Pre-race Carb Load

This past week I was gearing up for the Hot Chocolate 15K Race! About a week and a half ago, I didn't know if I'd be able to run as a result of a back injury that caused about a week of extreme pain. On Tuesday of this past week, I was starting to feel better and actually think about running this Saturday. Each day got much better and by Saturday, I was as good as new! There was no need to do extreme tapering since I'd already cut out almost all exercise to recuperate. All I could do was carb load. And let me tell you, I DID! Thursday we had some sausage stuffed ravioli with spicy red sauce, a simple pasta staple around here. But on Friday, I just wanted to have a killer pre-race dinner.

Remember when I mentioned the Pappardelle's sweet potato pasta from the French Market post? I was ready to try this stuff out. At the Pappardelle shop, the lady told me that I could find interesting recipes on their website, so I thought I'd start there. I clicked on recipes, and saw that there are many to choose from (I'll have to look into those later!). I scrolled down to the sweet potato pasta, and found the recipe to match the noodles. This recipe sounded really great, and easy too! Click here to see the recipe.The only thing I did differently is I quadrupled the garlic. Everything is better with more garlic :)

Oh my gosh, this dish is seriously amazing! It is a must try for anyone interested in trying something new. The noodles are cut wide, flat and super looong! They smelled really good too! When we strained the noodles, the pot still smelled amazing from the aroma of the noodles!

 Basically, you want to boil the water and get the butter and garlic going. Then, add the noodles to the boiling water and finish up the sauce while the noodles cook. It's super easy, and is quick for an amazing weeknight  meal, and you're sure to impress whoever eats it. Seriously. Bryan was a little wishy-washy when I wanted to buy the sweet potato noodles, but I insisted that I would make them taste incredible. He was simply amazed at how good the sauce paired with the pasta to become an ooey gooey plate of goodness. The walnuts add great texture and flavor to the dish as well. If I haven't convinced you yet that you should make this pasta, just you wait.

The sauce is so incredible. It's just butter, garlic, walnuts, mascarpone cheese and grated parmesan. It's so simple, and OH SOOO GOOD! The mascarpone cheese is so smooth and silky, it's like BUTTAH. I tasted the sauce once it was done, and it was near perfect on its own. It just needed a little freshly ground pepper. Perfection.

The pasta looked so pretty when it was tossed into the sauce too! I just couldn't stop taking photos of the pasta! It's a good thing I have a patient husband... His patience paid off when he took his first bite! I don't even know if either of us had any words, but just "MMM!" and "Wow, this is amazing!"

That's ONE noodle all twirled around my fork! Just one noodle is a bite! Holy cow, these noodles are super long! And SO good! I served the pasta with an organic mixed greens salad tossed with our homemade balsamic vinaigrette that is comprised of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, one minced garlic, and a teaspoon of dijon mustard all shaken up. It's so good, and pairs really well with heavier pasta dishes with tartness. The next time you want to try something new, this pasta dish is sure to be a success. And I'm pretty sure it's going to become a weekly or bi-monthly staple around here!