Thursday, September 3, 2009

Alexis Cooks: Italian Sausage Fettucine

I love my wife.

I often joke that she's my sous chef, but in actuality, she's more like the general manager here at the "Cafe on The Grove". I might get the people saying "Oh you're such a good cook" but she's the one setting up the kitchen, stocking the pantry, tending the garden, and serving our guests (kids). In all honesty, I've got the easier part of the deal.

But tonight, she got to play Executive Chef and pulled it off perfectly. Rock on, Alexis! We've made this before but tonight the addition of the fresh herbs and pepper just nailed it.
Italian Sausage Fettuccine

Ingredients
5 ea Italian sausage
1 ea yellow onion
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons parsley (subbed 2 T of fresh basil and oregano)
1 pinch cayenne
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons flour
2 cups milk (subbed 1 c milk, 1 cup half and half)
12 ounces fettuccine (subbed vermicelli instead)

added a finely diced red hungarian wax pepper

The herb substitutions helped make this dish tonight, IMO.

Instructions
Make a white sauce by melting the 2 T butter and whisking in the flour. Cook a few minutes and then add the milk or in our case, the milk and half and half. Continue to stir until thickened.

Start the water and boil the pasta. We found that we liked the vermicelli instead of the normal fettuccine. It goes well with this dish, but so would rigatoni or penne.

In another pan, crumble and brown the Italian sausage. We used sweet, but use mild or hot to suit your tastes. As the meat starts to brown, throw in the diced onion and continue cooking until onions are translucent and sausage is cooked through. Add the diced pepper.

Add the garlic powder, herbs, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to the meat mixture, mixing well together.
Toss the meat mixture with the white sauce and simmer while fettuccine is cooking.

Drain and rinse fettuccine. Ladle the meat and sauce mixture over the hot fettuccine.


It's been an hour since dinner and I still feel stuffed. I am a bear that his been hit my a tranquilizer dart on Animal Planet. This dish is just like Alexis, amazing and all kinds of good!


Italian Sausage Fettucine