Penne with Sausage and Artichokes

Today being the first day of a week-plus in vacation time over the Christmas holiday season, I had the time to try something different. Recipes from Giada De Laurentiis have always been reliably good in the past, so I picked up her Family Dinners cookbook, flipped through it, and found a recipe that looked to be worth trying. We have in-laws coming to stay for the next few days, so an easy dinner that could be thrown together fairly quickly was exactly what I needed. Penne with Sausage, Artichokes, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes (page 147) fit the bill nicely. Prep was minimal, the recipe was quick and easy to follow, and it turned out to be a fantastic meal.

Simmering a sauce of chicken broth, white wine, garlic, artichoke hearts, and sun-dried tomatoes.

Adding the cooked hot Italian sausage chunks and penne pasta...

This was a quick dinner that everyone absolutely loved. The pasta was good, and the sausage and other ingredients made a wonderful rich sauce that would have been good for a much more substantial investment in time or ingredients. Everyone agreed that this recipe was an absolute keeper, and well worth making again. We had it with a simple caesar salad, a good crusty bread, and a nice Mirassou Pinot Noir.

A very good start to my holiday time off...