Love that Giada!

Tonight we were going to have Chicken Maghani but instead, we did another selection from Giada's new cookbook "Giada's Kitchen" (a Christmas present, courtesy of The Mom).

In the pasta section of Giada's book there's a recipe for Orechetti with Sausage and White Beans. The Husband brought home orechetti (as it was mysteriously missing from Wegman's yesterday).

Giada has you begin by sauteeing an onion in olive oil while the pasta is boiling. I then added hot Italian sausage patties (which Giada instructs to break up using a wooden spoon while browning them...) I also added in a zucchini that I sliced and then cut into quarters. Once the vegetables are soft and the sausage has browned, add in a can of cannelini beans (drained and rinsed). Giada also has you add in a dash of oregano (I also added fresh ground black pepper and some salt).

Next you remove the pasta once it is a bit al dente and put it into the pan with the sausage and the vegetables. Add in a bit of the pasta water and a half a cup of mascarpone. At this stage I also added quartered large cherry tomatoes and a dash of dried red pepper flakes. This all tasted good but it was a little bland. I thought it needed something with a bit of a tang, so I grated about a half a cup of Parmesan and added it to the mix as well.

The mascarpone melts into a creamy sauce-- a pretty neat trick!

Serve in large bowls with extra parm grated on top. Not bad!