Skillet pasta puttanesca

I had never had puttanesca sauce before so I wasn't really sure what to expect. 

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But, my husband and I both really like olives (and pasta and cheese), so I thought that this would be a hit. I found a recipe on my friend Christine's blog, Christine's Cuisine, which she had made from a Cook's Illustrated recipe. The recipe was really easy and it was tasty. 

An extra bonus was that it was a one skillet meal (Thanks, Christine)! We ate this on a blustery day with some fresh garlic bread and were quite happy. The recipe below is a slightly modified version. 

My husband is very salt sensitive, so I lowered the salt amount - especially with the salty olives, anchovies, and Parmesan cheese. We also love garlic and red pepper, so I bumped these ingredients up. 

I also used penne pasta instead of ziti. But, overall the recipe is basically the same. I never cooked with anchovies before, but they were not all all offensive in any way and probably help to give the sauce a depth of flavor. This recipe will serve 4 to 6 people. 

Sausage gravy

Happy New Year! I'm always surprised at how quickly each year seems to pass. 2011? Really? I'm not one for making New Year's resolutions, but I am committing to continuing to learn to cook and record the recipes and experiences. 2010 was my first full year of this blog and I'm really enjoying it so far. I'm really happy when I receive a comment or have someone tell me that they tried a recipe and liked it. It makes my day!

The recipe I'm posting today has been a staple at my family's Christmas breakfast as long as I can remember. I did not make it this Christmas because I was not feeling well and had made an easy cranberry-walnut quick bread to take instead. My husband really looks forward to the sausage gravy though, so I promised him that I would make it for us another day. I decided that it would make a good New Year's breakfast, so I just made it this morning. It's a delicious treat that is full of sage flavor that really reminds you of the holidays. I'm not exactly sure where the original recipe came from for the sausage gravy. This is my slightly modified version of the recipe I got from my mother. It will serve about four people.