Mushroom & Asparagus Pasta

I've been on a bit of a mushroom-craving kick lately, which is hard to satisfy since mushrooms are one of the things the hubs won't eat. But for lunch the other day I made myself a delicious little mushroom pasta which you may recognize as being quite similar to the mushroom crostini recipe from back around Mother's Day.

I started with a combination of shiitake mushrooms and baby bella mushrooms, and decided to throw in some tender asparagus as well.

I sautéed the mushrooms in a little olive oil and butter, trying not to crowd the pan too much. (Slightly failed at that. Eyes bigger than my pan...) 

I let the mushrooms go for about five minutes before adding anything else to the pan, and then added about a teaspoon of dried thyme to the pan, which, as always, I crushed in my fingers before adding. (I had just run out of fresh thyme, much to my consternation.)

At this point I added the finely sliced asparagus and tossed it all together.

At this point I seasoned the veggies with some salt, and grated one large garlic clove into the mix.

Next I added a splash (maybe 2 tablespoons) of cognac, and let that cook off (we're talking seconds here.)

I finished what would become the pasta sauce with a splash of chicken stock and about 2 tablespoons of half and half (or cream or whatever you have) and let it all come together. Check for seasoning.

I then added the cooked pasta to the pan and let the flavors meld for another minute.

I finished the dish with a little good olive oil and some grated pecorino cheese.

Very satisfying.

Oh, and the HEAT went on in my building last night. August 1st and my radiators began hissing and suddenly I smelled that smell that old radiators emit when the heat starts up. It's a smell that I love come October, because it has just started to be regularly cold and it means fuzzy sweater and socks season has begun and thoughts of hot chocolate drift through my head.

I was denied that happy feeling as it was August 1st and instead I flew into a heat-stroke panic, checking with neighbors to see if it was just me, or just my "line" of apartments, and then called my less than stellar Super who reported "boiler trouble but fixed now." 

Yeah, 30 minutes and 90º later it turned off.

To top off the night, the hubs forgot his wallet while visiting a friend (UPS to the rescue) and lost his iPod on the plane back.

Not an auspicious start to the month.

Fingers crossed that yesterday is the worst day that we have.