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Mondo Bizarro Pasta Bake


A rather significant and monumental birthday passed me by recently. I'll leave you to guess what it was and no doubt, when you find out, you will be shocked and amazed. Naturally, I had a bit of a shindig to celebrate. Because after all, it's not every day that you turn 30. And friends and family came and we had a party in the back garden, with the sun shining and the BBQ blazing; blinding everyone with smoke, because I bought some cheap sausages. Good money however was spent on some excellent beer from George's Brewery including a very tasty batch of 'Danny Boy' and that flowed very well. Perhaps a little too well, as some of the adults were very wobbly later in the day. Including myself, but what the hell I was newly 21 on Saturday, and it is always great to tumble, free fall in conversation, with equally pissed and very old mates; into a spiral of silly, infectious giggles.

"Why are we laughing?"

"I don't know. Why are the children taking all our money?"

"I don't know!"

"HA! I have given all my money away! All my birthday money! HA! Look at them run!"

"Hey, look at Gary's small penis!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Gary didn't have his penis out by the way. Nor would I know if it were small. He was just wearing one of those naughty aprons, to cover his shorts from splatters from the paella he was cooking. The sky then began to bruise and darken and most of the people drifted off slowly into the night, with just a few of us sat around a table, getting bitten to buggery by mosquitoes. I woke on my couch. At 2AM. The strain of trying to get up the stairs, with these 18 year old legs, was obviously too much

That was pretty much it really. A day full of fun, laughter, tons of booze and lots of food. Perfect.

However, if I could apply one mantra to our approach to laying on a spread, it would be - 'Never knowingly under catered' - and we did have a lot left over. Even a second stab with a second invite for close family on the Sunday hasn't really made a dent. There is still too much bloody food and I am worried that come next weekend, I will be grating burgers into ragu, filling mashed potato salad into paving cracks and showering with mango trifle. Because we can't have any waste now.

I did make quite an interesting pasta bake last night, or a mondo bizarro pasta bake as I called it. Using leftover penne that had been tossed with pesto, mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes, I added some leftover pulled pork (that had been smoked in my new smoker, which I must write about soon). Along with some roasted mushroom, some humungous courgette/marrow and mixed through with a cheesy sauce and topped with even more cheese. That cheap, yellow, plastic cheese that will only really do with burgers.

It was delicious and we all wolfed it down last night, which got me thinking about what other concoctions would do well in the future. Do you have any unusual recipes? Pasta purists might balk but you have to admit, as a medium or base ingredient, this carb really does have the potential for a million different interpretations. Well, maybe not that many but you get what I mean.

Hmmm *ponders*

And this post is just a musing you know, a quiet reflection and a slight comedown. Possibly, also stuck in these words, are thoughts about where am I going and what am I doing. What more can I do with my pasta? I ask. (Read that as, what should I be doing with my life?)

Mostly though, this is just an underhand way of letting you know that I have just turned 40. And I have no money left, so please send cards and donations.

There is still time.

Pulled pork, courgettes and penne
Topped with cheep cheeze
Voila!

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