Presto Pasta Night is One Year Old! Welcome to the Party!

It's official...Presto Pasta Nights is One Year Old!...

Fifty Two weeks of fantastic pasta dishes of every conceivable computation - boiled,baked and fried; hot and cold; appetizers to desserts; finger food to needing a big spoon and a bib...with kudos to every corner of the world for making Presto Pasta Nights such a success. We've seen recipes from Australia, Singapore, China, Maylasia, Germany, India, Thailand, Greece, Italy (of course), Canada, New Zealand, United States, Ireland, England, Scotland, France. I apologize if I've missed your country.

I must admit, that when I started this event, I was afraid no one would come to the weekly party. In fact, the first one only had 8 entries...all delicious, true, but still...only 8. This week there are more than 30 tasty treats to dig into. So before I turn it over to you....Thank you all soooooo much for playing with me week after week. I do hope you plan on sticking around for the next year. I'm sure there will be even more mouthwatering dishes on the menu. But enough blathering from me.....let's get to the party....

First one here was Lola. She may be without a blog but she's always up for a party and she emailed me this very tasty sounding dish of Bow Ties Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Scallion Cream Sauce.

Lauren at Burghilicious brought these very rich and festive Mushroom Lasagna Rollups . A very cool spin on everyone's fave dish.


Johanna of the wonderful Green Gourmet Giraffe has these perfectly awesome Gyoza with Mushrooms & Lime Leaves....and she wondered if gyoza counts as pasta....is she kidding?!!!!! They're perfect!


Kitchenetta of Got No Milk has a fantastic dish for this time of year...Tuscan Bean Soup. I'm imagining the warmth of the bowl in my hands, the aroma and that flavor...yum!


Dharm, Dad, Baker & Chef is back with my favorite use of pasta...the perfect base for that last minute, "what will we eat?" spontaneous party. His Tuna & Broccoli Dish says it all.


Another long time friend, Ulrike of Kuchenlatein brings an awesome dish to the party. Allgäuer Käsespätzle is Spaezlte taken to the nth degree and she even gives us step by step instructions so there are no excuses for not trying it.


Ivy of Kopiaste shares not only a fantastic traditional Greek dish...Makarounotes Hilopites...she shares some family history. Nothing reminds me of my childhood more than stories of grandmothers, and mothers sharing their "secret" recipes.


One of my favorite PPN regulars is Katie at Thyme for Cooking. She always shares a hysterical story (this time is no different) and a great dish. This luscious one is perfect for the party... Smoked Salmon Pasta. Can you see me in my little black dress and pearls?


Marye at Baking Delights presents a dish that she used to call Chicken Pot Pie until she moved South, where she was informed it's Chicken & Noodles. As Shakespeare said..."a rose by any other name would smell as sweet".


BreadChick at The Sour Dough, was ailing so she couldn't do a fancy dish for the birthday bash, but she did something even better.... Tuna Pasta Casserole. For me, pasta is the perfect thing to prepare when you're not feeling well. It's easy and somehow there's that "hug" from long ago memories of childhood and "mummy".


Rosa of Rosa's Yummy Yums, another great PPN regular shares a second version of that wonderful German dish...Spatzli. How lucky are we! Two cool recipes for one great dish. Now I have no excuse not to make some at home.


Next up is Giz, the other half of the Equal Opportunity Kitchen, Psychgrad's mom! Her Orzo Salad is a perfect party dish - colorful and, best of all...brings a little summer to the table - a definite must this time of year.


Bellini Valli of More Than Burnt Toast came up with a really special party dish - Penne Romanoff - it's even flambeed to really impress us! Way to go!


Sathya, one half of The Baker & The Curry Maker shares a lovely easy Comfort Pasta Bake that works for parties of one or one hundred! I love it.


Tigerfish at Teczcape is a fantastic PPNer and this week she's got a great post and wonderful dish to bring to the party...Mee Siam...Who says knock your socks off dishes can't be quick and easy?!


Mike of Mike's Table shares a step by step recipe for another very classy dish. This one is Beef Stroganof. All I can say is...wow!


Kittie of Kittens in the Kitchen went all out for the party with homemade olive & chili pasta for this Puttanesca Putapasta. I can't wait until my daughter comes home from Cuba to try this one out with her pasta maker.


Sher of What Did You Eat? is another longtime PPNer and we're all happy when she shares a dish. This week, it's a stunning Sweet Pea & Mint Cannelloni that shouts Spring is here!


And Chris of Mele Cotte, another great PPN regular also brings some summer sunshine with this glorious Shrimp & Vegetable Orzo. And the sun just came out as I'm typing this....cool!

Judith of Think on It shares a very traditional, very mouth-watering dish of Cavatelli con Fagioli e Cozze (I love the sound of it in Italian - so romantic) Cavatelli with White Beans & Mussels will taste as good though if you have to say it in English. And tell me you wouldn't want to be enjoying it on that lovely terrace -I dare you!


Katie of Other People's Food always does something interesting. Lemongrass Pork with Rice Vermicelli Salad....I think so!


Kit of Kits Chow made her own party - we all need an invite! - to share this gorgeous Hot Pot Dinner. Perfect for the -12 degrees C we're having here in Halifax.


Kevin, my favorite Closet Cook, went all out and made his own Udon noodles for his droolingly good soup. Very impressive...I usually go to Udon noodles (in a package, naturally) when I'm starving and need to eat within 5 minutes or I'll faint!


Elly of Elly's Opa! dishes up some of my favorite things...Penne with Goat Cheese and Tomatoes and Sausages...Yum!


Ricki of Diet, Dessert & Dogs is back too. She shares a vegetarian dish that even carnivores will adore...Bangkok Noodles with Cashews & Pineapple.


Mike at Mel's Diner is in love with Nigella (don't tell his wife), but then..who isn't. I love this Squash and Ravioletti Soup...no surprise there.


Alisha of Cook, Craft & Enjoy crawled out of her sick bed to be able to join us. I love her Shallota Flavor Pasta. Feel better soon!


Cara at Cara's Cravings shares this dish that has her husband wondering about how healthy it is... Roasted Squash & Ricotta Pasta...I love it when dishes seem too creamy and delicious to be good for us too.


Ginny of Just Get Floury joins PPN for the first time with a lovely looking Squash & Sage Pasta dish. Hope to see you here often Ginny.


Gay, our favorite Scientist in the Kitchen, has a special birthday dish...Special Birthday Pancit Canton. I can't wait to dig in.


Haalo, of Cook (Almost)Anything is a fantastic PPN regular with the most beautiful photos to go along with some great dishes over the year...This one is really awesome...Spaghetti Chittara alla Vongole...check it out.


And as for me....well I've had a busy week reminiscing over the past year...well actually longer in my case, right back to my youth and a family favorite...Lasagna.

And then there was my Homage to Shrimp.

Plus this very classy but so, so easy Tagliatelle con Speck e Pangrattato


Don't forget to join in the Presto Pasta Night experience and please visit the Presto Pasta Gang on Facebook.

As always, from the bottom of my heart (and stomach)...a very big thank you to all of you for playing along and visiting every week!!! I know 2008 will be an awesome pasta year.

The Hunt for Speck...and a Great Pasta Dish

I do hope Ruth, the charming host of Presto Pasta Nights is so busy getting ready for the party that she doesn't realize I'm a little late with this post. It's just that after more than two months of having this issue of Cucina Italiana sitting on my counter, I finally decided that Speck or no...I'd make this awesome dish for the big birthday bash.

But let's back up a bit...when I bought the magazine, the first thing that caught my eye was a glorious photo (much better than mine) of a spaghetti dish...but the title...Spaghetti con Speck e Pangrattato...SPECK!? ....And here's where I show my ignorance....I swear the only thing I could think of was SPAM, which I've never eaten - honest! The thought of eating ground up, congealed meat from a can is too much for me. I have seen it and it just looks too much like cat or dog food.

Naturally, because the magazine is so classy and I have many a great issue with food stains to prove it, I had to find out what exactly Speck is...Wikipedia says it's a juniper flavored proscuitto...which sounds divine. But where oh where in lovely Halifax would I find any? The only place that even knew what I was talking about was Pete's Frootique, but speck was on back order and my name was added to a call list. Well, 3 weeks later and still no speck, so I bought some Serrano Ham - apparently in the same ball park.

Tagliatelle Con Speck e Pangrattato

Because everything sounds better in Italian

This is truly an awesome dish - the sugary caramelized onions is a perfect balance with the salty ham and I'm so glad I got to share it with the rest of you in time for the big party...but I will still be on the hunt for Speck and if anyone knows of where in Halifax I might find it....I'm all ears!

The Best Lentil Stew Yet!

I was planning on only doing pasta recipes all week. Afterall...Presto Pasta Night Roundups only have ONE first birthday party. And I do plan on making a doozie of a pasta tonight. Hopefully I'll get it written up in time for the Big Birthday Bash tomorrow. But....well, let's start the story at the beginning.

I love Wednesday's NY Times. There's always some great food related articles and often fantastic recipes that I usually squirrel away and sometimes ... even get to try out. Last week I came across a wonderful sounding lentil & merguez stew and then on Tuesday I happened to be at Pete's Frootique and bought some lamb and merguez sausages that looked so good.

This is a short post, because really...there are no words good enough to describe this excellent stew. I could go on about the richness, the depth of flavor, the sweetness that balances so perfectly with the spice of the merguez. I could...but I won't. I'll just say this once.....

YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT!!!! It's that good. Trust me, you'll thank me later.

Lentils with Lamb & Merguez Sausage Stew

Lola's Bow Tie Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato & Scallion Cream

Here's another lovely dish from Lola who still doesn't have a blog of her own. I promised to share this great pasta with the rest of us Presto Pasta Night lovers.

Lola's Bow Tie Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato and Scallion Cream

Ingredients:
3 scallions chopped
10 halves reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes or use oil-packed and don't reconstitute
1 cup half-and-half (can use light cream)
1/2 pound bow-tie pasta
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
3 TB fresh parsley
1 TB fresh basil chopped (optional)

This sauce recipe is easily doubled for tripled for more pasta.

Directions:
In a food processor puree the scallions and sun-dried tomatoes with 1/2 cup half-and-half.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the bow ties until al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water. Drain pasta and toss with puree, remaining 1/2 cup half-and-half, pasta water, salt, pepper, basil, and parsley.

Reconstituting Sun-Dried Tomatoes: In a small pan bring enough water to boil to cover tomatoes, remove from the heat and let tomatoes steep for about 5 minutes.

The Perfect Afternoon - Jigsaw Puzzles, Tea & Cranberry Loaf

Some days are perfect. Today was like that. Well, the sun WASN'T shining, but otherwise...it was perfect. I spent the morning baking and the afternoon enjoying it all.

I've become bread obsessed. In fact, my two new bread books arrived this afternoon (after my bread making for the day...oh well, there's always tomorrow) - Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook. I'll be leafing through them and trying out a number of recipes.

The first bread for today...Dark Pumpernickel is awesome. Molasses, strong coffee and cocoa powder give it an awesome dark colour and glorious flavor enhanced even more with caraway seeds. The bread started out in the bread machine and did the actual baking in the oven.

Thanks to my good friend Norene Gilletz, who has a number of excellent breads in Norene's Healthy Kitchen and her perfect tip...use the bread machine to make the dough and knead it but then form it by hand to what ever shape you like. Let it rise, covered in a warm place, until it doubles in size (about 1 hour) and bake at 375°F/190°C for 30 minutes or so. If you want you bread crusty, mist the bottom of the oven a couple of times. The bread is ready when it sounds hollow when you tap on it. All this so I don't have to whine about making giant cubes of bread. To me, shape, texture and colour are as important as the flavor.

That took care of savory...but what about sweet? I remembered seeing a lovely Quick Cranberry Cornbread over at the great baker...Jumbo Empanadas. But naturally I had to make a few changes. First, I ran out of pecans (my favorite baking nut) so I used some lovely pistachios instead. And I think a perfect addition to an already great loaf...crystalized ginger...heaven! Here's my version...

Cranberry, Pistachio & Ginger Loaf

Once the loaf was cool enough to eat, I made a cup of Jasmine tea to go with it and worked on one of my other hobbies...putting together 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles.

What does your perfect day look like?

My Favorite Shrimp Pastas

In the countdown to the big Presto Pasta Night One Year Birthday Bash this coming Friday, I plan on spending the week sharing some of my own favorites...

Yesterday was my homage to lasagna. It holds a warm place in my heart. Today I decided to wander through some of my really early posts (back to 2005 - hard to believe) for an old favorite. And this one....well, it's still a favorite and made often with some variations. The picture is less than stellar, but the taste....oh...my...goodness!

Farfalle with Shrimp & Garlic Bread Crumbs

Naturally, it started me thinking about all the other great recipes with shrimp (one of my favorite food groups...that person at the reception, hogging the shrimp platter....that's me!). So here are some of the ones we see over an over in my home. Mostly because shrimp and chorizo sausages are staples I can't live without. Nothing whips up together faster, better or more impressive to those last minute guests. Like...

Fusilli with Shrimp in Cilantro Tomato Sauce


Shrimp & Italian Sausage Marinara


Shrimp Asparagus & Mushrooms over Multigrain Pasta


Roasted Red Pepper Pesto & Shrimp


Open Ravioli with Shrimp & Spinach

And I can't believe I don't actually have a recipe (0r photo) for the easiest of all...Shrimp with Pesto over whatever pasta is handy.

What's your special, "must have" staple for drop in guests or just plain "losing track of the time" meals? Please join in the Presto Pasta Night Party...It's so easy!