Well, dearest readers, none of the recipes I tried last week really tickled my palate enough to post here. So, for the second time in a row I did something very un-cooking inside the lines of me by doing my own thing with some leftover bacon, pasta and marinara sauce. However, I did also decide to try these Garlic Herb Bread Twists from Gourmet magazine. Mangia!

I had some bacon that needed to be cooked and some pappardelle pasta in the pantry. I simply cooked the pasta in salted water until al dente and while that cooked, I diced three pieces of center cut bacon and cooked until crispy. I let the bacon bits cool on a paper towel, and reserved about a tablespoon of the the bacon grease in the pan and lowered the temperature to medium-low. I then added two minced garlic cloves and after 30 seconds, added a jar of marinara sauce and simmered until warmed through. Once the pappardelle was finished, I drained and then combined with garlicky, bacony, marinara and added the cooked bacon bits and freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top. This was super simple and a delicious way to use the rest of bacon in the package.

I also tried these delicious Garlic Herb Bread Twists that were amazing! I used store-bought, frozen pizza dough and the herb filling inside the twists with the garlic oil was a perfect complement to my pasta dish. Next time you have pasta night try this “twist” on the typical garlic bread. Mine didn’t look this beautiful (photo from Gourmet.com) but tasted amazing!