Lotsa Pasta

Today my daughter called to ask for my help about adjusting a recipe. I loved it! After some discussion we decided it would be too much work (not to mention a trip to the grocery store) to modify the original, so I gave her a few pointers about cooking a quick alfredo with chicken sauteed in butter and pepper, and I "taught" her how to trim and cook an artichoke.

Then we talked for an hour. 

It was truly the highlight of my day. I love talking to my daughter, and now that she is married, working and a senior in college, it is really rare that we get an uninterrupted block of time to just chat. She is so fun and smart. I love hearing about her life and the goings-on of her days. I love her stories. Every time we talk I think, "We should do that more often," and then of course life gets in the way. I do miss her being close, and it is my secret (or not-so-secret???) wish that she will live closer when she and her husband finish grad school and start their family. I will be an AMAZING mimi.  (That tearm of endearment is just for you, S.) Really.  I will bake and bake and bake. I will babysit at the drop of a hat. I will take the little ones to places like the zoo or museums and movies and science centers. I will let them conduct science experiments in my house and finger paint with pudding. We will have sleep-overs and watch lots of Disney movies or whatever PBS cartoon is "in" at the moment. I will take them to the park or swimming in the summer and sledding in the winter. 

And I will let them throw spaghetti on the wall to test its done-ness. 

Right.  Back to the pasta.

For the perfect bowl of pasta you have to go to Enzio's. When we go I always get the same thing--Chicken Rosmarino, without the chicken.  Penne pasta with shallots, capers, artichoke hearts, rosemary, roma tomatoes, and a dijon gorgonzola cream sauce. They serve it to you in a huge bowl, like perhaps the size of one of your serving dishes at home. And it's so good you probably want to eat the whole thing at once.  Be prepared to be wheeled out of the restaurant.

Their Caprese is excellent, as is the Margherita Pizza. Oh, and their Tiramisu is amazing.  In fact, the last time we ate at Enzio's I intentionally boxed most of my pasta so I would have room for Tiramisu. A whole one. All by myself. 

But there is no denying that for me, the reason to go to Enzio's is the Rosmarino pasta. It is soooo good. And while I may try to throw some noodles and artichoke hearts together with some butter and cheese, nothing will ever taste as good as what they create there.