I love Italian sausage, the mild varieties. I'm a sausage lover from way back, I love good hot dogs and white hots (a wonderful Western New York thing via Zweigle's Meats, a German family who formed their own sausage-making business back in the mid-20th century.)
I know the current rage is for chicken sausage.
I'm not a fan. It's dry, you have to practically drown it in something to make it chewable, and it still can't match the consistency of old-fashioned pork sausages. I've tried so many delicious variations, and still... I'm a porker kind of gal!
In our local hots and hamburger joint, when someone orders a red hot, they yell "Red!"
If they order a white hot dog, they yell, "Porker!"
So an order would sound like this: "2 grounds with (meaning 2 ground round burgers with cheese), 2 red, 3 porkers and 2 orders (french fries are an "order")
So that family just bought 2 cheeseburgers, 2 red hots and 3 white hots with two sides of French fries.
:)
I love decoding the orders! Okay, back to quick sausage night....
Easy Marinara Sauce:
2 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes
3 oz. tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped onion (or a tablespoon and a half of dry, chopped onion)
1 tablespoon parsley
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons granulated garlic or one clove crushed and sauteed in olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper.
Pour everything into a 3 quart saucepan. Heat gently. Mash tomatoes if you'd like them smaller. Don't overheat or cook, you get more flavor by undercooking a marinara like this.
Sausage links or patties or bulk:
Saute until cooked in frying pan with a splash of olive oil.
Rigatoni (cooked as directed)
Parmesan cheese (if desired)
Mozzarella cheese (if desired)
Cook sausage until done, then cut into bite-sized pieces. Cook pasta. Drain pasta. Layer pasta onto plate, then some sauce, sausage, more sauce. Top with cheese. Microwave just long enough for mozzarella to melt, about 30-40 seconds.
Dave loved this. A fun, easy meal that goes straight to a man's heart!
And this is what happens when you're not watching a small child and there are cupcakes on the counter: (a very quiet child who can move a chair or stool with great stealth!)
Oh, Finn!!!!! A wise man is always on the lookout for cookies and cakes!
And we've got NO SNOW pics here, we're still on the far side of the jet stream curve, so when this publishes on 2/4, we will have enjoyed a balmy 50++ degree day yesterday...
With rain!
El Nino is giving us a taste of mild to make up for last year's crazy two months of super cold with 3 feet on the level snow pack. And we're okay with that in Western New York, (unless you're doing snow plowing or running a ski resort/shop because then you're staring at the sky and wondering what in the name of Sam Hill has happened????)
I'm busily doing edits and getting ready to launch new books in March, and we will be doing some giveaways RIGHT HERE IN THE CAFE!!!! I'm going to treat you to some of Angelina's and Isabo's recipes from the Kitchen at the Double S Ranch, so stay tuned! Copies of "Back in the Saddle" might be coming your way in the next week or two!
Ruth Logan Herne loves that she's managed to raise her family, help with numerous others, innoculated pigs, fed and milked cows, birthed puppies and is now living the dream of writing novels that tempt the heart and soothe the soul! Join in with her antics on facebook, stop by her WEBSITE, or visit with Ruthy, Missy and a bunch of other great folks at their sister blog SEEKERVILLE.
COMING MARCH 15th!!!!
That cover is amazing! Imagine me with big pink heart eyes.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it amazing! What a hunk!!
DeleteThey did such a great job! And I've heard a rumor that cover #2 is JUST AS GOOD!!!! :)
DeleteThis sounds like a winner since I love Italian cooking. Yum. Thanks Ruthy.
ReplyDeleteSandra, Dave loved it! If you ask him, he'll say he doesn't like marinara... but he did, I just didn't call it marinara. He's such a guy!
DeleteI must add how much I've enjoyed the Mighty Finn on your facebook and here. smile
ReplyDeleteOh my stars, Finn is so fun to work with, he's a natural who just goes off in his own little world. Big news coming about a line of Kindle Mighty Finn books!!!!
DeleteMarvelous. I bet those will really be fun.
DeleteWhat a fun restaurant! The recipe sounds delicious! Of course, I would love pasta with just about anything on it. LOL
ReplyDeleteMissy. We should do a retreat up here along Lake Ontario sometime and we'll go there. You'd love it! And Abbott's Frozen Custard!!!! Reason enough to come upstate, although they just put one in South Carolina!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT????
DeleteSounds like a wonderful retreat!
DeleteLove that cover, Ruthy. And the rigatoni. I love Italian sausage. I do a baked ziti type dish with it quite often.
ReplyDeleteRigatoni.... Mmm...... And thank you for kudos on the cover, I am (quite possibly) staring at Colt RIGHT NOW. :)
DeleteI want rigatoni, and a red with an order please, LOL. I'm trying to get off some of the holiday lbs. and RUTHY is talking about my favorite foods, yikes!
ReplyDeleteAnd now you've enlisted the help of Finn to tempt me with cookies and cakes.
It's all virtual at this point, so whew. But I do see all of the above in my near future.
One question, how do you managed to cook all the good stuff you do and not eat it all or gain weight? If I make it I have to eat it, I even bought my husband his birthday cake last month so I wouldn't be tempted to lick the bowl or frosting beaters. I'm still trying to figure out how to cook good food without tasting everything, eating everything and then finishing off everything!
Tracey, I try to cook the healthier stuff instead of all the cookies and cakes I want to make. :)
DeleteI am a taster. But I think after that, portion control is important. And then resist the temptation to finish off the extras! :) I'm there with you on that. I don't really know the answer!
I'm not a big eater. And I don't eat three meals/day, maybe two. Sometimes one. I don't have a huge appetite, and I get full easily, so those things are nature's control, right? I do love sugar, so I have to ignore it and pretend it's not here, and I give myself a goal. (Ruthy and goals, SHOCKER!!!!) :) Like if I can eat carefully for 2 weeks, I get a Sunday to let loose. Or my holiday "Pre-emptive" strike, as Beth calls it. That way I don't end up gaining weight over Christmas because I took off a few pounds before. But mostly I think I was born with a frenetic metabolism.
DeleteFrenetic has its own built-in bonus!!!! :)
But Tracey, I think it's okay for us to have a little padding! I know too much isn't healthy for us, but a little???? A little must be okay! :)
DeleteOkay, another thing I learned from (shh...) family members. I don't finish everything. I don't finish up after my kids, and I didn't push them to eat a full plate, either. In one side of our family, the moms were always doing that, and I didn't see the sense in it. I hate throwing things away, but if me eating it makes me heavy, it's still a waste, right? So I changed that old-world habit because it didn't make sense. (And ask if I got scolded? Go ahead, ask, I double dog dare you, LOL!)
DeleteI'm a Yankee.
I learned the art of smile and nod and make my own choices, but boy, it took a while!!!!
Lol Ruthy, a little padding is OK, but I'm working on the surplus over that. I don't have a big appetite either, but when it comes to desserts and sweets I don't seem to have much discipline, which is strange as I am in so many other areas.
DeleteI never made my kids eat everything either, it just never made sense to me, they had their own likes and dislikes just like we all do.
All I need is one of those frenetic metabolisms, mi e seems to have slowed to a crawl :)
This looks fabulous and so filling, thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteYou are so welcome, LSAL! :)
DeleteMy guys will love this, Ruthy! It's going on next week's menu. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd the restaurant - such fun! I love sitting near the kitchen in a place like that and listen to the staff and their jargon.
Oh, and I'll have a porker, and my hubby will have a ground and an order. Can we get that to go?
Order up!
DeleteIf I had known the Mighty Finn showed up here, as well as on Facebook, I'd have been here long ago. I think this is my first venture through your doors, and I'm loving it! Thanks. And I'd love a copy of BACK IN THE SADDLE, Ruthy!
ReplyDeleteMarianne, come back the next few Thursdays... I'm not sure which ones will be giveaways, but we're happy to see you and I'll gladly toss your name into the soup pot!
DeleteI'll skip the sausage but thanks for the marinara sauce recipe! I'll definitely be making that. And sneaky Finn...a warrior does have to keep up his strength though. Hunting and foraging for food is definitely a warrior skill too.
ReplyDeleteFinn has most assuredly learned the trait of STEALTH.... He moves like a silent specter.... Until he giggles!
DeleteLOVE this recipe. I buy the sausage without the casings and stir it in after I cook it. All in all, no matter how you make it..yumola!
ReplyDeleteMan, I was craving grilled cheese after hanging out at Seekerville, but now you have me wanting this!
ReplyDelete