Ciao's Garlic Butter!

So my friends at the office decided I needed a little luncheon for my retirement...yes, I'm giving up my love of teaching and administration after 39 years (wow!).  So they know my taste...everything Italian...wine, pasta, and pizzelles.  My Aunt Teresa, the baker, made pizzelle cookies forever until she passed and now cousin Jo now has taken on this tradition. Speaking of pasta and wine, my favorites, chill up a bottle of Pinot Grigio and let's talk a little pasta...

Oops, it doesn't have to be THAT chilled...

This is better....the girls didn't know this is my favorite! Have a little wine as you work your magic in the kitchen--and add a little to the sauce as you go.  If I've learned anything over the years about cooking and eating, it's all about the personal tastes.  My husband loves spicy flavors.  Fresh ingredients are so healthy and delicious but they don't always provide the best spice to a dish.  So I add dried Italian seasonings to the olive oil and let the flavors pop before adding pasta to any dish.  That's my personal taste.

I buy the spices in the markets while in Italy and they last a very long time for me.  But you can also make your own.  See my recipe in a former post here.

Here I've used about 3/4 of a cube of butter, couple cloves of garlic (minced), tablespoon of olive tapenade or pesto, red pepper flakes and Italian seasonings. 

Cream the ingredients and set in the fridge.  You can use this for any pasta.  Heat on the stove. Drizzle olive oil into the mixture to keep the butter from browning and to enhance the flavor.

Choose any favorite pasta to have plain with the garlic, pepper butter above.  Yummy.