Friday, December 2, 2011

Presto Pasta Night #242

UPDATE: Somehow, I missed two wonderful pasta dinners, so scroll down and enjoy....Please let me know if I've inadvertently missed any others.

This is probably the shortest Presto Pasta Night Roundup since I started it back in 2007.  It even took me some effort to come up with my own pasta dish this week.  What with American Thanksgiving over and everyone eating turkey leftovers,  plus the rush of holiday gift shopping and baking, it's no wonder there's little time to whip up something over the top.

So hats off and a HUGE thanks to Tigerfish and Jamie for coming up with super easy and super satisfying dishes to get us all through the season.

Tigerfish of Teczcape has the absolute perfect dish for this time of year... something quick to prepare and nourishing for both body and soul... Chicken & Vegetable Soba Noodle Soup.  Cold and dreary days be gone!
 Jamie at Cookin' With Moxie... and next week's Presto Pasta Night host... used my favorite ingredients... mushrooms, Italian sausages, and a new red sauce for a very interesting Spaghetti alla Salsiccia. that doesn't take the usual two hours to simmer the ragout but packs an awesome punch.
Shaheen of Allotment 2 Kitchen sent in this droolingly delicious Red Chili Spiced Brussels Sprouts Pasta... a dish I would never knowingly keep from us.  It sounds brilliant and I can't wait to try it out.  
And then there's HoneyB of The Life & Loves of Grumpy's HoneyBunch... how could I possibly have forgotten such a fantastic PPN regular, not to mention terrific and frequent host.... who served my favorite food... shrimp.  This time served as Linguine with Shrimp in Saffron Cream Sauce... and I must confess that even though we had shrimp pasta two nights ago plus some for lunch... I'm ready to do it again!

My pasta dish based on an old standby... I can't imagine a freezer with no shrimps or a fridge with no chorizo or mushrooms... had a little twist to it... and an easy way to prep.   In the morning, I put the water in the Dutch oven on top of the stove so all I would have to do when I got home was turn on the burner.  I also peeled and thawed the shrimp, chunked the mushrooms, and chopped the chorizo, placing them in separate ziplock bags in the fridge.   And so I wouldn't forget which extra taste sensations to choose... I put the bottle of sherry vinegar, the avocado oil, an onion, 3 cloves of garlic and the red chili pepper flakes on the counter.  Once home, no matter how tired... no thinking required... turn on burner under water, get out large skillet, chop onion & garlic, heat oil and saute onion, mushrooms & chorizo, add shrimp.  By the time they are pink, it's time to boil the pasta and add sherry vinegar and chili pepper flakes to the skillet to your taste.   Toss in a couple of handfuls of arugula, which will wilt nicely by the time you serve it, and the drained pasta and VOILA!
Tigerfish & Jamie, thanks for sharing this week and everyone out there... put on your pasta thinking caps and join Jamie next week at Cookin' With Moxie for Presto Pasta Night #243.  Just cook, share and mention Presto Pasta Nights and Cookin' With Moxi with links   

Remember there are only two more Presto Pasta Nights for 2011, so let's send the year out in style.   If you'd like to host a PPN Roundup. Just drop me a line to pick a date.  It's never to early to sign up for 2012!

9 comments:

Joanne said...

For some reason I haven't been cooking pasta as much lately! I need to get back in the groove.

It's a short but sweet roundup!

Alisha said...

Well, I agree with Joanne, short but sweet! :) I had high hopes of joining in but things didn't cooperate - next week though. :)

BTW, your holiday slaw recipe was a hit - thanks again for posting it!

Ruth Daniels said...

Looking forward to seeing both of you next week ;-P

Ruth Daniels said...

And Alisha, glad you enjoyed the slaw

Shelby said...

Hi Ruth, I have actually sent you a few emails and thought if strange I hadn't heard back from you. I did send you a post. I will resend it to you if you would like to add it here. Its probably my last one until I return from our vacation unless I make something with pasta this weekend!

Shaheen said...

Hi Ruth,
You seemed to have missed my entry.
:(
http://allotment2kitchen.blogspot.com/2011/11/red-chilli-spiced-brussels-sprouts.html

Ruth Daniels said...

Sorry about that. I'll fix it once I get home this evening

tigerfish said...

Thanks for the round up! I agree with Joanne. Short and sweet!

tigerfish said...

Yes, short but sweet! Thanks for the round up :)