recipe: balsamic cream pasta

in prep for thanksgiving i've eaten (mostly) well Mon-Weds, and did an extra long workout tonight. i had no intention of eating a fatty meal the night of thankgiving eve, but a few stars aligned which really had to derail that plan. new balsamic vinegar (trader joes - cheap & delish), heavy cream in the fridge, and an insatiable craving for this recipe. it's from allrecipes.com's Balsamic Cream Sauce recipe, and i've made it at least 5 times now, loving it every time. the BEST version of it i made i had ran out of regular balsamic vinegar and had to tap into my stash of super-special forbidden balsmo... it was sick-delish, especially with fresh basil which is just sublime with the creamy balsamic. i just don't have the heart to use the good balsamic everytime, which is fine because it's still great without it. 

ingredients list: (for 2)

- 1/2 lb fettucine pasta

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 2 tbsp butter

- 1 small onion, cut into thin slices

- 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- chopped fresh basil (if avail)

to make:
heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. add onion, and sautee until carmelized thoroughly, about 15 minutes.

while onions are cooking, bring pot of water to a boil and prepare pasta.

after onions have finished carmelizing, stir in the balsamic vinegar, and let cook for 1-2 minutes before adding in bouillon, white pepper, and cream. simmer for 3-4 minutes until sauce thickens, then stir in the parmesan cheese until mixed through. add in pasta, then sprinkle on basil and serve.

verdict - i think it's already pretty clear how i feel about this pasta. the carmelized onions, the balsamic, the cream, it's just a match made in heaven (and i have no idea why balsamic pasta is not more popular... it's so simple, but whoever was the first on this was a genius). since my stash of fresh basil is gone, i unfortunately wasn't able to add that but i'd give it a solid 8 ******** without it. mmmmm.