A Perfectly Lovely Friday Night

Sometimes all you want after a long week is a relaxing night in with a a good friend, good food and good wine!

Last Friday I went to my friend Andy's house to make dinner. I went to Russo's during the day to pick up the simple and inexpensive ingredientds for the dish and picked up Andy in town after work. On the way home we stopped to get some cheese and bread and then we were ready to get to making dinner!

The pasta dish we made is one of my go-to’s. It’s super simple (as many pasta dishes are), but the taste is complex in a way that you wouldn’t believe it all came together in less than half an hour. It has as much taste as a sauce that simmered for hours on the stove! And it’s a great dish to make with a friend.

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 pint baby tomatoes, halved
1 large bunch baby spinach, stems removed.
¾ cup mixed pitted olives,
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped shallots
1 tsp herbs de provence or thyme
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 lb pasta (fresh preferably)

Heat a 2 tbsp of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.



Add baby tomatoes. Admire the vibrant color of them in the pan. Cook for 7 minutes.



Add olives, cook for 3-4 more minutes.



Add spinach by handfuls, cooking for a minute or so between each addition.



Once all of the spinach is in, turn your heat to low and cook for 10 minutes until all of the ingredients have melded together!



Toss with cooked pasta. Serve with crusty bread.



Best if enjoyed with stellar dinner company while listening to music from the 1940s and sipping some red wine!