Cooking by Intuition: Pasta in Pink Sauce

 We've had to change our schedule for eating dinner these days.  With a change in the length of sports pratices, eating when we get finished is really not an option now.  So, early dinners it is!  I've put the crockpot into use again and will be trying another new recipe tomorrow that I hope to share soon.  But, for tonight I took my inspiration from an article I read in the newest issue of Food & Wine.

To be honest, I have thought about canceling my subscription to F&W because I really don't cook from the recipes in the magazine.  Of course, this issue has caused me to look at those recipes and information in F&W and the other food magazines I get in a new way.  There is an article in which the author declares he is a recipe addict.  Yep, prior to this article he defined his cooking by the number of recipes he had prepared.  The interesting point of the article though is how he came to realize that intuitive cooking is what all of these recipes and cookbooks are there to help you gain the confidence to do!

I adore cookbooks, and by the collection I have in my bookcase that's no secret.  I also love reading recipes and even making them for my family.  What I think has gotten lost in my love of these things is that I am a pretty confident home cook and I am also pretty good at most cooking techniques.  Yes, there are many that I still would like to learn and incorporate into my repertoire... but, in the meantime, I've got enough to work with on a daily basis.

This is just the inspiration I needed.  Quick and simple meals made at home before rushing off to a practice are the order of the day here.  So, tonight I decided to pull together a pasta in a pink sauce... and (yikes!) work without a net (aka: recipe), so to speak.

I had a pretty good idea of what ingredients would work for the flavor I was wanting for this dish.  I wanted some protein added  so that it would be a complete meal - some thinly sliced chicken was sautéed as the first step in this dish - after it was done I pulled it out of the skillet and set it aside.  Next, I drained a can of diced tomatoes and added that to the skillet, along with some minced garlic.  To incorporate some additional flavor I added some white wine and a bit of chicken broth.  After bringing all of that to a boil, it was time to add some heavy cream.  To thicken the sauce up a bit, I added some freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.  Once all of that was incorporated together, the chicken was added back into the skillet.  Lastly, the cooked and drained pasta was added and tossed with the light pink sauce.

 Dinner was a big success with all but My Oldest.  He's going through a picky thing right now... and typically is only happy with fish, spinach and potatoes.  While those are all healthy choices, we simply can't eat that for dinner every night.

So, lesson learned... pull out ingredients and build a dish based on what you know.  I know I didn't share exact measurements, but then again when cooking this way you don't always measure as you go.  That is the way My Grandma and My Mom cooked most of our meals and testing by taste is the best way to ensure you've added everything you need.

Dinner may turn out to be something wonderful and you don't need to cook from a recipe every night to do that either!

Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.