Friday, January 3, 2014

Dressy Pasta "Risotto"

Per  Nana~
This tops "Hamburger Helper" any day. Only kidding. 
 This was so delicious and simple to make. I could not locate 
any tubetti pasta so I used small elbow macaroni.  
The combination of the onions blending with the macaroni while it
 cooked gave it such flavor, and then adding cream and the cheeses 
made it perfect. We love cooking risotto, it is one of our favorite side
 dishes, especially when I blend some Gorgonzola cheese into it.
 I mentioned to Jim that I would like to try this recipe with the Gorgonzola 
but he said it was good as it is.  As with most pasta dishes, this is a recipe
 that can be made quickly for a weekday dinner for busy working people. 
Per Tricia~
Pasta with butter and cheese has long been a staple "kid's dish" in my
 house. Not that it was passed over by any adults, mind you. Suffice it to 
say that it was easy, inexpensive, and best of all - even  the most finicky 
kids typically would go for a bowl. Which saved a meal, holiday or other
 celebration.  That said, I have to chuckle because while I love the dish, 
I always tried to talk my kids out of ordering this in a restaurant. I figured
 it was about 22 cents worth of ingredients that typically get tagged
 with a price MUCH higher. But to save a night out, we pay......
Now the recipe results. Lovely, easy, inexpensive and made from 
items I have on hand. What's not to love ? I have made pasta a million 
times and  somehow never prepared it with the onions in the broth first. 
As usual with FFWD- Dorie's recipe opened my eyes to a new way. 
A very delicious new way to enjoy  our pasta. All taste  testers 
gave two thumbs up, remarking on how creamy it was. Yum.
Happy New Year ~

21 comments:

  1. It was quite a good recipe! Glad you liked it too! I love the masks- great photo!

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  2. It is great that you can throw this together for items most of us who cook usually have on hand. My kids loved it. Being Italian I did not grow up on mac n cheese like my kids. I never even knew people put anything but red sauce on pasta until I was in junior high school…crazy. Glad you both enjoyed it. Happy New Year to you and your family.

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  3. This was such a success this week for everyone. Great photos. Now I want to try the gorgonzola cheese with it. Oh, and the masks are gorgeous. Happy New Year Tricia & Nana!

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  4. I had to laugh at your restaurant, ahem, guidance to the boys Tricia. My father would do exactly the same. Both your plates look super!

    This busy working person managed to squeeze it in yesterday and watch a little TV while the pasta simmered. Even more of a win!

    Have a wonderful 2014, ladies!

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  5. This was a delicious dish. The family loved it. Happy New Year:)

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  6. I agree with you both! This was delicious and we enjoyed it too! Tricia I feel the same way about ordering mac and cheese out and always think I can do it better and cheaper at home. With this recipe I have one more good recipe. For some reason I had also never thought to add onions to broth! Happy 2014 Nana and Tricia!

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  7. A winner here, too!!! And with the blizzard headed our way, this may make our menu again!

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  8. I thought this was yummy too! Nana, I have to confess that I made this a second time and crumbled Goronzola on top! Not necessary, but yummy for a change. I thought this was way better than any mac and cheese I've had out, so I'm with you on that too, Tricia. I added a bit of wine and finished it with truffle salt for a fancy dish. So happy you all enjoyed it! Happy New Year!

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  9. This was not only a winner with the two of you, it seems to have been a winner with all the Doristas this week! Nana, I'm sure gorgonzola would be lovely with this dish instead of parmesan. Hmmmmm! Tricia…I used to feed my kids pasta with butter and cheese. It was always a winner when all else failed. I suspect this dish would have been received well too! Both of your pasta dishes look delicious! Wishing you both a very Happy, Healthy New Year! Stay warm!

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  10. What a nice start to the year this was, wasn't it?

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  11. ladies - it seems it was a winner across the neighborhood! :)

    Love the blue bowl btw... ! I just made a pie plate over Thanksgiving that was just in that style, it was fun!

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  12. Ooooh--gorgonzola. YES! Great idea. I so rarely find food that all three of us love that I may end up oversaturating our dinners with this pasta.

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  13. Ah yes, the things we would allow the kids to do in the name of saving the evening. I am glad those days are mostly over...
    This was a good one - and I think this will show up again.

    Happy New Year, ladies!

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  14. This was a nice recipe! I am glad you both enjoyed it!

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  15. What do you mean you are only kidding about this being better than Hamburger Helper? Huh? I loved it and ooooh....I love the idea of gorgonzola!

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  16. I did like this, but not the Parm so much. The onions and broth made it good.

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  17. Great idea to use different cheeses like Gorgonzola!

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  18. We loved this one too! It would be fun to experiment with this recipe, trying different cheeses and additions. Of course it is also wonderful as-is!

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  19. I'm a little slow this week. I think this would be fantastic with Gorgonzola, Nana, and I loved it how it was. This was definitely a winner, and so easy. Happy New Year, ladies!!!!

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  20. This was wonderfully easy, wasn't it. I love that bowl and the presentation with the masks. How elegant for such a simple dish.

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  21. The gorgonzola idea sounds excellent to me. I like recipes like this one that are mainly just methods, all kinds of things could be good in here. I think pasta with butter and/or cheese is the ultimate comfort food. I see a lot of it in Charlotte's future.

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