This dish was a cafeteria success story when I was at Winthrop University. My friends and I looked forward to the days the pasta station served up freshly made Bowtie Ballet with eager hearts and anticipatory stomachs. In fact, we marked those days (about once every six weeks) on our calendars, complete with little pink hearts and confetti.
When I was doing my field experience in a preschool classroom, I left early (just missing lunch with the other teachers, not any time with the kids) on bowtie ballet days so that I could have lunch with my bowtie-loving friends. We always had it for dinner, too. And SOMEtimes… we’d even sneak it out of the cafeteria in concealed Glad-ware containers.
Have I established how delicious this meal is? It’s fantabulous, in case you haven’t figured it out yet.
First, cook some bacon in a pan until it’s crispy. Let it drain on some paper towels. Leave the grease in the pan.
Meanwhile, you should be cooking some bowtie pasta (farfalle) in a different pot. I didn’t have very much, so I also added some tri-color rotini (which is my staple pasta).
So… your bacon grease is still in your pan, right? Great! Now throw in some pretty small-ly chopped up onions. Sautee them until they’re translucent and soft. It also helps to cover the pan with a lid and let them steam in their own moisture for a few minutes. While they’re cooking, warm up some frozen peas in the microwave.
When the peas are finished, add them to your onions.
By now your pasta should be finished cooking. So drain it and add it to the pot. Also dump in a jar of alfredo sauce, and sprinkle salt on the whole thing. Crumble your bacon over the top, too, and you’ve got Bowtie Ballet!
At Winthrop they also added red pepper flakes, which I was not a fan of, but if that’s your thing, go for it!
It’s also really delicious if you serve it with a few chunks of soft cheese on the top. They’ll melt and make the whole thing just way too yummy for its own good.
11 Comments
Em-
Great job! Looks exactly the same! I’ll try making it tonight. That soft cheese that they used to put on was Provolone. And I remember that they used to spoon some liquid over it right before it was done. Was it chicken broth? Who knows – I’ll try it both ways!
sfd… I used a pound (one package) of bacon.
Probably 4-5 cups of (uncooked) pasta.
Maybe 3 cups of peas, 2-3 onions. Hope that helps.
How much bacon did you use? This is important…..
I wish you were more specific with this recipe. You just listed “some” for all ingredients. Some of us are dumb newbie cooks and would like a bit more specifics.
What brand of Alfredo do you like? I haven’t found one that tastes as good as home-made yet. But would LOVE to. (I think you can ignore the calories if you aren’t melting butter and cream)
I found your blog through the NaBloPoMo Randomiser and am tagging you for the 7 random things meme.
1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
I found your blog through the NaBloPoMo Randomiser and am tagging you for the 7 random things meme.
1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
And that pasta dish looks yummmie, definately gonna try it some time soon!
http://dublincitygirl.blogspot.com
Go for it Holly! Pasta for breakfast is a great way to say “good morning.” 🙂
Jessica, you’re so welcome! And thank you for your kind words. I bet little pieces of green beans or cut up asparagus would be GREAT in it… I wouldn’t use peas from a can though. I actually did once, and I ended up throwing away the whole thing. Canned peas are my idea of grossness.
Guerrilla, it IS truly awesome. Try it out!
Stormimay, I’m going to try not to live up to that challenge. Hopefully you’ll want to try every recipe. Hehehe.
Someday you may post a recipe that I don’t want to try. But not yet.
My boyfriend just made this dish (sans the pasta + heavy cream) as a side for dinner last night. He calls it Dirty Peas, and we were discussing the awesomeness that would ensue if we put pasta in there.
Thanks so much for posting your recipe! I found it via Craftster and I must say that your blog is so cute. 🙂
I want to make this for my friends, but most of them aren’t fans of peas. Is there a good substitute for them? Also, if we want to add the peas, will peas out of the can work in place of frozen ones?
This looks so good! I’m almost tempted to have pasta for breakfast, mmmm. Thanks for the recipe and the story. I took a tour of Winthrop and it was awesome, but of course, I’m stuck in Charleston going to Trident Tech, le sigh.