Out and About, at Last

I was finally able to get to the recycling center - when they were actually open. Too bad it was only 10 degrees and the wind was coming from the north.

Mission accomplished. I've done my part to help save the planet today. Now, onward and upward... (echo, echo, echo...)

Ah, what a lovely morning. Again with the icky cold, though. What do you mean it's -4 degrees outside? And why am I outside taking pictures?

If you click on this picture and the next, you will see that the deer (and a 4-wheel vehicle) were busy in our yard.

Have I mentioned that it was cold?

Well, I've had enough of the cold. I'm heading back into the kitchen.

I have had the idea for this dish for some time now. I found a recipe from Williams-Sonoma's web site for Pasta Rustica with Chicken Sausage and Three Cheeses. Obviously, I will be substituting turkey sausage for the chicken. I also opted to make a half recipe as I only needed enough food for three people.

My mise en place includes dried oregano, red pepper flakes, dried basil, salt, canned crushed tomatoes, tomato paste (since I couldn't find canned tomatoes in puree), penne pasta, Ricotta cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Fontina cheese, onion, garlic and turkey sausage.

The recipe says to remove the casing from the sausages. Ooookay, that was fun.

Since I don't need all of the sausages for the recipe, the rest went into a labeled zipper-top bag and that went into the freezer.

The penne pasta has been cooked to al dente. Now it's time to work on the sauce. (And bonus points to those of you who noticed that I disregarded the recipe instructions on this point.)

First the onion sautes in some olive oil.

Then the minced garlic is added....

before the sausage is brought into play.

Work to break up the sausage as it cooks.

Then we add the herbs and red pepper flakes. The heat releases the essential oils and perfumes into the air.

Now the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste are added to the pan.

Yep, this is red.

Stir in the pasta...

And then the Ricotta and Fontina cheeses.

But wait; we're not done yet.

Sprinkle the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over top. Then this bakes for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

I smell food.

Some toast with butter and garlic salt complete this simple meal. Alas, my plans for a nice salad were foiled by the lack of lettuce in my refrigerator. Blast that snow!

The Italian Rosso that I bought the other day was opened for this meal.

The good news is that we all liked this dish - a lot. I can't tell you what an accomplishment that was!