Speaking as someone who is learning to cook for a living, I’ve got a sad, embarrassing confession for you: I’m just not that into cooking meals at home these days. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I’m on my feet at 5AM and I’m baking biscuits by 6. Or maybe it’s an over-saturation of the senses, the intoxicating smell of pan-caramelized apples wafting up at me, and the constant bombardment of sauteed garlic, homey herbs, and savory braise smells of the creations from another cook, desensitizing my desire for good food. Whatever the cause, when the time to cook when the day’s end rolls around, I’ve been struggling to muster much enthusiasm.

I’ve come up with a counter-intuitive solution to my problem by challenging myself to only cook dinners that I’m genuinely excited about eating. They don’t have to be hard recipes or take hours to make, in fact most of them so far have been made up on the fly. They do need to be dishes I’ll look forward to eating, meals worthy of opening a moderately priced bottle of wine to enjoy midweek. To select these recipes, I pause and ask myself, as I’m heading by the store on the way home, “what am I hungry for?” And then, I make that thing. So far, it’s been a success.

The other night, I was jonesing for fresh pasta – something that I’ve practiced enough to confidently make whenever I need it, as long as I have a spare hour available for the dough to do its requisite chilling in the fridge.

I had portobellos, shiitakes, and a block of parmesan cheese, and I began to conceive of a meal that I became very excited about, indeed.

I sauteed the mushrooms in garlic, white wine, and  lemon juice, and finished them with just a dash of heavy cream, creating a mushroom-wine sauce that coated each strand of the al dente pasta, without overwhelming it.  A sprinkle of grated parmesan  added some sharp, creamy flavor, and the tender, meaty mushrooms stood up well with the pasta. A simple meal, nothing groundbreaking here, but also an exciting one for me, and that’s the most important thing when you’re cooking your way out of a slump.

Mushroom Fettuccine

I’m not going to provide exact ingredient amounts here, since so much of this recipe is suited to taste. Use this as inspiration to create your own pasta craving.

Serves 2, with leftovers

1/2 lb . shiitake, crimini, portobello, or other favorite mushrooms, sliced uniformly
fresh fettuccine pasta, either homemade (use my guide) or store-bought (enough for 2 people)
olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
lemon, squeezed
a glass of dry white wine (or more, to taste)
grated parmesan cheese
dash of heavy cream
salt
black pepper

Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a large frying pan, heat enough olive oil to coat the pan generously, on med-low. Add the garlic and saute in the oil until it is translucent, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat if the garlic starts browning too quickly. Add the mushrooms, stirring to evenly coat them in the oil and garlic mixture. If the mushrooms seem dry or are sticking, add a little more oil. Cook for a few minutes until they become a bit limp and flexible, then add lemon juice and wine. Simmer until the mushrooms are done to your preference, add a little water  or additional wine if the liquid cooks off too fast. Stir in the heavy cream right at the end, toss the pasta into the mixture, only long enough to heat up to desired temperature. Add salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese to taste. Serve immediately.