Sausage Pasta

Sausage Pasta

Happy twenty twelve! Wowsers i can't believe how the last few years have flown by. It's been twelve years since i celebrated the millennium in Malaysia with school friends, my first big trip without parents it kicked off my love for spicy food & taught me that humid weather is not kind to curly hair. It's been at least seven years since i spent a ski season in Saas Fee, Switzerland where i learnt how to drink every night for six months while not getting liver failure & the beauty of Swiss food. And most fun, it's been almost four years since i swept the Houseboy off his feet while sailing around Croatia, since then i have learnt the joys of Cherry Ripes & Bundaberg Rum & not worrying so much. Fun times. 

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We had Christmas in Scotland which was brilliant as usual, Mrs Rhodes loved having the brood all back & spent the week flapping round the kitchen producing amazing meals & feeding us all till we couldn't move. Luckily the Scottish Borders is a pretty place so there was lots of long walks to be had, despite the fact it was blowing a gale for most of the time. We joined Mr & Mrs Robinson for a night out in Edinburgh starting with an amazing evening trip round Edinburgh Castle, then on to dinner at Maison Bleue where i had a lovely venison dish. We finished up at The Whiski Rooms on the Mound for a nightcap, there i tried a 'Smokey Mary' a twist on a traditional Bloody Mary with the addition of 10 year old Ardbeg...i couldn't drink more than one at a time, but it was very good. New Year was spent at the Piano Bar in South Kensington, London which was Mr Bird's great choice. Small & intimate it was a fun evening of Champagne & piano playing, although we all relatively behaved ourselves i did wake up on January the 1st lying on a pile of clean washing in the spare room (apparently i went to turn off a light) while the poor Houseboy suffered the worst hangover in a long time. Not even homemade soup & sympathy could save the poor soul, so i ate all the soup & left him watching cartoons. 

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I've never really been a new years resolutions time of girl, it always feels like jumping on a band waggon which everyone promptly falls off. But, this year i have a few which i would like to undertake. Firstly to blog more (poor you) i initially decided to blog twice a week, but then downgraded to a solid once a week & anything else is a bonus. I guilty of setting goals which are unreachable which then annoys me & i give it up. I'm excellent at starting things but not very good at finishing things. You can see throughout our flat which is littered with half made cushions, half painted pictures & pieces of knitting that could be the start of a scarf. Losing a little weight is also kind of a goal (ironic given i'm writing this while eating Mrs Rhodes' excellent Christmas Cake) so there will be more spinning classes & less baking. 

After all the festivities January should be filled with healthy options, but the does the current weather really make you want to have a salad (it's tipping down with rain in London Town) so gently ease into the healthy food with a warning sausage dish. Use decent quality sausages as it makes all the difference, also you could add vegetables to this dish, Courgettes, Mushrooms, anything that takes your fancy. 

Ingredients:

• 6 good quality sausages
• 160g sun blushed tomatoes
• a good splash of red wine
• 7 shallots 
• 1 clove of garlic
• 300g of rigatoni pasta
• s&p

Method:

Put the pasta onto boil in salted water, while its bubbling away slice the sausage into chunks add to a hot pan with a slug of olive oil. After a few minutes quater the shallots, crush the garlic & slice the sun blushed tomatoes. Add all three ingredients to add to the pan along with the wine. Let it simmer away for a couple of minute & then turn the heat right down. Check the pasta & when it's ready, drain & add the sausage. Mix well & serve straight away. You could throw caution to the wind & sprinkle with some grated cheese. 

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