Penne / Roasted Asparagus / Balsamic Butter

Lindy actually really like this, which totally surprised me, considering the vinegar. It's not particularly fancy, but I liked it, and will make it again someday.

From the kitchen of: Mel's Kitchen (Katie)

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb fresh asparagus spears (could use broccoli?)
1 T olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 C balsamic vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar

Mel's pic, complete with fresh cheese and penne instead of rigatoni.

Lindy Liked it!

1 lb penne pasta (I happened to have rigatoni from a different project, so that's what I used, which I think contributed to Lindy liking it because it has a huge hole in the middle).
4 T butter, cut into pieces
1/3 C Parmesan cheese (plus more for serving). This lady, Mel, is all about using fresh cheese because she lives in Wisconsin and her hubby works at a cheese factory. I'm all about using what I have in the fridge, so mine was not freshly grated, but I still thought it was good).

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat oven to 400F.
Get the asparagus ready how you want it - Mel suggested spears cut into 1 inch pieces.
Toss the asparagus with the oil and 1/4 tsp of the salt and 1/4 tsp of the pepper.
Place the asparagus on a cookie sheet and roast in the oven until tender, about 10 min.
While the asparagus is roasting, put the vinegar in a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat about 5-10 min.
The vinegar will "reduce" to about 3 tablespoons (I think we added a bit more vinegar back after doing this, because we wanted more wetness to our noodles).
Stir in the brown sugar and the remaining 1/4 tsp pepper and remove from heat.
Cook the penne in a large pot of boiling salted water until just done, 11-13 min.
Drain and return pasta to the pot.
Stir in the butter and vinegar mixture - toss to combine well.
Add the asparagus, Parmesan, and the remaining 1/2 tsp salt (unless you added too much to the water, which we did, so we didn't do this part).
Add more Parmesan cheese for serving.

MAKES: 4-6 servings