PIST & Pasta
Mom Calabrese made a name for herself feeding hordes of hungry snowboarders & skiers at the family's 7 Springs condo. Mom's typical fare was pasta, meatballs, & a big hunk of garlic bread. Mom's typical diners were the Pittsburgh Intercollegiate Snowboard Team (PIST) - my crew who would come to the mountain to practice & film.
When PIST decided to have a reunion in Mammoth Mountain, CA to
celebrate the team's 20th anniversary, I knew Cucina Calabrese Pasta had to be on the menu of post-snowboard feasts. Here's a recipe we whipped up with some extra pics & words...
Recipe for PIST Reunion Pasta (serves about 10 hungry snowboarders)
INGREDIENTS
-2 pounds of Cucina Calabrese Italian Herb pasta
-1 packet Whole Foods 365 Ready to Grill Veggies
-2 pounds of Whole Foods 365 Organic Chicken Sausage
-Olive oil
-Salt & pepper to flavor
Knowing I was going to cook the flavorful Italian Herb fusilli pasta, I could forego sauce & the Air BnB had olive oil & seasoning. Just needed some fresh veggies & protein. Luckily the Whole Foods 365 in Long Beach had a nice pack of pre-cut veggie mix & lean chicken sausage. Hey, we’re not 20yrs old anymore & a lot of the crew lives out West, so I had to keep it healthier than the usual mega meatballs & buttered up garlic bread!
DIRECTIONS
-Chop veggies into desired thickness
I got to preparing the meal when I was informed that my bud Will Hancock was accepted onto the show Master Chef because of his talents in the kitchen. He was gladly handed the knives & diced those veggies up like a samurai. It’s nice seeing how your friends skill sets broaden after around 2 decades of not seeing them!
-Saute sausages on medium to high heat until brown & bursting from casing
-Shred sausage into crumbles
After a brief saute & browning of the sausage, Will pulled a surprise move & shredded up the sausage. Great call, as the links would have been hard to share among 10 hungry dudes!
-Boil pasta from approximately 8-10 minutes (until desired tenderness) & strain
I took on the less glorious task of boiling & draining the pasta. Which did come out perfectly al dente though.
-Saute veggies in olive oil on medium to high heat (season with desired amount of salt & pepper) until softened
Will got the veggies sauteing with the salt & pepper the place had on hand. Don’t need much else seasoning, because the flavor is in the noodle.
-Add sausage crumbles to sauteing veggies, & continue cooking for several minutes (until sausage is cooked through)
Once the veggies softened up, Will added the sausage to saute all together for a few minutes until the sausage was completely cooked through.
-Add pasta to pan & toss over heat for several minutes
He tossed everything up together to have the flavors marry & diffuse the heat from the veggies & sausage.
-Serve up & mangia bene!
We served the pasta up & it was destroyed in a matter of minutes. I would have taken a picture of us eating, but I was holding a forkful of pasta, veggies, & sausage. Cucina Calabrese Pasta was a hit. Compared to our college days, we’re more gray, balding (myself especially), & creaky. Our love of a great post-shred pasta hasn't’ changed though. We’re just more health conscious & adept in the kitchen!
