The Next Day's Breakfast

The recovering-from-illness three-year-old wanted cheesy noodles for breakfast this morning. Please note she wanted noodles with real cheese, not the powdery stuff that comes in a packet. She was quite adamant about that. I’ve got nothing against the powdery cheese (it serves its purpose), but it’s nice when my girl wants me to use my skills. So I made her this:

Whole Wheat Penne with Asiago Cheese Butter Sauce
This is just pasta with cheese and butter. The cheese, butter, and a bit of pasta water emulsify to make a light, creamy coating on the noodles.
Make sure your pasta water is well salted, and boil and drain penne (or pasta of your choice) according to the package directions. Save some of the pasta water. Return the penne to the pot, and add a little of the cooking water and a very generous amount of shredded asiago cheese, along with a similarly generous amount of butter. Try to really smother the noodles in cheese. Add salt to taste. Stir everything together until the noodles are well coated with a smooth cheesy sauce. Serve with more shredded asiago on top and lots of fresh ground black pepper (if you are not three years old). This would be nice with a salad of fresh greens and vinaigrette dressing. Probably not for breakfast, though. I'd do it for lunch.