Rigatoni with Sausage & Fennel

It seems a bit counter-intuitive for New Year's Resolutions, but I always like to start January 1 with a big hearty pot of pasta.  It's chilly out, you've sometimes had a bit too much to drink the night before, and nothing sounds better than a yummy bowl of pasta.  Plus, what better way to start a new year than with my favorite food??  Luckily, The Robinson's so sweetly gifted me with the newest Barefoot Contessa cookbook, Cooking for Jeffrey, for Christmas {they really spoil me} and Ms. Ina never fails when it comes to hearty and delicious.  I went with her Rigatoni with Sausage & Fennel and it seriously did not disappoint.  The first night it was so perfect, and then I put the leftovers in a baking dish and baked it topped with more Parmesan the second night which was even better for a quick meal to serve for guests.  Cheers to a 2017 full of delicious food!

Rigatoni with Sausage & Fennel

Ingredients
3 Tblsp olive oil
3 cups chopped fennel {1 large bulb}
1 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1 1/4 lb sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp whole fennel seeds, crushed with mortar and pestle
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
salt & pepper
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup half and half
2 Tblsp tomato paste
1 lb rigatoni
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup grated Parmesan, divided

Instructions
1.  Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add fennel and onion and saute about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.  Add sausage and cook until nicely browned, crumbling with wooden spoon, about 8 minutes.  Add garlic, crushed fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, 2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp black pepper and cook 1 minute.
2.  Pour in wine, bring to a boil, then stir in heavy cream, half and half, and tomato paste.  Bring back to a boil, lower heat, and simmer 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook rigatoni according to directions on package.  Drain and add to sauce, stirring to coat the pasta.  Cook over low heat for 5 minutes to allow pasta to absorb sauce.
4.  Remove from heat, stir in parsley and 1/2 cup Parmesan.  Serve hot sprinkled with remaining Parmesan.

To make ahead, you can refrigerate for up to a day after combined.  Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Serves 6

adapted from cooking for jeffrey

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Neighborhood Babies

The Friday before Christmas our family was invited over to visit with our "other family", the Satterlund's.  Growing up, I spent many days at this house two blocks over having sleepovers with Lindsay, fighting with our younger brothers, and learning about life from this awesome family.  There's something so cozy and familiar about this home that I felt a huge wave of nostalgia as I walked through the door, but this time was different as both Lindsay and Tyler had the sweetest little babes with them, Hendrik & Bridget.  It's amazing to me to think that these two little kids I grew up with are now parents themselves {with their awesome partners} and while Hendrik slept and ate in the backroom, we were entertained by Bridget and her delirious laugh {it was waaaaayyyyy past her bedtime}.  No matter what happens, spending time with this family makes me so happy and comfortable - they truly are a part of my own family and I feel so grateful that after so many years we can go back to exactly where we were way back when.  And now there are babies! :)

 i absolutely love this home - especially this room where many slumber parties were had

 entertaining bridget with dog videos

 she is such a mini-tyler

 love this sweet face

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Christmas Day

Christmas Day I awoke to my dear sweet brother singing and turning my lights on at 7AM - not the most peaceful way to wake up, but what should I expect on Christmas morning?  With a request for a big cup of coffee, I made my way upstairs to watch the rising sun and open a way too generous amount of presents {we definitely spoil each other in my family}.  Next, we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's for traditional Christmas breakfast casserole, and because of a genius idea the night before we brought a few bottles of champagne for Christmas mimosas {a new and much loved tradition}. That afternoon we lounged around and opened presents with the fam before heading back to Mom & Dad's for Christmas dinner with Uncle Randy & Uncle Mark.  It was such a good Christmas at home this year and felt super relaxing and low key, which was absolutely perfect.  Can't wait for next year! :)

 christmas sunrise

 funfetti

 christmas dab

 the cool kids table

 cousin kelsey

 brother & gretchen

 happy cousins

 annual photo by the tree

 weirdos

 opened a fancy bottle of wine from my wine club that we all fell in love with

Hope you had a magical holiday!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve morning we woke up to snow on the ground and the sun shining - just how Christmas should be!  We had a lazy morning at home getting ready for the holiday before snuggling in to watch the Hawks take on the Cardinals.  We watched up until the last second {which I don't even want to talk about} then had to run around the house throwing on non-Seahawk clothing {I forced everyone to stay in their 12 gear until the end of the game} to head to Marsha's for dinner #1.  We got there just in time for some rice pudding {my fave} and snuggles with Hayden, then after our annual family picture in front of her tree, we headed back up the road to Mom & Dad's for traditional lasagna and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  Though the routine is the same, it never gets old and is probably my favorite thing we do for the holidays.  It's easy and comfortable, and no matter how many times we've seen that movie, we always end up on the floor laughing and quoting the entire thing.  It's the best :)

 12 flag couldn't help us this time around

 when eating cereal around these two, expect to have an audience

 happy camper + homemade pepperoni

 hayden

he loves his sissy, he really does

 outtake

waiting for santa

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Go Rams

A few days before Christmas my little bro was going to be driving through town on his way up north, so I convinced him to stop in to see his sis and watch the CSU Bowl game with me.  The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise against Idaho was set to be a great {and cold} match up, and my alumni crew was getting together at The Dock for the festivities. We arrived just at kickoff to find only one other Ram fan there {Dan} but as the evening went on, more and more alumni and friends joined to watch the epic icy battle.  As we cheered as loud as we could, it unfortunately ended up being kind of a blow out - and the blue field was so icy it looked dangerous for those guys to even be walking around out there!  Though the game did not turn out how we had hoped {as did a lot of games over Christmas break} I still had an awesome time cheering on my Rams with my little bro.  We'll get 'em next year!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Happy New Year!

How was your New Year's??  This year I kept it pretty low key with dinner at Cornuto with the Novak's {how cute is my date above?} followed up by some ice cream and a glass of wine before heading home to ring in 2017 in my jammies with some candles and Netflix.  Pretty exciting, eh?  I actually really loved taking it easy this year {and cheersing with my favorite girls!} - I'm hoping it's a sign of things to come in 2017 of calm, easy, and fun :)  As far as resolutions/intentions/goals, I have a bunch of random things I want to work on.  I'm going to get back into meditating {I'm trying to be more mindful and present in general}, I really want to do a handstand/headstand {which means I'll be spending a lot of time at the yoga studio}, and I want to keep my dining table cleared off {it's a mess 95% of the time with stuff I could easily throw out or put away}.  Sounds simple right?  I think that's the theme of the year - keepin' it simple.

i call this one "bedtime"

Here's to making 2017 the best one yet!  Peace out 2016 :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie