Sunday, January 9, 2011

Oodles of Noodles

Have you ever noticed how many different types of pasta there are?  There are oodles and oodles of different kinds of noodles.  I have yet to try preparing pasta other than the common - spaghetti, rotini, fettucine, but that will change as part of this 2011 culinary adventure. That will change, but not today.  Today, I prepared one of the old stand-bys - spaghetti.  The thing about most pasta recipes is that you can interchange the pastas - at least the pastas that are the same shape.  For example, the recipe that I used tonight was for fettucine, but I used thin spaghetti instead. Hopefully, I did not commit some pasta faux pas that I am not aware of.

I did prepare tonight's pasta two different ways.  It was a pasta buffet tonight at the Table 4 Five!  Don't get too excited - the buffet consisted of one dish prepared with two different sauces.   If you don't like this type of sauce, well you are in luck because we have that type too.  After all, variety is what it's all about.

Tonight at Table 4 Five!, we had the following two options:

Scallop & Asparagus Pasta

12 oz uncooked whole wheat pasta (spaghetti, fettuccine)
10 oz frozen asparagus, cut into bite size pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 oz package of frozen scallops - thawed
12 oz jar of prepared alfredo sauce or prepared tomato-based sauce
4 oz  jar sliced pimientos, drained

Cook pasta according to package directions, adding asparugus to water 8 minutes before pasta is done. Drain; keep warm.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add scallops and cook until scallops are opaque.  Drain excess liquid leaving scallops and about 2 tablespoons liquid in skillet.  Reduce heat to low.  Stir in the sauce of your choice and pimiento.  Cover, cook 5 minutes. Do not boil.





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