Blue Cheese and Mushroom Fettuccine

Source San-Remo.com.au

Serves 4 - 6

• 500g San Remo Fettuccine
• 40g butter
• 350g thinly sliced mushroom flats
• 2 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 125mls cream
• 125mls water
• 125g crumbed blue vein cheese
• 100g baby spinach leaves
• salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons almonds, roughly chopped

Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushroom flats and garlic cloves. Cook on high, stirring frequently until soft.

Add cream and water. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half. Stir through 100g crumbled blue vein cheese until melted.

Turn off heat, add spinach leaves, salt & pepper. Toss through pasta. Serve sprinkled with almonds and remaining 25g crumbled blue vein cheese.

Tips to Making Perfect Pasta!

Source San-Remo.com.au

To get the best result for your San Remo pasta dish follow these tips from the experts:

• A larger pan filled with a good amount of water is better than a pan that just fits the pasta and water. The pasta needs room to cook properly. Use 1 litre for every 100g of pasta, so a 500g pack of pasta which feeds four people will require 5 litres of water. By using more water you will avoid having the pasta sticking together after it is cooked.



• Adding salt to the water adds flavour to the pasta. We recommend using 1-2 teaspoons per 500g of pasta, but you can use more if you prefer.
  
  
• Never rinse the pasta once it is drained as this will remove the starch, which helps the sauce cling to the surface of the pasta. If you need to keep the pasta aside while the sauce is still being prepared, return it to the pot, spray with a little olive oil and cover with a lid or cling wrap. Or, add the drained pasta straight into the pan where the sauce has been made and toss gently.
  
  
• If you need to boil vegetables to go into your sauce, just add them to the pasta half way through the cooking process. This saves time and less pans need to be cleaned.
  
  
• If you are making a soup pasta, there’s no need to cook the pasta separately. Just add the pasta to the pan in which you have made the soup, adding it around 8-10 minutes before the soup is finished cooking. Ideal San Remo pasta shapes for soups are Soup Pasta, Risone, Macaroni, Cavolini or Small Shells.
  
  
• Use a good quality Olive Oil if you can, it carries a more intense flavour and enhances the taste of the pasta.
  
  
• Prepare ahead for quick mid-week meals. Cook a large quantity of pasta – San Remo 750g pasta has enough serves for 8 people – and when cooled pour individual servings into plastic bags and freeze. When you want a quick meal, simply drop the contents of the bag into hot water.

WORDS & PHRASES

Source http://www.backroadstouring.co.uk/phraseorigins.htm

'A Square Meal'
The saying 'having a square mea'l comes from the English Royal Navy during the time of Nelson. In order to stop the plates/ dishes slipping around on the table when the ship was at sea, four pieces of wood were nailed to the benches in the shape of a square to stop the plates from slipping... hence 'having a square meal'.

'Sincere'
The word "sincere" has some interesting roots. One story is that it comes from the ancient marble quarries of Rome. Apparently, unscrupulous stone dealers covered the marble's imperfections with wax. The practice eventually became illegal, as the Roman Empire certified that all marble must be "sine cera" or "sincerus," meaning without wax - genuine. So, to be sincere is to be genuine.

'Crack a smile'
Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term . Also, when they sat too close to a fire the wax would crack and drip!