February: Pappardelle with Caramelized Onions

I get Martha Steward Craft, Organizing and Recipe emails everyday.  They are a little treat for me to open and read during the work day, and I often find a helpful tip, a fun craft or a yummy recipe.  Funny enough this recipe came from the organizing email.  It was about your Winter pantry, what to stock it with and how to utilize those items.  Included was a link to the recipe I decided to make.  I love pappardelle and the picture drew me in, so I decided to try it!

I grew up not liking onions.  I remember one dinner my Mom decided to tell me to close my eyes and she would feed me so she could get me to stop picking the onions out of my food and just eat it.  I would spend the whole time my family was eating picking onions out.  Istill don’t love them, but I’ve learned to appreciate what they add to a meal.

I was ready for these onions to take a while, instead I burnt them the first time.  They cooked much more quickly than the recipe said, and I had my heat on medium as instructed.  The second time (I had Matt run out and buy more onions) I watched them much more closely and they took about 10-12 minutes.  The pappardelle was so easy, I picked up a fresh package in a speciality market and it cooked in about 5 minutes.  Once I got the onions under the control the rest of the meal came together really easily and was delicious.  It had a simple, delicate flavor that wasn’t too overpowering or oniony!  I added some precooked meatballs for protein and a side salad with some balsamic and olive oil.

I don’t know if I’ll make this recipe again, but I will definitely be looking to use pappardelle again!