Pasta with Creamy Spinach and Parmesan Cheese

I made this pasta dish for dinner last night, and this morning when he got home from work the first thing Joe said to me was, "That pasta you made last night was so good. You've got to make that again soon." And believe me, honey, I will make it again soon.

This meal is the kind of thing I absolutely love to cook: simple ingredients, that are simple to prepare, that come together to make something absolutely knock-you-over good. My oh my, this pasta was delicious. This recipe comes from On Top of Spaghetti..., a pasta cookbook I've had for a long time but never cooked from. After looking through it, I discovered that it's filled with delicious pastas I'm just dying to try, and it's definitely one I'm going to come back to frequently. All that pasta...my poor, poor waistline.

I made very few changes and additions to this recipe, mostly just for convenience's sake; they're in purple.

I would entertain with this pasta. As a main course. It is that good.

Pasta with Creamy Spinach and Parmesan Cheese
Source: On Top of Spaghetti... by Johanne Killeen and George Germon

12 ounces dried spaghettini (I used an entire box of fettucine)
8 cups firmly-packed washed and trimmed baby spinach
1 cup heavy cream (I used about 1 1/2 cups)
10 swipes of fresh nutmeg across a grater (I used a dash of dried)
20 to 25 turns of a pepper mill filled with white peppercorns (I used a couple dashes of ground white pepper)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Stir in a generous amount of salt and drop in the pasta. After a minute or two, add the spinach a handful at a time so the water doesn't lose its boil at any time. Cook, stirring often, until al dente.

2. Meanwhile, warm the cream over moderate heat with the nutmeg, pepper, salt and garlic powder. Bring it to a boil, but don't let it reduce. Taste the cream; it should be well-flavored with nutmeg and pepper. Add more if needed.

3. Drain the pasta and spinach in a collander, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Over low heat, stir the pasta into the cream mixture along with most of the parmesan cheese (save the rest for passing at the table or garnishing). If the noodles absorb too much cream, add pasta water, a tablespoon at a time, until you have the consistency of heavy cream, with each serving having a puddle in the bottom of the bowl. Serve immediately.