Brie Pasta

This is a super easy pasta recipe that first discovered in Real Simple, and have since added to the Weaver Family Cookbook. You can switch up the pasta—I've used Bowtie and shell—the trick is to find one that can hide away brie in its crevices to create a really delicious, gooey bite.

This evening Harris Teeter had a 25% off specialty cheeses, so I grabbed 8 oz. of brie and it only cost me $3. You don't need the expensive stuff, but at the same time you want it to taste good, so use your judgement.

The steps are simple. First, I used frozen broccoli and blanched it in the pasta liquid after that was finished cooking. Toasting the pine nuts takes a little longer, but the taste makes up for the extra step. The nuttiness works well once it's all mixed together.

The key is to throw the brie onto the pasta/broccoli quickly after they are finished cooking. Slices of brie in pipping hot pasta will melt in about 2 minutes, so give everything a good stir and cover for another 5. When you lift the lid, the pasta will look creamy and the brie will be dissolved into the pasta. You DONT have to overdo the brie---the recipe calls for 8 oz., but I used about half of that for this round---too much brie and it's almost too rich.