Time for the Comfort that Comes from Comfort Food...

Ever have one of those days when you feel like a broken record? Ever have a month when you feel like a broken record? I'm going through one of those months. My landlord has promised three times he'd have my fireplace ready to go "by the end of the week." Still not done.

Now the Internet in our building is out--again. There have been promises that it will be back up "by this afternoon" three days in a row.

Every time I call, the conversation is the same.

"Any progress yet?"

"Any progress yet?"

"Any progress yet?"

When my life gets like that, I need the comfort that comes from comfort food. Here's a recipe that does the trick, and it's FAST. Much faster than my landlord. If I'm lucky, NEXT week I'll be able to curl up in front of my fireplace and enjoy my pasta there.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving and all that you have to be thankful for. Take comfort in all that you have to be thankful for too. Kiss and hug the ones you love, and have fun. Be safe. I'm thankful for all of you. Happy Thanksgiving.

And to those of you in other lands, all the same sentiments--just without the extra day off this week.

Cheers!

Italian Sausage and Cremini Mushroom Pasta

Makes 2 servings. This is an intimate dinner that can be doubled or tripled for more people.

Ingredients:

1 leek, cleaned and sliced into quarter-inch "circles" (white and light green parts only)
1 Tbl olive oil
8 oz Cremini mushrooms, cleaned and quartered. (These are the same as baby Portobello mushrooms.)
1 Italian sausage per person (Hot, mild or medium--you choose), cut into one-inch chunks
Pasta for 2 (You choose linguini, penne or spaghetti. Follow the package for amount to cook.)
1 25-oz jar of pasta sauce. (I use tomato vodka sauce, but just about any tomato-based sauce will do.)
3/4 cup whipping cream or half-and-half
Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top

In a large saute pan, cook the leek and sliced sausage in olive oil on Medium until the leek is soft and the sausage is half cooked. You'll still see some pink in the middle of the sausage. (About 4 minutes.) Add the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms give off their liquid and the sausage is cooked all the way through. (About 5 minutes more.) Cut a sausage piece open to see that the pink is gone.

While this is all cooking, you can cook your pasta in boiling water. Follow the package instructions for cooking times because, depending on which pasta you choose, cooking time will vary.

Back to the sauce... Add the cream and the pasta sauce from the jar to your saute pan. Stir to combine. Heat just until hot and just simmering. Turn off.

Drain your pasta and put in a large bowl. Pour the sauce on top and stir to combine. Or, alternatively, put your plain pasta on the plate or in individual pasta bowls and pour a portion of sauce on top. It just depends on how you like your pasta served.

Note: These are huge servings because of the amount of sauce you have. You can save some sauce or put in another sausage or two to stretch to serve 3 or 4 people.

Sprinkle grated parmesan on top to your taste. Savor the creamy yet tangy sauce and enjoy!