Creamy Penne Pasta with Sausage

This dish is a total sausage-fest, dudes.

Sorry, I just couldn't help saying that.  Those responsible have been sacked.  Anyhoo, this dish is just something I whipped up one night when I didn't have a lot on hand nor did I have anything planned.  It came about pretty dang great, for a quick dish, anyway, so I decided to add it to my repertoire.

Creamy Penne Pasta with Sausage

1 Lb Penne Pasta, Cooked Al Denté
12 Oz Smoked Sausage (or what have you)
2-3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Large Yellow Onion, Diced
6 Oz or so Crimini Mushrooms or Similar, Sliced
1 Cup White Wine
2 Tablespoons Italian Dressing
1.5 Cups Heavy Cream
1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
4 Oz Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Heat oil over medium heat in skillet.

We had some store-bought smoked sausage on hand, so that's what I used.

It ain't bad, but it ain't exactly ambrosia either.  Use what you like.  Some hot Italian sausage would be great.  Andouille?  C'est Bon!  Chorizo, Muy Bueno.  Shoot, buy some fresh sausage and smoke your own.  Whatever you do, just make sure it is something you and your guests like.

Slice sausage into quarter inch thick disks.

Sauté these in the oil for a couple minutes a side, just to wake 'em up a bit.

Remove from skillet and reserve.

Dice your onion.

Slice your mushrooms.

Add the diced onion and sauté for a few minutes.  Add the sliced mushrooms and do the same.

Add the white wine and stir to break up any browned bits.  Simmer until the wine is reduced by a half.

Next up, the Italian dressing.

Use whatever kind you like.  This is one of them there secret ingredients.  Adds a little zing to the dish.

Add the heavy cream and reduce heat to low.

Let simmer a few minutes, stirring frequently.  During this time, add the Italian seasoning.

This isn't something I use a lot.  I generally prefer to make my own blends of herbs for whatever dish I'm making.  But someone once brought this seasoning to my house and left it, so I keep it on hand now and use it in times like these, when I'm being lazy, or just when I'm going for a 'general' Italian flavor without putting too much effort into it.

Return sausage to the sauce and warm through.  Add the Parmesan at the very end and stir.

Serve over the pasta with a little extra Parmesan on top.

Enjoy!

Chris

Roman Chicken

So at the start of all the recipes here on An Eat’n Man I like to tell a little hoopdedoodle  about the dish, you know, its history, origins, interesting trivia, whatnot.  Well, for this dish—I got nothin.’  I’ve searched high and low for info about Roman Chicken, from Apicius to Zed and I got zero.  I’ve found lots of recipes for it on the net, most penned by Giada De Laurentiis.    In fact, after much searching, I was beginning to think that Giada invented the dish herself, but I found a reference on Nigella Lawson’s site that mentioned tasting the dish in Rome in the 70s, so perhaps it does predate Giada. 

As to what is particularly Roman about the dish, I think that perhaps this just means it is a dish popular in Rome the city, and not any connection to Ancient Rome.  (The ancients wouldn’t have had access to bell peppers or tomatoes, which are native to the Americas)

Anyhoo, regardless of where the dish comes from, it is a tasty and unique way to feature chicken, so let’s give it a try.    

Roman Chicken

2-4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1 Red Bell Pepper, Julienned

1 Yellow Bell Pepper, Julienned

4 Oz Prosciutto

3 Cloves Garlic, Chopped

1 14 Oz Can Diced Tomatoes

2/3 Cup White Wine

1 Tablespoon Fresh Thyme, Chopped

1 Tablespoon Fresh Oregano, Chopped

1/2 Cup Chicken Stock

2 Tablespoon capers

Fresh Parsley

Heat the olive oil medium hot in a large skillet.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sauté it until browned but not necessarily cooked through.  

While the chicken is cooking, julienne your bell peppers 

and the prosciutto. 

Remove the chicken from the skillet and add the bell peppers and cook until the peppers are soft and just starting to brown.

Add the prosciutto and cook for a few minutes more.

Add the garlic and cook briefly. 

Add the white wine 

and stir to loosen any browned bits.  Add the tomatoes.

Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. 

Return the chicken to the skillet and simmer until the chicken is cooked through.  

Remove and keep warm. 

Mince the oregano and thyme.  

Add it to the sauce. 

Don’t forget that fresh parsley.  

Chop some up fine and add it to the sauce. 

Oh, and then there's my favorite part--the capers!

Add them to the sauce.   

Serve the chicken with the sauce.  Enjoy!

Until Next Time,

Ciao,

Chris

Chicken Marango

Chicken Marango is one of those old school French dishes that you don't see much anymore, which is a shame, because it's a tasty French dish that departs from the norm by using some predominately Italian ingredients.

The story goes that the dish was invented by Napoleon's chef after the battle of Marango,  Being as the army was in Italy, and were light on provisions, local ingredients were sourced and thus, Chicken Marango was born.  Napoleon was said to have loved it and ate it before (or was it after) every subsequent battle.

Whether this story is true or not is lost in the mists of time, but one thing that is certain is that this recipe has changed over the years, with more modern recipes omitting certain ingredients like eggs and crayfish, and adding mushrooms and red wine.  My version does this as well.  Also, cutting up a whole chicken and using all the various pieces would be more traditional (and perhaps provide a richer, more flavorful dish, with the addition of the dark meat) but tonight it is just the two of us, so I've just done a couple of breasts Marango style.  Sub whatever chicken parts you like.

Chicken Marango

2 Chicken Breasts (or Chicken Parts of your Choice)
3-4  Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/3 Cup Flour
Salt and Pepper
1 Large Yellow Onion, Diced
2 Cups Chicken Stock
5-6 Garlic Cloves, Minced
1 Cup (or so) White Wine
1 Can (14 Oz) Beef Consommé
1 Can (28 Oz) Crushed Tomatoes
6 Oz Mushrooms (White, Cremini or Similar) Sliced
3-4 Oz Large Green Olives
1 Bouquet Garni (Herb Bouquet of Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme and Bay Leaves)


Heat the olive oil in a large skillet.  Dredge the chicken pieces and flour and then season them with salt and pepper.  Sauté the chicken until golden brown but note all the way cooked through.

Set aside and keep warm.

Add more olive oil if necessary and then sauté the diced onion until it begins to turn translucent and slightly golden.

Add the minced garlic at this point and sauté another minute or two.

Add the wine and deglaze the pan at this point.

Allow to simmer a few minutes and then add the chicken stock.  When this is warmed through add the beef consommé

and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Add the sliced mushrooms and allow these to cook through.  Add the bouquet garni at this point.

Add the crushed tomatoes

and bring the liquid back to a simmer.  Return the chicken pieces to the skillet and cook through. Sauce should thicken as the chicken cooks, but if it is not to your liking when the chicken is done, remove them and allow the sauce to continue to cook until thickened.  Remove bouquet garni and discard it.

Serve the chicken with the sauce and the addition of the olives.

Bon Appitit!



Chris

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Farfalle Ronaldo

Ingredients

8 Oz Bow-Tie Pasta
3 Oz Sun Dried Tomatoes
3 Oz Pitted Kalamata Olives
3 Oz Feta Cheese, Cubed
2 Oz Pine Nuts
2 Teaspoons Basil
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

When Romano's Macaroni Grill opened near me in the early '90s, I was thrilled.  This restaurant really took Italian Cuisine to a new level, one heretofore unseen by a chain restaurant.  Over the years, they've changed their menu from time to time, but I'm still pretty happy with their fare.  Except for the fact that they discontinued my favorite dish, Farfalle Ronaldo.

You can still sort of get them to 'manufacture' this dish for you from the build-your-own-pasta-menu, but it just doesn't seem to be the same.  Can't recall why--perhaps there was some ingredient missing.  Anyway, the next best thing is to make it at home--in fact, that may even be the better thing.  I've been making my own version for years.  It's quick, easy, and can be made from ingredients that you probably have on hand, or should.  Here's how:

You could use any sort of olives in this, but the Kalamata are traditional.

Sun Dried Tomatoes come all sorts of ways, including suspended in oil.  These are two oily for me, I just buy them dry.  You can even get them already julienned.

Pine Nuts:  Make sure you get fresh pine nuts.  Because of their high fat content, these can go rancid quite quickly, so avoid buying them in little packets that have been hanging on the grocery store shelf for who knows how long.  I buy them from Central Market in bulk, then freeze them in a ziplock until I need them.

Feta Cheese comes in all sorts of flavors these days.  Just get regular.  Also resist the urge to buy the already crumbled version--the crumbs in these are too small and melt when you mix things.  Buy the block and cube it.

Okay, let's get down to business.


First, get some water boiling in a large pot.  Do the same in a small sauce pan or saucier, then boil your sun dried tomatoes in the small sauce pan.  Let things boil for a few minutes to soften the tomatoes.

Once they are soft, drain them and return them to the same pan.

Add the olive oil and saute them a minute or two.

While this is going on, add your pasta to the now boiling water in the big pot.  Boil for 6-8 minutes, until Al Dente, or to your liking.

You can also cube your Feta right now.

After a couple minutes, add the olives to the sun dried tomatoes.  Olives, with their high levels of fat, taken on a whole new level of flavor when heated through.

Stir the whole concoction with a fork or spoon while its heating, to keep it from scorching on the bottom.

Add the basil.  If you have fresh, you can certainly use that, but our garden was bare when we made this batch, so we used dried.

Add the pine nuts.

Cook another minute or two to let everything heat through.

Keep stirring it from time to time.

Drain your pasta, place some in a bowl, then spoon on your tomato concoction.  Top with some of the feta.  Serve immediately.

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Until Next Time,

Salute!


Chris