A Simple Pasta Dinner

Instead of doing the Mother's Day meal out thing, we decided to inaugurate the grilling season. So, Saturday dinner was brats & burgers by the pool (with the silly bitties IN the not-at-all-well-heated pool during our 60 degree weather) and Sunday lunch was bbq pork ribs. For our dinner last night, then, I made a very simple pasta dish I found in a Rick Bayless cookbook, adapted just a smidge.

Tuscan Pasta with Tomato Sauce

3 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
Salt & pepper
12 oz. tri-color rotini
17 basil leaves, cut in chiffonade
1 c. grated asiago cheese

In blender, blend tomatoes until mostly smooth. Heat 1 tbsp. oil. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until it starts to brown. Raise the heat to medium-high and add 2 cups of the tomatoes. Cook about 10 minutes, until it starts to look like a medium-thick sauce. Add salt & pepper. Add 2 tbsp. olive oil. Keep warm while you cook the pasta to a very firm al dente. Drain and toss with sauce, basil and cheese.

I served this with garlic bread (an Italian loaf spread with our local grocery's garlic butter) and Italian-blend bagged salad. To go with the salad, I made Maytag blue cheese dressing. I could eat that with a spoon!

Blue Cheese Dressing

1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 oz. blue cheese (do splurge on the good stuff!)

Mix sour cream & mayonnaise together. Add milk, vinegar and salt. Crumble in blue cheese. Stir to blend. This is even better the second day.