Another New Recipe!

I was shocked and saddened to hear about the viscious bomb attacks in Boston at the Marathon. My thoughts turned to my BIL D who recently passed away. He ran the Boston twice and my sister was an enthusiastic supporter who in another day and time would've been one of the thousands who lined the route to watch their loved one go by. My heart is heavy with sorrow that more lives have been lost to senseless anger and hatred. Yesterday was a monster of a day. Extremely busy at work with large numbers of lunches to prepare and serve and the planning and paperwork for May to get underway; then I had a baking session with a group of kids from the aftercare which is always so much fun. After finally leaving work I had to run the 17 yr. old to get a new pair of shoes.
All in all it meant a late start to dinner and nothing pulled out of the freezer to work with. I reviewed my menu plans for the month and teen son chose the Roasted Asparagus with balsamic butter penne recipe. We had no asparagus but remembered that the recipe, from Food and Wine magazine, had a variation using broccoli. We had broccoli in the freezer, I grabbed a bag tossed some still frozen and went with that.
I had a Lucy moment while preparing this recipe, caught up in the news coverage from Boston I forgot about the balsamic vinegar reducing on the stove. You do not want to burn balsamic vinegar. Trust me. The smell is truly nasty. I had to fill that saucepan and let it sit in the sink for an hour before using my handy plastic scrapper to get the burnt on mess off of it.
I started over with the balsamic vinegar and managed to make a success of it the second time around.
This recipe got RAVE reviews from teen son and I quite enjoyed it myself. It is a keeper.

Penne with Roasted Asparagus (or Broccoli) and Balsamic butter
Food and Wine Magazine

1 pound penne pasta, cooked according to package directions
1/2 cup +2 tbl balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1 pound asparagus or broccoli
1 tbl. olive oil
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 lb. butter, cut into cubes
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Toss asparagus or broccoli with olive oil, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and spread on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes until veggies are tender (this takes a bit longer with frozen veg).
Put balsamic vinegar into a saucepan and reduce to 3 tbl. Watch carefully since this burns easily. Add 1/2 tsp of brown sugar and 1/4 tsp. pepper.
Drain cooked pasta, toss with butter, reduced vinegar, remaining salt, asparagus or broccoli, and parmesan cheese. Serve.