Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Source: Rachael Ray's 365: No Repeats

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound cremini mushrooms, brushed clean and chopped (I used assorted wild and white button)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped (I used dried)
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup cognac (I used dry sherry)
1 cup chicken stock or broth (or vegetable broth)
1/2 cup heavy cream
A few dashes of hot sauce, such as Tabasco
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1 pound linguine or fettucine (I used rotini)
coarse salt
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more to pass at the table

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and salt and cook al dente.

Preheat a large soup pot over high heat with the EVOO and the butter. Add the mushrooms and thyme and cook for 6 to 7 minutes. Add the onions, garlic, salt and pepper and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Add the cognac, stir for 1 minute, then add 1/2 cup of the chicken stock and cook for 1 minute more.

Transfer the mushrooms and the liquid to a blender or food processor and puree until really smooth (I left it a bit chunky for the pasta version). Return the puree to the soup pot and add the remaining 1/2 cup stock and the cream. Add a few dashes of hot sauce and bring up to a simmer, then cook for 5 minutes. Bring to a bubble, add the cooked pasta, and turn the heat off. Toss to coat; add the parsely and the Parmigiano. Serve immediately.

For Mushroom Bisque, follow the above recipe, but add a total of 3 cups of stock and omit the pasta and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

My notes: This was easy to throw together and quite tasty. Because of an oversight, I did not add all of the Parmesan cheese and would definitely use it all next time and/or add a bit of less-fat cream cheese to help add flavor and thicken up the sauce. I used a wheat blend rotini.

I talked about this recipe HERE.