Food Adventures: Penne with roasted tomatoes

In case you haven't noticed, I get most recipes from my mom, who I think is one of the best cooks out there. She puts together these great meals, using recipes and tweaking them, and has always made something that I like. I only hope that when I'm a mom I can cook as great as she does.

This most recent dish I made for my friend Tamra when she came to visit. I forgot to take pictures while actually cooking, so all I have is the end result, and here it is: Penne with roasted tomatoes and bacon.



The recipe involves some roasted grape tomatoes, and then some bacon (original recipe calls for pancetta), chili pepper flakes, onions, garlic, basil, and penne of course. My parents have served it as a "light pasta dish" at family parties we've had, with a small portion on an appetizer plate, and it's not too heavy but really flavorful. It made about 6 portions, plenty of leftovers for me to take to work for lunch with me.

I didn't like how burnt my tomatoes got, so next time I'll roast them for less time or maybe at a lower temperature. I also didn't like how spicy it got (I don't really do spicy food, not my thing) so I'll use a little less chili pepper next time.


In other news, I've started a recipe binder so I have all my recipes in one place. I'm putting all my sheet protectors to good use, finally! I find recipes everywhere so I figured it's a good place to keep them all organized. I put a post-it on the back of each recipe so I remember when I made it, and add general comments about the recipe or what I liked or didn't like. That way the next time I want to make it, I know what to do!