Three by Four Challenge: Creamy Mushroom Pasta
I followed through, Bloggees! After proclaiming my cooking challenge last Friday, I went home and crafted a culinary creation. A tantalizing treat for the taste buds. A scintillating surprise for the senses. A... alright, enough alliteration. I made the pasta, and it turned out great.
I've eaten it for the past two days of lunch at work, and I wanted to come home and make it again tonight. I may be biased, but I think that's a good sign.
Step One: Chop things (mushrooms, onion, garlic cloves) and put them in a skillet with olive oil.
Step Two: Sauté mushrooms, onions, and garlic until onions are translucent.
Step Three: Add chicken stock (I substituted vegetable stock), cream, and fresh dill.
Step Four: Cook sauce down until it thickens, then pour over pasta.
Step Five: Season with salt & pepper, add parmesan cheese, and dig in! I mean, sample the dish delicately.
...No, dig in is more accurate.
I will admit to one mishap - in my quest to lighten up the cream quotient in this dish (it calls for a cup and a half, a CUP and a HALF of heavy cream), I took my mother's advice and added some thickener to the sauce instead of using all the cream. What my mother did not advise me to do, however, that I did on my own was substitute potato flour starch for cornstarch, as I couldn't find cornstarch at the grocery store. This resulted in several small lumps that appeared like mashed potatoes in my sauce.
Hey, these are cooking-growing pains, ok? It still tasted deliciously creamy and flavorful, I just picked the lumps out. And now...I know not to use potato starch in anything. Ever again.
