Bow Tie Pasta with Sausage, Olives, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Cream

We are generally leaving our dinner decisions to the last minute, with work schedules and running our son to and from obligations after school.  We are not as well prepared as we should be with dinner planned out for a week in advance that some people tend to do.  We are lucky when we have a couple of days planned out, but most of the time we are going day to day. When it comes to dinner the joke in our house is "Let's go with your plans!" knowing that the other one does not have any plans yet.  So I took the reins on this one last Wednesday.

I knew before I went to work we would be doing something with Italian Sausage because I pulled a pound out of the freezer.  All I had to do was find a quick recipe that would have dinner on the table as soon as hubby and our son got home from baseball training.  Luckily I received an email from Fine Cooking, a magazine that I subscribe to that morning at work. I did a recipe search with the Italian Sausage as the main ingredient an found this recipe. At lunch time I ran to the grocery store and picked up the small amount of ingredients I knew I would need.  When I got home I was able to quickly throw this together along with a salad and vegetable side dish.  Hubby and my little guy (not so little anymore, but will always be my little man) got home just after six with dinner just minutes away from the table. It was delicious, easy and pleased my guys after a long day!  

Bow Tie Pasta with Sausage, Olives, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Cream

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• 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 medium clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1-1/4 lb. hot Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1/2 cup dry white wine 
• 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup (about 6 oz.) oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves, drained and coarsely chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1 lb. dried farfalle 
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat.

Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. 
Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic
and cook for 1 minute. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it into 
bite-size pieces with a spoon, until just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes.
Spoon off the fat if it's excessive. Add the wine, increase the heat to medium
high, and cook, scraping up any browned bits in the pan, until most of the 
wine is evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the olives and sun-dried tomatoes 
and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the cream, increase the heat to high, bring to a boil, and cook, stirring 
occasionally, until the cream thickens slightly, 2 to 5 minutes. Stir in 2 Tbs.
of the parsley and 2 Tbs. of the Parmigiano. Keep the sauce warm over
low heat.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of the 
cooking water and then drain the pasta. Return the pasta to its pot, add the 
sauce and the reserved cooking water, and set the pot over high heat. Gently
toss the pasta for 30 to 60 seconds and season to taste with salt and pepper. 
Divide among warm bowls and sprinkle with the remaining 2 Tbs. Parmigiano 
and 2 Tbs. parsley.

Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine