DINNER CLUB RECAP: Pasta and stuffed artichokes

Last week I decided to make healthy pesto pasta. I used whole wheat rotelle pasta. I made the pesto differently than normal basil and pine nut pesto. For my pesto I used spinach and arugula with walnuts. You don't need the arugula if you are not a fan of the flavor. You can also substitute the walnuts for almonds if you prefer. Add salt, pepper, EVOO, garlic, red pepper flakes or a whole jalapeno for kick and 2 cups of grated hard Italian cheese. Blend up in a food processer and you have pasta sauce. I also made stuffed artichokes. I chopped off the tops and bottoms of my artichokes and boiled them in water with lemon for 30 minutes. After they cooled I pulled the leaves apart enough that I could pull out the center leaves. I then used a spoon to hollow out the hairy part of the core in the bottom. I filled them with a mixture of lots of chopped garlic, gorgonzola cheese, pepper and fresh chopped herbs (whatever you like). When you mix the ingredients it works best if the cheese is not too cold. Add a little milk or cream to loosen the mix and allow the ingredients to mix together but don't add too much. You don't want it too wet or loose. It should be thick and crumbly and pasty. Top each artichoke with store bought breadcrumb topping with fresh copped herbs for color. Drizzle with EVOO and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

For dessert I served fresh cut fruit drizzled with honey.