Cooking: Pasta Primavera or Linguine with Spring Vegetables and Basil Cream Sauce

I hate to let ingredients go bad in my refrigerator, and so I took out leftover mushrooms, asparagus and English peas I had bought over Easter weekend, and some more ingredients like heavy cream, grated parmigiano reggiano I specifically had bought to make this "bits and pieces" dish.  I cut up rotisserie chicken breast, chopped a shallot and 3 cloves of garlic, what was left of the basil plant on my kitchen counter, and poured myself a Chardonnay.

I cut the asparagus into bite sized pieces and added that to a pot of boiling water along with the English peas for 3 minutes.  I didn't want to dump the boiling water into the sink because I wanted to also cook my pasta in it, and so I used a spider strainer to scoop the vegetables including the peas from the pot.  I then added the half box of linguine I had left and got that boiling for 8 minutes for an al dente pasta dish.

  After my stock pot was done, I then used my large cast iron frying pan and melted half a stick of butter with some olive oil.  I sautéed the shallots, then added the mushrooms and garlic.

I wanted a bit more color, and so I chopped a hot house tomato and added it to the pan along with what was left of the wine in my glass. 

After most of the liquid cooked off, I added the already cooked chicken just to heat through.

 I then added a little more than half a cup of heavy cream and sprinkled some salt into my dish and got it simmering.

 I didn't want my veggies to get overcooked, and so I cooked down the cream and added a couple tablespoons of the parmigiano to thicken.  When the sauce appeared not too soupy, I added the rest of the vegetables and combined.

Again I like vegetables still crisp to the bite and to remain that bright emerald green and added the cooked pasta a minute later. 

 Again just cook long enough to heat through and combine.

My pasta dish was looking a little too liquidy, and so I sprinkled even more parmigiano to thicken and stirred. 

 I then sprinkled all the chopped basil with a little fresh chopped oregano just because I had it, and if I had not been too lazy to go outside and snip chives too, I would have added that herb as well.  

Then get out the tongs to serve and holler dinner is ready while pouring another glass of Chardonnay.

 Oh yeah.  I had Meyer lemons on my counter, and had cut one in half and squeezed the juice into the pan when I had poured what was in my wine glass (probably a 1/4 cup)for a bit more acid and to cut the richness of the cream.  The hubs went back for a second helping, and so I think the meal was successful.