The Second Time Around

Who knew that the ingredients I used for two Friday night pizzas would show up again on the dinner table Sunday night?

I made a pizza topped with Italian sausage, sauteed onions and mushrooms topped with a mixture of grated cheeses as well as a Margherita pizza using grape tomatoes and mozzarella.  Both were very good served alongside this salad.

The pickled onions gave the salad a nice sweet and sour crunch.

While looking for some inspiration for supper on Sunday, I came across a recipe for pasta using the ingredients I  had in the refrigerator.  I love this kind of cooking, that is making a meal from what is essentially in the pantry.  No outing to the market is involved.  And I get to use the bits and bobs, as Kath would say, so that nothing goes to waste at the end of the weekend.  Mr. No Carbs was just going to have to suffer through two carbohydrate-laden dinners this weekend.

This recipe comes from Philadelphia chef, Marc Vetri, and it's a keeper.  It goes together quickly and is hearty enough for a cold night like last night--and tasty, too.


Orecchiette with Sausage and Cherry Tomatoes
By Marc Vetri                  
Serves 4


1 pound orechiette pasta
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Salt
2 ounces aged provolone cheese, shredded
3/4 cup reserved pasta water

In a large pot of boiling salted water cook pasta until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 3/4 cup of the cooking water.

Meanwhile, in a large deep skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil until shimmering.  Add the sausage in 1-inch clumps and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until browned and cooked through, about 8 minuets.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a plate.

Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to the skillet along with the tomatoes and crushed red pepper; cook over moderate heat, pressing the tomatoes until slightly softened, about 4 minutes.  Add the reserved pasta cooking water, season with salt and cook over moderate heat, scraping up any browned bits and crushing the tomatoes, until the liquid is reduced by half and the tomatoes are nearly broken down, about 5 minutes.

Add the pasta to the skillet along with the sausage and the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook, stirring, until the pasta is evenly coated, about 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in provolone.  Transfer to bowls and serve.

Cook's Note:  I used hot Italian sausage and eliminated the crushed red pepper.  I rarely buy pre-shredded cheese, but I had a combination of asiago, fontina, Parmesan and provolone, left from the pizza.  Use whatever you like. If you can't get orecchiette, any pasta that will hold the sauce will do.

Sausage And Grapes

I feel as if I have been swirling in the vortex of life for the past few months. Time flies while my activities expand to fill the time allotted.  My creativity, particularly my cooking, has become stagnant. Tired of the repetitive dishes of winter, I search the markets for inspiration and find none. My anthem these days seems to be Anna Nalick's "Breathe".

Of course I am impressed by Tracy's bagel experiment.  I am enchanted by Denise's butterfly olive cookies. My sweet tooth is piqued by Kath's Kaluha and coffee ice cream, and I am amused by Valerie's adventures in Italy; but a couple of failures in the kitchen and my current funk have rendered me immobile.

As Spring turns Winter into a memory, I am hopeful that my stagnation will retreat as well.

The dish I made for dinner last night, although said to have originated during the fall grape harvest in Umbria, was a nice change of pace.

Sausages With Grapes--My Version
Serves 2

1 pound Hot or Sweet Italian Sausage--I like hot
3 cups seedless red grapes
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Place sausages in a 10- or 12 inch  skillet, add 3 tablespoons water, and turn heat to medium. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, turning often.

Remove cover, and prick sausages.  Remove excess fat from pan leaving about 1 tablespoon.  Add 1 tablespoon butter to the pan along with the grapes.  Sprinkle grapes with a pinch of salt, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until grapes soften somewhat. Add balsamic vinegar and stir.

Serve hot and enjoy!

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Rigatoni With Sausage Cream Sauce

This beastly winter shows no signs of loosening its grip, and Spring seems further away than ever. Having no alternative, I embraced the cold drizzle and made one last  hearty dish for dinner.  Spring just has to emerge soon--right?

This pasta dish comes from an old classic cookbook favorite of mine, Italian Family Cooking, by the late Anne Casale. Her book is full of family favorites from the Italian regions of Tuscany and Campania, as well as Sicily.  As usual, I made the recipe mine.

 
I sauteed 1/2 lb. of sweet Italian sausage meat in a little bit of butter until just cooked through. While 8 ounces of  pasta was boiling--in this case mostaccioli--I  added 1/2 cup heavy cream to the saute pan stirring to blend with  the sausage and cooking until slightly thickened. Next time I would add a bit more cream.  I then added a pinch of nutmeg and some salt and pepper.  After the pasta was drained, it went into the saute pan to be coated with the sauce.  Off heat, I tossed the pasta with 1/2 cup grated Parmesan.  To serve, I added a sprinkling of chopped parsley and a bit more grated cheese.

Wordless Wednesday--Dinner Tonight