Presto Pasta Night #235

Welcome to Presto Pasta Night No. 235. It's the middle of October, do you know where your year went? I certainly don't! Thank the pasta gods that these delicious meals will always ground me! Happy reading and eating!

First is Tandy from Lavender and Lime with Coppa and Courgette Pasta with Exotic Mushrooms. Tandy made this fun and exciting pasta from her pantry - I want her pantry that has coppa just sitting around in it! Internal struggles of whether or not to to tell friends a hard truth is not easy. But this pasta looks both comforting and easy to make as you're stewing over whatever dilemmas float into your life.

Bitter Melon Egg Drop Soup comes to us courtesy of Tigerfish of Teczcape-An Escape to Food. Her Bitter Melon Egg Drop soup is chock full of goodness. Flavored with boiled dried anchovies, onions, ginger and tomato, a simple stock and some herb garnishes make this noodley soup a winner! Unknown to me, bitter foods help speed metabolism, so eat up your bitter melon, broccoli and greens. Just another reason to eat my favorite veggies!

Oooh, a new blog introduced to me by PPN! One of the best parts of hosting! Deepali Jain writes at at Confusion Cook and brings us Creamy Spinach Pasta.  When Deepali isn't busy being the Jill-of-all-trades for her home and energetic 2 year old, she is blog-hopping - sounds like fun! Here is her first foray into pasta and aren't we the lucky ones! Cream, spinach, onions and of course some red pepper flakes transforms pasta into green creamy deliciousness. 

Val of More Than Burnt Toast made Skillet Butternut Squash and Italian Sausage Lasagna. Val's blog is another great that I discovered through Preto Pasta Nights. She's always so creative; writing since 2006 she's got plenty to explore on her site! Here she uses one pot, combining my favorite fall ingredients - hard squash and sausage - to make this inspired lasagna! Who doesn't love one pot meals and the savory melding of butternut squash with sweet Italian sausage is brilliant.

Next is Haalo of Cook Almost Anything with Ravioli del Plin Con Tartufo Bianco. Ok, I will have to confess right now that I would have done just about anything to have shared this meal with Haalo!  Fresh, meat filled ravioli (that she didn't have to make) with shaved white truffles, while sitting somewhere in Italy....big, big, BIG sigh! I suppose if I make it myself I could convince myself that I was actually there...I do have a powerful imagination. Either way, thanks for sharing Haalo! Good to have you back at PPN.

Ahhh, one of favorites that I discovered at PPN - do you sense a trend here! Joanne of Eats Well With Others brings us her Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables and it lives up to the hype. Fontina, Mozzarella, Parmesan, oh and of course the stars of the show. lots of summer squash! Good luck Joanne with the no-exercise-for-2-months. We're rooting for you, as always!

And now prepare to swoon (at least if you are an omnivore) as Ruth of Once Upon A Feast presents Lamb and Couscous Dinner. Wow! That is a stunning looking dish! I would have loved to have been present for that fast-breaking dish! It would be enough to make me fast every day if that was the breaker! Check out the rest of Ruth's post with her Challah and the rest of the goodies served over the High Holidays.

Here's one final entry from a good friend, Eve writes at the Garden of Eating (of course!) and she brings us Roasted Delicata Squash and Tortellini Salad with Greens, Cranberries and Pepitas. Wow, that's an amazing combination. Colorful, seasonal, tasty and healthy to boot! 

Lastly is my entry of Spicy Lamb Broth with Ravioli and Gremolata. Bone broth is not only delicious and easy to make but chock full of nutrition pulled from the marrow of the bones when simmered to make stock. While I cheated with store-bought ravioli and the gremolata is so simple to make, don't even think of buying it. Just pop that wilting bunch of parsley into your food processor with salt, garlic, lemon zest and olive oil and it will keep for a couple of weeks. Having it around to spread on crackers, stir into soups and stews just makes me feel gourmet without much work!

Thank you to everyone who sent an entry, it's a gorgeous bunch of dishes! Please play again next week when HoneyB of the Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honey Bunch will be hosting. Until then, happy pasta eating!

Hugs!