The Whole Foods Tap Room in Santa Rosa is a great place to grab a drink, and run into friends who are there to shop.  Yesterday, Jeff and I were taste testing beers and cheeses for an upcoming Beer, Wine and Mac n Cheese Cookoff that Jeff is speaking at, and we saw three wine friends. Each was there shopping for Saturday dinner. 

Lisa from Jordan Winery, and her husband stopped by to grab a pint with us and told us all about her dinner plans. She texted me the recipe she was using for her dinner: Spaghetti alla Carbonara, from Epicurious.com. As soon as they left, Jeff looked to me saying he was craving carbonara for dinner. Already being AT Whole Foods, we bought our ingredients and headed home to make dinner.

I made a few healthier/vegetarian additions to the recipe and it was delicious.

Kale, Mushroom + White Wine Pasta  

Ingredients

• 4 leaves of kale, sliced 
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 5 small cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 3 pieces of garlic, sliced
• 1/4 cup white wine (I used Iron Horse Vineyards UnOaked Chardonnay)
• 1 lb spaghetti
• Handful of parmigiano-reggiano (shaved or grated) 
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil 

Preparation

Slice 4 leaves of kale (not the stem) into thin strips, and saute in a pan with black pepper, salt and olive oil. Add mushrooms and toss until all mushrooms are golden brown and kale is bright green. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden.

Add white wine (you will hear a good SIZZLE) and boil down until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes - stirring frequently. 

Cook spaghetti as directed and add to the white wine pan, then toss with tongs over moderate heat until coated.

Remove from heat and add grated/shaves cheese, tossing to combine. Serve immediately.