MONDAY RECIPE POST - HAM AND PEAS PASTA WITH GARLIC PARMESAN CREAM SAUCE

An interesting photo to start this week's food post off with, but this is what I do when the day is almost over.  Gregg is watching his sports show upstairs and before I go too - it's already after midnight as I finish this post off -  I settle down with a cup of tea and watch a Hallmark Christmas movie.  I have an old blanket which was knitted by a very dear neighbor many, many years ago.  This is Mrs. Brown's Blanket, a gift she gave us when we left the old neighborhood, at least five or six moves ago.  It is such a warm throw and has stood the test of time, been in the washer a thousand times. If an adult has a blankie, this is mine.  It is very comforting on a winter's evening and so I settle down, turn the TV on and turn to one of my favorite channels at this time of the year.  I love a good old fashioned, schmaltzy movie, what can I say?

Now to this week's food post.  We made a pasta dish and it was excellent.  I found it here at Damn Delicious.  Its host is Chungah and her blog is full of super looking recipes.  I look forward to trying them.  I hope you will take a look at her original recipe.  Her photos are excellent also.  Any lettering you find in my posts that are in red, it is usually a link relating to the post I share.

Ham and Peas with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce
Serves 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes

As our host says, this is a great way to use up all of the leftover ham from Thanksgiving.  "It is amazingly creamy, comforting and kid-friendly!" she says.  I agree.  

8 ounces of spaghetti (I use Angel Hair spaghetti, something my mother-in-law introduced us to years ago and we now prefer it to the thicker spaghetti)
1/4 cup of unsalted butter
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1 cup of chicken broth, or more, as needed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 cup of half and half
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cups chopped spiral sliced honey ham
1 cup frozen sweet peas
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley leaves (for garnish)

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions.  Drain well.

To make the garlic Parmesan cream sauce, melt butter in the skillet over medium heat.  

Add your chopped garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant - about 2 minutes.  

Whisk in the flour until lightly browned - about 1 minute.

Gradually whisk in chicken broth, thyme and basil.  Cook, whisking constantly until incorporated - about 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in the half-and-half and Parmesan until slightly thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes.  If the mixture is too thick, add more half-and-half as needed.  

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in the spaghetti, ham and peas, and gently toss to combine.

Serve immediately, garnished with the chopped parsley if using.

Chungah's notes:

Half-and-half is equal parts of whole cream and milk.  For 1 cup of half-and-half you can substitute 3/4 cup of whole milk and 1/4 cup of heavy cream, or 2/3 cup of skim or low-fat milk, plus 1/3 cup of heavy cream.

(If you are watching calories, I wonder about using nothing but 2% milk.  Maybe it would affect the creaminess in this dish, but I am going to give it a try next time.)

My notes: when Gregg was out one day I prepared early and got all the ingredients chopped, grated and measured out, refrigerating what I needed to.  When he came home he wanted to try his hand at making a sauce from scratch, so took over the rest of the meal.  We both have fun being in the kitchen together.  I usually at this point sit down at the kitchen table and read out the directions, which makes everything move quickly.  It was a fast meal and on the table in no time at all.

I only had enough ham leftover from Thanksgiving to make 1 cup, but it didn't detract from the meal.  Next time I will stick to the correct measurement.

We have leftovers so we won't have to cook tomorrow.  That will be nice as we are going to be out for most of the day.  

Have a great week everyone, and thanks for stopping by.