Penne Porcini

One of my favorites!

I can only seem to find dried porcini mushrooms but that's perfect for this dish because the broth is the main flavoring.

Fact: I don't like mushrooms
Fact: I still cook with them sometimes

Ingredients:
3 oz dried porcini mushrooms
penne pasta
4 cups water
1/4-1/2 c. heavy cream
salt, pepper
tarragon
marsala wine
grated cheese (parm reg, romano, or pecorino is great)
beef broth (or veg if you're going vegetarian)
corn starch

Prepare:
Heat water until near boiling point (I usually use a microwaveable container for this)
Toss in mushrooms and let soak 20 minutes or more (covered with plastic wrap or lid.. to keep steam in)
Once mushrooms are rehydrated, squeeze them out and finely dice or mince them.  I prefer not to have too many pieces each dish, so I only use about an ounce of minced porcini in the actual cooking of the dish.  If you like mushrooms, go ahead and put in the whole 3 ounces.

Cook pasta

Strain the mushroom liquid into a saucepan, add the minced porcini and bring to a simmer
Add pinch of salt, pepper, and about 1 tsp of marsala
Simmer until reduced by half
Add heavy cream until sauce is light brown in color
Add 1 tsp tarragon
Add 1/4 cup grated cheese
Add salt and pepper to taste
Add corn starch slurry (corn starch and water)
Simmer until sauce is thick
(if you reduce the sauce too much, add beef broth or vegetable broth, unless you saved some extra mushroom broth just in case!)

Toss strained pasta into sauce to coat

Garnish with grated cheese and voile! A fabulous recipe created by yours truly from a dish I had as a kid.  So great with garlic bread!

Note: if you are cooking for more than two or three people, you may need to use more broth/mushrooms to create the bold flavor.  Or, you can add beef or vegetable broth in the simmering process.