I’m competitive.
Let me rephrase that. I’m very competitive.
When Laura started her Strange But Good link up parties, I so badly wanted to be a part of them (and slaughter the competition, obviously), but my food really isn’t all that strange. I don’t use protein powders, butter doesn’t scare me and cheese is my friend. A very, very good friend, and he could be your friend too. ♫ “Tell your friends, to get with my friends. And we can be friends. We can do this every weekend.” ♫ Sorry a little B.I.G. slipped out. It happens from time to time.
Normal food aside, although not cheese (never the cheese) I made pasta on Sunday, which I’m pretty sure is a contender for Laura’s Strange But Good link up. Per usual, I’ll let you be the judge.
When I set about making this dish, the Strange But Good link up was the last thing on my mind, but as I eagerly devoured every last bite, I realized it needed to make an appearance on Laura’s blog, and obviously my own. This creation was too good to keep to myself and just odd enough to be in the running.
Before I jump right into it, let me give you a little background (as if you had a choice…cackle, cackle).
Not only am I competitive, but I have a serious fruit addiction, and if you didn’t know before, well there’s no excuse now. Fruit and I are pretty damn tight, maybe even more so than cheese (gasp). I eat a ridiculous amount of fruit on a daily basis, and I’m pretty cool with that. Yes, fruit has a lot of natural sugar (blah, blah, blah), but it’s also chock full of vitamins and minerals. You’d be nuts (another favorite) to pass it up.
For about a million reasons, fruit is the bomb diggety, and I could bore you with all of them, but in order to keep my word count in check, I’ll skip it…for now. What I will say is if I can add fruit to a dish and have it still make sense, well then I’m going to try.
With all that being said (whew, what a mouthful), I’ve been toying with the idea of putting fruit in my pasta, which if you really think about it isn’t all that strange. Hell tomatoes are technically a fruit and people drown their spaghetti in them, so why not some other kind of fruit.
Pears, for example. I think pears have great pasta potential, and I just happened to have some pretty ripe red Anjou pears lying around last weekend, so I thought I’d give it a whirl.
My mind was churning (or sputtering or whatever it is minds do) and my creative juices were flowing (sounds gross) as I brainstormed the ideal sauce for pear pasta. Tomatoes were obviously out; I can’t have my fruit competing and the two don’t make any sense together. Despite my bouts of crazy and often misunderstood creativity, logic will always prevail. Even if it’s logic only I can understand.
As a sauce, olive oil had some possibilities, but didn’t seem quite right, and the more I thought about what pairs with pears, I came to one simple conclusion. It was actually quite obvious and staring me in the face the whole time.
The perfect pear companion was cheese (but of course) and a twisted version of an alfredo sauce. Lo and behold, I just happened to have some fancy farmers market cheese hanging out in my fridge from last week. Onion and chive cheese to be exact. I figured the salty flavor of the cheese would balance the sweetness of the pears, and let me tell you, I was right.
Pardon me while I take a small bow. I can hear the applause ringing in my ears or maybe it’s the aforementioned bouts of crazy.
I also happened to have some black Tagliatelle in the pantry because I’m sure most people have black pasta hanging around. No, just me. Hmm, well the color comes from squid ink, which is most definitely strange and maybe even blows up my vegetarian status (I have no idea, nor do I really care), but it tasted just like regular old pasta to me.
Plus, there’s no denying black pasta makes for a pretty fabulous presentation; a little bit of an attention getter, and we all know how I feel about attention. Me and Mr. White ♫ “Can’t get enough of your love…”♫ From B.I.G. to Barry, coupled with some pear pasta; my mind works in mysterious ways, and I think Bono might have just joined the party.
Even the Hubby was a huge fan of this pasta. While we were devouring our amazing bowls of what can only be described as a flavor explosion in our mouth (sweet, salty, creamy, cheesy, delicious), he said “This is really, really good. I mean really good. Where’d you get this recipe from?” To which I calmly and coyly responded, “This one was all me.”
It may be strange, and it most certainly was good. In fact, it was better than good so I strongly suggest you get out of here (after leaving me a little comment love; hello attention needy) and go make this. If you like pears, pasta and cheese, be prepared to fall in love. I’m not even kidding.
You tell me. Is this a strange, but good contender? Would you mix fruit with your pasta? What’s your favorite strange, but good combo?
Pear Pasta
(Serves 2)
Ingredients
- 6 oz Tagliatelle or Fettuccini, color of choice
- 2 Tbsp. Butter
- 2 Tbsp. Flour
- 1 cup milk of choice (I used Soy Milk)
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used Onion and Chive, although any salty cheese would work so long as it melts well; meltiness is the key)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- White pepper, to taste
- 1 Red Anjou Pear, diced
- Toasted Walnuts (optional)
Directions
- Bring medium pot of water to boil on stove top and cook pasta according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, melt 2 Tbsp. of butter on stove top in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Once melted, add 2 Tbsp. of flour and whisk until completely combined. The mixture should be the consistency of paste. If it’s too much like a liquid, add more flour gradually and a teaspoon at a time.
- Gradually whisk in milk of choice until completely incorporated. Continue to whisk until hot (roughly three to five minutes). Do not let boil.
- Once hot, add in cheese, garlic and white pepper to taste. Stir until cheese is melted.
- Add in diced pears.
- Once pasta is done cooking, drain and then combine with pear cheese sauce. Mix well.
- Top with toasted walnuts (optional).
Since I did use my local farmers market cheese, I’m also linking today’s post to Kristy at Gastronomical Sovereignty and Heather at In Her Chucks. More shameless plugs couldn’t hurt, and let’s be real. I’m not above shameless plugs.
Pears are delcious in pasta, especially if they are stuffed in little pasta parcels with cheese like ricotta. Yummy!
Oh my word, that sounds even more delicious. I love the sound of cheesy pasta parcels. Mmm.
This pasta sounds (and looks!) DELICIOUS!! Doesn’t scare me at all! I’ll have to try it out some day!!!! Happy Friday!!!
Yeah! You should try it. It was extra fabulous. Hope you have a great weekend.
I think you may have won the Strange But Good contest this week. My “strange” was just gravy and “mashed potatoes” made out of cauliflower. Lol.
Seriously though, this looks awesome. I love the look of those noodles. The color!
Cauliflower potatoes are pretty strange and something I’ve been meaning to look into so I will check them out for sure.
Wow, that looks absolutely delicious Meghan! I don’t have any black pasta (in fact, other than Barilla Plus Thin Spaghetti I don’t think I have any pasta of width, must remedy) but I think the color must really add to the visual oomph of the dish.
Absolutely. I think the colorful pasta actually makes the dish visually, although taste wise regular old whole wheat would be fine. I got the black pasta as a gift, and I think they found it at Marshalls.
P.S. I’m making your orange cherry muffins this morning. I can hear the water just starting to boil right now. 🙂
We were both on a fruit int he savory kick. Great minds. 😉 I LOVE pears with a salty cheese. And who DOESN’T love butter? I’m coming over to steal your dinner.
Thanks for linking up, and for the inspiration! I’m buying pears this week.
You are always more than welcome. I’m a fan of anything which involved fruit and of course, cheese.
I think these definitely fits the strange but good theme. I would never have thought of this combination, but it looks so cool with the black pasta! Awesome.
Thanks Melissa. It was really, and the black pasta was a gift, but I’m pretty sure it came from Marshalls.
This is something I never would have thought of on my own, you are a genius! It looks incredible!!!
You’re so sweet, and you just made my day. You’ve seen my ego right? Calling me a genius might be problematic and push me over the edge. Then again, I’m pretty miserable with these braces, so I will take your genius comment and run with it. Thanks for lifting my spirits.
Well, you can’t go wrong with pears and cheese, and you can’t go wrong with pasta and cheese, so why not toss all three together?? Sounds strange but good to me. And now I really want black pasta…maybe it’s just my inner goth child peeking out.
Exactly right! And you can find the black pasta at Marshall’s or at least that’s where a friend got it for me. I also have some multi colored pasta in my pantry so who knows what I’ll do with that. I’d love to mix it with a little olive oil, goat cheese and grilled peaches, but fresh peaches are so far away….sigh.
By the way, all the fun pasta came to me by ways of gifts…sometimes blogging about food has its perks.
ooh this would be good w/gouda!
Right you are. Gouda and pears go fabulously together. Thanks for stopping by and saying hello. Much appreciated.
This shit looks gourmet! Like LEGIT gourmet! Amazing creation. I have never had squid ink pasta..is that considered vegan?? HA! I would try it anyway probably. YUM!
I’m not sure it’s even considered vegetarian (although the label actually said it was veggie friendly). Who knows. It was a gift and it was really cool looking so there was no way I was passing up on using it, much less eating it.
Gourmet and legit gourmet at that..I heart you, and the best part, this one wasn’t really a plan. It just kind of came together on Sunday.
“Despite my bouts of crazy and often misunderstood creativity, logic will always prevail. Even if it’s logic only I can understand.” <- LOVVVVVE it! And seriously, when I read "onion and chive cheese" I literally "ohhhhhh"-ed out loud! Girl, you've been hanging out with us weirdos too much…we've started to rub off on you! Which I secretly love (*insert evil laugh and arched eyebrow here*) And all that on top of black pasta?! Move over hubs, she's MINE!!
Favorite strange but good combo? Hmm, something tells me I don't get to answer that! 😉
I love an arched eyebrow and an evil laugh. Cackle, cackle. I’ll tell the Hubby he has to share, although I think he knows he’s partially lost me to blogging and food. Secret: he reaps the benefits, so he’s down with it.
I am a big believer in following rules, having order and things making sense. Logic must prevail. Too bad my logic is drastically different than most.
You guys have definitely rubbed off on me (hello pumpkins and coconut flour), although I must say I have always loved cheese and all things cheesy. I was once a proud member of the cheese of the month club (bacon too, back in my meaty days). In my blogging beginnings, I didn’t really share my love of cheese as much. I held back, and it took me a minute to say, “Screw it, I eat cheese and I like it.” I’m there now though. Watch out.
Oooh this does sound strange yet delicious! I love pear & feta salads & sandwiches so why not sub the bread for pasta…genius yet so overlooked! Thanks for sharing and don’t you love it when you own recipe ends up being such a hit- glad your hubby enjoyed it :)!
Also I LOVE the BIG inserts…blast from the past, much?
It’s such a great B.I.G. song. Seriously I have to go listen to it now…again. 🙂
I was thrilled with the pasta because I really wasn’t planning on a cool meal; it just sort of came together and happened. Then it turned out fabulous and gave me a strange but good post to boot. Talk about a great day.
I could totally see this working. Blue cheese and pear is a classic combination, why not toss a little pasta in there while you’re at it? I’m definitely going to try this soon!
I thought about going with a blue cheese too, but since I just grabbed this farmers market cheese a week before I had to try it.
Thanks for stopping by and saying hello.
I have been waiting for this recipe, I thought the black noodles were going to be something crazy! As it is this sounds delicious! I love the idea of adding pear to pasta
The pear put it over the edge. Adding a sweet factor to the salty cheese. Glad you came back to see the recipe. Hope you stick around for a bit.
apples and cheese are a fantastic combo!
great idea to add them to the pasta!
Thanks. This one is pears and cheese, but apples would work fabulously too.
Definitely a contender. I’ve never heard of fruit in pasta, but why not? If you’re going to go carbs – might as well go allllll the way. Right?
I always go all in baby.
hahahahaha whaaaaat?! God damn I LOVE the strange but good posts. They seriously never fail to make me laugh. Love all the random ideas! And seriously- black pasta makes for the perfect presentation here. Looks (oddly) delicious!
Thanks I love making people laugh so I’m glad I was successful. The black pasta really sold the dish.
I am so proud of you for admitting your fruit addiction. I too know what it feels like to be addicted to fruit…GLORIOUS!
I am also a fan of pairing fruit with cheese…and now apparently pasta.
Thanks for sharing and linking up 🙂
Yep fruit is a pretty sweet addiction to have, pun intended.