Thursday, February 17, 2011

Smart & Final La Romanella Products, Giveway, and Recipe

Smart & Final has a wonderful product line:


Here are a few products from La Romanella:







Photobucket
Mediterranean Inspired Cooking
using La Romanella Products
sold at Smart & Final

Smart & Final is having a wonderful Giveaway!



They are promoting their La Romanella products by having an amazing contest/giveaway on Facebook.  Enter here for your chance to win a trip for two to Sonoma Wine Country!









Smart & Final sent me a box full of their La Romanella products and asked me if I would like to share a Mediterranean inspired recipe with my friends & followers.  Well, of course, I said "yes."   It's really wonderful  when a company is asking you to try out their products and cook a nice meal for the ones you love!  Smart & Final also gave me a $25 gift certificate to buy any additional items for my dinner.  Right now they are having a fabulous deal:  Buy a bottle of Turning Leaf Wine for $5.99 and get a package of selective varieties (16 ounces) La Romanella Pasta Free!  I sure did take advantage of this promotion! (Promotion good through 2/22)




First, I had to investigate what would make a recipe Mediterranean.  I checked out this website to get my answers.  I was surprised by the wide range of countries that actually made up the Mediterranean area.  Mediterranean cuisine is defined by the preparation of food in three regions: North African (particularly Morocco), eastern Mediterranean (Egypt, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey), and southern Europe (Italy, France, and Spain).  As you can see, I could go in many different directions with the recipes!  
I browsed the internet to find the perfect recipe that was considered Mediterranean that my husband would enjoy.  There are so many to choose from so go and explore!  I picked a few recipes that I felt would be easy to prepare with the wonderful ingredients from the La Romanella line.  I asked my husband to pick from them.  His choice:
 
Penne Pasta with Blue Cheese and Mushrooms (I modified this recipe to our liking)

  1 package of La Romanella Penne Pasta
    1 Medium onion - finely chopped
    2 Clove of garlic - finely chopped
    1 Teaspoon of dried tarragon
    1lb. Of mushrooms - sliced
    1 Cup of vegetable or chicken stock
    8ozs. Of good blue cheese - Gorgonzola       
    1 Bunch of flat leaf parsley
    La Romanella  extra virgin olive oil
    La Romanella Parmesan to sprinkle
    Salt and black pepper to taste
    10 Cherry tomatoes: cut lengthwise
    1 sweet red pepper


Method

First fry the onions, mushrooms, red pepper and tomatoes in some of the olive oil in a non stick fry pan - on a good heat - making sure they are well browned. This takes about 10 minutes.  



Turn down the heat and add the garlic - cook for five minutes stirring as you go.
Now add the stock and tarragon and reduce until sticky. About 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile you can cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water for about 8-9 minutes.
Crumble the blue cheese into the sauce - add half the parsley and salt and pepper to taste, giving it a good stir.
Drain the pasta, return to the pan and add the sauce - mix well.
Spoon onto 4 dinner plates. 
Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan and the rest of the parsley.





This was an easy recipe to make.  Although, I really did make a big mess in the kitchen while making it! 


P.S. My husband loved it!  Worth the mess I made in the kitchen.

Don't look in the kitchen


Please, go check out Smart & Final's La Romanella line; they have so many great products.

Disclaimer:  I was compensated for my time from Collective Bias.  All of my opinions are truly mine.  I will always share my honest opinions.  

3 comments:

Amy @ Dealusional said...

YUM! I love the bleu cheese addition. I think it'd be great with walnuts, too.

Lisa B. said...

Ooh!!! Looks SO delicious! I'm gonna have to give it a try!

Anonymous said...

What's Going down i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I've found It absolutely useful and it has aided me out loads.
I'm hoping to contribute & help different customers like its aided me. Good job.

Here is my homepage ... How to work from home