Surprise!

On Sunday, a college-aged friend of ours, Josie, took DD clothes shopping. She has done this a couple of times before, and has really taken a big sister type of interest in DD. They had a blast, and DD came home with some really nice clothes - clothes that she would NEVER have bought had she been with me. I particularly like a Japanese inspired tee shirt. I love the colors - they remind me of sunrise (something which I now see every morning, thanks to the new job. Blech.)

DD telephoned me when they were on their way home, and asked if I would cook dinner for Josie and her boyfriend, Tim. What a surprise!!!!!!!! I said I would, but then I had to quickly make some decisions about what to cook, especially since I had meant to go food shopping that afternoon, but had collapsed on the sofa instead. I decided on pasta with salmon in some kind of a sauce. When they got home, I asked Tim to quickly run to the store and get me a pint of heavy cream, and the following dish was born. It was spectacular! REALLY really yummy. We all had seconds, and I took the last little bit to work for lunch yesterday, where again, a few people asked me to cook their lunches for them. Grin....... This one is a winner for sure!

Pasta with Salmon Cream Sauce

1 lb pasta (I used orichiette)
1 small onion, halved and then sliced very thin
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs olive oil
1 heaping tsp of Herbes de Provence
1 heaping tsp of dried basil
1/2 C white wine, marsala or sherry
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, or more to taste
4 small Roma tomatoes, diced, or 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes in juice, undrained
12 oz salmon filets, skinned, and cubed
1/2 C heavy cream
1/2 C freshly grated parmesan

Cook the pasta in well salted boiling water. While it is cooking, saute the onion and garlic in the oil until well softened and beginning to turn golden around the edges. Stir in the herbs and cook for a moment or two, including the salt and pepper. Then, pour in the wine and saute for a minute until the alcohol is burned off, then pour in the canned tomatoes with their juice and saute for about 5 minutes to meld the flavors. Stir in the salmon cubes and cook for another 5 minutes or so, until the salmon is cooked through and the flavors have melded, stirring carefully so that you don't break up the salmon. Taste for salt and pepper. Just before serving, stir in the cooked pasta, cheese and the cream and heat till nice and hot. Don't let it boil, though, because the cream will separate.

Really, really yummy. DD says that this is the best salmon dish ever!