Baked Penne a la Carbonara- Diane Phillips

I've been enjoying Diane Phillips books lately. This is 1 I've made twice in 2 weeks (per family request!)

Serves 10 as a side dish or 6 as a main dish
(Or 4 if you have teen boys!)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup flour
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken broth (Keep some extra handy in case you need to thin out the sauce)
1-1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan (okay do 2 cups- you're welcome)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Salt (optional) to taste....since when was salt an option?
1 pound penne pasta, cooked according to package directions until al dente and drained
12 strips bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, coked until crisp, and drained on paper towels (app. 3/4 pound)
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Step 1
In a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, add the shallots and thyme, and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour is cooked, but hasn't turned color, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the cream and broth and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Stir in 1 cup of the Parmesan and season with pepper and with salt if desired.

Step 2
Coat a 13x9-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle 1/4 cup of the remaining Parmesan over the bottom. In a large bowl, toss the hot penne with the olive oil. (This parmesan makes a nice crust on the bottom.)

Step 3
Stir the sauce into the penne, then stir in the bacon and mozzarella. Transfer to the prepared pan and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 - 1/2 cup of Parmesan.

Diva Do-Ahead: At this point, you can cover and refrigerate overnight OR freeze freeze for up to 6 weeks. Bring to room temperature before continuing.(Thaw 1 day in fridge)

Step 4
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the penne until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

Now I was lazy and copied the recipe from here. It looks like a nice blog. Her recipe had olive oil, mine doesn't (I went to Diane's class,where this recipe came from her book) I think the olive oil is why the sauce separated.
Diane's book is called "Perfect Party Food" by Diane Phillips.

NANCY'S AWESOME COBB SALAD (Page 17)

Nancy Valmassoi is one of my favorite people and she made this for me and I loved it. And I love her and my life is better for knowing both!

NANCY'S AWESOME COBB
SALAD
Step 1:
1 bag of wagon wheel pasta, cooked
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
2 ripe tomatoes, cubed
1 lb. bacon, fried and crumbled (You could use less here, but why?)
2 cups fresh spinach (counteracts the bacon, really....)
1 (4-oz.) crumbled blue cheese
1 c. pitted black olives
Step 2:
1 tsp. honey or sugar
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1 c. olive oil
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced fine
Mix the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller separate bowl, whisk the mustard, vinegar, olive oil,black pepper, honey and garlic. Pour over the salad and toss. I would love to put how many this serves, but it's so good that, when I make it.....it serves very few! I love this dish!
Note: Just go ahead and double it. You will not be able to stop eating it.

VEGETABLE LASAGNE (Page 60)

They say you eat with your eyes first!

I line up my veggies in order of cook time.

I had my lagest skillet and still made a mess.

Love these noodles!

Adding pesto to the veggies

Making the bechamel sauce, thickening

Adding the nutmeg

Chopping basil in a "chiffonade"

Ricotta cheese mixture ingredients

Layering the lasagna


The finished produce with a fluffy top ~ Yum.

VEGETABLE LASAGNE
olive oil salt pepper to taste
2 c. onions chopped nutmeg to taste (for bechamel sauce)
4 cloves garlic, minced 1 1/2 lbs. whole milk ricotta
3 zucchini, diced 8 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 red bell peppers, diced
1 cup shredded carrots optional
6 oz. mushrooms, sliced 2 T. fresh basil, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, diced 2 1/2 c. mozzarella, divided
1/2 c. pesto, home made or prepared 1 1/2 c. Parmesan, divided
3 T. unsalted butter 3 eggs
2 T. flour 1 box of Barilla no bake lasagne noodles,divided in thirds
2 c. whole milk
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft, add carrots and cook a few minutes more. Then add zucchini, peppers and garlic and cook. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Place all veggies in a large bowl, set aside. Heat more olive oil and cook mushrooms. Add cooked mushrooms to vegetable mixand stir in 1/2 cup pesto sauce and coat well. Set aside. Bechamel Sauce: In a heavy saucepan, melt butter. Remove from heat. Whisk in flour. Return to heat and cook flour 1-2 minutes, don't let it brown. Remove from heat and whisk in milk. Return to heat and whisk until thick. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg (to taste). Set aside.

Ricotta mix: Combine ricotta, spinach, basil, 1/2 c. mozzarella, eggs,and 1 cup Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Grease a 9 x 13 and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Take 1/3 of the bechamel sauce and place in the bottom of the pan. Lay 1/3 the noodles over the sauce. Layer 1/2 of the vegetables next and then the ricotta mixture. Spreading evenly as you go. Place 1 cup of mozzarella over next. Lay another 1/3 of the noodles. Repeat bechamel sauce layer, vegetable layer and then the
last 1/3 of the noodles. Spread the ricotta over noodles and cover with all of the remaining cheeses. Bake 45 minutes until nicely browned.

Note: You can find the home made pesto recipe in the "This and That" section of this
book. Don't be afraid to season each layer. Careful on the nutmeg, as it can over
power the dish.