Portobello Penne Pasta Casserole

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 (8 ounce) package uncooked penne pasta
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ pound portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
• ½ cup margarine • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• ¼ cup soy sauce

DIRECTIONS:
• Preheat oven to 350℉. Lightly grease a 9” x 13” baking dish.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place pasta in the pot, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the mushrooms, cook one minute, and set aside. Melt margarine in the saucepan. Mix in flour, garlic, and basil. Gradually mix in milk until thickened. Stir in 1 cup cheese until melted. Remove saucepan from heat, and mix in cooked pasta, mushrooms, spinach, and soy sauce. Transfer to the prepared baking dish, and top with remaining cheese.
• Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly and lightly brown.

© Recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.com by Chmadden, click to see video

DECEMBER WINE CLUB PAIRING

Alit
Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley, Oregon

MELLOW WINE STYLE

Alit Collective is a small team of passionate winemakers, driven to spread the pleasure of exceptional wines. Alit farms organically and minimizes intervention, aiming to capture a vineyard’s natural ecosystem in a bottle. That means dry farming, where natural rainfall replaces conventional irrigation. This method conserves water while producing small but intensely flavorful grapes. During fermentation, they rely on the vineyards’ native wild yeasts to transform the grapes into wine. With just a little coaxing from the winemaking team, Mother Nature creates the flavors, textures and aromas of a great wine. The Alit Willamette Valley Pinot Noir began with ripe, organically farmed grapes grown in volcanic soil that is more than 14 millions years old. Hand-picked – stems and all – and carefully conducted an orchestra of wild yeasts to transform them into wine.

“On the nose, notes of red cherries, huckleberries, vanilla and cedar. On the palate, you’ll find radiant, rich flavors with a long finish. The all natural result delivers red fruit with a wave of cinnamon-and-clove spiciness as smooth as velvet.” – Felipe Ramirez, Winemaker

Winemaker: Felipe Ramirez
Appellation: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir
Analysis: 13.5% alcohol / volume
Critical Acclaim: 90 pts “Years Best” American Pinot Noirs by Wine & Spirits 2015

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