More cheese, please..

I recently read back through my blog and noticed a quite disturbing, recurring theme: I use cheese in every recipe I make. Well, almost. There was that period of time when I tried a diet, and NONE of those recipes called for cheese. Which is probably why it only lasted two weeks. Go figure.

It's not like I just love cheese. I feel like I NEED it. It adds that special little "ummph." I (no kidding here) keep a tub of grated Parmesan in my fridge just to sprinkle it on everything. I try to tell myself I am "finishing the dish," like they do on TV and in books, but let's be honest: I love cheese and any excuse to have more is fine by me.*

So, my roommate, Courtney, and I have been on a little Giada kick lately. I have clearly outlined that I am obsessed with her, so when I found out that she was coming to DC, I almost fainted. I also convinced sweet Courtney to get up at the crack of dawn last Saturday morning to go stand in line with me for 2 hours. And spend $40 on her new cookbook, just so we could get it signed. Yep, totally worth it.**

Which brings me full-circle and combines both Giada and cheese. Courtney and I found a new recipe called Penne with Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese. It will change your life. Take my word for it.***

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4 in. cubes
1 onion, diced into 1/2 in. pieces
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 lb. penne pasta
1 cup (8 oz.) goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 cup basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Recipe:

Put an oven rack in the top 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place squash and onion on the baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 40 minutes until tender. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente (firm to the bite.) Drain and reserve two cups of cooking water. Put the pasta, 1 cup of the reserved water and goat cheese in a large bowl. Toss until melted and creamy. Add the squash, onion, walnuts and basil and toss to coat. Garnish with the Parmesan cheese and serve hot.

Courtney also made asparagus as a side dish. Just toss trimmed asparagus spears with salt, pepper and olive oil and roast it in the oven at 425 degrees for 10 minutes until tender. We made some garlic ciabatta rolls as well.

Courtney and I both agreed that the dinner was one of the best we had tasted in a really long time. And, we had a ton of leftovers, so I get to enjoy that for lunch and possibly dinner tonight. Yes!

Have a lovely Wednesday!

*OK let's be even more honest: If only you knew that I just like to have a tub of cheese in my fridge to pour handfuls of it into my mouth while I am waiting on the oven buzzer to tell me my cheesey, delicious dinner is done. But, really, who does that?

**Picture will follow.

***I literally couldn't speak until after I had had a few mouthfuls. It is THAT good.