November 2 Meal: Penne Please

This was a night of surprises.  I was excited about making Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges with Smoked Chile Cream, but not so much about Penne and Cauliflower with Mustard Breadcrumbs.  Pasta and cauliflower doesn't exactly stand out as a yummy main dish.  Sweet potatoes with cream sounded delicious!  This is a good lesson in trying things that don't strike me as good.

Penne and Cauliflower with Mustard Breadcrumbs

This is one of those quick meals for a weeknight.  Cook up some pasta and add cauliflower part-way through.  While that's cooking make the breadcrumbs by toasting crumbs with butter and Dijon mustard on the stove.  When the pasta and cauliflower are done add Parmesan, lemon zest, and a little cream.  The lemon zest is the key.  It adds quite the zing to what could be dull and bland cauliflower.

Yumminess: 8 out of 10
Cost: Approx. $4.50 for 3 servings.
Time: Bon Appetit said 30 minutes for prep and total.  It took me about that long total, but less for prep.
Was it worth it?: Yes, for an easy dinner.

Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges with Smoked Chile Cream

First off, part of the problem with this one was that I didn't read the recipe carefully enough.  I peel the sweet potato instead of leaving the peel on, so the wedges didn't really hold up to the roasting.  They are tossed with olive oil and cumin and roasted for a while.  It took me less roasting time that Bon Appetit called for.  The cream is made of sour cream, green onions, hot pepper sauce, and lime juice.  I'm not sure what was missing, but the cream just wasn't what I expected.  I liked the potatoes, but the cream just didn't add anything.

Yumminess: 6 out of 10
Cost: Approx. $2.50 for 3 servings.
Time: Bon Appetit said 30 minutes for prep and 50 minutes total.  It took me about 10 minutes for prep and 30 minutes total.
Was it worth it?: The potatoes, yes.  The cream, no.