If I was on death row, and the death row people came to me with the question,”What do you want for your last meal?” These are a couple of the items I would request (at this point in my life): A fresh plain bagel, toasted, slathered with Philadelphia cream cheese (around 4 oz.), and then piled with a good quality, paper thin, honey roasted, deli ham. The cream cheese would also have to come from a traditional 8 oz. brick, there is a textural difference. One other item I would definitely ask for is a heaping bowl of spaghetti carbonara. I am talking a full pound of noodles perfectly cooked, thick cut bacon, heavy cream, and a mountain of grated parmigiano-reggiano. You might ask, “Why save these things for a last meal?” Shouldn’t a last meat be filled with rare, expensive, sweet and savory items such as: Kobe Beef, Beluga Caviar, Truffles, Fois Gras, or some chocolate crafted by Fritz Knipschildt? Well, maybe for some of the luck few who have the metabolism of a six foot tall, one hundred and sixty five pound, and sixteen year old boy. But, unfortunately, that is not me. I can look at a bowl of pasta and gain three pounds. But I still love it, and allow myself to eat it, just not every day. So to be able to eat something like that without the slightest hint of guilt would be heavenly. The closest I have ever come to being able to be completely care free about what I was stuffing into my mouth is when I was pregnant. Although, even then, I felt like I may be clogging my unborn child’s tiny arteries. Oh well, everything in moderation, right?
I added:”at this point in my life” because people are always changing. If the death row people would have come to me with the same question when I was eleven, I may have requested: a marshmallow gummy rat, a raspberry New York Seltzer, a box of lemon heads, a Milky Way bar, some steamed king crab legs, a steamed artichoke, and some pork noodles from the Hong Kong Restaurant.
So brings me to the following heaping bowl of pasta I allowed my husband and myself one night. The meal was about as hearty as it gets. It all started with the bucatini. I had never used, or even seen bucatini pasta before. So when I did discover this pasta I had to try it. Bucatini is like a hollow spaghetti noodle on steroids. We ate it and liked it!
Ingredients:
-Bucatini Pasta (cooked according to package directions)
-1 jar store bought basil pesto
-3 grilled chicken breasts
-10 oz. fresh spinach
– 8 oz. sliced crimini mushrooms
-1 Tbsp. olive oil
-1Tbsp. butter
-S & P
-1/2 c. grated Parmesan
Marinate 3 chicken breasts in 1/4 jar pesto (1/2 hr. to overnight). Grill chicken breasts 12 minutes total: (on high 4 min per side, on low 4 min.), let rest. Saute mushrooms in butter and olive oil, add 10 oz. fresh spinach to wilt salt and pepper to taste. Combine cooked hot pasta, mushrooms, spinach, and remaining pesto in a large bowl. Mix until pesto is completely combined. Fill bowls with pasta mixture. Slice chicken breasts, place atop pasta. Top all with plenty of grated Parmesan. EAT!