This is it, hands down. I have never served this pasta to anybody who didn't love it and it's a nice base for variations - use hot sausage, add extra veggies, whatever.

Becky

* Exported from MasterCook *

Penne in Cream Sauce with Sausage

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion -- thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves -- minced
1 pound sweet Italian sausage -- casings removed
2/3 cup dry white wine
1 can diced peeled tomatoes with juices -- (14 1/2 ounce)
1 cup whipping cream
6 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
1 pound penne pasta
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter with oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until golden brown and tender, about 7 minutes. Add sausage and sauté until golden brown and cooked through, breaking up with back of spoon, about 7 minutes. Drain any excess drippings from skillet. Add wine to skillet and boil until almost all liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices and simmer 3 minutes. Add cream and simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in 4 tablespoons parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. (Sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta; transfer to large bowl.

Bring sauce to simmer. Pour sauce over pasta. Add 3/4 cup cheese and toss to coat. Sprinkle with remaining
1/4 cup cheese and 2 tablespoons parsley.

Bon Appétit : February 1997
by Landini Brothers Restaurant
Alexandria, Virginia

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I go through stages. The past few months, I've been addicted to Donna's cream sauce:

SUN DRIED TOMATO CREAM SAUCE

3 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, minced (I get the jar packed in oil0
2 cups heavy cream
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup dill, chopped (optional)

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta. Drain, reserving some of the cooking water.

While the pasta is cooking:

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion until soft and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and sauté about 1 minute. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes and cream. Simmer until slightly thickened.

Pour the sauce over the pasta, add salt and pepper. Toss. If the sauce is too thick, you can thin it with some of the reserved pasta cooking water or a bit of milk. Top with Parmesan.

Makes 2-3 servings

I've used angel hair pasta, bowtie, rotini, etc.

So far IâÂÂve tried it with salmon and mushrooms
Shrimp and broccoli
Chicken and asparagus

Great, it's 9:00 in the morning and I want to go home and make this! LOL

Guess I'm Old Fashoned or just like the Old Recipes.

I like my Meat Sauce over a bed of Ravioli's,
sprinkled with Parmesan Cheese.
That's what we will be having Thanksgiving, along with Ham and Turkey and Stuffing.
What can I say ??? Tradition !!!

Everyone's invited.
LOU

My attempt to lose weight means that I've only had one real pasta meal all year. (Weepy) But I still remember what pasta tastes like. My favorites: spaghetti carbonara (love that raw egg), fresh tortellini, linguine al la vongole, fresh pesto on fusilli. I'm not going to post any recipes - too (weepy).

Pasta or pasta sauce?

For a sauce I like garden tomatoes just brought to a gentle simmer with onions, mushrooms, garlic, EVOO, and rosemary. A little mozzerella cheese grated in towards the end so it melts into long strings. Thickened with parmeasan but not to thick... the garlic bread needs a little juice to mop up. At the table I add S&P to taste.

Hard to beat simple. Meat can be added but I most often prefer the quick and easy meatless sauce. Between the cheese and olive oil there is plenty to give it body.

My father a couple times made a egg and flour dough that he rolled out and cut into noodles. Used them in a stroganoff dish. I should play around and see what I get.

: )
lyra

Whatever i am currently eating....currently have a mojo for linguini with clam sauce....just linguini with canned clams warmed in olive oil with lots of fresh garlic and lots of fresh grated parm reggiano!
And pesto....got lots of pesto int he freezer to remind me of summer on those cold winter nights!

I love all kinds of pasta, but only eat it once in a while due to DH's low-refined-carb lifestyle. John, we've been doing this for 15 or so years now. I found Barilla Plus - it contains some legume flour and tastes fine, not like some other "alternative" pastas. I make pasta on occasion and only as a side dish. Besides DH and I need our carb loading times for ping pong practice - that's my story! Especially when we have guests I'll whip up a big lasagna. I wish I could have it every day (weeping with you!)

Healthy Pasta

6 oz Hodgdon Mills Flax Pasta
3 tbs. olive oil
3-4 cloves chopped garlic
8-10 pitted ripe olives quartered
1/4 cup scant sun dried tomatoes
2 tbs. roasted peppers
10-12 1" mozzarella balls, quartered
3 oz prosciutto
1/2 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and then sliced

Garnish:
Fresh basil, sliced thin (optional)

Cook pasta al dente. In the last minute of cooking add zucchini. While pasta is cooking, put oil in a microwave e safe bowl, add garlic and cook in microwave 45 seconds. Allow to rest while pasta finishes cooking.

Drain pasta. Remove garlic from oil and discard. Mix oil into pasta. Toss in remaining ingredients. Mix and serve immediately with fresh grated parmesan cheese.

Thin spaghetti with butter, cream and asiago added to the cooked pasta after draining and back in the pot. Lots of toasted walnuts served on top. Maybe a little sauteed garlic if I feel like it and fresh basil if I have it.

We can't get enough of this with spaghetti or fettucini
and made with basil from the garden.

Pesto - from Italian TV Cook Program

4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teasp salt
1/2 teasp f.g. pepper
1/2 cup parmesan grated
1/2 cup pine nuts (2 small jars)
teasp water

Process in food processor, adding oil slowly until you reach desired consistency.

SharonCb

This is my new favorite. I made this up from several recipes for butternut squash soup and tried to duplicate the taste of Dave's Gourmet Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce. Since I can not get Dave's sauce locally, (had it when in CA)and cannot afford price to order online, I made up my own and think it is pretty darn good.

Butternut Squash Sauce

Ingredients
⢠2 cups butternut squash, cut in chunks
⢠1/2 large Vidalia or sweet onion
⢠1/2 small apple, peeled and cored
⢠ý small red bell pepper,
⢠1 small stalk celery (about 4-5 â long) ,
⢠1 clove garlic,
⢠1- 2 tablespoons tomato paste I use kind in tube is more concentrated
⢠1 tsp sugar
⢠ý to 3/4 cup half and half I used fat free because that is what I had. Amount will vary depending on âÂÂthicknessâ of cooked veggies.
⢠1 tsp table salt
⢠1/8 tsp black pepper
⢠1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
⢠1/8 tsp ground nutmeg I just grate from whole nutmeg till I think is enough
Instructions:
Cut all veggies and apple into chunks and put on baking sheet, roast at 375 for about 30-40 min until soft and beginning to caramelize. Leave garlic whole but peel
When cool place all veggies and apple and other ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. Thin with water and half and half. Until desired thickness. Or use vegetable broth to thin. I do not like taste of chicken broth in this.
Re-heat before serving over favorite pasta, I like penne. Add freshly grated parmesan to top.

Not Dave's but pretty darn close and very low calorie as there is no added fat if you use the FF half and half.
johnliu, you might want to try this with some of the wheat pasta. Low fat, high fiber....
Murphy

Does anyone like squash noodles? SWMBO makes these sometimes. I find them a very decent stand-in for pasta in some dishes that are more about the sauce. And they are disgustingly healthy.

Johnliu, do you mean spaghetti squash? Haven't had any for a long time but I remember really liking it. Just plain w/ butter, salt & a little pepper. Never sauced it. Tried to find some around the farmers' mkts. this summer & never saw it. Crazy expensive at the store & no telling how fresh it is.

Probably my favorite pasta recipe is Spaghetti Carbonara.

My kids love the Peas 'n Pasta Salad w/ bacon that I adapted from the original Frugal Gourmet cookbook.

Becky's Penne w/ Sausage sounds wonderful. Am making a copy of the recipe to try soon.

Yes, spaghetti squash. Try saucing it, even my kids eat that. I think I'll try making a low(er) calorie carbonara with it - there's some recipes out there that simply replace the pasta with the squash, and certainly Emeril knows what he's about.

We love this! It's time-consuming because of the julienning and roasting of the vegetables, but definitely worth it. I use whatever pasta I want...spaghettini, fettucini, penne

Giada's Pasta Primavera

3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
2 medium zucchini or 1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips
2 yellow squash, cut into thin strips
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence
1 pound farfalle (bowtie pasta)
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Transfer half of the vegetable mixture to another heavy large baking sheet and arrange evenly over the baking sheets. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.

One of our favorites from a friend who grew up in Rome:

Gianfranco's Pasta (Pasta with Sausage, mushrooms, and
Parmesan cheese).

Servings: 6
1 pound Pasta, Penne, Rigatoni, and bowties work well)
4 sausage links, Sweet, no fennel
10 Oz Mushrooms, sliced
3-4 Garlic cloves, Chopped fine
1 C Grated Parmesan cheese

Prepare pasta according to directions (Penne, Rigatoni, and bowties work well here)- make sure not to overcook.

Meanwhile, remove sweet sausage from casing and saute in a fry pan, breaking it up as you cook it. Add Gar;ic halfway through cooking.

Slice mushrooms and add to cooking sausage until they are both well cooked - keep warm.

When pasta is done, drain (reserve some pasta water) and toss with sausage/mushroom mixture and grated cheese.

Add some of the reserved cooking water if pasta seems dry.

John we tried the spaghetti squash, and no, it does not taste like pasta. At. All. LOL. It tastes like squash. If you just want some of these fabulous pasta sauces, but no pasta, try them over flattened chicken breasts - the chix breasts are so bland and boring, they NEED sauce anyway! Or if you are still eating rice, try them over rice.

No way I could pick just one. I love the Pioneer Woman's Pasta Primavera. I love Pasta Carbonara, Tetrazini, Fettucine Alfredo, Chicken Spaghetti and that Angel Hair Pasta one with fresh chopped raw tomatoes, fresh raw basil with garlic infused olive oil.

Gina:
You are a nut LOL !!! but what you said is true.

Beverlyal:

Yor are right How could I pick just one ???
and I love all of them.

Canary Bird :
Put in one , Pasta with Pesto Sauce.

Aglio e Oilo,
Aglio e Oilo w Red Pepper sauce
Pasta e Ceci ( garbanzo beans )or Chick Peas.
Pasta Fasulli ( Beans and macaroni )
Pasta with Calamari in Red Sauce.
Pasta with Lentils. Chicken Flavored.
Pasta with Brocolli.
That's it, I quit ! Getting hungry.

If anyone wants a Recipe ,I'll Post it.
LOU

We love this one from Marilyn, who was on this forum some years ago. It's a really good recipe and this is how she posted it:

Posted by DanaIN (My Page) on Tue, Jan 6, 04 at 15:36

This is the recipe I made from Tyler FlorenceâÂÂs Real Kitchen cookbook.

Spaghetti with Peas and Pancetta
=============================

1/2 (8 ounces) pound spaghetti (I used 6 ounces linguini)
Extra-virgin olive oil (I omitted this)
6 ounces pancetta or thick-cut bacon, diced (I used bacon)
1 onion, minced
1 bay leaf
1 cup sweet peas, frozen or fresh (I used frozen)
1 ounce goat cheese (I used Feta cheese)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (I used 1/3 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Juice of 1 lemon (I left this out completely.
I tried a little on a small amount of finished pasta dish and did not like it nearly as well as I did without it.)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil, hand torn

In a large stockpot, cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water.

At the same time, heat a 2-count drizzle of olive oil (I didnâÂÂt do this because I used bacon) in a large skillet over medium-low heat.
Add the pancetta (bacon), and stir it around. When the fat starts to render, after about 3 minutes, add the onion and bay leaf.
Cook and stir until the onion caramelizes, about 10 minutes (it took longer). (I drained off the bacon fat.)
Now add the peas and cook for 2 minutes just to heat them through.
Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the starch water for the sauce. Fold the goat (feta) cheese into the hot pasta and give it a toss so it melts.
Scrape the pancetta, onions, and peas into the pasta pot (toss the bay leaf).
Add the Parmigiano, parsley and lemon juice (I left out the lemon juice).
Slowly pour in the reserved pasta water to dissolve the cheese and thin it out to a sauce consistency.
Hit it with a healthy dose of olive oil (I did not do the addition) and quite a few turns of freshly ground black pepper to give it bite.
Return the noodles to the pot and gently toss to coat in the sauce.
Split the pasta between 2 large bowls and shower it with the shredded basil. (I tossed the basil in the pasta in the pot before serving).
I garnished leftovers with extra feta cheese.

This makes much more than two normal size serving.

Marilyn

These are three of my all time favourite pasta dishes. The Penne is served at our favourite Italian restaurant and is remarkably good for being so simple.

Gina's Lemon Scampi is often on our menu. So easy and fast but oh so good!

The Puttanesca is for nights I'm feeling naughty. I usually serve it with chicken or veal Parmesan.

Penne Calabrese

2 pound Italian sausage -- Sliced In 1/4 Inch PiECES
4 cups plum tomatoes -- Peeled And crushed
1 sweet red pepper -- sliced
1 sweet yellow pepper -- sliced
1 jalapeno -- sliced thinly
1 1/2 pound penne
olive oil
Grated Parmesan

Combine all ingredients except olive oil and penne. Cook over low
heat for 2 - 3 hours. Cook the penne and drain, toss with the olive oil.
Toss penne with the sauce and serve with gated Parmesan.

Lemon Linguine With Scampi (Gina)

Vegetable oil
1 TBSP kosher salt plus 1/2 teaspoons
3/4 lb linguine
3 TBSP unsalted butter
2 1/2 TBSP good olive oil
1 1/2 TBSP minced garlic (4 cloves)
1 lb large shrimp (about 16 shrimp) -- peeled
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 lemon -- zest grated
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 lemon -- thinly sliced in half-rounds
1/8 tsp hot red pepper flakes

Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.
Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.
When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.

Pasta Puttanesca

1 pound spaghetti or linguine
2 Cans best grade Italian plum
tomatoes
1/4 cup best quality olive oil
1 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to
taste)
1/2 cup black olives, Sliced
1/4 cup capers, drained
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 anchovy fillets , chopped
coarsely (or less)
1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped

Drain the tomatoes and cut in half. Combine the tomatoes and olive
oil in a skillet and bring to a boil. Keep the sauce at a boil and add
all remaining ingredients except pasta, stirring as you add. Reduce
heat and simmer until the sauce has reached a consistency you like.

Meanwhile bring 4 quarts salted water to the boil. Cook pasta until
tender but still firm. Drain and toss with sauce. Serve immediately
with fresh grated parmesan.

What a great Thread! Can't wait to try so many of these.

My favourite pasta cookbook is "Pasta Fresca," by Viana La Place & Evan Kleinman (all their books are great). And, my favourite recipe in their book because it is fast, easy, and so very good is Spaghetti Simonetta. It makes a fantastic side dish or can just be on it's own. I have added baby kale, chard, basil, smoked tuna, spinach, and all are wonderful but it will swoon you without any additions.

I am going to put my variation of it here, it is cheaper than the one that they faithfully reproduced from the original created by Simonetta, an Italian postwar fashion designer who had her own couture house in Paris. She wrote a fascinating little cookbook, "A Snob in the Kitchen." My version uses lots less saffron (Simonetta put it in the pasta water) and more garlic and butter (but not much more).

Spaghetti Simonetta

Pinch Saffron
2 Tablespoons white wine
1 pound imported spaghetti (spaghettini, angel hair, and capellini are great too)
1/4 cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, more for serving
Freshly ground black pepper

Crumble and soak a pinch of saffron in 2 Tablespoons white wine.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions.

Mash the butter, garlic, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and saffron together in a large bowl. (I use a large plastic bowl because it won't cool the pasta the way a metal or glass bowl would.)

When the pasta is ready reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta, and add to the bowl. If it seems a bit dry, add some of the pasta water.

I Like Johnny Marsetti-Its elbow maccaroni made like spagetti,I fry chopped onions,parsley,chopped peppers,add spagetti sauce,cook elbow maccaroni.Put cheddar and motzerella cheese on top put in oven few minutes to melt.

For some reason this has become our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. Ripped this recipe out of a magazine years ago - Women's Day/Better Homes & Gardens?

Fusilli with Seafood

1 lb large shrimp
1 lb sea scallops (bay scallops work also)
olive oil
1 clove sliced garlic (I use more)
2 chicken boullion cubes
1 1/2 tsp dried chervil
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 16 oz package fusilli
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced (I've used canned in a pinch)
1 8 oz bottle clam juice
2 bunches watercress (I use a package of spinach)
2 TB butter

Shell and devein shrimp, rinse scallops and pat dry with paper towel.

In 12 inch skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil (enough to cover pan) and cook garlic until golden.

Discard garlic. Add shrimp, scallops, boullion, chervil and thyme. Cook until shrimp and scallops are opaque. Stirring often.

Remove shrimp & scallops to a bowl with a slotted spoon, set aside.

Prepare pasta according to package directions.

In skillet with remaining liquid (add more oil if needed), add mushrooms and cook until tender. Add clam juice, heat until simmering.

Add watercress and butter, stirring until watercress wilts. Return shrimp and scallops to pan to heat through.

Drain pasta and top with seafood mixture.

Gina, have you tried that new Dreamfields pasta? It's supposed to be low carb, like 5 or 6 grams of carbs per serving, more fiber and something about glycemic index, it's supposed to be safe for diabetics. I don't know what it tastes like but Elery's BIL is diabetic and he says it's good.

Yeah, I know I'm weird. I don't like white pasta, I like whole wheat pasta, or some other flavor. I'm also not wild about red sauces and the combination of tomatoes and onions are guaranteed to give me heartburn, for some reason.

I do, occasionally, toss some onion and garlic into a pan with a bit of olive oil, add a couple of diced fresh tomatoes from the garden, add cooked pasta. Stir it up well, salt, pepper, a sprinkle of parmesan. I only do this when I have good tomatoes in season and lots of Tums on hand.

I have made this fresh basil pasta and it was pretty good with just a pat of butter, a sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan and some salt and pepper:

Basil Noodles

8 servings

1-1/4 cups fresh basil leaves
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons olive oil

Place basil in a food processor; cover and process until finely chopped. Add flour; process until blended. Add eggs, water and oil. Process for 15-20 seconds or until dough forms a ball. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes.

Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Divide into fourths.
On a floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/16-in.
thickness. Roll up jelly-roll style and cut into 1/4-in. slices. Separate and unroll the slices. Hang to dry or let stand on a clean towel for 1 hour. Cook noodles in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes or until tender; drain.

Nutrition Facts: 1 cup equals 208 calories, 3 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 79 mg cholesterol, 27 mg sodium, 36 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 7 g protein.

I think I'll try these again, maybe with a cup of whole wheat to start, see if I can get them a bit more "whole grain" and a bit less "white flour paste".

Somehow time got away from me when I had a ton of fresh basil this summer.....

Annie