Happy Hump Day, friends! We are halfway to another weekend already, wahoo!
We spent last weekend down in Santa Monica visiting Nick’s sister and her adorable new puppy, Loki.
Kaiser totally dug hanging out with his cousin all weekend, especially frolicking at the beach. Saturday was my first beach day of the ENTIRE SUMMER, so I was pretty much in heaven. The beach is my favorite place in the world, so I’m not sure how I made it to August before hitting the sand. Boy do I miss living in Florida!
Aside from the beach, one of the highlights of the weekend was the best breakfast I’ve had in a long, long time.
How beautiful is that plate? Whenever a restaurant has bagels and lox on the menu, it’s usually what I order, and it never disappoints. But this lox plate at Kreation Kafe really hit it out of the park. It also came with a crusty French baguette on the side. So delicious. I could eat this for breakfast every single day.
Now that we’re back to the reality of Wednesday, let’s make dinner.
Remember how I made my own Homemade Sun-Dried Tomatoes? Well, I made some more. And some more. And they really needed to find their way into a recipe! Half of them became sun-dried tomato pesto which was slathered on a veggie pizza. The other half became this delicious creamy pasta sauce!
- 1 cup sun-dried cherry tomatoes, not packed in oil
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
- Salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 1 lb linguini or other long pasta, cooked al dente and drained
- Grilled chicken breasts, for serving (optional)
- Reconstitute the sun-dried tomatoes by pouring boiling water over them and letting sit for 10 minutes. Drain tomatoes and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until onion is softened, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the flour and stir, coating onion mixture. Continue cooking 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes, stir, and cook an additional 5 minutes.
- Deglaze the pan with the white wine, and cook 3 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until sauce has thickened, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add the butter and heavy cream and cook until butter is melted and everything is combined.
- Remove from heat and stir in fresh basil. Season with salt & pepper, to taste.
- Add the cooked linguini and toss to coat with sauce.
- Serve immediately, topped with sliced grilled chicken breasts, if desired.
This sauce was pretty much amazing. The flavor of the tomatoes really came out and was complimented by the fresh basil. I am so glad I made the effort to make my own sun-dried tomatoes. The fresh garden flavor was awesome!
Sounds like you had a fun weekend! And that breakfast looks delicious! But this pasta, wow! Definitely right up my alley! I’ve cooked with sun dried tomatoes before, but never in a pasta, so I can’t wait to try this out!
ooh i am so craving a massive bowlful of pasta right now.. think i know what im making for dinner tonight! thanks for the inspiration.
I love a sun-dried tomato cream sauce. Yours looks delicious! I always order bagels and lox too. Such a great combination of flavors. Puppy is so cute!
Looks delicious, and I bet it tastes absolutely amaaaazing with your garden sundried tomatoes! I don’t think there is anything better in the world than garden fresh tomatoes 🙂
Awww, that puppy is adorable!! Furry cousins are some of the best kind! I wish I had enough tomatoes to make my own sun dried tomatoes, I guess I will just have to go out and buy some because this pasta looks amazing!
what a cutie pie puppy! I’m glad you finally made it to the beach, you can’t go through summer without a good beach trip 🙂 This sun dried tomato and basil pasta sauce looks soo creamy, I bet the tomatoes add the perfect touch. Love that there’s dry white wine in the sauce, that always adds such a good flavor.
I was wondering what you did with all your sun fried tomatoes! Love this pasta dish, such a great change up from regular pasta!
Love all the flavors in here – sun-dried tomatoes and basil are a match made in heaven! It looks so absolutely delicious.
oh this looks amazing! love sun dried tomatoes! love your cute pups!
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Jess, this pasta looks so YUMMY. I wish I could have this for lunch today. I love all the flavours in here, especially the sun-dried tomatoes and basil! Great combo!
Fantastic! This pasta dish is making my mouth water.
Those pups are giving some cute eye action there!
Loving this recipe too, such a happy harvest meal!