Last night was grilling night at our house. Puppy Daddy loves grilled vegetables and I love pasta, so we put them together and came up with this delicious dish. It was a side dish to a grilled pork tenderloin, but it certainly could be a main dish all by itself.
I put the veggies on skewers, but you could also use a grill pan. While the veggies are on the grill, brush them with a mixture of melted butter, extra virgin olive oil, garlic and fresh basil. When they're done, chop them up and toss with your favorite shape of pasta, the left over basting sauce, and Parmesan cheese. YUM!
Ingredients
1/2 red onion, quartered
1 green pepper
1 zucchini, sliced
1/2 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
9 -10 mushrooms
2 TB butter, melted
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
8 oz penne pasta, cooked to package directions
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Directions
Separate layers of quartered onion. Core green pepper. Chop in 2 inch squares. Skewer all veggies. Combine butter, oil, garlic and basil. Place veggie skewers on a medium high grill and brush with up to 3/4 of the butter and oil mixture. Cook veggies for 10 - 15 minutes. Turning every 5 minutes. (Use a pot holder. The skewer handles will be very hot!) Take skewers off the grill and chop veggies. Combine with pasta, what's left of the butter, oil mixture and Parmesan cheese.
Arriving home late and hungry with no plan for dinner for me means looking through the fridge and pantry to figure out what I can throw together. This has led and to some of my best and worst recipes. This one is a keeper. The magic in this combination is the olive tapenade or olive salad. You can get a really great olive salad at the Saturday Morning Market from Jays Marketplace. It's an easy meal and you can switch out many of the ingredients for what you have on hand.
Ingredients
2 TB olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 lb Italian sausage
1 can diced tomatoes with juices
1/4 cup olive tapenade or olive salad
1/2 lb pasta of your choice
salt
Parmesan cheese
Directions
In a large skillet brown onion and sausage in olive oil, breaking sausage into small pieces. Meanwhile bring water to a boil in a large pot. Salt water and add pasta. Cook according to package directions. After sausage and onions are browned add tomatoes with juices and olive tapenade or spread. When pasta is finished cooking drain and add to sauce. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.
The Saturday Morning Market in downtown St. Petersburg has recently become a favorite outing for Puppy Daddy and me. I can't believe it has been in existence for ten years and we have just now discovered it. The market has several fresh produce stands, baked goods, gourmet foods, arts, crafts and prepared foods. We love buying our fresh produce for the week and fresh bread. This week we bought Tomato-Basil Penne from Pappardelle's. They make over 100 flavors of dried pasta and fresh-frozen ravioli, sauces and pestos, each
handcrafted in small batches using every facet of traditional Italian pasta
making techniques. It is sold only in a few gourmet shops and farmers markets across the country. We bought the very last of the Tomato-Basil Penne on Saturday. The poor customer right after us had to make an alternate choice. This recipe uses the pasta and fresh asparagus from the market. I served this pasta with delicious rosemary rolls, also from the market. If you haven't been, I encourage you to check it out soon!
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
4 oz cream cheese
3/4 cup milk
4 TB prepared marinara sauce
1/2 lb asparagus, sliced into 2 inch pieces
1 lb penne pasta
salt
Directions
Fill a large pot with water add a generous amount of salt and bring to a boil. When water is boiling add pasta and cook according to directions on the package.Add asparagus to the pot for the last 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile make the sauce. In a medium sized sauce pan melt butter over medium heat. When melted add cream cheese. Stir until melted. Add milk and marinara sauce. Continue to stir until sauce is melted. Drain pasta and asparagus, and add to tomato cream sauce. Stir to coat pasta.
I put the veggies on skewers, but you could also use a grill pan. While the veggies are on the grill, brush them with a mixture of melted butter, extra virgin olive oil, garlic and fresh basil. When they're done, chop them up and toss with your favorite shape of pasta, the left over basting sauce, and Parmesan cheese. YUM!
