Pasta for two?

[ANewCook]

Hey everyone! I'm so glad I stumbled onto ya'lls' site. I have a "I NEED HELP!" question. My child is going away to stay at his grandparents soon and I want to fix my fiance and I a romantic dinner. He's in love with Italian food, so I wanted to fix a pasta dish. The bad part is i'm relatively new to the whole cooking scene and don't in fact know much about anything. Any ideas?

Thanks!
Shara

 

[Ishbel]

Hey everyone! I'm so glad I stumbled onto ya'lls' site. I have a "I NEED HELP!" question. My child is going away to stay at his grandparents soon and I want to fix my fiance and I a romantic dinner. He's in love with Italian food, so I wanted to fix a pasta dish. The bad part is i'm relatively new to the whole cooking scene and don't in fact know much about anything. Any ideas?

Thanks!
Shara

Hello
There are lots and lots of pasta recipes in this forum. Just scroll down and find one with some of the ingredients you like. There are pasta dishes with cream sauce, wine sauces, fish, seafood, beef, chicken.... Lots to choose!

 

[pdswife]

Quick, easy and tasty pasta idea from Rome!
It is called Bucattini Amatriciana, one of the very typical pasta dishes Roma style. You can also substitute bucattini (sort of a long macaroni, or spaghetti with a hole in the middle) with regular spaghetti. It is very simple to prepare and absolutely delicious!!

for 2 people
about 50gs/2oz of bacon, crispily cooked and crumbled
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or minced
1/2 onion, finely chopped or minced
extra virgine olive oil
5 ripe tomatoes, diced (if prefered, peeled) or 1 tin of peeled tomatoes(mush them up in small pieces)
salt
black pepper, or if you like it spicy, red crushed pepper
160g-200g/6-7oz of dry pasta (bucattini or spaghetti)
freshly grated parmigiano, or if available, aged pecorino romano

In a skillet sautè onion and garlic in a sufficient amount of olive oil. When they are well cooked, add the crumbled bacon and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper (or red peper). Bring to boil and cook for several minutes until the flavours are well blended and some of the extra liquid is evaporated.
Meanwhile cook the pasta al dente, and drain
Toss the tomato mixture together with the pasta, serve with plenty of freshly grated cheese.
Buon Appetito!!

________________

Urmaniac13 posted this awhile back.
I've made it three or four times now and it's WONDERFUL!

Enjoy and welcome to the group!!
smiles, Trish

 

[urmaniac13]

Hey Shara, here comes the poster of the above recipe... take Pds' word for it... it is so easy and so delicious, doesn't cost much for the ingredients either!! (though if you are in a mood, you could splurge on a good aged pecorino romano to grate and sprinkle generously on the pasta!!)

I hope you will enjoy it, and last but not the least, welcome to DC!! Hang out with us a lot, it is a wonderful place!!

 

[Claire]

Many of my friends "discovered" cooking when their last baby left the nest. When you have kids, it is often just to stressful to really enjoy cooking. I've even had friends near-divorce re-kindle romance once the kids left and they got into cooking and eating together. To me the simplest pasta dish is spaghetti (I prefer Barilla, but trust me, learning to make it with your lover from scratch can be a fun afternoon) with olive oil, garlic, and dried pepper. Boil the water. When you put the pasta in, get a frying pan going with a few tablespoons of olive oil, a couple of dried chili peppers (or a teaspoon of crushed red peppers, like you'd buy for pizza), and a couple of cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped. Saute them on medium heat. If you and hubby don't like strong flavors, take a slotted spoon and take out the peppers and garlic, leaving the flavored oil (my hubby would kill me if i did that!!). By now your pasta is probably done. Drain it well, then toss it into the olive oil in the skillet. Top with copious amounts of Parm, Romano, etc (some cheese that has a strong flavor). Serve with a tossed baby green salad (isn't it wonderful that we can buy them year 'round now?).

Romance in a half-hour.

 

[BigDog]

So, how'd it go?

(not asking for kiss and tell, now. From a cooking/culinary standpoint!)

 

[urmaniac13]

Many of my friends "discovered" cooking when their last baby left the nest. When you have kids, it is often just to stressful to really enjoy cooking. I've even had friends near-divorce re-kindle romance once the kids left and they got into cooking and eating together. To me the simplest pasta dish is spaghetti (I prefer Barilla, but trust me, learning to make it with your lover from scratch can be a fun afternoon) with olive oil, garlic, and dried pepper. Boil the water. When you put the pasta in, get a frying pan going with a few tablespoons of olive oil, a couple of dried chili peppers (or a teaspoon of crushed red peppers, like you'd buy for pizza), and a couple of cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped. Saute them on medium heat. If you and hubby don't like strong flavors, take a slotted spoon and take out the peppers and garlic, leaving the flavored oil (my hubby would kill me if i did that!!). By now your pasta is probably done. Drain it well, then toss it into the olive oil in the skillet. Top with copious amounts of Parm, Romano, etc (some cheese that has a strong flavor). Serve with a tossed baby green salad (isn't it wonderful that we can buy them year 'round now?).

Romance in a half-hour.

Yess!! This is one of typical quick but delicious Italian spaghetti recipe called aglio, olio e peperoncino. It is soooo easy and delicious. Make sure to use a good quality evoo, watch carefully on the garlic not to burn it, as soon as they start to take on colour remove from the heat, it will keep on cooking in a hot oil. Many people eat this one without cheese, but I prefer with either parmigiano or aged pecorino. Chopped flat leaved parsley will add nice touch and colour, too.

 

[Constance]

Here's a tasty recipe I've worked out over the years. You can also add whatever other seafood you have available. I don't have a lot to pick from where I live.

Seafood Pasta

Ingredients:
1 tbl butter
2 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup milk
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 tbl flour
whole nutmeg (opt)
3 tbls olive oil, divided
Cajun or garlic/herb seasoning
8 oz. crab or lobster delights, or fresh, frozen or canned crabmeat
1 lb. shrimp and/or scallops
½ cup frozen peas
small jar pimentos, drained
1 lb. fettuccini noodles

Directions:
Cook pasta in boiling salted water with 1 tbl of olive oil until just tender. Add frozen peas during last 2 minutes of cooking.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and sauté garlic until fragrant. Stir in flour. Gradually whisk in milk and stir constantly over medium heat until mixture is thick and bubbly. Stir in softened cream cheese until melted, then add 1 cup of parmesan and continue stirring until it also melts. Season the sauce with a bit of freshly grated nutmeg, if you wish. Add the crab or lobster meat and pimentos, and heat through. Drain cooked pasta, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Add pasta to skillet and toss with sauce, adding some of the reserved pasta cooking liquid if needed. Cover and keep warm.
Toss shrimp with Cajun seasoning or an herb and garlic seasoning, sprinkle with a little salt, and sauté in a few tbls olive oil until pink. Turn pasta into serving dish and pour shrimp mixture over the top.
Serve with a small salad and crusty bread.

 

[ANewCook]

Actually, I ended up making a relatively easy Chicken Fetuchini Alfredo that turned out great. I added garlic to the chicken while I was cooking it in the skillet and it was awesome! But i've taken the recipes and wrote them down that ya'll gave me! Thanks so much.

-Shara