Tortelilini with Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce

Hurrah! I am back! Several days schmoozing in Austin topped off with a few more schmoozing in New York. I could go into detail, but honestly there is far too much to enumerate here. Suffice it to say: made new friends, saw old ones, talked to fancy people, saw a staged reading of one of my scripts. All in all very gratifying and whirlwindish.

And now, by the grace of Greyskull (that's right, isn't it?) I'm home. The boys are pig-piling on me every night like it's their job, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Over the weekend, I jumped back into the recipe book with my cousin Karen's Tortellini with Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce. This is the Karen Davis I THOUGHT gave me my Aunt Ellen's cheesy poofs recipe, not the Karen Davis who actually did. She is married to my cousin Justin and fantastic and they have the cutest little kid maybe ever. And she was once almost on The Real World. I think I may have said that before, but only because I obviously find this fact fascinating, mostly because she is not a crazy, alcoholic, omni-sexual asshole, which appears to be the casting requirement for that show.

I had dreams that I'd manage to squeeze in a recipe during my one day layover between Austin and NYC, but the four hour nap I took between getting off the plane and going to the U2 concert effectively killed that idea. So the fun had to wait until my complete return.

Josh was wonderful and went to the grocery and picked up items, which included him calling asking if tortellini was the same as rigatoni. When I explained to him that not only was it not the same as rigatoni, but that he was going to actually have to leave the pasta aisle and head to the refrigerator section, this was met with complete bafflement. 'It's in the freezer?' he asked. 'No. No. The refrigerator. Like with the dairy,' I explained. 'So, the freezer,' he replied.

It went on like this for a while until he finally discovered that there is pasta in the refrigerator section, a pure revelation to him. Even then, he tried to insist that this was unusual for grocery stores, but I think I may have gotten him to see the light.

When he came home, full of the mystery that is refrigerated pasta, we set to work, which mostly entailed him supervising the tortellini as it boiled - knowing as he did that I would ignore it, not stir it, and generally over/under do it.

I looked at the recipe and noticed the tomatoes were not supposed to be cooked for the sauce. It was at this point that I made an executive decision to cook them. You see, I might not know jack about most forms of cooking, but not only am I (and Josh) okay when it comes to basic Italian food, but I also know that I just do not like raw tomatoes. I do not like them, Sam I Am. Cook them for five minutes, however, and they are delightful.

So I broke the rules and went off the reservation, because I was hungry and because I knew 100% without a doubt that I would basically be throwing this pasta away if I did not cook the tomatoes. So the bad news is: Karen's Tortellini with Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce featured a little cheating. The good news is: it turned out quite well, actually. The sauce was lovely, although Josh thought there should be more of it. Perhaps this was impacted by the fact that it was cooked versus uncooked? Either way, the basil didn't overwhelm as I'd feared, and the balsamic was delightful. And Josh now understands the marvel of the refrigerator section, so all in all I'd call it a win.



Cousin Karen's Tortellini with Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce

1 pkg uncooked tortellini (20 oz) (any kind)
6-8 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped (~ 3 cups)
3 tbsp snjpped fresh basil leaves
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt (kosher!)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil (ish)
2 lg garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Cook tortellini and drain. Have Josh insist you should put salt and oil in the boiling water for tortellini, and yet more olive oil on the drained tortellini once drained to keep it from sticking. Whatevs.

Chop tomatoes and remove seeds. Realize you probably could have been less of a stickler about the de-seeding in light of your cooking said tomatoes decision.

Snip basil, which is of course store bought because those asshole raccoons dug up all your own basil. Thorougly enjoy the snipping, however, and wonder why more recipes don't call for this.

Add basil, vinegar, salt and pepper to tomatoes. Or do no such thing in light of your cooking decision.

Heat oil over medium heat in large saucepan; add garlic. After garlic is lightly browned, remove pan from heat. Or leave it on heat and throw in the tomatoes until Josh deems them 'ready.' Then throw in rest of ingredients, basil last, for a final minute of cooking.

Add tortellini and tomato mixture; toss gently. Spoon pasta into bowl and top with grated cheese. Be pleased with self this turned out okay, even if it wasn't exactly what Karen had in mind.

Karen's notes: Prep and cook time = 30 minutes. Enjoy this - it's quick, light, and tasty!
Heather's notes: And obviously works if you cook it, too.