Baked Three-Cheese Cellentani with Chicken Wild Mushroom Sausage

This started out as a run-of-the-mill baked ziti this past Monday night, but I wanted to use cavatappi (my favorite pasta) instead of the more pedestrian ziti. The Golden Goose didn't have any, however (still shocked at this), although they did have cellentani. Cellentani are corkscrew-shaped pasta very similar to cavatappi (identical even to my Old Country sensibilities). They hold sauce very well, are fun to eat, and seem to taste better.

The basic baked ziti recipe is one of the easiest, tastiest recipes I know, and it's cheap and simple to do a double batch, freezing one batch for the future. Keeps well to feed a single person for a while, and it's also a great dish for potlucks, housewarmings, and church functions (I would imagine). This version is kicked up several notches, as I am wont to do when inspiration strikes (especially when the Goose is selling 1.5L Barefoot Cab Sauv at $11.99)!

Ingredients:
1 package (4 links) chicken sausage (I'd probably use a second package next time for a better ratio of meat to pasta)
2 boxes (2 lbs.) ziti or pasta of choice
2 jars tomato sauce (28 oz. each)
2 lbs ricotta
16 oz. mozzarella
1/3 cup grated parmesan or pecorino romano (I prefer the latter)
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
salt & pepper
olive oil
1/2 medium onion, minced
4 cloves minced garlic

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
   
2. Warm the tomato sauce in a saucepan over medium heat.
   
3. Cook the pasta - I shaved off a minute of the lower range recommended. I like my pasta al dente and it's going to cook a bit further in the casserole dish, so slightly underdone works well.
4. Chop up the chicken sausage well. I used D'Artagnan brand chicken wild mushroom sausage. I've tried a couple D'Artagnan products and they are a bit pricey (hard to avoid at the Goose) but quite tasty. These worked perfectly in the dish. Sauté the sausage along with the onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil.
   
5. Stir the ricotta into the tomato sauce until it is completely melted/mixed in.
6. When the pasta is done, drain it and return to the pan. Stir it up with a couple ladles of sauce and a healthy pad of butter to coat completely.
7. Pour the ricotta sauce over the pasta and stir well. Divide the pasta evenly into two oiled baking dishes (I think mine were 9"x13" Pyrex dishes). Spread the shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over the pasta and then grate the parmesan over it. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top.
   
8. Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. I recommend setting the timer for the lower end of the range and checking on it. Look for bubbling sauce and golden brown crust on top.

This is a fantastic dish. Endless cheesy, curly pasta goodness. I recommend serving it with an abundance of vino rosso.

But that recommendation holds for most things in life.