Last updated on January 23rd, 2015
This recipe came to me in a rather roundabout way. It was sent by my Uncle Paul Metzger, who isn’t really my uncle. Paul received the recipe from my cousin Jim Arlington, who, for all I know, isn’t really my cousin. Are you confused yet? Let me explain:
Paul Metzger is my paternal grandmother’s brother. Thus he is my father’s uncle, and my grand or “great” uncle. And how great he is! You’ll never encounter a more youthful, intelligent (and therefore open-minded), 90-year-old.
And what about this mysterious “Cousin Jim?” Well, I’ve never met him. But Paul provided Jim’s email address, so I’ll get in touch. He might be a cousin who is twice or thrice removed.
Naturally, I’ll keep you posted on this matter of genealogical significance. Because I know you really, really care.
(Update: mystery solved! Since Jim and I share the same great-grandparents, we are second cousins, with no removable parts whatsoever.)
The recipe in question, Rigatoni alla Salsiccia e Panna, is a definite keeper. The rigatoni pasta is topped with a sexy sauce of sweet Italian sausage (“salsiccia”); heavy cream (“panna”), and fragrant rosemary. It’s a highly-perfumed dish.
First, bring 5 quarts of boiling, salted water to a rapid boil. Then add a pound of rigatoni (a tube-shaped pasta, similar to ziti), and cook until al dente — about 14 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the sauce:
Grab some links of sweet Italian sausage…
And split their casings with a sharp knife.
Remove the casings…
And roughly crumble or chop the meat.
Next, find an attractive stem of fresh rosemary. I obtained the model above from The Berry Farm in Chatham, New York. The Berry Farm grows all kinds of herbs and salad greens in solar-heated greenhouses during winter.
Oh, to have a solar-heated greenhouse.
Strip the needle-like leaves from the stem…
And finely chop them.
Inhale deeply! The perfume of freshly-chopped rosemary leaves is like nothing else on earth. I could swim in the scent.
To cook the sauce, first heat some butter and olive oil in a big skillet.
After the butter melts, add the sausage. Saute the crumbles until they are lightly browned and thoroughly cooked — about 7 minutes.
Then stir in 1 can of diced tomatoes and their juices.
Stir in the rosemary, too.
Then add some heavy cream…
And some minced, fresh parsley.
Drain the pasta, and divide it between 4 plates.
If you are alone, as I was last night when I cooked this dish, just put a heaping helping onto 1 sensibly-sized plate.
Or, go ahead and use 4 plates, and pretend you’ve invited 3 well-dressed guests to dinner.
Hint: Try not to discuss politics or religion with your imaginary friends. Such topics can be toxic at a dinner party.
Spoon the creamy, meaty, herby sauce over each serving…
And dust the works with some freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.
Then pour out some Cabernet Sauvignon…
And tuck into this comforting winter meal!
As you’ve just seen, Rigatoni alla Salsciccia e Panna is a cinch to make. Promise me you’ll try it some day, okay?
To make your life a little easier, here’s a printer-friendly copy-and-paste version of the above:
Rigatoni alla Salsiccia e Panna
A traditional pasta dish, as made by Kevin Lee Jacobs (www.kevinleejacobs.com)
Ingredients for 4 servings
1 lb Rigatoni pasta, cooked al dente per package directions
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb sweet Italian sausage, crumbled
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes and their juices
1 tablespoon fresh, finely-chopped rosemary
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 (or more) generous tablespoons fresh, minced parsley
Freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, for sprinklingHeat the butter and oil in a large skillet over a medium flame. When the butter melts, add the sausage, and saute until browned and cooked through — about 7 minutes. Then stir in the diced tomatoes and their juices, followed by the rosemary, cream, and parsley.
Divide the pasta between 4 plates. Top with the sausage sauce, and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
Wine pairing: Cabernet Sauvignon
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More culinary madness from Kevin’s kitchen:
A Better Focaccia
Creamy Dreamy Mini Quiches (GF)
Lavender Shortbread Cookies
Eliza J says
That looks really good, I’ll give it a try this weekend. Hope things are moving on your cookbook…I have a spot saved on my cookbook shelf 🙂 Best of luck to you!
Helene Willis says
Hi Kevin,
Haven’t been in touch with you for quite awhile. I’m so sorry to have dropped off of the radar, but had to deal with some yucky knee problems.
Anyway, want to let you know that Jim Arlington is my oldest son (I have two..Jim and Stan). Since I am your first cousin once removed, Jim is your first cousin twice removed. I am Uncle Paul’s oldest niece. My mom was Paul/s oldest sister, and kind of like a second mom to him because she took care of Paul quite a bit, I think.
Jim sent this recipe to us, but I’ve not made it yet. Your step by step pictures and narrative have motivated me to put it on the menu for one day this week. Thank you, thank you.
Hope all is going well with you. HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOURS!
Love, Helene
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Eliza J – A little motion on the cookbook this week…we’ll see!
Hi Helene – Nice to hear from you! Thank you for identifying the mysterious “Cousin Jim” as your son! Since I’m a good first cousin twice removed, I sent him a note immediately after posting this recipe.
Jeri says
I will be trying this one out soon. The rosemary in my herb garden still have lots of green growing rosemary leaves! Maybe because its up against the foundation of the house. First year for growing Rosemary and wasn’t sure if it has to be replanted every year or not.
gina says
We are expecting weather, this sounds delightful
Catharine R. says
Made it last night. Soooo delicious! And here’s the best part: I get to have leftovers for lunch today!
Brooklyn Bob says
Love your recipes and the way you present them. I’m going to make this one and also your terrific focaccia (again) this weekend.
Erin Brady says
I will definetly be making this! Looks delicious!
Sheri says
Making this tomorrow. Thank you for all the great recipes and for always making me smile.
Connie says
This food looks so delicious that I can’t believe it’s that easy. I think I will try it this weekend. Thanks for always providing captioned photos and entertainment!
Durf says
This looks delish, must try. But . . . how do you remove a cousin, twice?
Kelly says
This looks divine!! I took notice of your pictures in this post….what’s different? New lighting, new camera? In any case, the post, the writing, the pics, the food are all heavenly! No photo-bombing Beagle? Love Miss Lily!
Iris Rideout says
Kevin, I think you were right about Jim being your 2nd cousin. You ARE Helen’s 1st cousin, once removed but Jim would be your 2nd cousin:
Helen’s mom, sister to –> Paul, brother to –> Kevin’s grandmother
Helen, 1st cousin to ——–> Kevin’s dad
Helen’s son, Jim, 2nd cousin to —-> Kevin
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Kelly – You are right about the lighting in these photos. I recently moved my work station next to a north window in the kitchen. Glad you noticed!
Iris – Thanks for confirming that Jim is indeed my second cousin. Genealogy is not my forte!
Ann says
Oh that looks so delicious and will definitely try it but I am not a fan of rosemary and think I will add basil or oregano…think it will work? Love seeing you every Sunday and hearing what you are up to and all your great recipes….
Kay Hirai says
Kevin, your recipes are simple but so classy. All good enough to serve to company. I love your step-by-step pictures directions infused with tons of humor. By the way, where was your doggie?
Janet says
Hi Kevin<
My mother makes this sometimes on Sundays and it is so good. I love your emails because it is so nice to find out about what you are making.
We are going to have a northeastern Snow storm this coming week. Hope you are doing well.
Sharon says
Once again your newsletter has delivered right to me the perfect Sunday dish. Thank you!
linda faatz says
I so look forward to your blogs. They are always so interesting and recipes are great. Too bad we didn’t live closer to each other I could sample your leftovers!!! It is nice to keep in touch with cousins however removed they are. I have cousins four times removed that come to the reunions each year. Guess i will have to request family recipes this year.
Mary says
Please put a receipe site so I can print out the receipes without all the comments etc.
Thanks
Laura Rankin says
Oh Kevin,
I’m going to make this and use zucchini steamed briefly instead of pasta. But I’m writing today primarily to tell you how much I enjoy your wit. I find myself chuckling all the way through and it’s a great pleasure. Thank you!
Behold says
Kevin, I noticed in a number of your recipes you instruct people to remove casings from the sausage which is fine. But it is easier to just buy bulk sausage without the casings. I hope you can find it in your local grocery store. Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Debbie
Grazyna says
I will definitely try this recipe. I have rosemary plant that I brought inside doing quite well although it could use a good haircut (not enough light). Just perfect for this recipe.
Pat says
Kevin, your rigatoni alla salsiccia looks delicious and I am certainly going to give it a try but I do have a question.why do recipes always show that the pasta is cooked first before the sauce is made? I would think it would be better to have the sauce made so that the pasta would be nice and hot when you put it together.I noticed this in your recipe and lately I have noticed it in many pasta recipes do you know why? Thank you
betty says
wonders of wonders i have all the ingredients –=FOR TOMORROW. and by the way when the day finally comes when we may purchase your cookbook may it be ordered by phone or mail? my computer isnt well enough for any thing fancy as ordering over the internet…betty
Leslie D says
That looks so good and comforting on a cold evening. I love adding rosemary to lasagne as well. I’ll be trying this recipe this week.
Thanks, Kevin.
Theresa Ryan says
Thanks, Kevin, for another yummy recipe topped with a bunch of chuckles. Love your presentations and your charm.
Vivian says
I’m going out now before the ‘storm of the century’ to get sausages, I have everything else. Can’t wait to taste this.
Sue says
You are right about this dish being a “keeper.” Hubby and I plus our two teenage boys loved every bite! Stay safe in the snow!
Rene says
This recipe sounds wonderful. I love rosemary. Do you stir the herbs in and do not cook them?
Judi says
I tried this easy recipe tonight…thanks Kevin! Delizioso!
Carin says
I tried this last night and it was fantastic. We have older in-laws living with us, they always like everything done “their way’ (LOL) so plating dishes individually is never an option, dinners MUST be served so that they can serve themselves with the size portions they like. So instead of topping the rigatoni with the sauce individually, I used one cup of heavy cream instead of 1/2 a cup (I know, “sinful,” but it came out GREAT), cooked it a few minutes more, added a handful of fresh parmesan right in the sauce, and added the cooked rigatoni to the sauce so everyone could take whatever serving size they wanted. The dish was fabulous, came out absolutely perfect, everyone LOVED it. I’m Italian so I cook a lot of Italian dishes, and this dish is a nice addition. Thank you for all your great recipes, I used to do some catering in the past so I always look forward to your emails with your creative recipes, and your hilarious wit always makes me laugh, you are always entertaining. Thanks again!
Vickie P. says
What a delicious and simple dish! So easy and a definite keeper! I was concerned the rosemary may be overwhelming but it wasn’t. Since my hubby and I like spicy food I think I’ll add some red pepper flakes next time.
Keep your recipes coming! I look forward to trying more of them.
Brenda Grimm says
I made this pasta dish yesterday, went by the recipe exactly. Was fabulous, my husband loved it as well. Will definitely make it again. Simple and uncomplicated and loaded with flavor, my kind of main course dish.
Linda Stone says
Hi Kevin, I just made this recipe. I followed it exactly but turned out Pepto Bismol PINK and soupy. Not a bad flavor, but not anything close to your photo. Might you have meant 1/4 cup cream, rather than 1/2 cup? Next time, I will reduce heavy cream by half and see how it turns out.
Judy in northern WI says
With tons of dietary restrictions I’m always looking for recipes I can modify without losing too much of the original intention. This one worked great. No gluten so I used rice penne. No dairy so I used coconut milk and had to skip the Parmesan. No store bought sausage so I used my homemade Italian. Fresh rosemary and parsley, check. Canned tomatoes, an easy one. I only made a quarter batch to try it. It was so good! And so easy! It is definitely in my recipe book now. Thanks.
Ronnie says
Hi Kevin! I made this last night , it’s delicious and so easy to make! Something to warm us up after shoveling the snow…again!!! Thanks 🙂
vivian says
Fabulous as always. Made it with turkey sausage. I had leftovers and they were wonderful too. Thank you for a great source of recipes. I just have to get myself a beagle.
Elaine says
Where’s the garlic bread?
Pam from Issaquah, Wa says
Kevin…..just made this tonite…..yikes!!!! its FABULOUS!!!!! (sp) I didn’t have heavy cream so used 1/2 & 1/2….not sure if it made much of a difference? Anyway….my husband & I could have eaten the whole thing!!!!! This is definitely a keeper and will bring it to ‘family dinner nite’ for sure!!! love your blog, love your wit, love ya!
Pam :>)
Pam from Issaquah, Wa says
oh…forgot to tell you the Cab goes most excellent with this!!!! Had a Pedroncelli Cabernet Sauvignon from Dry Creek Valley, northern California….moowah!!!
reddk Valley in California
Julie R says
Kevin, you had me laughing at the story of your relatives. Thanks for sharing that with us. And this rigatoni recipe with the fancy name looks pretty good. I’m thinking of trying it with ground turkey.