Happy Birthday, Happy Father's Day

My dad has the special distinction of celebrating his birthday on or around Father's Day.  When we were kids, we had such a hard time coming up with what to get him for both occasions.  I remember very distinctly getting my dad a pair of gardening gloves when I was 9.  I thought this was the perfect gift and he, being a professional landscaper, found it amusing.  I was not so amused at his amusement - I was heartbroken that he didn't like my gift (I now know that it was strange,akin to giving a vacuum cleaner to your mom for Mother's Day).  Many years have passed and I have gotten a little better at figuring out what makes a great gift.  Part of what makes a great gift, is a great meal.  So I decided to make dinner and invite Dad over for a Dad's day/birthday celebration.

The recipe for last night (Penne with Sausage, Artichokes, and Sun-dried Tomatoes) was from Giada's Family Dinners by Giada De Laurentis.  I have rarely used this cookbook because Drew is not so much on the pasta.  I LOVE pasta and so I have to have a relationship with it at arms length or Drew will not be able to get his arms around me.  But, hey, we were celebrating, so why not? 
After going to the store to shop for this pasta, I was unable to procure artichokes as prescribed in the recipe (it calls for frozen), so I decided to use some asparagus we already had on hand.  I also did not use white wine in the recipe, I just used more chicken broth. 

The resulting pasta was very good, very flavorful.  Delicious.  I took two servings (I told you I LOVE pasta).  Dad really liked it too, which was the goal for the night. 

Happy Birthday, Dad!  Happy Father's Day!  So thankful you are my dad and my friend - the relationship we have is something special, something unique, and something I cherish!  God bless you this year!