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Baked pasta how-tos

(article, Kim Carlson)

Something about the recent wet weather here in western Oregon makes some us — those of us with electricity, that is — think comfort food. One day it was enchiladas; another day, gumbo; another, chowder. Marisa McClellan over at Slashfood offers a few baked pasta dishes — one of which we cooked up midweek in a hurry, but with a twist. We used Marisa's good recipe for baked pasta with artichoke hearts and spinach, but substituted butternut squash for the artichoke hearts and added fresh nutmeg to the spinach.

We loved it — and loved the leftovers for lunch the next day. The whole-wheat pasta and the vegetables made this dish appealing to the household nutrition cops (of which I am one). Still, I know what got my family to gobble it up: When you pair good penne with mozzarella cheese, it's bound to taste, well, comfortable.