Cooking with Blobby

Apparently, any more with this blog, I'm just eating my feelings. I suppose there are worse ways to go. 

I tried Ina Garten's Creamy Parmesan Garlic Beef Bowtie Pasta with moderate success. I followed almost everything to a T and it was fine, but something felt missing........besides the parsley* which I did not have.  ...at least to me. 710 loved it, which is good. 

But let's get to it. 

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef 

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 

3 tablespoons butter 

3 cups beef broth 8 oz Bowtie Pasta 

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

3 cloves garlic, minced 1 cup heavy cream 

1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste) 

1/2 teaspoon black pepper 

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional) 

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (for garnish) 

Instructions 

1️⃣ Cook the Beef In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until browned. Drain excess grease, then stir in Worcestershire sauce and Italian seasoning. Remove the beef from the skillet and set aside. 

2️⃣ Make the Sauce In the same skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Pour in the beef broth and bring to a simmer. 

3️⃣ Cook the Pasta Stir in the uncooked bowtie pasta and let it cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed (about 12–15 minutes). 

4️⃣ Add the Cream & Cheese Reduce heat to low, then stir in the heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, salt, and black pepper. Add the cooked ground beef back into the skillet, stirring until well combined. Simmer for 2–3 minutes until the sauce thickens. 

5️⃣ Serve & Enjoy Sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes (if using) and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve warm and enjoy this creamy, cheesy, and delicious pasta dish!

The things I'd do differently would probably to cut back (or just cut) the Italian seasoning. It always tastes off to me in just about any dish. Oregano can overpower some stuff. And while I love red pepper flakes, I'd cut back on those a bit. Granted I probably added too many to start.

Again, the dish tasted fine. It's a little tough to cook the pasta in the 3 cups of beef broth. The pasta bordered on a little too al dente. It got better the longer is sat in the cream sauce. 

But visually, I didn't love the dish. Ground beef, beef stock and cream - just makes GREY.  There is no way around that. Ina's pictures looked WAY better. How could they not. 

710 would like it in our food rotation and I can live with that. 

*I'm calling bullshit on the parsley lobby - or whomever controls them. Granted I don't make tons of dishes requiring it - or even for garnish. It comes in wildly huge bunches that I can't possibly use before it goes bad.