Mushroom Fettucine & Spinach Salad

I have been cooking with a lot of sherry lately, and I have to say that I just love the flavour it adds to certain dishes. I buy actual sherry vs. the cooking sherry, so it's a bonus since we can also drink it. ;)

Tonight I made a Rachael Ray pasta dish (with sherry!) and a spinach salad that I got from my friend Jill's blog (who got it from a friend of ours, Amanda).

Mushroom Tetrazzini

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

1 lb white mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 tsp dried thyme (or 2 tbsp fresh thyme)

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

5-6 large garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup sherry

1 cup cream

1/2 freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 cup peas (I used some I got at the farmer's market - yum!)

1 box fettucine noodles

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, melt the butter and oil together and add the mushrooms and thyme. Cook for 10-12 minutes until the mushroom are golden. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Add the sherry and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the cream and nutmeg. Add 1/2 cup of starchy water from the cooking pasta and the peas. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes until the peas are cooked. Stir in the parmesan and noodles and toss to coat.

Spinach Salad

4-5 cups of spinach

1/2 cup sliced dried apricots

1/2 cup craisins

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup feta cheese (but we didn't have any so I used mozza)

dressing:

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp honey

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tbsp poppy seeds

salt and pepper, to taste

Blend the lemon juice, honey, olive oil, poppy seeds and salt and pepper in a food processor. Pour over the rest of the ingredients and toss to mix.