Campanelle with Mushrooms and Artichokes

Last Friday, I was watching Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis - one of my favorite cooking shows - when she made a dish that screamed "COOK ME!!!" It looked absolutely scrumptious and super easy. I made a mental (and physical) note to cook this dish in the not so distant future. I have been getting mad cravings for pasta lately (probably due to the oh so crappy weather in PA) and this dish made my stomach grumble. In fact, just writing this post has got it to grumbling again.

I mean, really...what more could you want? Cheese, mushrooms, onions, artichokes, PASTA. This one had to be a winner!

Nevertheless, when I invited a few friends over for dinner last night, I knew that I had my chance to try it out. It turned out extremely well, even better than I could have hoped for. Everyone loved it. All plates were picked clean and even our "Onion Hating" friends gobbled theirs up. I also submitted this recipe for the weekly Presto Pasta Night roundup.

On a different note, I just had a blood test at the doctor and have high cholesterol - YIKES! Ok, so it is hereditary and I have been eating cheese like its my job lately, but I was still a little taken aback. High cholesterol is no joke and I need to think more about my eating choices. So, in an effort to keep track of these things for myself and my faithful readers, I will be including nutritional information on things I make, yippee :)

Campanelle with Mushrooms and Artichokes
yields 6-8

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 pound mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned and sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus 3/4 teaspoon
1 cup dry Marsala wine
1 pound campanelle pasta
8 oz artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup light cream
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1) Place the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onions and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Saute, stirring occasionally, until all the moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms have cooked down, about 10 minutes.
2) Add the Marsala and continue cooking until almost all the wine has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
3) Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Stir in remaining salt. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.
4) Drain pasta and add it into the mushrooms, Marsala and onions. Add the artichoke hearts, Parmesan and cream and cook until the artichokes are heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley and pepper.

Nutritional Information (per 2 oz serving of pasta):
235 Calories, 21 g carbs, 11 g fat, 9 g protein, 37 mg cholesterol, 2.5 g dietary fiber