hotdogs and spaghetti

i have memories of mom fixing spaghetti and hotdogs for dinner. the hot dogs were sliced into thin circles and dumped unceremoniously into a pot of tomato sauce and left to simmer while she prepared the spaghetti - break the noodle lengths in half and cook in furiously boiling water until done. drain, then pour the tomato sauce over the spaghetti and mix well. take a pair of tongs, snag some spaghetti onto a plate - and don't forget the green can of cheese.

fast forward to the present ... in this dish, i use organic chicken cocktail sausages and DeCecco spaghetti #12. it's playful, quick, and easy.

.::. ingredients .::.
aidells mini chicken-apple sausages, cut in half
DeCecco spaghetti #12, broken in half
your favorite jarred marinara or homemade sauce
parmesan-reggiano cheese (if you like)

for each sausage you will need 5 strands of spaghetti. go with what your appetite calls for. i'm usually good with 5-6 sausages (10-12 halves).

poke five strands of spaghetti into each sausage half. they only need to go in about 1/4 inch or so.

while warming your jarred or homemade sauce, bring a pot of water to a boil and add the spaghetti/sausage pasta first. cook until the pasta is al dente then drain. add your sauce and a shave of your best parmesan-reggiano cheese and serve.

note: i stab the sausage and twirl until all the spaghetti is wrapped around the fork. i find it to be the perfect ratio of pasta to meat!

naked plate of pasta and sausage