The other night I made pasta with cream sauce, and while we were eating it, I realized it was a real restaurant kitchen dish. I don’t mean it was awesomely delicious, although it was pretty tasty, but that it was the sort of thing I imagine you’d make if you were set loose in a restaurant kitchen, the sort of thing a line cook might make for himself if the boss isn’t around, using moderately luxurious ingredients, stock, and many kinds of fat.

I actually made the same recipe twice in the last week, by request. These were the components the first time:

* penne
* slab bacon
* olive oil
* leeks
* cremini mushrooms
* thyme
* white wine
* Worcestershire sauce (I was working loosely off a recipe from Biba Caggiano’s Italy al Dente, and I trust that if Biba sauce to put Worcestershire sauce in, it’ll be good)
* chicken stock
* cream
* Parmigiano
* butter

The second time around I had chanterelles from Foraged and Found, so it went like this:

* penne
* slab bacon
* shallots
* chanterelles
* thyme
* white wine
* veal stock
* cream
* Parmigiano
* butter

(The veal stock was from Sea Breeze Farm. I didn’t make it. For that matter, the chicken stock was Better Than Bouillon.)

I think the original recipe called for endive, pancetta, and no mushrooms. Anyway, whatever you have on hand, you can make creamy noodles in less than an hour, and it’s one of those no-brainpower recipes where you can rock out while cooking and probably not cut your thumb off.

Cut the bacon into dice. Crisp it up in a large saute pan. Remove it, leave the fat, and add a little olive oil if the pan looks dry. Saute the vegetables, working in batches if you’re using mushrooms, which need the pan to themselves if they’re going to brown. Add the thyme and the reserved bacon, along with a dash of Worcestershire and half a cup of wine. Reduce until the liquid is almost gone. Add 1/4 cup cream and 1/2 cup stock and simmer while you cook a pound of pasta. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce along with the Parmigiano and a tablespoon of butter. Heat together in the pan and serve in warmed big bowls.

After you do this once, it will be automatic. If you ever find yourself locked in a restaurant kitchen after-hours, now you know what to do.