Penne with Sundried Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Rosemary and Pancetta Cream Sauce

Here's another pasta sauce that we learned to make at our Sur La Table pasta class. This was probably S. and my favorite sauce, although it has cream in it so it's probably the most unhealthy of the sauces. I tried to balance out the cream sauce by substituting half and half (though I think I should have stuck with cream for the right silkiness) and using whole wheat pasta. I also added some mushrooms for extra earthiness and texture. It's a really good sauce, I like the strong, fragrant rosemary with the sweet chewy sun dried tomatoes, earthy mushrooms and of course, pancetta.

Sun-Dried Tomato, Mushroom, Rosemary and Pancetta Cream Sauce (adapted from Sur La Table) Recipe (serves 3)

• Dice 4 oz of pancetta, mince 2 small shallots and 3 cloves of garlic. Chop rosemary leaves from 1 stem of rosemary and chop 1/3 cup of drained sun-dried tomatoes. Clean 4 oz of mushrooms
• Cook pancetta over medium low heat for 8 minutes until crispy and remove to a paper-towel lined plate
• If necessary, add some olive oil to the pan, and cook the garlic and shallot over medium heat for 3-4 minutes
• Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook until they have released their juices and the juices have evaporated, about 5-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper
• Add the rosemary and sun dried tomatoes, increase the heat to medium high. Add a little over 1/2 cup of dry white wine, bring to a boil, then add a little over 1 cup of heavy cream, bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for about 8-10 minutes
• Add the cooked pancetta and season with salt and pepper if necessary
• Meanwhile cook 3/4 lbs of penne until short of al dente, and add the pasta to the same pot as the sauce to finish cooking