October!

It's October and I am BACK! In the past two weeks, I spent a full 10 days visiting my parents which included a long weekend in Illinois for a friend's wedding, lots of cheddar cheese (of course) ...and kale, and overuse of the internet to compensate for our lack of in Cortina (which has now been fixed!). I flew back to Italy last Saturday night, Ryan picked me up in Venice on Sunday afternoon and we spent the rest of the day and night looking for George Clooney and eating delicious risotto at one of our favorite restaurants (Osteria il Milion).

Speaking of risotto, last year we did the risotto of the month and made seven different risottos....well, this year, we're switching it up to pasta. We LOVE pasta (who doesn't?) and we're in Italy - it's a match made in heaven.

Our first pasta dish this season includes pesto, shrimp, roasted cherry tomatoes and homemade linguine. I made the linguine and the pesto myself because I was feeling adventurous and because it was made on a night when Ryan had practice until 9 pm - but obviously store-bought everything works fine too!

Linguine with Pesto, Shrimp and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Serves 2


For the pasta - we made pasta in great detail here but for two people I roughly use 1 cup of flour and one egg with a little water mixed in, if needed. Or you can use enough dried pasta for two people.

For the pesto - 2 cups fresh basil, one garlic clove, 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/4 cup of pine nuts, a little salt and pepper, mixed in a food processor until smooth. Add more olive oil if needed to make smooth. Spoon into a dish and mix in 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Can be stored in the fridge for later or used right away - we make our pesto on the chunkier side.

For the shrimp and tomatoes - About 8-10 shrimp per person, washed and dried, cooked in a little olive oil. Meanwhile, coat the cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, or until they begin to burst open.

Split pasta between two bowls and top with pesto, shrimp and roasted tomatoes. Add extra Parmesan, salt and pepper as needed.