On Friday I arrived home around 5pm after being away at a conference for a week, and the first thing I wondered was: what am I going to make for dinner? I hadn’t seen my husband in a while and I wanted to have something special waiting for him when he got home, but I was pretty drained from traveling. So after eyeing our take-out menus for a few minutes and realizing I had only 1 1/2 hours before my husband arrived, I decided to take a hot bath and drink a glass of wine. If there is one thing I’m good at, it’s prioritizing!
After exorcising the week’s tension thusly, I had about 40 minutes left. Not enough time to order in - at least, not from a good restaurant and at this point I was desperately craving a home cooked meal. The pressure was on! So naturally, I poured another glass of wine - you know, to hone my culinary senses and spur creativity. It must have worked (weeknight dinner tip #101: drink a good glass of wine?), because a couple sips in I remembered one of the most delicious pasta dishes I’ve made in a while: Fettuccine with Mascarpone and Sage-Walnut Butter. Sounds fancy, I know, and the dish has five-star restaurant flavor to be sure. But perhaps its best feature is the fact that it takes about 30 minutes to put together - which was about how much time I had left at this point.
Moving with the agility of a relaxed ninja I put a pot of water on to boil, snipped some sage leaves from our window garden, then combined the mascarpone, Parmesan, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Being the carb-loving woman that I am, I also split the half-baguette on the counter in two, put some butter and minced sage inside, then wrapped it in tin-foil and placed it in the oven to warm. By this time the water was nearly boiling (our stove gets nuclear hot in no time, which totally rocks) so I chopped the walnuts, tossed the fettuccine into the pot and started putting dinner together. All in all it was pretty intense work, lazily stirring the walnuts, sage & butter as I sipped my wine and watched the pasta boil. Whoo whee.
When my husband got home about 15 minutes later I was having a 50’s housewife moment: setting two plates of gourmet pasta down on the table, then adding dollops of the mascarpone mixture to each. “Wow! What’s all this?” he exclaimed. “You didn’t have to make dinner!” I just smiled and said, “I know, but I wanted to enjoy a special meal with you. Don’t worry, I didn’t work too hard.”
And I hadn’t. And it was delicious.
Don’t forget about the August book giveaway! You can find out more about this new, monthly event by clicking on the photo to the left or by clicking here.
Fettuccine with Mascarpone and Sage-Walnut Butter
From A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen, by Jack Bishop. Recipe can be found here, as well as below.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 lb dried egg fettuccine (I haven’t been able to find egg fettuccine so I just used regular, whole wheat fettuccine)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage leaves
Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a large pot for cooking the pasta. Combine the mascarpone, Parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the pepper in a small bowl and beat with spoon until smooth. Set aside so the mixture can come to room temperature.
When your water boils, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the fettuccine and cook according to package instructions.
As soon as the pasta goes into the pot, melt the butter in a large skilled over medium heat. When the foaming subsides, add the nuts and cook until the nuts are very fragrant and the butter is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sage and 1/2 teaspoon salt and remove the pan from the heat.
Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water and drain the pasta. Add the pasta and 1/4 cup of the cooking water to the pan with the nuts and toss over low heat until combined, adding more water as needed to moisten the pasta. Divide the pasta among individual bowls, top with a dollop of the mascarpone mixture, and serve immediately.
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This entry was posted on Sunday, August 24th, 2008 by Ariela and is filed under Main Dishes, Quick & Easy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
67 Comments.
I bet it feels great to be home-sweet-home!!
Gorgeous pasta dish!
VeggieGirl’s last blog post -> VeggieGirl - Chicago-Style: Part IV
That pasta dish looks and sounds terribly good! Very flavorful! Food for the soul!
Cheers,
Rosa
Rosa’s last blog post -> WEEKEND CAT BLOGGING #168
I love the phrase: “moving with the agility of a relaxed ninja.” The meal looks tasty!
beastmomma’s last blog post -> Seeing Old Favorites
Now THAT’S what I’m talking about. Real food, fast - and elegant! You are a girl after my own heart! I find that a glass of wine does indeed lubricate the gears of the culinary creation machine.
Sandy S’s last blog post -> Plum Ginger Sorbet
What excellent timing. I am in the middle of writing my grocery list for the week and thought I would check to see what you had new. This is exactly what I need when I get home and need to prepare dinner asap. Very cool.:)
I’d given up eating pasta about two years ago, until I discovered Dreamfields, which is low glycemic-index pasta. Now I can start bookmarking recipes like this one again. One thing I do have is wonderful sage in my herb garden.
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)’s last blog post -> Sweetened condensed milk (Recipe: microwave dulce de leche)
pasta + walnuts = fabulous way to welcome fall! i love this…thank you for sharing
Megan’s last blog post -> an apple a day
I love the creaminess that mascarpone adds to pasta dishes. This dish, by the picture, and the ingredients seems truly delicious. Plus the fact that it does nto require much cooking effort makes it a winner dish.
valentina’s last blog post -> fennel and feta with pomegranate seeds with sumac
Fabulous. I have some sage in my garden and mascarpone in my fridge…I am so making this.
peabody’s last blog post -> Getting our butts kicked….
That sounds really really yummy and simple enough to make. (: I have a question, though, if I don’t have mascarpone cheese, can I use cream cheese instead? I don’t know if we have mascarpone cheese readily available in the supermarkets here. ): (I live in the Philippines)
Macy’s last blog post -> Life in bullets
Wow, only thirty minutes? And that combination of flavors seems intriguing. I’ve definitely never had that combination of flavors before.
How was the conference?
Tarie’s last blog post -> Author Interview: David Michael Slater
Now that’s my kind of no fuss cooking. Welcome back home.
Paz
Paz’s last blog post -> New York Monday #137: Two Ducks and a Park
Yummy! Thanks for sharing again.
Jan
i’ve never had walnuts in my pasta, but what a lovely crunch they’d provide! this is a very elegant and sophisticated dish–nicely done!
grace’s last blog post -> a happy accident
So simple and so good! I have so many cookbooks and recipes that sometimes I don’t know what to do for dinner and end up making a butter-sage pasta that I love, so this will be an option… thanks so much!
Cheers from Argentina, Sil
I want to eat this and it is 7:30 AM. Tucking it away in my recipe file for later, thanks!
Rachel’s last blog post -> Ikea madness
Sounds just delicious - minus the nuts for this household!
Love your wine tip!!
Now that’s my kind of dinner! Fast and elegant - and surely delicious!
Deborah’s last blog post -> Alfajores de Dulce de Leche
looks good
draven’s last blog post -> Picture post
I would have never thought to use marscapone in pasta, but this looks delightful. The dish really caught my eye on foodgawker, and I’m glad, because this is a great site you have.
Also a pleasure to meet a fellow food blogger/grad student (i’m a sociology PhD).
Erin @ The Skinny Gourmet’s last blog post -> What the world eats each week…
I hope you were wearing a cute apron, pearls and heels too.
I’m sure your husband was the happiest guy around - especially if you met him at the door with a glass of wine as well!
Culinarywannabe’s last blog post -> Mmm…Carbonara
Oh, that looks yummy!
this looks so simple and delicious. i’m a big fan of jack bishop (i love his italian vegetarian cookbook)- now i’ll have to try this one. thanks for the post.
Ana’s last blog post -> Iced Chocolate Chai
I do love changing up my pasta recipes because it can be so boring using tomato sauce. This will be one for me to try!
That sounds (and looks!) absolutley delicious. I’m totally adding it to my weeknight-meal-options list.
Megan » You’re welcome! Jack Bishop is one of my culinary heroes so anything to let more people know about his delicious recipes.
valentina » Big flavor for minimal effort is definitely a winner. I can be pretty unmotivated cooking-wise mid-week so I love finding recipes like this.
peabody » You are too awesome, having mascarpone in your fridge already! Hope you enjoy the dish.
Yum. I love sage/brown butter sauce. I’ve tried it with cheese ravioli (so good!). Adding mascarpone would make it that much better.
I’ve just found your lovely blog, and have starred about a million recipes already…thank you!
Oh yum! That sounds delicious and will certainly be adding it to our menu soon. Even if it was simple, I am sure your husband appreciated coming home to a good meal.
Llamabean’s last blog post -> KSF fingerless glove update
Welcome home! And congratulations on almost reaching your weight loss goal! You have inspired me!
i love those meals that just come together in a snap. perfect and yummy too.
A glass of wine is always a good idea! The pasta looks great…
That sounds divine! You’re a girl after my own heart–baking and books! Two best things ever!
Blond Duck’s last blog post -> Miss Pickles has strange friends
*yammi* I have to try this, cause I love pasta, especially selfmade ones. And this looks so delicious! I Think we’ve still some walnuts in the cellar!
Sounds tasty and hearty.
Kristi’s last blog post -> Gardeners Challenge Summer Winner’s Addition
Macy » You can’t substitute cream cheese but you could use creme fraiche. The resulting dish will be different, but still good.
That’s a beautiful meal for you and your hubby, better than sitting in a restaurant any day!
Marie’s last blog post -> Family, Friends, and an Evening with Tony Bennett!!
Hmmm - it fantastic what a glass of wine and bit of inspiration can do for you isn’t it!! Unfortunately as a single person living alone my larders are never particularly well stocked, so my inspiration lacks omph!!
Yum- that looks delish. Good thing you’re exercising
Wine, yep… a little glass of wine and I get really creative too. What a wonderful 50’s wife you are
Yummy, i got a bad bad craving for this now.
ANd i’m trying to lose some weight! *weep*
Yummylicious, though. I’m gonna make and eat it, even if its only a small portion!
Tarie » The conference was good, though tiring! Thanks for asking.
Paz » Thanks! It’s good to be back - there’s nothing like being able to sleep in your own bed and shower in your own shower, with water pressure and all, lol.
Erin @ The Skinny Gourmet » Thanks for stopping by! And yes, always a pleasure to meet a fellow grad student slash food blogger.
What school are you attending?
Culinarywannabe » Haha, nope! I wasn’t that motivated.
Ana » His recipes are incredible. I’ve had my eye on Italian Vegetarian for a while, I bet it’s filled with yummy recipes.
Blond Duck » Aw shucks, thank you!
Sam » I’m sure you have more options than you realize and if not, that’s what weekend menu planning is for! Make some good food, pop in your favorite dvd, pour a glass of wine… sounds pretty great to me.
RecipeGirl » What’s the point of exercising if not to enjoy delicious meals like this! Am I right or am I right?
Specs » I’m losing weight too! No reason you can’t enjoy meals like this if you exercise and modify the rest of your day’s meals accordingly.
Excuse me as I eat my noodles like a kid - 1 strand at a time hanging my mouth (lol)
Cynthia’s last blog post -> Green Seasoning & Donation for a heart
Cynthia » Does that mean you tried the recipe? If yes, yay! I hope you enjoyed it.
That looks like the perfect dinner!
Hi Ariela. I stumbled upon your website while researching for the Now Reading WP plugin. I’ve been coming back since. I started reading some of your book reviews for future reads. And the book addict that I am I enjoy just looking at the covers hehehe.
I love food (the eating part) but I don’t cook (wish I can) - still I enjoy the stories that come with your recipes and your pictures, they all look yummy!
Lorie’s last blog post -> Burn Notice
Lorie » I’m so glad you commented and let me know you’ve been visiting! I love meeting fellow book & food lovers! I know what you mean about looking at covers - somehow “10 minute” library visits (if there is such a thing?) always turn into hour long jaunts because I get so absorbed looking at the covers, lol.
I hope to try this recipe over the holiday weekend!. Thanks so much for providing quality commentary and fantastic recipes! Your site is a family favorite because you stretch our culinary horizons with easy-to-prepare recipes that are simply knock-outs! Thank you!
Anneta » I’m so glad you and your family are enjoying my posts! I’m going to be on Cloud 9 all day thanks to your comment.
Ooo… looks very yummy!! Mmm..!
Hi there, Stumbled Upon your website and had to become a subscriber. You are at the top of the many food blogs I visit. This recipe looks so yummy, I am sure my hard-to-please -4 year old wouldn’t have any objections to this dish. Great photo too.
Oooooh, so delicious! Looks amazing and I will bet that it even tastes better - love your blog!!!!!
This looks delicious. I’m especially intrigued by the sage-walnut flavor combination. I’ll have to try this one out at home!
I love your site. I have just started a blog and would like it to someday look like yours. I am also a teacher, in NY. I saw your recipe for Lavender Ice Cream! It looks sooo good! I was on your site searching for a coconut “ice cream” recipe originally, which I found via google, and I must say that it looked quite nice!
I have a couple food allergies (dairy & egg yolks) so I am going to try to make the Lavender Ice cream using substitutions. I will first try a dairy alternative, soy milk and soy creamer and I will let you know how it comes out! Thanks again,
Hmm….. Looks delicious… Do you think i can change the noodles to penne instead? Will it go well with your recipe? My girl prefers penne..
My Wok Life’s last blog post -> Szechuan Hot and Sour Soup
My Wok Life » I don’t see why not, the only thing you may have trouble with is getting the mascarpone to melt evenly if you use penne - by which I mean some of the melted cheese might get stuck inside the noodles. Of course, noodles with mascarpone inside sound pretty delicious!
Wendy Carole » Thanks for dropping by! Yes, please do let me know how your non-dairy version comes out, I’d love to hear about it.
I wanna come over next time you make this….
I love pasta dishes and this one looks spectacular! Thanks for all the resipes!
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