ridiculously easy dinner

Based on one of Mark Bittman's 101 10 minute meals

2 lbs mixture of fresh clams, mussels and peeled shrimp
EVOO
couple cloves garlic
bunch of fresh thyme
bunch of fresh basil
1 glass unoaked chardonnay
2 -3 tbl tomato paste
1 can plum tomatoes
1 lb spaghetti

Heat salted water, boil pasta, drain, add couple of tbls olive oil. Meantime...

Heat a generous sploosh of olive oil. Add the garlic, chopped thyme and basil. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes and juice. Add the wine. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add the clams/mussels/shrimp. Now, if I was smart, I'd add the shrimp first, wait a couple of minutes, then add the clams, wait a couple of minutes then add the mussels. But... I didn't do it that way. I added all of them at the same time. Picked the mussels out when they were done, then the clams, then the shrimp. Boiled the sauce with the tomato paste for a couple of minutes to thicken. Put the pasta in a big pasta serving bowl, add the shellfish and sauce and you've got a ridiculously easy meal in very little time. And before you go all Adtkins on me, 1 lb pasta will serve 4 of us two separate meals.

I'm the queen of the 30 minute meal. I take bowtie pasta and throw it in boiling water, when it gets to just before al dente, I toss in frozen big green peas (don't use the little peas as they get lost in this dish). When the pasta is ready so are the peas. Drain and hold in colander and toss some butter in the same pot to melt, and throw in some chopped/minced garlic, and saute until tender. Then remove from heat, throw the pasta and peas into the pot and toss. When completely coated, toss in a handfull of shredded parmesean cheese and a little grated pepper and serve with champagne, sauvignon blanc, Fontina Candida. Voila` meal in minutes!

That looks delicious. Peas are always good. Thanks for posting and welcome.

[Jenise]

Based on one of Mark Bittman's 101 10 minute meals

2 lbs mixture of fresh clams, mussels and peeled shrimp
EVOO
couple cloves garlic
bunch of fresh thyme
bunch of fresh basil
1 glass unoaked chardonnay
2 -3 tbl tomato paste
1 can plum tomatoes
1 lb spaghetti

Heat salted water, boil pasta, drain, add couple of tbls olive oil. Meantime...

Heat a generous sploosh of olive oil. Add the garlic, chopped thyme and basil. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes and juice. Add the wine. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add the clams/mussels/shrimp. Now, if I was smart, I'd add the shrimp first, wait a couple of minutes, then add the clams, wait a couple of minutes then add the mussels. But... I didn't do it that way. I added all of them at the same time. Picked the mussels out when they were done, then the clams, then the shrimp. Boiled the sauce with the tomato paste for a couple of minutes to thicken. Put the pasta in a big pasta serving bowl, add the shellfish and sauce and you've got a ridiculously easy meal in very little time. And before you go all Adtkins on me, 1 lb pasta will serve 4 of us two separate meals.

It is so dreadful that my husband's mussel/clam allergy prevents me from making dishes like this because I'm all over this kind of cooking. Sounds fantastic. But--one pound of pasta for 8 servings? Not at my house! Four, if we're feeling dainty.

It is so dreadful that my husband's mussel/clam allergy prevents me from making dishes like this because I'm all over this kind of cooking. Sounds fantastic. But--one pound of pasta for 8 servings? Not at my house! Four, if we're feeling dainty

I recall reading Giada De Laurentiis saying that in order to keep her figure, she only eats 1/2 cup of whatever type of pasta she is serving. One night, while eating at an Italian restaurant here in Redding, I saw a very slim, beautiful girl who, after being served her pasta dish, immediately took her fork and split off about a 3/4 cup serving. She deliberately pushed the rest off to the far end of the plate and asked for a take home box the next time she saw the server. Smart lady! Wish I did that more often.

For me, pasta is one of those things that I have to deliberately stop eating, rest, talk, drink, whatever. Then I'll feel full and not need more. But if I don't take a break I can eat a huge portion.