence of childhood to make dinner whimsical and fun. Since the recipe indicated that this dish would serve 4, I decided to double the quantity. Looking at 3 casserole dishes later my astute friend Marcell commented that these must be 4 "American" size servings (which is funny with Jamie being British). Between the 7 of us we barely finished 1 of the 3 casseroles. I had the foresight to at least freeze the 3rd, but Bry and I ate Macaroni and Cheese for a few days.

This was a delicious recipe with enough unsuspecting ingredients (anchovies, basil, sun-dried tomatoes) to make this childhood classic a bit more elegant, with torn bits of mozzarella scattered over the top and a finish of fresh bread crumbs, thyme and parmesan. Jamie's recipe calls for a quick cream sauce (really just half and half spiked with nutmeg) as opposed to a more laborious white sauce, which made for a lighter meal. I kept with the "flashback" theme and served Rice Krispies for dessert. Perfect. All in all, I think everyone enjoyed it and I would make this again for a large gathering.

Stephanie

(Note: this image is actually from the leftovers the next day... sorry, I was too busy enjoying it to whip out the camera!)