One of the things I love about my husband Shane is that he thinks nothing of throwing together a seemingly fancy, labor-intensive meal at the last minute.

It was 5:30 or 6 last night when he said “I think I’ll make fresh pasta tonight.” “Do you have time for that? Or will we end up eating at 9:00?” I replied. “We have time, I’m just going to go play a few games of darts with the kids and then I’ll get started.”

And he was right! Even with the kids helping to make the pasta, we ate at a very reasonable 7-ish. And he made Rose’s dish into a smiley face to boot!

I love the delicate flavor of fresh pasta and don’t think it needs a lot in the way of saucing. Shane and I opted for simple sage butter (so good!) and had ours with a side of roasted orange cauliflower and a simple arugula salad.

Rose wanted her pasta with sauce and meatballs, we happened to have Polpo’s meatballs left from a meal earlier in the week.

Sid, in typical wacky fashion, chose to eat his pasta with butter, and a pinch of salt sprinkled directly into his mouth with each bite. Silly new restaurant trend? I hope not.