2002-07-02 - 4:53 p.m.
Slow, slow week so far. I�ve got an article due yesterday, but I�m too busy shipping the August issue, and since this is the week before a major national holiday, no one I need to interview will be returning calls anyway. But hey, at least the freeways are relatively clear--what with all the useless terrorism alerts making everyone afraid to leave the house between now and July 5, and all.
Me, I�ll actually be quite surprised if anything terroristic happens this weekend at all. One thing that living in California--land of earthquakes, brush fires, floods, riots, locust plagues and O.J. Simpson--is that the likelihood of a disastrous event on a specific date is inversely proportional to the amount of handwringing in the weeks leading up to that date. Of course, I could be wrong--which is why I just covered my ass back there--but remember Y2K?
Anyhoo. I don�t have much to write about today, so I guess I�ll post a recipe. I�ve made this twice in the last week, with slightly different ingredients the second time because I ran out of mustard. I think the second time turned out better, but it�s your call.
Whole wheat pasta with sausage, mustard and caramelized onions
6 oz. spicy link sausage (I used some turkey sausage with jalapenos and jack cheese, courtesy of the Big Gay Ralphs)
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 large onions, cut into thin rings
1/2 lb. whole wheat pasta (the cookbook recommends fettuccini, but I used penne, which is all I had on hand and holds sauce better anyway)
2/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
1 tbsp. gourmet mustard (I was out of mustard the second time, so I substituted turmeric and it turned out yummy)
salt
freshly ground black pepper
Slice the sausage into thick rounds and fry in the oil for 4 minutes. Add the onion rings. Continue cooking, covered, stirring every so often as the onions start to soften.
Cook pasta in boiling water until it�s ... tender but firm ... al dente ... you know, done. Drain.
After about 15-20 minutes, when the onions are golden and caramelized and slightly burned at the edges, add the broth. Bring to a boil, using a spatula to scrape up all the nummy stuff stuck to the pan. Stir in the parsley and the mustard or turmeric. Pour over the pasta and enjoy. Serves 2.
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