Presto Pasta Night #217

Welcome to Presto Pasta Nights #217. Believe it or not, I hosted Presto Pasta Nights almost exactly a year ago, to the day. Looking back at that round-up, I saw both familiar faces and new ones. Just like last year's, we have an incredible array of pasta delights for your viewing pleasure, so let's dig in!

Our first dish is from Elizabeth at The Law Student's Cookbook. This is her first foray into blogging events and aren't we the lucky ones that she chose Pasta Presto Nights. Her Vegetable Lo Mein has mushrooms, edamame, peppers and lots of flavor. Made with angel hair pasta, this looks like it comes together in a snap. My kind of meal!

Heather from Girlichef made Spaghetti alla Puttanesca (with or without Tuna) one of my favs! She added the tuna after flipping through a Jamie Oliver cookbook, always a smart thing to do. While she used canned tuna, she says next time she'll try it with fresh tuna steaks. Sounds like a winner to me!

Next dish is from Eve of Garden of Eating with her Lemon-Scented Pasta with Swiss Chard. Inspired by a perilous trip to Vermont with a never-ending screaming baby, she created a gorgeous spring time pasta of Swiss Chard, lemon zest and creamy ricotta. Sounds like the perfect reward for surviving a small space with an unhappy infant! Lucky for us she decided to share!

Krista writing at The Beet Reporter brings us Pasta with Antipasto. A woman on the go - new job in a bakery, waitressing nights and classes on the weekend (!) she still manages to make this incredible looking pasta dish. It's a fantastic mix of all of my favorite antipasto ingredients - marinated artichoke hearts, capers, olives, avocados - tossed with penne pasta and lemon and olive oil. Sounds amazing!

Victoria from Mission: Food - Nothing is Impossible brings us a fantastical creation that is mind-blowing in its diversity of ingredients: Fresh Curry Fettucine with Puree Carrot Sauce, Asparagus, Peas, and Wild Mushrooms. She says that carrot sauce is making the blog rounds; this is the first I have heard of it and I can't wait to try it! Adding curry to fresh pasta is genius and goes on my short list of what to try next.

Tandy of Lavender and Lime sent us Fava Bean and Pea Farfalloni. Fava or broad beans are a fav of  mine and what could be better than cooking them with some cream and peas! Super delicious and such a yummy looking dish!

Jen from Tastes of Home made Homemade Bolognese with Whole Wheat Spaghetti. A self-confessed noodle fiend, her's included garlic, rosemary and mushrooms, wow! She used pork instead of beef - sounds like a winner to me! Bolognese has a very special place in my heart and everyone seems to have their own personal touch. I definitely see this version in my future as well.

Mushrooms seems to be a theme and Dharm of Dad - Baker & Chef brings us Pesto, Eggplant and Mushroom Pasta.What could be better than homemade pesto with sauteed eggplant and mushrooms! Dharm says that the pasta was actually plain - could have fooled me! It was all of the luscious pesto that made it look green. Can't wait for my basil to grow in the garden, so now if I could only grow my own mushrooms...

Little Inbox of Eating Pleasure brings us Meat Floss Noodle. While I have never heard of meat floss, the name alone is intriguing. After looking it up it appears to be another amazing Asian ingredient that I want to find and cook with ASAP! Adding it to noodles with some green veggies sounds like the perfect antidote to any meal doldrums!

 Presto Pasta Nights Creator Extraordinaire Ruth of Once Upon a Feast offers us Lemony Garlic Shrimp Pasta. Whew! All of my favorites - pasta, lemon, garlic, and shrimp! But what I really want is her new kitchen toy! Garlic so thin in melts in the pan? What more could a cook ask for? Maybe another bowl of this delicious looking pasta!

Pasta a la Gwendal is from Marie of Life in the Slow Lane. A la what? Gwendal, a character from Lunch In Paris: A Love Story with Recipes. "Cooking the Books," Marie follows in Gwendal's footsteps and seeks inspiration in odds and ends from the refrigerator. Pancetta, sun-dried tomato, carrot and zucchini tossed with pasta - inspiring indeed!

Aren't we lucky, another Bolognese to drool over! Theresa of Food Hunter's Guide to Cuisine presents Ragu alla Bolognese from her new favorite cookbook, The Glorious Pasta of Italy. This is serious decadence, including not only cream and wine but four meats - beef, pork, veal and the secret ingredient, mortadella! To top it all off the orecchiette pasta that she tossed it with looks like the perfect scoop to cup all of that delicious sauce!

Claire of Chez Cayenne brings us Rigatoni with Summer Squash, Vegan Sausage and Bread Crumbs. Yowza! Lucky for us, Claire's thieving squirrels (or other nameless critters) did not get to this plate of deliciousness! And made with homemade vegan sausage (can't wait to give that recipe a go!) how could you go wrong. Topping it all off with toasted breadcrumbs makes any dish extra special!

Welcome back Reeni of Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice, one of my personal favorites! She has made us Mini Meatballs in Spicy Red Pepper Sauce with Cannelini Beans and Penne. As usual, her dishes are creative and inspiring versions of classic comfort food. Here she purees fire roasted peppers with a little cream and cannelini beans to kick a pasta "red" sauce up several notches! She is the meatloaf queen, so you can bet these meatballs are to die for!

Kim of Feed Me Seymour brings us Decadent Red Pasta. Talk about elegant simplicity! Based on her mother's recipe which she assures you will allow you to conquer the world, she combines a few ingredients - tomato sauce, garlic, cream and mozzarella cheese - to create world domination, I mean a perfectly decadent red pasta sauce!

And finally, I made Shrimp with Corn, Jalapeno and Lime over Orzo, based on a recipe my sister created.

What a spectacular set of pasta dishes! So many to try, so many new blogs to explore, too few hours in the day!

Thanks for participating and hope to see you next  week when Juli of Pictures of a Princess will be hosting.

Hope to see you then!

Hugs!