Recipe: Pasta with Burnt Butter and Pasta and Burnt Butter Sauce for Larry

PASTA WITH BURNT BUTTER
Makes 4 servings

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter ( 1/2 pound)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan, Romano or Greek Mizithra cheese
Pasta of choice

Browned Butter Procedure: Cut 2 sticks of butter into 8 pieces and place in a 2-quart sauce pan. Place the pan of butter on a burner on medium heat. Bring butter to a slow boil (about 5 minutes). Once the butter begins to boil, stir constantly to prevent residue from sticking to the bottom of the pan. As the butter cooks, it will start to foam and rise. Continue stirring, otherwise the butter foam could overflow (about 5 minutes) and catch fire. Once the butter stops foaming and rising, cook until amber in color (about 1 to 2 minutes). It will have a pleasant caramel aroma. Turn off the heat and remove pan from burner. Let the sediment settle to the bottom of the pan for a few minutes. Pour the brown butter through a strainer into a small bowl. Do not disturb the residue at the bottom of the pan. The brown butter can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated in a microwave as needed.

Boil the pasta of choice until Al Dente. Drain pasta and divide into four servings. Spread 1/4 cup of grated cheese over each pasta serving. Top each with 1/4 cup of hot brown butter.

PASTA AND BURNT BUTTER SAUCE
Source: Aki's Kitchen - akiskitchen.ca
Note: Hot browned butter makes for a buttery flavored pasta

2 cups uncooked pasta (wide noodles, Penne, Linguini, Fuselli)
Water for boiling pasta
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons oil
1/4-1/3 cups butter, unsalted
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
Salt and pepper, to taste
2-4 tablespoons grated cheese (Parmesan, Romano, etc)

A few sprigs of finely chopped parsley, optional
Fill a large pot with plenty of cold water, about 3/4 capacity and bring to a boil over high heat. When at a boil, add in the pasta, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 to 2 teaspoons oil. Stir pasta continuously until the water returns to a boil. Boil pasta according to packaging, or your preference, stirring occasionally.

Drain pasta well in colander. Wipe the pot dry with a paper towel and then add in the butter. Melt the butter over high heat until frothy, and until its color has turned to an amber golden brown color, but not dark brown or black. Remove the pot from the heat and add in the drained pasta, and then quickly toss it well, as to prevent the pasta from sticking to the pot, coating pasta evenly with butter. Sprinkle in the garlic powder, crushed basil, oregano and grated cheese of choice. Add salt and pepper according to taste and toss well again. Transfer to serving bowl and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley (optional) and serve. You can also place about 1 cup of pasta on a plate, along with the main meal.