Creamy Ham Pasta

 My co-worker and I were talking about our interest in cooking with alcohol and the lovely tastes some alcohols give to certain recipes. She then shared this recipe with me and it reminded me of something my Senora would make me when I was living in Spain. It immediately brought back good memories and my love for this dish. I decided to make it and it was just as great as I remembered. This is a great way to mix it up with pasta. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 ham slice (single slice, about the size of a plate,) cut into bite size pieces about 2 cups
½ cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 pound bite sized pasta, cooked (preferably spinach or basil pasta)
2 lbs asparagus or other vegetable of your choice, cooked (optional)
pepper, to taste
Parmesan, to taste

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a large sauté pan, add onion and garlic and cook until onion becomes tender.
2. Add ham pieces to sauté pan and cook with onions until just slightly browned, approx. 4 or 5 minutes. Remove ham and onions from pan and place in a large bowl.

3. Add wine to sauté pan with remaining juices, boil until reduced to a glaze (be careful not to burn or over cook). Add chicken broth and boil over high heat five minutes. Add cream and boil gently until sauce begins to thicken. Do not reduce too much or sauce will be unpleasantly thick. This should make approximately 1 ¾ cups of sauce.

4. While waiting for sauce, cook pasta as directed on pkg. Drain pasta and add into ham and onion bowl. Add cooked vegetable of your choice. Pour sauce over entire mixture and toss. Add freshly ground pepper and Parmesan if desired. Serve hot, enjoy!