Presto Pasta Nights #194

Welcome to Presto Pasta Nights 2010 #194. Today, as your host, I am proud to present a magnificent spread of pasta dishes from around the world from inspiring and creative cooks. Drumroll, please!

Ahh, a Tuna and Caper Tomato Pasta, from Kevin at Closet Cooking is my kind of go-to meal. Cooking from your pantry is so satisfying and tasty when you keep it well stocked. Judging from the list of ingredients here - capers, tuna, anchovies, white wine - Kevin's is well prepared. As he says, quick and delicious meals like this make it so much easier to get back to baking! 

Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Jennifer of For Such A Time As This with her Chicken Scampi. A big lover of chicken, Jennifer whips up a feast of garlic, lemon, parsley, oregano, and basil (my favorite herbs!) and tosses it lovingly with spaghetti. I love the green dish she uses to set off this herb-flecked dish - gorgeous looking and tasting!

 Tina from Life in the Slow Lane brings us Four Cheese Mac and Cheese with Bacon and Prosciutto, and folks, I gotta tell you, four cheeses plus two cured pork products and pasta sounds like heaven on a plate! Hello luvah! Gouda, Cheddar, Swiss, and Parmesan cheese, wrapped around cavatelli, add some butter, milk, a dash of onion powder and a dusting of parsley and my heart is yours!

Here's the first of a couple of tagliatelle dishes, Abby of Eat the Right Stuff brings us a yummy looking Tagliatelle with Brussels Sprouts, Pancetta and Pine Nuts. I love brussels sprouts but never thought of adding them to a pasta, that's genius. Of course adding pancetta nd pine nuts to anything makes any dish spectacular. This one is definitely going into my to-do file, at the top of the list for sure!

Deb from Kahakai Kitchen made Ming's Mom's Noodles with Five Spice Beef Shank. I love working a recipe based upon a great bargain - Deb got beef shanks on sale - and then worked her own magic. She "beefed" up the spice quotient by adding more ginger and decided on fresh ramen noodles. Falling off the bone meat in a soup with lots of flavor is always a winner in my book!

 Pam of Sidewalk Shoes brings us this luscious looking Mediterranean Chicken Salad that was the envy of the lunchroom (I LOVE it when that happens!) And what's not to love - tarragon vinegar, capers, kalamata olives, currants and cherry tomatoes tossed with chicken and orzo pasta. Serve it over some bibb lettuce and its healthy and gorgeous!

 Claire at Chez Cayenne has made Mafalde with Creamy Spinach Sauce. I'm always amazed to learn about new pasta shapes and Mafalde is new to me. Mafalde is similar to lasagne but thinner, and while Claire had been waiting to use it for the week she hosts Presto Pasta Night, she decided it was too good to wait. She choose a vegan ricotta and spinach sauce that really sticks to the bumps and curves of this fabulous pasta.

 Heather of Girlichef brings us her Noodle Soup with Pork, Bean Sprouts and Spinach, inspired by the movie "The Ramen Girl." Food and movies are my passion, and after hearing Heather's description of this film, I know I"ll be renting it super soon. Thanks to Heather I will bring home some ramen noodles, knowing how inspirational this movie will make me feel!

Tigerfish brings us Spicy Sausage Bell Peppers Pasta from Teczcape - An Escape to Food. Mmmm, I love spicy sausage in anything, and Tigerfish is so right - adding peppers and onions to it makes some amazing chemistry. I love the Christmas colors of this dish - quick, easy and festive, what's not to love!

Please welcome Ramya, writing at Hot From My Oven. This is her first entry in any food blog event, we're so privileged she choose Presto Pasta Nights! She made Whole Meal Spiral Pasta with Roasted Vegetable Sauce, quite a mouthful to say but looks like I would love to have many mouthfuls of this wonderful looking dish! Garlic, red peppers, tomatoes and parmesan cheese, all favorites in my pasta eating repertoire.

 Claudia of Honey From Rock brings us Sexy Pumpkin Moons with Brie and Marjoram - what an amazing and unexpected combination! Pumpkin in stuffed pasta is one of my all time favorites (and so traditionally Italian but mostly unknown to Americans). But pairing it with brie and marjoram is so brilliant! Of course with Mario Batali's Babbo Cookbook as inspiration and muse, it's hard to go wrong!

Bringing up the rear, I made some homemade Tagliatelle with Sausage, Basil and Sun-Dried Tomatoes, also inspired by Mario Batali, only my recipe came from his Molto Italiano. Double tomato sauce - tomato paste plus sundried tomatoes - coupled with a dry white wine and of course lots of garlic and spicy sausage and this pasta was slurppingly delicious! I even added some tomato paste to the pasta dough for a gorgeous color.

I hope you enjoyed the round up. Happy Holidays everyone and best wishes for 2011. Presto Pasta Nights will be taking some time off until next year but do come back and play with us again as Ruth of Once Upon A Feast - Every Kitchen Tells its Stories will be hosting PPN#195 on January 7. Send her an email to ruth (at)4everykitchen (dot)com by January 6 to participate.

Hugs!