Trucioli with Prosciutto and Blue Cheese

Yum! I bet your mouth waters just from the title, right? My darling sister Coco sent this one to me via email to give a whirl one of these evenings. It's no secret that Hubs and I are big pasta lovers, and this dish didn't disappoint. Creamy sauce with a nice depth of flavor from the blue cheese, plus crisp salty prosciutto, and just enough onion and garlic for a hint of flavor in the sauce. We had it with Wheatfields bread and a nice light Beaujolais. A perfect, simple-yet-polished meal!

My sister suggested parsley for some color, and I must admit - without it, the dish is rather bland-looking. I used Italian parsley because that's what I had on hand, however feel free to use regular old parsley. The Italian is a wee bit stronger, and overpowered the flavors in the dish a teeny bit.

Thank you Coco-Rico, for the lovely recipe! Will get lots of use out of this one this winter.

Trucioli with Prosciutto and Blue Cheese

Ingredients:

12 oz. trucioli or other shaped rotini pasta

4 oz. prosciutto or amount to taste (can also use premium bacon)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. chopped onion

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese (my sister used Humboldt Fog, I used a nice gorgonzola)

1 c. half and half

1 tsp. ground black pepper

2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan

Cut prosciutto into ½ inch slices, set aside. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat, add garlic, onion, and prosciutto and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Add the creamer and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened. Stir in blue cheese an simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Boil pasta according to directions. Drain well and combine with sauce. Toss with parmesan cheese and black pepper and serve with a nice crusty loaf of bread and your fave red wine.

**Ah, yes: and please say hello to my new darling camera. This was its first photo shoot for the blog :)