Cacio e Pepe (Cheese & Pepper) Pasta

Serves 4

1 lb spaghetti (I used 1/2)
3 tablespoons butter, but into small pieces
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons coarse black pepper
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (I used Parmesan)
1 10-ounce box chopped, frozed spinach, thawed and drained
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 14-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook to al dente. (You will need to use some pasta water for the sauce, so don't drain it yet!)

2. Place a large skillet over low heat with the butter, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and pepper. Let it melt while pasta cooks.

3. When pasta is cooked, take a ladle of the starchy cooking water and add it to the butter-pepper mixture. Drain the pasta and toss it in the pan with the sauce. Turn off the heat. Add the cheese in small handfuls, then toss the pasta with tongs, until all the cheese in incorporated into the creamy sauce. Add another ladle of cooking water if needed, then season the pasta to taste with salt and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the oil. (I mixed the drizzle with oil part, and it didn't need it...save yourself a few calories...)

4. Meanwhile, heat another skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, then add the garlic. Cook the garlic for two minutes, and then add the beans. Add the spinach to the beans, breaking it up as you drop it into the pan. Season the spinach and beans with nutmeg, salt & pepper.

Results: This was soooooo good. I loved it. It was a very simple dish, but the flavors really stood out. I meant to leave some beans aside, knowing the boys wouldn't eat the spinach, but Henry actually ate most of his beans. Steven didn't touch the beans & spinach, but he did eat the pasta. My only complaint was that this dirtied a lot of dishes that don't get thrown in the dishwasher...large pot for pasta, strainer, two skillets...there were a lot of dishes to do. This is worth a repeat, and worthy of feeding to company.

Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Cassoulet

Serves 8

1 whole garlic head
4 ounces pancetta, chopped
2 cups vertically sliced onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
4 1/2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 2 pounds)
1/2 cup organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (16-ounce) cans cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 bay leaf
2 (1-ounce) slices white bread
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Remove white papery skin from garlic head (do not peel or separate the cloves). Wrap garlic head in foil. Bake at 350° for 1 hour; cool 10 minutes. Separate cloves; squeeze to extract garlic pulp. Set half of garlic pulp aside; reserve remaining garlic pulp for another use. Discard skins.

3. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pancetta; sauté 5 minutes or until crisp. Remove pancetta from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Add onion and 1 tablespoon oil to drippings in pan; sauté 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 25 minutes or until onion is very tender and browned, stirring frequently. Stir in vinegar.

4. Preheat oven to 375°.

5. Add garlic pulp, pancetta, squash, and next 6 ingredients (through bay leaf) to onion mixture, stirring well. Place bread in a food processor, and pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure about 1 cup. Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon olive oil; sprinkle evenly over squash mixture. Cover and bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until squash is tender. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until topping is browned. Discard bay leaf. Sprinkle with parsley.

Served with sugar snap peas

Results: This may look like a difficult recipe, but it was actually very simple. You just have to pay attention to the cooking times, which are long, but all the cooking takes place in one pot, which is a plus. Our grocery store does not sell pancetta, so I always substitute bacon in recipes that use it. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought groceries, because I ended up buying proscuitto instead of bacon. Bacon would have given it a great crunch. I would also cut down the amount of beans to two cans. Four cans was a bit much.

Both boys asked us to take the butternut squash out, but I don't think either of them ended up touching the meal. This was good, but it was missing something. It almost needed some sort of sauce or cheese (provolone?) to meld the ingredients together. Don't get me wrong, it was very yummy, but it needs some tweaking. This would be a fantastic side dish for a holiday dinner! I'll halve it next time. We have a mountain of leftovers!