Pasta with Pancetta, Asparagus and Sun Dried Tomatoes

We made this last night. Rod was supposed to be out of town until today, but called me in the afternoon and said he'd be home in a little bit. I was very excited, but started to panic because I hadn't been to the store this week. I had to whip something up for dinner with what we had in the fridge. It just so happened that we had asparagus and bacon. Hmmmm. . . I thought PASTA! Rod surprised me and said he had stopped and got some pancetta. I would've made this with bacon, but pancetta is even better! Perfect.

4 slices of pancetta, cut into cubes
about 1 cup fresh asparagus, sliced into 1 inch slices
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, sliced very thin
1/4 cup white wine (we used pinot grigio)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp fresh grated parmesan cheese
salt/pepper to taste
4 oz. penne pasta noodles

Get your pot of water for the pasta boiling, because this is really quick dish to cook up. Boil pasta. While pasta is cooking, saute pancetta over medium-high heat until crispy. Drain on paper towel and put aside. Pour off excess fat from pan, keeping about 1 to 2 tsp for sauteeing the rest of the ingredients. Add garlic and shallots to pan, saute until starting to brown. Add asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes and pancetta and salt and pepper. Saute until asparagus until almost to desired doneness. Add white wine and reduce. Add cream and reduce. Remove from heat. Mix in pasta noodles. Serve with grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!!!