Rigatoni with Sausage and Wine-Truffle Sauce

Jim is still away, so I've been struggling to make Romantic Dinners for Me. This is a great dish, and you can really make it to order.

I don't have a quirky story for this one. It's a go-to recipe. My mom made a variation of it all the time at home, and I basically ran with it. It's easy to make, tastes fabulous, and people usually love it. It's wonderful fresh, and just as good left-over. There is a lot of depth of flavor, and you can play around with what you put into it. GO!

Rigatoni with Fennel Sausage and Wine-Truffle Sauce
1 package of Sweet Sausage (with Fennel Seeds)
1 bunch Fresh Asparagus
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes
1 tblsp Butter
1 Clove Garlic, chopped
1 medium Shallot, sliced thin -- against the grain
1 cup White Wine
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
1/2 tsp Truffle Oil

1 lb Rigatoni, cooked al dente -- save 1/2 cup pasta water before draining

Preheat oven to 350*F

1) Cook sausage on a sheet in the oven for 15-20 minutes. You don't want to cook them all the way through, you just want them to firm up. It's okay if they're a little pink on the inside. This makes it easier to cut them.

2) Remove sausage, place asparagus on the same pan (whatever grease came from the sausage will cook the asparagus). Cook for 10 minutes -- they should be slightly softened, but still firm, and bright green.

3) Cut the sausage in to 1/2-inch pieces. Quarter the asparagus, disposing of the last quarter (the thick stem).

4) In a saute pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallots, cook until they are soft and begin to caramelize.

5) Add the sausage in one layer, brown each side.

6) De-glaze the pan with white wine. Add pasta water, chicken stock, and truffle oil. The starch in the pasta water will help the sauce thicken. Let this cook down for 5 minutes or so until it begins to thicken.

7) Add the whole cherry tomatoes and pasta to the pot, cover and cook until the tomatoes burst. Stir occasionally to make sure that the pasta is coated and cooking... about 5-7 more minutes.

* If your sauce seems to be cooking down too fast, you can alternate adding more liquid to it. The chicken stock will add some body to the sauce, the wine will thin it if it gets too thick.

8) Once the tomatoes burst, gently squish them down so that they break a little bit. Add the asparagus, stir, and let all of the flavors settle for a minute.

9) Serve it up in a big pasta bowl! Have some freshly grated parmesan cheese to top it off.



This dish is such a home run. It's great because it's easy to adjust the quantity, so you can make it for two, or twenty! You could even go nuts and serve it with the Roasted Garlic Bruschetta. Try it my way, and play around and see how YOU like it!

Valentines Day Dinner Part I: Broccoli Rabe and Sausage Aioli (Healthy!)

This dish is one of my Grandma Leonard's favorites. She gets it from an Italian restaurant in Huntington, Long Island, called Sal D's. They know my Grandma well there, she and my Pop-pop have been patrons for years.

After Pop passed (2005), we were out visiting Grandma. Trying to decide what we wanted for lunch, Grandma said that she wanted Broccoli Rabe Aioli from Sal's. It was the first time I had ever tried it, and it immediately became one of my favorites.

With tons of garlic, caramelized nice and slowly in olive oil, sweet fennel sausage, and leafy broccoli rabe, this dish is hearty but not heavy. Add roasted garlic bruschetta, a good glass of white wine, and a few candles, and you might as well be sitting in a Sicilian bistro.

Broccoli Rabe and Sausage Aioli
1 pack Sweet Italian Sausage
1 bunch Broccoli Rabe
5 cloves Garlic, smashed
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tblsp Red Pepper Flakes

1) In an 8x8 baking pan, cook the whole sausage in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

This first step is important. If you don't cook the whole sausages before you go to cut them for the dish, they won't hold their form and you won't be able to slice them as thinly.

2) Slice your sausages into 1/4 inch pieces.

3) In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat.

4) Saute garlic and sausage until the sausage is brown and starts to crisp.

*It is also important to keep the stove on a medium to low heat. Cooking the garlic slowly will ensure that your garlic tastes sweet, and not sharp or burnt. It also helps to caramelize the garlic, and sausage.

5) Remove the sausage from the pan.

6) Add broccoli rabe. Continuously toss with tongs in the oil until the leaves wilt, the stems are al dente, and the heads soften.

Some people cut half the stems off. The stem probably holds the most bitterness in this vegetable, but it's up to your personal preference. These flavors all compliment each other very nicely, so I tend to keep the stems on.

7) After the broccoli rabe is cooked, add the sausages and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Saute until incorporated.