Linguine Avgolemono with Artichoke Hearts and Green Beans

I got this recipe from a Bon Apetit magazine and it turned out to be really good. Sometimes I add vegies to pasta, but have never used beans. I'm not a bean fan...to say the least.

Deedy and I went to a Farmers Market in Moraga and bought beans and other goodies. We used the beans in this recipe and they turned out to be really good. We'll definitely make this one again.

Ingredients

3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup whipping cream

12 oz frozen artichoke hearts
8 oz green beansm triummed, cut on diagonal into 2-inch pieces
12 oz linguine

3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
1/4 cup chipped fresh parsley

Directions

Place yolks in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in lemon juice, then cream.
Cook artichoke hearts and green beans in large pot of salted, boiling water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Using sieve, transfer vegetables from pot to large skillet. Return water to boil. Add pasta; boil until tender but still form to bite. Drain pasta, reserving 1 1/2 cups cooking liquid.
Add pasta to skillet with vegetables. Whisk 3/4 cup cooking liquid into yolk mixture. Add yolk mixture, 3/4 cup cheese, and parsley to skillet. Toss over medium heat just until sauce thickens and coats pasta, about 4 minutes, adding more cooking liquid by tablespoons if dry. Season with salt and pepper. Serve, passing additional cheese alongside

Pasta Night

Every once in a while, I get together with my sisters husband, Dale, and we cook everybody pasta. I have done this at home several times before doing this with Dale. I got the idea after going to KC's Golf Club in Redding for Pasta Night....hence the name. Each person's pasta is made just for them, so there are no two bowls of pasta that are a like.

It was a cool idea to cook the pasta for each person right there and it looked simple to do. It takes time getting the ingredients all cut up, but that's part of the fun. Dale and I are on the phone while we go shopping, trying to figure out which grocery store has the clams and mussels in stock and which store has the best pasta sauce to use. Pasta Night turns into quite an event with most of the activity happening before dinner even starts.



The challenge with this dinner is not putting too much in the pot when you're cooking. It adds up quickly and people will be more than stuffed when done.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

Whatever you want......really.

This is our typical list:

4 mussels per person, steamed
3 clams per person, steamed
3 uncooked shrimp per person (shelled and deveined)
BBQ'd chicken breasts. Use whatever marinade you like.
Sausages - I like the specialty ones with apple, artichokes, garlic. Whatever sounds good.
Basil - chopped.
10-15 Roma tomatoes - seeded, chopped.
1 Bulb of Garlic - chopped
Tomato Sauce - I like basil and tomato. Use your favorite
Can of chopped or stewed tomatoes with seasonings
Sliced mushrooms
Capers
Zucchini - chopped
Green onions
Red and or White wine for cooking
Parsley
Olive oi
Cooked Pasta - vermicelli, fettucini, whatever you want. We add a little bit of olive oil to the pasta so it won't stick.

grated Paramesean cheese

Cooking

Have whoever you're cooking for say what they want, then cook it. We usually start off heating the olive oil in a small wok style cooking pan. We'll add the shrimp and garlic and cook the shrimp until it's pink. While the shrimp is cooking, toss in the zucchini. When that's close to done, start adding whatever your customer wants. At the end of the cooking, we'll add in the mussels and clams then the pasta. Stir it all together and put into the bowl.