Last Friday night we got together with friends Nancy, Steph and Jane at Jane's house... we shared a lovely bottle of wine that Jane had given us over the holidays. A 2006 dry Chenin Blanc by Dry Creek vineyards. Excellent and lovely, just the perfect, light fruitiness that I love.
We also had the most excellent dish from my new Bon Appetit cookbook. I bought Fast Easy Fresh a few weeks ago, but then I got a cold and my desire to cook anything more than Tom Yum went right out the window. So, when we spoke with Jane about having a get together, she graciously let me choose what I wanted to cook from the new cookbook and then delegated complementary sides and appetizers for everyone else. This is what good friends do.
It was so great to get together and hang out with these great women. But, I have to say that what is sticking in my head is how much fun it was to talk books with Jane's younger son. He named off his favorites: the Pendragon and Redwall series made the top of the list, and it was so cool for Gabi and me to be able to say that we had read those books too. And we suggested he try the Skullduggery Pleasant books, because they are just exceptionally fun.
I made Linguine with Pears and Gorgonzola Cheese. Wow. I didn't adjust the recipe at all, and it was so good. The flavors are lovely and perfectly balanced, and the light sweetness of the pears plays off perfectly with the cheese ~ which is much more subtle than you might expect, given the strength and general smelliness of gorgonzola. Also, the meal comes together very quickly but has an elegant "feel." Perfect dinner party fare. My friends loved it. We all had seconds. One of them had fourths!
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Linguine with Pears and Gorgonzola Cheese
from The Bon Appetit Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook, (c) 2008. By Barbara Fairchild.
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
4 firm pears (about 2 pounds), peeled, cored, cut into 1/3-inch strips
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
4 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
12 ounces linguine
1/3 cup chopped pecans
Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pears; saute until tender and beginning to brown but not soft, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, carefully transfer pears to bowl. Add rosemary to skillet and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broth, Gorgonzola cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and cream. Simmer until sauce thickens enough to coat spoon, whisking occasionally, about 6 minutes. Return pears and any accumulated juices to sauce.
Do Ahead: Sauce can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Bring to simmer before continuing.
Cook linguine in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain; return pasta to pot. Add sauce and pecans to pasta; toss over medium-low heat until sauce coats pasta, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
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1 comment:
I was reading your post and thinking..."yum - that sounds good!" and hoping you had added the recipe....Voila! The Dry Creek is one of my favs, too. :-)
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