Happy 2012 and New Recipe Night... all in one!

I know it's not really Happy New Year, but this is the first post of the new year for me.  Tree is down, decorations are put away, Zack is back to school, Cameron is visiting and all is well in the Hyzy house.  It's nice to be back in a routine, but at the same time it sure was nice for that routine to involve PJ's, sleeping in and no responsibilities!  I successfully blog all last year and I printed off that blog so that I could include it in the 2011 scrapbook that I haven't finished  yet.  I'm getting there... be patient.  Anyway, I thought it was a cool idea to have a visual and then a written reminder of each year.

On another note,  I don't like to cook, but I recognize the necessity of eating.  So, while I don't like to cook, what I hate even more is to cook the same thing over and over again.  Don't get me wrong we have our tried and true favorites that we're never going to give up.  Mimi's spagetti,  Brenna's mexican casserole and John's venison stew, but about a year ago I instituted New Recipe Night.  Because while I don't like to cook, I LOVE looking through cooking magazines and cutting out recipes.  New Recipe Night was born.  Brenna and John jumped on the bandwagon with both feet... Zack not so much.  But when your entire repertoire of food choices is Eggo Waffles, cereal and ramen soup, there wasn't much surprise that he was not much interested in participating.

New Recipe Night rules... no rules... I make no promises, it might be good, it might be awful but we try.  Honest opinions are valued and if you don't like it you are always welcome hightail it to the peanut butter and jelly.  For the most part, it's been a big success.  Not many recipes are keepers, but that's really not the point.. the point is something new.

I thought it would be fun if I kept track of all the New Recipe Nights we have and what the final verdict is...and so it begins tonight...  In honor of vegetarian Cameron... we had

Pappardelle with Baby Spinach, Herbs and Ricotta
8 oz uncooked pappardelle
1 Tbsp salt
1/3 cup whole milk ricotta
3 cups baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
3 Tbsp pecorino Romano cheese
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
Cook pasta with 1 Tbsp salt according to package directions. Drain, saving 1 cup cooking liquid.  Combine 1/2 cup hot cooking liquid and ricotta cheese in blender and process until well combined.  Combine hot pasta, cheese mixture, spinach and remaining ingredients in a large bowl and toss to coat. Add additional cooking liquid to moisten if needed.

Final Verdict....KEEPER!  Brenna and Cameron ate like there was no tomorrow and for the pasta there wasn't.  John and I thought it was good but not fantastic and Zack wouldn't even look at the picture.

For future posts I will post the "official" picture and then a picture of what my version looked like.  I would have done that tonight, but they ate it before I could get my camera!