À la Sandy

Each month, seven of us ladies get together at each others homes for an evening of food, wine, and laughs.  We talk about everything under the sun, so much so, that we stopped discussing the book a looonnnng time ago.

At the end of the evening, we always assign a book for next month, and for the most part, everyone reads it, we just never get around to talking about it the following month!  We’ve toyed

with the idea of changing the name of our “Book Group” to “Food Group,” as food seems to be the focus of our get-togethers — but I like the name, “no book, Book Group”

Last night was my turn to host and I made my creamy Pasta Primavera.  It resembles a Fettuccine Alfredo, but it’s loaded with lots of veggies!  It’s one of my favorites and a great “one dish” dinner to serve for a crowd.  I made the sauce in advance and just cooked up the fettuccine before serving — that way, I didn’t have to miss any of the evening’s gossip!

Creamy Pasta Primavera Alfredo

1 box frozen artichoke hearts
2 carrots, julienned
2 zucchini squash, julienned
2 yellow squash, julienned
1 bunch asparagus, halved (bottoms discarded)
1 pound brown mushrooms, sliced
2 cups frozen peas
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive oil
1/2 stick butter
1 pint heavy cream
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

1 pound Imported Italian Fettuccine

Prepare the veggies in advance.  When you julienne the zucchini and yellow squash, its best to cut away the middle of the squash (where the seeds are) — they can get a little “watery” if you include them (see pics)

Heat a large, deep skillet and add the Olive oil.  Start sauteing the artichoke hearts, then add the asparagus tips and carrots.  Then add the zucchini and yellow squash.  Continue to cook until all are crisp — about 8 minutes.  Add the butter, parmesan cheese and cream and simmer (on low) all the veggies together for another 8 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Add the mushrooms and peas and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  You will probably have to adjust the cream sauce, depending on how high you have your stove, etc.  Add some cream to thin it if necessary.

Bring a large stockpot full of heavily salted water, to a rapid boil.  Add the fettuccine noodles and cook, stirring very frequently (fettuccine has a tendency to stick together if not stirred)  Cook until “al dente”  (follow the cooking directions on the package)  Drain well, emptying the pot of water.  Return the pasta to the stockpot and add a couple ladles full of the sauce and the chopped parsley and mix together until the fettuccine is completely coated.  Serve in a deep dish or pasta bowl and cover with more sauce.  Cheers!