Penne with Garlic White Wine Reduction

Berries are finally back! And boy am I taking advantage of it. Strawberries are covered in chocolate, blackberries stud our salads, and blueberries top lemon curd tarts (post to come soon!).

Yesterday I was in the mood to make up my own recipe. I've made enough reduction sauces that I have an idea of the basic process. I also had some grape tomatoes in the refrigerator and decided to try out a technique I had found in the cookbook Nigella Express a while ago called...
Moonblush Tomatoes
Preheat oven to 450. Cut 10 oz grape or cherry tomatoes in half and place cut side up in a baking dish. Drizzle over olive oil. Sprinkle over 1/4 tsp sugar, 1 tsp thyme, and kosher salt. Once oven is preheated, place inside and immediately turn off. Leave in oven overnight or all day without opening. (When I opened the oven at the end of the day, they weren't quite roasted enough so I turned it back up to 400 for a while and they finished up nicely in a few minutes.)

That night, the first thing I started was the sauce, because I knew it would have to simmer for a while.

Garlic White Wine Reduction
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 cup white wine
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tbsp butter

Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, being careful not to burn. Add wine and bring to a low simmer. Reduce to about 1/2 cup, about 10-15 minutes. Add lemon juice, and let simmer for about 3 minutes. Add chicken broth and simmer for about 10 minutes. Whisk in butter.

Penne with Garlic White Wine Reduction, Mushrooms, Bacon, and Moonblush Tomatoes
1/2 lb penne rigate
1 tbsp olive oil
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
4 slices cooked bacon
1 batch Garlic White Wine Sauce
1/2 batch Moonblush Tomatoes
fresh basil
kosher salt

Bring water to a boil. Sprinkle in salt and add pasta. Cook according to package directions.

At the same time, heat oil in pan. Add sliced mushrooms and saute for about 7-10 minutes. Sprinkle over salt.

Chop bacon and add to mushrooms. Add to sauce once finished.

Once pasta has finished cooking, drain and add to pan containing sauce, mushrooms, and bacon. Mix in about half batch Moonblush Tomatoes. Sprinkle freshly torn basil on top and serve!

Although I know that is technically an Italian dish, I had a recipe for Szechuan Green Beans calling my name. So I made that too. Click here for the recipe.

Just so you know...Ryan and I both thought this was the tastiest meal of the month.

And here are the beautiful flowers Ryan got me for Valentine's that have graced our table for the past few days!