Friday, September 26, 2008

Presto Pasta Night Roundup #82

It's taken like what seemed forever,but well worth the wait, I assure you.
Next week's fabulous guest host will be Ulrike of Kuchenlatein. You can email your entries to her directly - ostwestwind AT yahoo DOT de.

Plus...Don't forget to check all the Presto Pasta Night Roundups dating back to March, 2007, see who's hosting for the next four weeks and check out guidelines and tips for entering and hosting.

If you have any ideas for a topic for Presto Pasta Night, let me know. And, if you're a Facebook member, please visit the Presto Pasta Gang on Facebook

Friday, September 19, 2008

The Latest PPN Roundup is Fabulous

Psychgrad of Equal Opportunity Kitchen did a stellar job of hosting this week's Presto Pasta Night Roundup. See for yourself and I bet you won't stop at just one of these delightful dishes.

Once again, Thanks Psychgrad, for hosting doing such a great job, especially with some technical challenges to add even more stress. Also, a HUGE thanks to all of you who contributed your awesome dishes. Keep them coming!

And remember everyone, I'm hosting next week...so send your entries to me at ruth@4everykitchen.com

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Next Presto Pasta Night Roundup

Don't forget - this week's fabulous guest host is Psychgrad of Equal Opportunity Kitchen. You still have some time to get your tasty pasta dishes in. Email your entries to her directly - bloggingwagon AT hotmail DOT com. And check back there on Friday for the roundup. It's bound to be wonderful.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Presto Pasta Night Roundup #80


Abby of Eat the Right Stuff had a few technology glitches last week, but she never gave up and put together a fabulous roundup. Thanks a million, Abby, for all your hard work. Now you can take a well deserved rest and just enjoy this week’s pasta treats.

80 weeks and I'm always amazed at the fantastic pasta dishes...from the pure traditional, to the traditional with a spin, to the exotic and everything in between. The recipes are always delicious and the entries so exciting. So I'll stop blathering and go directly to the reason you all keep coming back...PASTA!

Joan of Foodalogue has declared this Veggie Pasta Month and here is one droolingly delicious entry...Stuffed Portobello Putanesca. You'll have to keep checking to see the rest of the mouth-watering options....and they all do look fabulous.


Joker Girl of Were Rabbits made cheese stuffed ravioli for the first time and did a great job. I had a hard time choosing a photo...the one of the ravioli with browned salvia butter looked awesome, but I couldn't resist this Bento Box version. Seriously, Joker Girl, you can make lunch for me anytime.


TS & JS of [Eating Club] Vancouver made the most glorious looking Roast Duck Legs with Cabbage & Portobello Pappardelle. And while you're at their site, you have to check out the duck breast with pomegranate chipotle. True, there's no pasta in sight, but I bet if you add a simple pasta olio as a side...


Kitchenetta of Got No Milk needs our help. She found this lovely looking dish of Toasted Orzo with Chicken, Peas and Soy Parmesan, but thought something was missing. Read her post and hopefully you can give her some ideas.


Maybelle's Mom at Feeding Maybelle, hasn't been around here for a while. But she's back with a very interesting dish...and who can tell me what amaranth is? Pasta with Cranberry Beans, Radishes and Amaranth leaves.


Graziana of Erbe in Cucina sent us these lovely Mushroom and Marjoram Crepes. And my first reaction was...this isn't pasta. My second thought was then really what is ravioli if not dough stuffed with something wonderful. My third thought was...no wonder I love crepes!


Jin Hooi of Smell & Taste are My Memory had me salivating with her description of this fab Coconut Chicken Pasta. I really can't wait to try some.


Pam of Sidewalk Shoes can't grow her own bell peppers...me neither, but lucky for both of us we can buy some beauties. Check out her gorgeous Pasta with Bell Peppers and Prosciutto.


Wiffy at Noob Cook discovered that butter rather than oil gives an unbelievable richness to pasta. So true. Check out her Butter Sauteed Spaghetti with Prawns, Veggies and Cheddar bits.


Ning of Heart and Hearth (don't you love the name of her blog) shares this luscious dish of Korean Chap Chae . It's salty and sweet and can be spicy too if you're like her hubby.


Mrs Ergul in the Kitchen made this Home-made Been Hoon in Beef Broth. It will be my bookmarked "go to" for those cold and rainy days ahead.


CY at Eat First, Diet Later is a first time PPNer - so welcome and come play with us often. I love her Cheat Cannelloni and you will too. The caption for the photo asks "can you smell the cheese" and the answer is YES!


Dela at Not Your Mama's Southern Cooking is another first time PPNer. She created this lovely Summer Pasta with great veggies from the market...no real recipe, just a perfect guideline to perfect pasta.


Daphne of More than Words made a terrific Seafood Pasta with Prima Deli Chilli Crab Premix. She lives in Perth, Australia, but I'm hoping I can find the mix here in Halifax. Otherwise, I guess I'll have to shop online. Either way...I want some now.


Elly of Elly Says Opa is finally back her at PPN with a gorgeous looking Pasta with Tomatillos & Poblano Chilies and a question about light vs low-cal. Help her out, after all...she did share an awesome dish.


MochachocolataRita is back from her business trip and made a wonderful, comforting Chicken Soup with Pasta that sounds perfect for regrouping whatever your story.


Gilli of So So Simple Food tooks some time out of visiting with the cutest little grand-daughter ever to make her version of Marcella Hazan's Vegetable Lasagna. It looks heavenly.


Nuria of Spanish Recipes made a lovely Pasta Salad with cherry tomatoes from her daughter-in-law's garden. I'm so jealous of anyone with a garden...don't get me started. There's a lovely looking photo of the salad, but I couldn't resist this shot...


Jeanne of Cook Sister is a fabulous writer and great cook and I'm so glad she finally decided to share a pasta with us. Her Mac 'n' Cheese sounds awesome and looks gorgeous and the story...well, read for yourself.


Avra of I've Got Food on my Brain made a very lovely looking Pasta Agricola . I love the name...which really means Farm, but sounds so much more romantic.


And finally, my dish...Multi-grain Pasta with Hearty Mushroom Ragu. CY and Daphne are not the only ones who uses a little help with the base for the sauce. You can see who I often turn to here.


Next week's fabulous guest host will be Psychgrad of Equal Opportunity Kitchen. You can email your entries to her directly - bloggingwagon AT hotmail DOT com.

Plus...Don't forget to check all the Presto Pasta Night Roundups dating back to March, 2007, see who's hosting for the next four weeks and check out guidelines and tips for entering and hosting.

If you have any ideas for a topic for Presto Pasta Night, let me know. And, if you're a Facebook member, please visit the Presto Pasta Gang on Facebook.

A very big thank you to all of you for playing along and visiting every week!!! I can always count on you to make it special.

Don't forget to join in the fun yourself. It's simple....

1. Post a pasta recipe on your site. By pasta, I mean any noodle dish - hot, cold, spicy, creamy, saucy, stuffed, from any and every culture - Pad Thai, Singapore Noodles, Macaroni & Cheese, Pasta salads...the possibilities are endless!

2. Mention Presto Pasta Nights in the post and add a link back here.

3. Email the link to your post to this week's host with the following information:
The name you want to go by, publicly; your blog name; name of the dish.

Check here to see who's hosting in the next few weeks.

Entries will be posted every Friday, so you'll have some great new recipes for the weekend. Please make sure your entries are in by Thursday evening.

Don't worry if you don't have your own blog, you can email your recipe directly to me at ruth@4everykitchen.com and I'll post it for you.

If you're interested, please join the Presto Pasta Night Gang on My Facebook and let's see where the fun takes us all this year!

And if you'd like to be a Presto Pasta Night Host yourself, check out the details and email me directly at ruth@4everykitchen.com

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Handy Pasta Shortcuts and a Wealth of Recipes

Don't get me wrong, I love making my own long, simmering sauces that, not only taste amazing, their fragrance is awesome wafting through the house. But often enough, life is too hectic and, I don't need to mention that once October rolls around, I won't be able to find ripe, delicious tomatoes around here. That's where one of my favorite products comes in handy (by the way...this is a personal endorsement and not a paid ad!). Just as I always have shrimp in the freezer, cured chorizo sausages in the fridge and a wide variety of pastas in my pantry...I also keep a few jars of Classico sauces on hand as well.

They are just so easy to use as a base, a starting point for making your own last minute creation....and they shorten cooking time by at least 3 hours. Last night I made a mushroom ragu with their Roasted Portobello Mushroom Sauce.

And an even better discovery on my part, that I just had to share with you....their website also has tons of awesome recipes from appetizers and soups to magnificent mains. I'm going to be making the Capellini Fritters soon.

Plus there's a great FAQ page...top of my list...although the jars are perfect for storing dried goods...I use mine for rice, dried lentils and beans...they shouldn't be reused for canning.

What's your favorite "shortcut" pasta trick?

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Hoorah PPN #79 Links are Working

Finally, all those techical gremlins have gone and Presto Pasta Night #79 is fixed. All those links to fantastic dishes are working! Have a great time checking them out.

Once again, Thanks Abby, for hosting.

And remember everyone, I'm hosting next week...so send your entries to me at ruth@4everykitchen.com

Friday, September 5, 2008

Presto Pasta is ready in spite of technical glitches

This week Abby of Eat the Right Stuff is our fabulous host. So many great dishes and we'll all have to be patient because there were some technological glitches that keep us from actually linking to each awesome dish.

Don't worry it will all be resolved in short order and in the meantime...we'll all just have to drool over the photos.

Thanks Abby for all your hard work and thanks to everyone for submitting a tasty treat.

Next week, I'll be hosting so send your entries to Ruth AT 4everykitchen DOT com. And if you don't have your own blog, just email the recipe and I'll be happy to post it for you.

For tips and guidelines on sharing a recipe...check here.

If you're interested, please join the Presto Pasta Night Gang on My Facebook and let's see where the fun takes us all this year!

And if you'd like to be a Presto Pasta Night Host, email me directly at Ruth@4everykitchen.com