I received the first issue of my Food & Wine magazine subscription the other day, thanks to my coworker, Melanie, who signed me up for it as a Christmas gift! In this month’s issue there was lots of talk about Napa and wine country (which only makes me want to go back) and all of the recipes looked fantastic but also seem quite doable… and the magazine also reminds me of Bravo’s Top Chef, which reminds me of Tom Colicchio, which I’m not too upset about. Needless to say, I’m one issue in and I can’t wait for the next!
I started looking on foodandwine.com and found a potentially scrumptious recipe with pasta, sausage, basil and mustard. I thought about it and realized I had the majority of these ingredients already. With a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up some pasta and sausage, I was good to go!
Here’s what the recipe calls for (I switched a few things up):
• 1 pound penne or medium shells (I ended up using fusilli since Trader Joes didn’t have shells)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 hot Italian sausages, meat removed from casings and crumbled (about 1 1/2 pounds)- here I ended up using a package of 5 chicken sausages from Trader Joes because a) I enjoy it and b) there isn’t much of a casing so it makes it a little easier to cut and crumble
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons grainy mustard
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• 1 cup thinly sliced basil
Here’s what you do:
1) Cook pasta in a large pot until al dente, drain.
2) In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large skillet and brown the sausage meat until brown, about 5 minutes or so.
3) Add the wine and simmer making sure to scrape up all pieces from the bottom of the skillet, until it is reduced to just about half (about 5 minutes). I really don’t think this could have smelled anyyyy better. Yum!
4) Add the cream, mustard, and crushed red pepper, stir and simmer for an additonal 2 minutes.
5) Remove the skillet from the heat and add the pasta and basil. Stir well and it’s ready to be served!
Add a glass of wine and this heartiness is sure to get you through (hopefully) the last few days of cold weather!
As I was on their website, I saw that Food & Wine is now having quite a deal with their subscriptions! Sign up for a year subscritpion for yourself and recieve a 6 month gift subscription for a friend both for $19.99. This would be a great gift for Mother’s day, Father’s day, or even a nice gift in an Easter basket!
Happy weekend and HAPPY SPRING! 
[Chels]
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chels, that looks yummy! and i like the chicken sausage addition
i made the pasta with peas and asparagus that’s on the front cover for my grandparents. i recommend it!
Chelsee great job with that dinner. I can see why you threw out the pork!! haha, the next time i come over you can make that for me
Great pasta dish! Happy Friday!
wow!! That really looks awesome. Might have to try and make the weight watcher version of it this weekend (vacation got the best of me!)
have a great weekend you two
Hold the phone. Mustard with pasta? Sounds fantastic!
This looks absolutely delicious!!!!
Just reading that is making me hungry – looks fab.! =)
So glad to see that I’m not the only one who loves to make a quick sweep through Trader Joes and adjust a recipe to what they have.
Good work and have a very happy weekend.
all of you pasta lovers must try these recipes with Al Dente Pasta-the brand that cooks in just 3 minutes and tastes exactly like fresh, homemade. packed in clear bag with black check logo and black and white tape at top.
That looks delicious. I’m a sucker for a good pasta dish and that looks like it would never disapoint. I also agree that magazine subscriptions are fantastic. I got quite a few for Xmas and the only problem is that I have a huge stack waiting to be read.
That looks amazing. I want to make that this week.
Chels – I saw this post two days ago and had to try it. I made the dish last night for the Boyfriend and me and it was a hit! Thanks so much for your wonderful recipes and photos!! I have never cooked with wine before and would have had no clue which one to buy. Fortunately, I wrote down the Yellowtail Chardonnay and found it in my local Safeway store. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Unrelated to this post though it looks equally delicious–where do you find the ancho chile powder needed for the Mayan cupcakes? They look so wonderful and I can’t wait to try them!
Hi Elizabeth! I actually used simple chile powder instead of ancho chile powder. However, you can purchase ancho chile powder at any specialty spice store (Penzeys is my favorite!). My dad actually gave me a whole dried ancho chile pepper and my mom said I could put it in my food processor, but I’d have to clean it veryyyy well when I was done!
Let us know if you make them and how they turn out!!
[Sues]
Great Photo!!!
Looks fabulous!
Maybe this was a silly thing to make in July but it’s a cloudy day here in Chicago…. This was a great recipe! I used Italian hot sausage (pork) and half & half (it’s what was in the fridge) to make this recipe, but it was delicious. That mustard made the dish. Good job!
Oh, how I love Food and Wine Magazine (who doesn’t?) and that is a great gift. I’ve never thought of mustard and pasta together but what a great revelation!