as easy as boiling water...

Well this dish is about as easy as it gets...the whole thing came together (start to finish) in the time it took to boil the water and cook the pasta. EVERYTHING...from the sauce to the garlic bread in the time it took to boil a pot of water. A delicious meal with little to no shopping (if you're pantry is even remotely stocked) that should be added to every one's repertoire as it's delicious enough to want every night and easy enough to make any night. It's even good enough for friends.

Basically this dish comes straight out of the pantry...and is so basic...you can take it anywhere. I mean that in terms of location and ingredients. Not a fan of sausage...use ground turkey, or beef, or chicken. The herbs in the sauce could be any number of Italian seasonings...I went with marjoram and bay leaves...would have been just as good with thyme, parsley, and basil. It really is a pretty blank canvas for getting a good hearty homemade Italian dinner on the table in no time at all. I did this dish with penne pasta...which is one of my favorite dried pasta shapes...though I think next time I'd go with orrechiette...don't know why...just thought that shape would play nice in this dish. Again...personal preference here. My choices are below.

Penne with Sausage in a Tomato Cream Sauce

4 links of Italian sausage (I went with spicy over sweet)

1 onion diced

2 cloves of garlic diced

1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes (San Marzano)

1 tbsp fresh marjoram chopped

2 bay leaves

1 C cream

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp olive oil

Garlic Bread

1 baguette

1/2 stick of butter at room temp

2 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp of olive oil

1/2 C chopped fresh parsley

1/2 C chopped fresh basil (optional)

Directions

Here we go...everything done at the same time.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Put a pot of water over high heat for the pasta. Wait for rapid boil.

In a heavy bottom pot (dutch oven if you got one) heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over med high heat. Cut the sausage from it's casing and add to pot. Use a wooden spoon to break it up into bite size pieces. Toss to coat and allow to brown. 5-7 minutes mixing occasionally. Add onions and garlic and cook another 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves. Stir to combine, salt and pepper to taste. Lower the heat to a simmer for 12-15 minutes.

By this point your water should be boiling nicely. Salt the water. SALT THE WATER !!! Add pasta according to instructions. Most likely about 12 minutes. Stir once or twice in the first minute to prevent sticking together and then leave it alone. Go make the garlic bread.

Chop of the ends (use those to test your sauce in a couple of minutes) and slice the baguette lengthwise. In a bowl mix the softened butter, garlic paste, half the parsley/basil and salt and pepper to taste. A note on the garlic paste. Take your chopped garlic and drizzle with a touch of olive oil and some salt. Mash it with the side of your knife. Paste ! Now spread that mix evenly on sliced baguette and pop those babies in the oven. 10 minutes.

At this point your sauce has simmered for enough time...add the cream, stir to combine, and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the fresh herbs, salt and pepper to taste, and allow to simmer for as long as it takes you to drain and add your pasta (which is done by the way). Toss all of that to coat and heat for a minute while you take the garlic bread out of the oven and top with fresh parsley/basil. Plate and serve.

Nicely done. And well rewarded I believe. Good simple dish which feels and tastes totally homemade and comforting. Leaves the apartment smelling good too. Seriously good side effect to cooking at home. And this dish can go anywhere. Dress it up for a night with friends or keep it rustic for a comforting night on the couch with a movie. As to which movie that is...it is again cook's choice...

Mangia et statti zitto...

cheers...

dunkin