Wow.  It has been forever since we have gotten to write here at Charlotte Julienne.  Our kitchen has been out of commission since the fall and has only just become working once again.  Can I tell you how happy we are?! You never realize how big a role the kitchen plays in the life of a family until it is taken away.  But…we are back- and so, so happy to be here.  It has been snowing here and well, when the snow banks reach the windows and above it is time for some serious comfort food.  We combined some of our favorite flavors to make this easy weeknight dinner.

Ingredients:

Button Mushrooms (about ten or fifteen)

One Shallot (chopped)

A bunch of sage leaves (left whole with three reserved for chopping)

A handful of slivered almonds

Any wide pasta, we selected Fettuccine

1 cup of beef stock

1/2 cup of cream

1/2 cup of Sherry

We started off by halving the mushrooms and chopping the shallot and then set them aside with the almonds and sage leaves.  We cooked our fettuccine and kept it warm on the stove.  In a sauté pan we heated a tablespoon of olive oil and added the mushrooms, shallot, almonds and sage leaves.  We let this cook until the shallot was golden brown.  To that we added the beef stock, cream and sherry and reduced it for about ten minutes.  The pasta was added to the liquid and served.  The final plate was sprinkled with salt and cracked pepper.  We added a few extra chopped sage leaves to ours at the end.  The star of this dinner is really the cracked pepper.  It intensifies all the flavors, which, on their own, are fairly bland.  The sage is subtle and the texture of the almonds is a really nice addition.  It is one of those dinners that makes us so grateful to be back in our kitchen eating as a family.