Penne and Peas in Swiss-Almond Cream Sauce

I needed a fast dinner recently, so I turned to the classic: pasta. As the water boiled, I rummaged through the refrigerator. I thought about topping the pasta with the simple beauty of butter and Parmesan; but I took a quick peek around, just to see what else might strike my fancy.

And then I saw the Parmesan-Ranch cheese ball I'd bought on Manager's Special, with a bright orange sticker stating that it was half-price because it was nearing its expiration date.

I love Manager's Specials! I am the queen of Manager's Specials! I buy them, then figure out later what to do with them, much the way folks buy shares of farm produce during the summer and then pick up their goodies each week and determine menus based upon the contents.

So I chopped up some of the cheese ball, which would normally be served with crackers as an appetizer, and stirred it into the hot pasta so that it could melt into a rich, creamy sauce. Some peas for color and nutrition, and dinner was served!


Penne and Peas in Swiss-Almond Cream Sauce

• 1 pound penne
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 8 ounces Parmesan-Ranch cheese ball coated with almonds
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• pinch of freshly ground pepper
• grated Parmesan, for serving

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain, toss with butter.

Cut cheese ball into 1/2" pieces and stir into pasta; thin with milk. Place onto a serving platter and sprinkle with pepper and Parmesan.

Serves 2-4.

Pastitsio for National Macaroni Day

We have yet another food holiday to celebrate today! And this one - National Macaroni Day - is an easy one to join in on.

There's macaroni and cheese ... pasta salad ... lots of family favorites.

But ever since having a fabulous dinner at Pegasus in Greektown recently, I'd been craving more pastitsio - an amazing dish of pasta layered with a rich meat sauce and topped with a cheesy custard ... sigh.

Pastitsio has no redeeming nutritional value whatsoever, unless you delude yourself that the fat content is neutralized by the prostate-friendly tomato sauce or that using skim milk in the topping will make it all okay! But sometimes you just need comfort food; and this particular comfort food also makes a great party dish for graduations, showers, or other events at which you'll be feeding a crowd.

It may look as though this requires a lot of work, but it really doesn't; each of the layers is very easy to make. And there aren't too many dirty dishes, either - I don't have a dishwasher, and I still wasn't overwhelmed by the washing afterwards (a saucepan for the custard, a skillet for the meat sauce, a stockpot for the pasta, accoutrements for chopping and stirring).

So please don't feel intimidated when you look over the length of the recipe. As always, just trust me ... this pastitsio is so worth making! It's rich, luscious, substantial, and a universal favorite ... :)


Pastitsio

Pasta Layer:
8 ounces macaroni

Meat Sauce:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground lamb
1 small onion, chopped
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup red wine

Cream Sauce:
1/3 cup butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.

Prepare macaroni according to package directions.

Cook the beef and lamb over medium-high heat in a large skillet until only slightly pink; add the onion and cook until meat is browned, then drain. Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg; cook for 1 minute. Add wine, and cook for 5 minutes until sauce is thickened.

Grease a 9"x13" baking dish. Spread just over one-half of the macaroni over the bottom of the dish.


Top with the meat sauce, spreading it carefully.


Spread the remaining macaroni over the meat sauce.


Set aside while making the cream sauce.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the milk, incorporating each addition before adding the next. Add the salt and nutmeg; cook for 5 minutes, until thickened.

Place the eggs into a small bowl, and add 1/2 cup of the cream sauce to them; whisk until blended, then stir the eggs into the saucepan with the rest of the sauce. Stir in the grated parmesan.

Pour the sauce over the pasta, spreading to make sure everything is covered. Sprinkle the shredded parmesan over the top.


Bake for 45-50 minutes until the top of the pastitsio is golden brown.


Let the pastitsio rest for 5 minutes before cutting into squares. Start with smaller portions, as it's very rich; you can always come back for seconds ... and I can promise that you will!