Pasta ala Sawtelle

Since I mentioned the quick pasta dish I've been so enamored with lately, I think it's only right that I mention my recipe for it. Here are the ingredients:

- 1 serving of pasta: For me this is how much pasta fits into a ring I make with my index and fore fingers.

- 1/3 stick of butter: This isn't exactly correct since I buy large blocks of butter from Costco and slice what I feel like but this should be close enough.

- 1/2 cup of milk: I like a little sauce left over when I'm done. Feel free to adjust to your tastes.

- 1/2 cup, spaghetti sauce: The tomato kind. Anything will do. I like the stuff in the glass jar that comes in three packs from Costco. Yeah, I shop there a lot. As a matter of fact, I'm probably over due for a run. :p

- 1 Tbsp of my "secret mix": Not so secret actually. I found myself constantly adding salt, garlic powder, oregano, ground pepper, onion power, etc. so I just pre-mixed it and have it in ready in a plastic container. I do this sort of thing a lot, especially with BBQ rubs. Mmm, mmm, good~!

- pinch of red pepper flakes: Something about them red pepper flakes. It's just not the same without'em...

You might be wondering why I call this "Pasta ala Sawtelle". Well, the reason is because the milk + tomato sauce "sauce" was something I decided to make at home after having dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in West L.A., Sawtelle Kitchen. It's usually the fried katsu plate or the seafood linguini for me when I'm there and after a decade of eating the stuff it finally occurred to me one night that "Hey, there's like tomato sauce and cream in this sauce. I should try that at home." Alas, no seafood at home, too much hassle, but the dish is still delicious and literally takes 20 minutes to make, most of that time is waiting for the water to boil so I'm very happy with it.

Okay, enough background info. On to the cooking.

1) Boil the pasta: Again, up to you how "al dente" you want it. Me, not so much. You... well, do what you like. :)

2) Drain the pasta and set aside: I like to lower the heat on my stove before I take the pot off the fire. That way, I can place the frying pan I'll be using the make the sauce with on the fire while I dump the contents of the pot in to the colander to drain the pasta. Remember, every second counts~, especially when you're hungry.

3) Melt the butter in the pan: Don't burn it now. I did say lower the heat before putting the pan on it.

4) Put the "secret mix" and the pinch of red pepper flakes in the bubbling melted butter, stir together, and let it cook until I can smell that the spices in the mix have "toasted". Again, don't burn it~.

5) Pour the milk and the spaghetti sauce in the pan and stir together with the melted butter and spices mixture. Let the whole thing come to a boil then let it boil for a minute or two in the pan.

6) Add the drained pasta from the colander in to the pan. Mix together with the sauce until nice and evenly coated. We're almost ready to eat!

7) Pour the whole thing on to a plate. Break out the block of Parmesan cheese, yes mine is from Costco, and grate it on to the plate covering the off-pink pasta with a blizzard of Parmesan flakes.

And that's it! It's time to dig in!

Of course for variation sake, you could throw in a variety of grilled meats like chicken breast, steak, or what ever floats your boat on the pasta. Believe it or not, one of my favorites is... Fried Eggs! ;p