What, This Old Thing? It's Just Something I Threw On

It ain't all fun and games out here in Blogtown. While tantalizing your eye and whetting your appetite with my photos and prose, a blogger's still gotta eat. Thus tonight's dinner ended up here on You Gonna Finish That? Having plenty of source material for the next few days, I wasn't even looking for a topic, but merely something to stave off the hunger pangs. Being otherwise occupied on my computer, I threw some things into a pot, set it and forget it. I didn't even think to document the process until I tasted my meal. Then I knew I was on to something. Every once in awhile, I surprise even myself.

Sweet Italian Sausage and Farfalle - A Blog O. Food original

1½ lbs sweet Italian sausages, sliced thick ¼ cup olive oil 1 medium yellow onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, chopped ¼ cup pignoli 1½ cups chicken stock 1½ cups dry red wine 1 large can (28 oz) whole, peeled tomatoes 1 tsp dried basil 1 tsp dried thyme 1 tsp dried oregano 2 bay leaves 2 Tbsp tomato paste 1 lb farfalle pasta

Lightly brown Italian sausage in olive oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed stock pot. Remove pork from pot, and brown onions, garlic and pine nuts. Return sausage to the pot, add chicken stock, red wine, tomatoes and spices, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer slowly for 2 hours or more. If you need to enrich the sauce, add the tomato paste, otherwise, omit. Increase the heat to medium and add the dry pasta to the sauce. Add more chicken stock, if necessary, to just cover the pasta. Stir very gently periodically until the noodles are al dente. Spoon into pretty bowls and top with grated Grana Padano cheese and finely chopped parsley.

Here was a one-pot meal that's all about the sauce. This one was rich and thick and tomato-y. Il mio amico, Matty O. Food, is the king of sauces in my neck of the woods. Just ask him, he'll be the first to tell you. But as I stated earlier, the dish came as much of a surprise to me as anyone. So I guess my sauce skills are madder than I was led to suspect. But don't repeat that outside these doors.

Thanks for taking the time - Blog O. Food