The New York Times has been rolling out a revamped cooking section over the past several months, with beautiful pictures, daily emails of seasonal and favorite recipes, and an easier-to-navigate website. It really is a treat to receive daily cooking stimulation, and a personal effect has definitely been increased usage of NY Times online recipes.
My latest NY Times recipe attempt though didn't result in the success I was hoping for. Instead, my try at the Mark Bittman Pasta with Butter, Sage and Parmesan was a bit of a bland, disappointing mess – but in the process I think I learned that I just don't like sage that much. Sure, it makes for a great cookie addition or butternut squash accompaniment, but otherwise, I'm not sure if it's quite thyme, rosemary or other herbs that I really do like.
Ok, on to the recipe attempt. Basically, you saute sage in melted butter:
Until it crisps up:
And then you add the partially cooked pasta to the mixture, add some hot pasta cooking water, and let the sauce and pasta cook to completion.
Unfortunately, the sauce just ended up being not that flavorful and also too watery – the latter probably from my messing up the water amount that I put into the dish, and from putting the cooking water in the sage/butter mixture before the pasta.
While I still packed the leftovers into work-appropriate containers, this dish wasn't the weeknight meal/work lunch combo I was hoping would be a new favorite. Oh well, on to the next NY Times recipe!
Leave a Reply