TFM Wine Lady : Recipe Ideas - Week #3: Baked Rigantoni with Bechamel Sauce - Rigatoni with Checca Sauce - Linguine and Shrimp with Clam Sauce - Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp - Savory Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I don't know about y'all, but food and wine, more food, more wine ... I was avoiding my scale. Don't like what it told me. I no longer have a scale. Told Pat all I'm doing is eating. She texts me ---

Well ... another week ... another table for recipe inspiration.

First up ... WINES. There were a few new wines in, but they were from Australia and France. I thought too dry for pasta. So I picked two of my favorites. J Lohr Chardonnay and Roth Heritage. Not only nice to pair with the pasta recipes I have, but a nice addition to Easter dinner.

Montebello pasta was on sale, so I pulled some recipes from my personal chef days. I have to say, pasta is comfort food for me. As for wine ... a staple in my house.

Baked Rigatoni with Béchamel Sauce

(Everyday Italian, Giada de Laurentiis)

1 tsp. olive oil

4 c. Béchamel sauce

½ lb. thinly sliced prosciutto, cut crosswise into thin strips

1 c. freshly grated fontina cheese

½ tsp. salt, plus more to taste

pinch freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste

1 lb. dried rigatoni

3 Tbl. butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 425^o. Lightly coat a 13x9-inch glass baking dish with the oil.

In a medium saucepan, stir the béchamel sauce over medium heat until hot (do not allow the sauce to boil). Stir in the prosciutto, ½ cup fontina cheese, ½ teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Set the cheese sauce aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rigatoni and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost tender but still very firm, about 5 minutes (do not cook the pasta to doneness at this point, since it will continue cooking as it bakes in the oven). Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Stir in the cheese sauce and season the pasta mixture with more salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon the pasta mixture into the prepared dish, then sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of fontina cheese and dot the top with the butter. (The pasta can be prepared up to this point 8 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Uncover before baking.)

Bake the pasta until the top is golden brown and the sauce bubbles, about 25 minutes.

Yields: 6 servings

Béchamel Sauce

(Saveur Cooks Authentic Italian at Sur La Table)

6 Tbl. butter

8 Tbl. sifted flour

4 cups hot milk

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Melt butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add sifted flour and whisk for 1½ minutes (do not allow to brown). Gradually add hot milk, whisking constantly. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until sauce has the consistency of thick cream, about 15 minutes.

Yield: 4 cups

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Rigatoni with Checca Sauce

(Everyday Italian, Giada de Laurentiis)

12 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved

3 scallions (white and pale green parts only), coarsely chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled

1 oz. Parmesan cheese, chopped

8 fresh basil leaves

3 Tbl. olive oil

4 oz. fresh Mozzarella cheese, cut into ½-inch cubes or

Mozzarella pearls

½ tsp. salt, plus more to taste

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

12 oz. Rigatoni

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, (tender but still firm to the bite).

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor, pulse the tomatoes, scallions, garlic, Parmesan, basil and oil just until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped (do not puree). Transfer the sauce to a large bowl. Stir in the mozzarella and season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

Yields: 4 servings

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Linguine and Shrimp with Clam Sauce

1 can clams, chopped, drain and reserve ½ cup liquid

½ lb. shrimp, shelled and deveined

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

2 Tbl. butter

2 Tbl. chopped parsley

1 can cream of mushroom soup

¼ c. milk

2 Tbl. grated Parmesan cheese

1 lb. linguine

Cook linguine according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, sauté clams, shrimp, parsley and garlic in butter about 5 minutes. Add clam juice/liquid, soup, and milk. Stir. Simmer 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside until pasta is cooked.

Drain cooked pasta and return to pot. Add clam sauce. Toss to coat. Garnish with Parmesan. Serve.

Yields: 4 servings

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Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp

1 lb. fettuccine

½ c. butter

2/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese

¼ c. half-and-half

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined (optional)

Garnish: Flat leaf parsley, chopped

Cook pasta according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, in a small saucepan, heat butter, half-and-half. When warm add Parmesan cheese. Stir until all the cheese has melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

When pasta is 2 minutes from finished cooking, add shrimp. Drain. Return pasta and shrimp to pot. Add Alfredo sauce. Toss to coat. Garnish with parsley. Serve.

Yields: 4 servings

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