Rotini with Spinach and Asiago Cheese

Last Friday night was Bunco and I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! There is something about getting together with girlfriends that just makes for a great evening. And I just happened to be at the head table and won the final round - the one that counted!

Our potluck theme this month was italian food and with it being summer I didn't want to pull out the usual lasagna recipes and such. I turned to Food Network because I figured Giada wouldn't let me down - and she didn't.

I made a large bowl of Rotini with Spinach and Asiago Cheese, though you might notice that the actual recipe says Fusilli instead of Rotini. But...I wasn't positive how to pronounce fusilli, so I bought rotini instead - LOL! It came out perfect for a hot summer night and I breathed a sigh of relief to see the other ladies eating it (why do we worry about that stuff so much? But who wants to come home with a full dish???).

Keith and I tasted it before it left the house - naturally - and we both really liked it. I still have enough of the cheeses to do another batch, so we'll be having it for dinner on Thursday. The only thing I will do differently is that we bought some italian sausage at the meat market and I'll grill that, slice it and stir in the pasta. Makes it more of a manly main dish that way. ;)

ROTINI WITH SPINACH AND ASIAGO CHEESE

Ingredients
1 pound pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (9 ounce) bag of fresh spinach, roughly chopped
8 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup (about 3.5 ounces) asiago cheese, grated
1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions
Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until tender, but still firm. Cook about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, warm olive oil in a large, heavy skillet (really large!) over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and tomatoes and cook until the spinach starts to wilt, about 2 more minuates. Add the cooked pasta and tossed. Stir in the cheeses, salt, pepper and cooking liquid (I didn't need to add the cooking liquid to mine) and stir to combine.