Twisty and skinny and fat...Oh My! or should I say Kitties and spirals and tubes...Oh My! PPN# 136 Roundup...

Oh what a week it has been! How many days in a row can a girl take ooohing and aaahing over pasta? Seven. That's it...senses are in overload...must give them a rest. A couple hours should do. But seriously, I have truly enjoyed being the host of Presto Pasta Nights this week! Thanks so much to everybody who submitted a dish...and in turn contributed to my carb-induced coma. It was a pleasure...If you remember, I kicked it off by faking it…because our house experienced a solid couple weeks of dealing with the icks…and I still wasn’t up to making something that required patience…or time. I used a recipe from a Foodie-blogger friend to throw together a quick version of one of my favorite pasta dishes…Fake it, don’t Bake it Lasagna. I don’t know your thoughts on it, but I go ga-ga over truffles…and when you put a new twist on an old classic like Natasha from 5 Star Foodie so creatively did…you wind up with a simply gorgeous plate of Truffled Macaroni and Cheese. Truffles, cream, salt, cheese, macaroni….HEAVEN! And on a side note, if you have a great twist on this old classic, definitely go check out Natasha’s post…because she’s rounding them up!

I am a sucker for fun-shaped pasta…so just imagine my delight when I saw the adorable Hello Kitty shapes in Julie from Blukats entry! Julie combined the squash, tomato and mushroom bounty around her with spices and cheese and tossed it with this fun pasta to make her Squash on Pasta. She likes this dish because the flavors combine to make so much more than you started with! Plus, this is Julie’s first time playing along with Presto Pasta Nights…great way to dive right in, Julie!

Another first-timer this week is Rene of From One Stove to Another. Sprung from her love for Balsamic Vinegar and fresh basil, Rene created a Caprese-esque Pasta featuring rotini (to hold all the goodness in its crevices), tomatoes, cheese and 2 of her favorite ingredients! And now I miss the flavors of summer…

If you visit me enough, you know how much I love chiles…so I am itching to try this dish, Penne with Dried Peppers, that Elizabeth of blog from OUR kitchen made! Not only did she make a pasta sauce from fried, dried chile peppers (can you say earthy, rustic perfection)…she adapted it from a recipe she found in my favorite magazine of all time, Saveur! This is one I will be trying…soon!

Puglia e Fieno Papalina or Straw and Hay is next up! Mary from One Perfect Bite was inspired by a pasta entrée that she had at Romeo Salta’s (no longer there) restaurant in NYC. It is a simple dish that she often prepares tableside for company…impressive! It uses 2 types of gorgeous, fat fettuccini noodles along with some other simple, flavorful ingredients. Delicious.

Prosciutto, mushrooms, butter, Marsala, chicken…what else can I say? Well, how about Whole Wheat Pasta!! Yup, I said it…and in turn all of those little glands in my mouth opened up and started to water. And if this can fuel you up for running an OUTSTANDING 26-odd (and I mean that in every way possible...because I find running just for the "fun" of it very odd...maybe I'm just jealous) miles like it did for Joanne of Eats Well with Others…sign me up! Joanne found a version of Chicken Marsala that was worthy of making over and over and over again. Can I join you next time, Joanne? No marathon for me, though…but I’m a fabulous cheerleader. Give me a J…

I can just taste the flavor explosion that results from mixing Thai Green Curry Paste and mint…can’t you!? Well, do you know Ann from PigPig’s Corner? She makes a mouth watering Thai Green Curry Penne with mint…and mixes in asparagus and beef and tosses it all with some penne. “Fast, simple and super duper tasty.” I’d have to say that I agree…how ‘bout you?

I love it when people use ramen noodles to make meals. Seriously, I do. Toss out that (delicious) salty seasoning packet and add in your own flavor profile. Well, that is exactly what Bob from Cooking Stuff did when he recreated a dish he enjoys from a Chinese place around the corner from him…Garlic Pan Fried Noodles. Who could resist “spectacular, garlicky and rich with some bits of noodle crispy and some still soft”? Not me…you had me at garlic, Bob! Another one for the ever-expanding recipe/idea file.

Chaya of The Comfy Cook whipped us up a simple, yet tasty dish of Spiral Veggies and Cheese. Havarti Cheese!! This sounds like a fabulous weeknight (or any time, really) meal that is open to substitutions if you don’t have any of the particular ingredients…but I say…don’t skip the Havarti!! What a well-rounded dish (pasta, cheese, veggies…those are all of the essential food groups, right?).

Going on a clam dig is something I have always wanted to do. Imagine me in my waders with my jeans rolled way up…wading into the surf (are clams in the surf, maybe not…but if not, imagine they were)…with my netted bag…watching the kiddos frolic and gather seashells, all the while yelling to look at their treasures. Hair whipping in the wind, salt spray my face (yes, I’m digging salt-water clams)…well, picture me “happy as a clam”. Well, that is exactly what Little Inbox of Eating Pleasure DID do!! And then she the clams she found to make a gorgeous Seafood Pasta. The photo alone is enough to make me weep…

While we’re at sea…perhaps we could find a regal swordfish to cook up this next entry from Graziana of Erbe in Cucina! This is another pasta dish that uses mint…I bet the contrast of the meaty swordfish, the salty capers and the fresh mint in your mouth with a fat rigati noodle is beyond satisfying! I bet this would go swimmingly (she‘s on a roll ladies & gentlemen) with a nice bottle of vino blanco...Swordfish Pasta with Mint!

“Fat and chewy noodle.” Yes, please!! It’s a fact…we eat with our eyes first…and my eyes are in sheer ecstasy! Would you just feast your eyes on this amazing dish that LK from Food4Tots came up with! LK created Stir-fry udon with prawns after experimenting with these versatile Japanese noodles…once discovering her son happily ate them up…and she came up with a “simple, nutritious yet tasty” concoction! I don’t know if all of my (used to be-)tots would have noshed on this…but I know that mama would have had no problem slurping my way through this dish while they happily finger-fed themselves the noodles and veggies alone. No qualms at all.

“Bacon? Garlic? Noodles? What's not to like?! This is simple, fast and really good. Cooking the bacon strips with the garlic and a touch of olive oil on a wire rack over a foil lined pan worked well, as it allowed the fat to drain off and I could control how much of it went into the pasta, (just a bit was enough).” This is what my friend Deb from Kahakai Kitchen thought of the simple Nigella Lawson dish, Linguine with Bacon. Deb is the master of making things healthier without compromising flavor, and she did it this time by using fresh, whole wheat pasta for extra fiber and organic, nitrate-free bacon. Plus, cooking her bacon on a rack. Genius…whether eaten in the bathtub like Nigella…or on the couch like Deb.

Ching from Little Corner of Mine decided to try making her own Singapore Fried Vermicelli after seeing it on menus at Americanized Chinese Restaurants. Although it was not the noodle she remembered from her time in Singapore, it sounds absolutely delicious to me. This recipe actually calls for yellow Indian Curry Powder (as opposed to red)…and is perfect for subbing/adding any veggie or meat you may have at home in your own kitchen. The flavors of this dish sound amazing and it’s another one I cannot wait to try!

I recently discovered the joys of eating pasta and eggs together…and my pal Martha from Menagerie just took it to a whole ‘nother level! I cannot think of a tastier way to use up my leftover cooked spaghetti noodles than throwing them into a Frittata!! Can you just feel the crunch of the noodle after it’s been fried up in a little butter with some other goodies thrown in? Simple, easy, frugal…delicious.

Fall in all of its splendor has inspired some gorgeous emotion in Muneeba of An Edible Symphony. As she embraces the flavors and smells of fall (a woman after my own heart)…and enjoys the simple beauty all around her and remembers to cherish “that special someone who still makes your toes curl”…she takes us to a whole new world with her Mushroom Bourguignon with Egg Noodles. If this dish is not the complete embrace of Fall, I don’t know what is. Love is in the air.

When can you enter a cheeseburger into a pasta roundup? When it’s deconstructed and mixed up with penne to become a family-pleasing Cheeseburger Pasta, that’s when! Teresa from A Blog About Food loves her guinea pigs family for allowing her to experiment and then eating with a smile on their face…even if it was not her best moment. But I’d say this fun dish was a hit and I know that it will be one in my house when I give it a try, too! But guess what…I’m adding the bacon Teresa…Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta. Just do it.

More Udon!! You have no idea how much haste I’m going to make once I’m done with this post…I am high-tailing it to market to buy some Udon noodles!! They’re so fat and gorgeous and I just need some after drooling over these recipes! Radha of Urban Bites cooks up some chicken in Cantonese-style, adds meaty Chinese mushrooms and crushed anacards (cashews) and few other flavorful additions to come up with this inviting Udon, Chinese mushrooms & chicken Cantonese.

And last…but definitely not least…we close with Good For What Ails You Pasta from the Pasta Queen herself, Ruth of Once Upon a Feast (creator of Presto Pasta Nights). Ruth has been dealing with the icks that have been making their rounds, as well. Since it’s hard to even think when you’re sick, this is more of a method…a guide if you will at putting together a gorgeous, healing dish for those days when you’re just not up to following a recipe. Although, I have those days even when I’m not under the weather, so actually this is fitting for any day! So, grab your pretty little bowl and get ready to feel better!

I'm hungry.

Cooking up some pasta this week? Be sure to head over to visit Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything, who will be your PPN#137 host next week! If you'd like more information on entering or maybe even hosting Presto Pasta Nights, head on over there and find out how!