Blue Cheese and Spinach Pasta

I have a four year old who loves blue cheese. So I made this for her, and as it turns out everyone loved it! Yes, there is alcohol in the recipe - but it cooks off, so it's safe for kids.

Ingredients

• Blue cheese - I used King Island Roaring Forties, but any blue cheese will do. Enough to put on about five crackers.
• White wine - I used Chateau de Cardboard chardonnay, but any dry white will do. Enough for one large glass.
• Half a brown onion, finely diced
• Handful of baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
• Liberal splash (or two) of cream - maybe 100mL (light cream will do just fine)
• Clove of garlic, crushed
• Sprinkle of nutmeg
• Dash of cracked black pepper
• Olive oil for frying
• Two water crackers
• Pasta for four people - I used gnocchi, but this also works nicely with spirals or penne.

Put the pasta on to cook.

While the pasta is cooking, saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan til it softens and becomes translucent. Add a liberal splash of the white wine and garlic, and reduce down so the alcohol cooks off. By adding the garlic with the white wine instead of cooking it with the onion, you'll avoid burning the garlic.

Put some blue cheese on the two water crackers and consume with remaining white wine. This step is vitally important to the cooking process.

Add the nutmeg, pepper, spinach, and cream, and remaining blue cheese, and turn the heat off but leave the pan on the hotplate. If you use gas (my stove is electric), just turn it down to the lowest possible heat. Stir it all in so the cheese melts through and you get a creamy sauce.

By now, the pasta should be ready. Drain and throw in with the sauce, and toss it all together so the pasta is lightly coated with the sauce.