My New Favorite Pasta Dish

No joke friends, Pinterest found a winner this time! I got THIS recipe for Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter from Pinterest, and I decided to make it last night. Friends, this recipe did NOT disappoint! It was SO stinkin good, I'm still craving it right now. I could have eaten the whole bowl!

I just paired it with a thin pork chop that I seared with teriyaki sauce and garlic. YUM!

Here is the recipe for the pasta:

Ingredients

1. 1 pound asparagus
2. 1 tablespoon olive oil
3. 1/4 teaspoon salt
4. 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
5. 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6. 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
7. 1 pound penne(I used about 14 oz.)
8. 1/4 pound butter, cut into pieces
9. 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving  

 Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400°. Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard them. Cut the spears into 1-inch pieces. Put the asparagus on a baking sheet and toss with the oil and 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, put the vinegar in a small saucepan. Simmer until 3 tablespoons remain. Stir in the brown sugar and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Remove from the heat.
3. Cook the penne in a large pot of boiling, salted water until just done, about 13 minutes. Drain the pasta and toss with the butter, vinegar, asparagus, and Parmesan. Serve with additional Parmesan if you would like. 

Some additional notes: I changed the recipe above to not include extra salt. There was plenty of salt in the recipe, and I think adding any more would have made it too salty. I also added yellow squash to mine, which was an excellent choice. You really need to watch the balsamic as it is simmering-I didn't watch mine closely enough and it ended up simmering too much and I was left with only about 2 Tbsp. I had to add more straight balsamic to the pasta once I had everything tossed together. I think it would be great either served warm right away, or even chilled in the fridge for an hour or two. It's THAT good!

If I haven't already convinced you to try this recipe, you NEED to! You can add any other veggie if you'd like. I will absolutely, positively, 100% be making this recipe again.