Penne with Roasted Plum and Herbed Blue Cheese Sauce

Fruit and cheese is a classic combination, and added to a pasta makes for a stunning combination for a meal that feels wonderfully decadent. The brightness of the plums pair well with the unctuous fats of the cheese. The beauty of this dish is that it can be served hot or it makes a great picnic dish, cold on a bed of lettuce.

3 cups Penne pasta
18 Italian Prune plums, smallish, quartered
pinch of cinnamon powder
a little honey (½ to 1 tsp)
1 Tbsp light oil
1 small onion, finely minced
2 to 3 garlic cloves, pressed
¼ cup combined chives + basil + parsley (finely chopped)
3 oz Cambozola cheese, diced (for easy melting)
¼ tsp black pepper powder (coarsely ground)
salt to taste
2 Tbsps toasted nuts (walnuts or pine nuts or pecans)
Optional: lettuce leaves and 5 to 6 tsps extra virgin olive oil

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
2. Set the pasta water to boil.
3. Arrange the quartered plums on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with the cinnamon, drizzle a thin stream of honey on each one, not too much! Roast for about 5 to 7 minutes at 350°F.
4. Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve about ¼ cup of the pasta water.
5. In a fry pan cook the onion in the Tbsp of oil until completely soft but not browned.
6. Add the minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute more.
7. To the onions add the herbs, cheese and pepper. Once the cheese has melted, add the pasta and toss, cooking, adding a few Tbsps of the pasta water. The pasta water will reduce and help create a creamy, more consistent sauce, combining oils with the starch in the water from the pasta. This will only take a couple of minutes. Taste and season with salt
8. Add half the roasted plums and toss.
9. If serving as a cold salad, arrange over lettuce leaves, aesthetically place the remaining plums on top and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. 
10. If serving as a hot dish, arrange remaining plums on top and serve immediately.

Blue cheese Potatoes au Gratin

I suppose any blue cheese would do for this recipe, but the Cambozola makes for a lovely, savory-sweet dish. It is a high-octane recipe in terms of fat, given the high fat content of the cheese, but this is what creates the amazing mouth feel that makes every morsel so appealing.

4  potatoes (1lb 8oz), sliced thinly

3 garlic cloves, minced

3  Tbsps (42gr) butter

3  Tbsps flour

1½  cups milk

1  tsp. salt

1 Tbsp fresh thyme, minced  (or 2 tsps dried)

100gr Cambozola cheese, grated

1. Place the oven rack in the middle position. Pre-heat to 350°F.
2. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter and sauté the garlic until starting to colour.
3. With a whisk blend in the flour and cook until it turns pale golden and you've roasted out the floury flavor.
4. Add all the milk stirring constantly with the whisk to break up clods of flour, and season with salt, pepper and thyme.
5. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally with the whisk, until the sauce thickens.
6. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.
7. Place a quarter of the sliced potatoes in a one quart casserole dish or if you have an attractive oven-ready fry pan, it'll create a lovely rustic display and you only have to dirty one pan to make the dish! Alternate in quarters the first the potatoes and then the cheese sauce until you end with the last of the cheese sauce on top.
8. Bake uncovered for about 1hr + or until the potatoes are soft and a nice golden crust forms on top.

Poires et fromage bleu sur pâtes

Fruit and blue cheese with nuts is a classic light dish so I figured, hey, what would it be like with pasta! Well, let me tell you, I got some pretty positive reactions when I subjected others to it. The pear lightly caramelizes in the buttery good oil, lending a pleasant sweetness to every bite of lightly blue-cheese pasta.

Serves: 3 people @ 4oz of dry pasta per person

¾ pound pasta
¼ cup (2oz/58gr) butter
4 pears (2 lbs), peeled, cored and cut into ⅓" thick slices
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
4 oz Cambozola or other light blue cheese, cubed
½ + ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
OPTIONAL ⅓ cup chopped walnuts or pinenuts, toasted

1. If using, start by toasting the nuts in a dry pan, and set aside until the last step.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat and wait until it begins to froth. 
3. Bring a pot of salted water to a rapid boil to cook the pasta.
4. Once the butter begins to froth, add the pears and cook until tender and beginning to brown but not soft, about 8 minutes; try to only turn them once to avoid breaking them (this is more for show than for taste). Set aside until the last step.
5. To the remaining butter in the pan, add the rosemary and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. 
6. Add the broth, cheese, ½ cup Parmesan and cream. Stir and simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 6 minutes. 
7. Dump the pasta in the sauce and toss until everything is coated. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Before serving garnish with the pear slices, the nuts and a sprinkle of the the remaining ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese.