So, Easter has come and went. I have sacrificed the sacred chocolate bunny to my confectionary lust. But after crashing into a sugar k-hole, I need nutrition of goodness to feed my hunger to make bad religious allegory. An herbal hiccup wound up keeping the whole rib roast in the freezer. So, it’s a pick up game dinner. To the cupboards we go!
The Sam’s run has us awash in good sausage, so we’ve got to make the cervelatta the centerpiece. It’s good enough to stand on it’s own. And we’ve got tons of tomato product, so we might as well dive into our newfound bounty of pasta and put together something there. Top it with some garlic bread and we’re golden! So here we go!
The sausage portion of the show is pretty self explanatory if you’ve cooked sausages before. It being a coiled sausage, you can’t cook it at too high of a heat, or you’ll burn the outside and leave it raw in the middle. I like to give it a good sear on one side, maybe 3-5 minutes depending on your stove. Give it a flip, turn down the heat to med-low and slap a lid on your cast iron. Did I mention the cast iron? It’s my favorite. You should have one, but it’s not a law. Cook until done, I give around another 8 minutes. If grilling, I recommend uncoiling the sausage so that it’ll cook quicker and evenly. Grills be HOT y’all! You can slice and portion out the sausage for plating, but we’s hungry up in this mug! So we serve a full coil per plate. And love it!
Another tomater sauce for tagliatelle
(No basil because it ain’t in season yet)
½ lb dry tagliatelle
1 can diced tomatoes
½ cup water
1 can tomato paste
2 tablespoons dry oregano
2 tablespoons fresh torn sage
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 pinch sugar
1 dash red wine vinegar
Pretty quick and dirty. Take all this mess except the bay leaf and tomato paste, and toss it into the food processor. Spin until smooth. Add your olive oil to a small sauce pot and heat on medium. Before fully heated, add your tomato puree and the bay leaf. Bring to a low simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Slowly add in the tomato paste until sauce comes to the desired consistency and simmer on low for another 5 minutes. Have the water for your pasta ready and cook to the directions on the package. About 7-10 minutes. Drain and pour into a bowl, then add sauce and toss together carefully. The tagliatelle is a delicate pasta. Grate some of your favorite hard cheese over the top and serve!
Cheese ridden garlic bread
5 slices of sourdough French bread
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
4 tablespoons of minced garlic
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup grated fontina cheese
Again, easy peasy. Take garlic and butter and salt and mash together. Spread over bread. Top with cheese and place on a cookie sheet. Toss in a pre-heated oven set on broil for about 3-5 minutes or until toasty bubbling and golden. Not on fire and burny and stinky and call the fire departmenty.
Quick, simple, yummers and…holy crap? Did we accidentally throw down another vegetarian recipe of yummyness? I think we did! I hope I don’t tear a rotator cuff patting myself on the back. Really though, the prince of the plate for me is the non-veg sausage of pants-wetting goodness. Some achievements of culinary excellence are still far beyond me and I thank the reclusive god of fat guys that blesses these folks with their meat tube expertise. And big shout out to Mrs. Eating Out Fresno for throwing down on the bread and taking over pasta making duties. She’s the gritty drill seargent to my fruity aristocratic general who believes he’s the reincarnation of Auguste Escoffier and uses pearl handled boning knives. How she can resist throwing a pot of lava-hot tomato sauce in my face while I’m elbowing around to take pictures is beyond me. Truly, I are a lucky protein jockey.
-Pook
