Let's Carbo Load with the Presto Pasta Nights #193 Roundup

So many wonderful, noodly dishes from around the globe came in this week for my stint as guest host for Presto Pasta Nights #193. This weekly event is the brainchild of Ruth from Once Upon a Feast and one can always find great ideas for cooking up the glorious range of noodles. From ravioli to rigatoni, from glass noodles to elbows, below we see a wealth of pasta cooked up by great cooks from around the world.

First in my mailbox was a submission from Beth over at The Seventh Level of Boredom. She made an awesome sounding Macaroni and Cheese with Green Chiles (and a few more spicy peppers thrown in for good measure).

We get a classic Beef Stroganoff served over egg noodles from Tina over at Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrelhead Manor. Paired with a glass of red wine and some bread to sop up the rich sauce, this sounds like the perfect comfort food for cool weather dining.


A vegetarian version of Beef Stroganoff was on the menu over at Margaret's blog, The Vegetarian Casserole Queen. Queen Margaret makes a creamy sauce of mushrooms, sour cream and meat substitute crumbles to make this hearty main dish.


Crab Mac and Cheese is a new twist on a classic recipe and Kevin of the Toronto blog Closet Cooking is the brains behind it. Enough time had passed from his university days when he lived off of macaroni and cheese, and he thought to combine this old favorite with another favorite dish, crab cakes, and thus, a delicious new hybrid was born.


Claudia is the creative mind at the Hawai'ian blog, Honey from Rock, and she presents us with a plate full of Cauliflower and Pennes from Heaven. This dish combines cauliflower with parsley, anchovies, garlic, fennel seeds and pollen (fennel pollen is all over the blogosphere these days. Hope Santa brings me some in my Crispy stocking!) and other seasonings.

I was also thinking about pasta and cauliflower this week, and here at The Crispy Cook, I made a batch of Guy Fieri's Paccheri Pasta, er Rigatoni with Cauliflower and Spinach. This was a hearty vegetarian main dish with chunks of cauliflower, tomatoes, spinach, loads of sauteed garlic, red pepper flakes, capers and other seasonings.


A simple, elegant, yet fun recipe from Giada De Laurentiis was on the menu over at Girlichef this past week. Heather made Little Stars with Butter and Parmesan, a perfect dish for the whole family to share at the supper table.

My Cook the Books co-hostess and fantastic food blogger and photographer, Deb of Kahakai Kitchen, was also channeling Giada this week and cooked up her recipe for Brown Butter and Sage Sauce for Mushroom Ravioli. A delicious and quick supper for the busy holiday season, indeed.


Sweet Artichoke is the blog, and Pasta with Artichokes is the scrumptious dish sent in by Vanessa, who blogs in both English and French! She recently visited Rome, where she feasted on artichokes and tells us all about how to prepare them for cooking. Check out her exquisite photographs.


Ben of What's Cooking, Mexico? was craving some meatballs when he was visiting his parents recently, and whipped up this flavorful dish: Meatballs in Poblano Sauce, served over linguine. What a beautiful sauce!

Glass noodles, those squishy, clear, wonderful noodles made of mung bean or sweet potato starch, were on the plate of LimeCake. The Melbourne, Australia-based blogger made Smoked Salmon Glass Noodle Salad and the photos on her blog post are just spectacular.


Hailing from Houston, Texas, Allie blogged up a Pasta with Clams recipe over at Yum in Tum this week. She bathed some little pasta stars in a mix of clams, preserved lemon, harissa, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes, and it does sound celestial indeed.

Now here's an intriguing pasta recipe: Pasta with Mustard from Swedish-born, Italian citizen Brii of Briiblog in English. I love the way Brii presents this dish in white flowerpots; as she says, "a funny way to serve a funny dish". Belissima!


Joanne of Eats Well With Others gives us a delicious pot of Italian Braised Beef Penne from her New York City kitchen as well as a hilarious look at the state of her love life.


Athens, Greece blogger Katerina of Culinary Flavors sends us a dish of her rich looking Spaghetti al Roquefort. While she herself is not a big fan of this delightful cheese, her husband and son enjoy it, so she made them a very special meal.


Here's a super-quick pasta dish from Honeybee Cooks Jackfruit that puts a flavorful dish on the table pronto: 20 Minute Pasta Dinner. The Honeybee combines broccoli, shallots, spinach, feta cheese and a whole lot of other seasonings in this delicious vegetarian pasta.


There you have it: a ton of tasty options to contemplate for your next week's menu. I am passing the Presto Pasta Nights hosting torch over to From Kirsten's Kitchen to Yours in Los Angeles, so be sure to check there next Friday for another great roundup.