Penne with Roasted Asparagus

Have I said how much I love Pintrest??  It makes finding new recipes super easy!  I found one for this Penne with Roasted Asparagus awhile ago, and finally tried it this week:

You can view the original post here; it comes from foodandwine.com.  I followed it fairly closely, but I did adjust the ingredients so that it was better portioned for two and tried to cut the butter way back.  

1/2 pound fresh asparagus

1 T Olive Oil

Sprinkle of Salt

Fresh ground black pepper

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp brown sugar

1/2 pound penne pasta (although bow ties would be great too!)

3 T butter; cut into pieces

1/3 c Parmesan cheese  

1.  Heat the oven to 400.  Trim & discard the ends of asparagus.  Cut the asparagus into 1"-2"pieces, and place on baking sheet.  Coat with olive oil and salt & pepper to taste.  Roast for 10 minutes, until tender; turning once.

2.  Pour balsamic into small sauce pan and reduce FOREVER!  When it reduces to about 2-3 tablespoons, take off heat and add brown sugar & a couple grinds of pepper.

3.  Cook pasta until desired tenderness, drain.

4.  To pasta, add butter, asparagus, cheese & balsamic sauce.  Eat while hot & enjoy!!

I served this alongside baked chicken breasts (which also happen to need a 400 degree oven; about 25 minutes, so I started them first).  Seasoned them with Italian spices, and more parmesan cheese.