Starting the Week Out Right

Sunday turned into a mini-party somehow, but that is more than welcome in our house! I love to have people over during the working week as well but that is rarely feasible when all of our friends not only work but also have young children who need help with everything. Sunday night really was perfect though, because the children all kept each other busy and wore each other out. We adults had the opportunity to sit and talk while we ate and drank. Having people over on Sunday evenings really helps avoid what my husband likes to call Sunday night depression. He describes this as those nights before school starts when the house is too hot because of dinner, you are dreading the fact that you have to get up and go to school in the morning, and you forgot to even look at your homework for the next day.

Thankfully, I had enough warning about the number of people who would be stopping by and so I was prepared. I find that when I am expecting a crowd, but everyone will be arriving at different times, it is easiest to make a very large batch of pasta. When it's hot, it's wonderful, when it's lukewarm, it's wonderful, and when it's cold, it's wonderful. I also made a salad with kale as I knew that it would stand up to sitting out for a while, already dressed.

This pasta is largely borrowed from one of Nigella Lawson's (go figure), but I actually cannot remember which one and I have adapted and remade this so many times that it really is mine at this point. So, here is my version:

Bacon and Pea Rigatoni for a crowd

Ingredients:
- 3 lbs rigatoni
- 1 package of frozen peas
- 1 package of thick cut bacon, cut into lardons (strips)
- 2 large cloves of garlic (unless you are using garlic oil)
- Lots of olive oil (I am not specifying here because it will depend on your pan) or garlic flavored oil (this is recommended)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Around 1/3 - 1/2 cup dry white wine
- Shredded parmesan cheese (or a brick, which is I use to then shred myself)
- Chopped parsley (optional)

Boil the pasta in a large pot. You may need to work in batches if you don't have a large enough pot. Be sure to reserve plenty of the pasta's cooking water. I reserve around 2 cups for this. Then, as the pasta drains, get out a roasting pan -- I use the one that came with a rack inside for a large roast or a turkey (do not use the rack for this recipe;). You can see pictures below.

Put the pan onto the heat with the oil in it. When the oil is hot, I then cut the bacon into the oil right over the pan using my kitchen scissors. Be careful if you are doing this! The oil will splatter out at you. If you have cut the bacon prior to this, that is great. I just tend not to take the time. Still, be careful.

Push the bacon around until it begins to crisp. This will probably take some time since there is quite a bit of bacon. As you begin to get near this stage, you can now put in the chopped garlic, unless you are using the garlic oil (which I recommend because the garlic might burn, though that is not something I really mind). Once the bacon is to the desired level of crispiness (I don't turn it into bacon bits, but I like the pieces to be more ham-like with some crisp edges), pour in (carefully! and not right from the bottle) the wine and about 1 cup of the reserved pasta water. Let this bubble for a bit until it thickens a little (and I mean a little). Then turn in the peas and the pasta and push around with a wooden spatula to allow the pasta to pick up the bacon-wine "sauce".

Turn the pan off the heat, sprinkle in the shredded parm as you are turning the pasta in the sauce. When you feel that the pasta is properly coated, give it one more layer of shredded parm. You could put this in a hot oven for a few minutes to let the top layer of cheese get crisp but that is up to you. A sprinkling of chopped parsley is excellent here but not necessary and I like to put out crushed red pepper flakes for anyone to use for themselves if they like a bit of heat.

You may find that the pasta is too dry. In this case, pour in more of the reserved pasta water as well as some more oil if you feel it is necessary. I usually need to do this, but I also am a little conservative in the beginning since I do not want to have oily pasta (in the wrong way).

Make up a salad of your choice. What I made, as I mentioned, was kale to which I added some pomegranate arils and slivered almonds. I used a pre-made Greek dressing just because it is what I had on hand was very good -- I knew everyone would like it.

I served cupcakes for dessert and everyone was very happy! Including me:) I was able to sit and enjoy our company without hopping up to make sure everything was properly served. I knew that everyone could get what they wanted and get whatever amount they wanted, which with small children running around, also allowed me to keep an eye and ear on them!