Creamy Artichoke Pasta in Saffron Sauce

This is really, REALLY good pasta. I apologize that the picture in no way does it justice.  When I was in Germany at the end of last year, my sister (who is a brilliant cook) made this for me and I had to pinch the recipe off of her.  I made it on my own (with a few modifications) when I returned home and it was still delicious!  Even my 2 year old loves it, which is really saying something!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pasta (my sister used linguine, I used spaghetti since that is what I had)
• 2 Tb extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 big pinch Saffron (I would say this is an essential ingredient - it's fairly pricey, but you don't need a lot and it's definitely worth it)
• salt & black pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup white wine (I don't have white wine hanging around my house, so I substituted 1/4 c of white wine vinegar and it worked nicely)
• 1 1/4 cup vegetable stock (I used chicken stock instead since that is what I had available)
• 1/3 cup cream
• 14 oz jar of artichoke hearts
• 1/2 cup parsley, fresh (I didn't have fresh parsley, so I just substituted some other dry Italian seasonings)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Boil Pasta
2. Meanwhile heat oil in a large skillet and add garlic, saffron, onion, slat, and pepper.  Cook until tender.  Add wine (or wine vinegar) and cook 3 minutes, until most has evaporated.  Add vegetable stock and cream.  Bring to a simmer for approximately 4 minutes.
3. Add artichokes and heat through.
4. Add parsley and pasta and turn off heat.  Add cheese and salt and pepper to taste.