I am starting to pack for our trip to Napa for the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm following my pre-trip routine of making a leftover meal with all of the perishable foods that we are left with after the work week. Luckily for us, this means a delicious supper of linguine with tomato sage sauce (seasoned with a leftover pecorino rind) and English peas with fresh mint. I'm not a huge fan of canned or frozen peas, but fresh peas taste like the color green and are irresistible when prepared with mint and butter. Here's the recipe from Chez Panisse in Berkley, California:

Ingredients:
1 spring onion, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups fresh English peas, shelled
6 mints leaves, torn
salt
water

Sauté the spring onion in two tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shelled peas, a pinch of salt, and enough water to barely cover. Cook over high heat for 2 minutes, then add the torn mint leaves. Continue cooking until the peas are tender, a few more minutes. Check for seasoning, and add more salt if needed.
[1. c_lynn, recipe: Epicurious]

Heirloom tomatoes have made their way to the market and so I decided to whip up a simple spaghetti dish with heirloom tomatoes, toasted bread crumbs, and mozzarella cheese. All A had to say was, and I quote, "this is fantasy pasta." The fresh tomatoes simmer down to a velvety sauce and the addition of the bread crumbs gives the pasta the comforting feel of a crunchy baked outer edge. I worked off a recipe from Sunday Suppers at Lucques.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1. Put a large pot of heavily salted water on to boil over high heat.
2. Toss about 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs with a teaspoon olive oil, spread them on a baking sheet, and toast 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until golden brown.
3. Heat a large saute pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Pour in the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil and add a sprig of rosemary, 1 tablespoon of thyme, and let them sizzle. Add 3 chopped shallots and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat to medium and add 5 smashed garlic cloves and cook another 3 or 4 minutes.
4. Drop pasta in the water and cook until al dente.
5. Turn up the heat on the onions and add 2 cups of chopped ripened heirloom tomatoes with 2 pinches of salt and a couple turns of the pepper mill. Stir the tomatoes often and cook about 8 minutes until juices of tomatoes are released.
6. When pasta is al dente, drain reserving about a 1/2 of the pasta water and add both the pasta and the reserved water to the tomato sauce that has reduced. Toss well and cook over medium heat for another 2 minutes until the pasta water boils off. Turn off the heat and add 1/2 cup chopped basil, 1/2 cup cubed mozzarella, and 1/4 cup of the breadcrumbs. Toss to combine and transfer to a warm pasta bowl.



[1-4. c. lynn]