Mmm Sausage

As a former vegetarian, I admit to occasionally feeling a little bit guilty about the excessive amounts of delicious meat I now consume regularly in the name of sheer hedonism. Last night Paul made his sausage sauce. Never has guilt tasted so good. We were not greedy. We invited friends over to share. We were civilized about it. We started with some garden fresh heirloom tomatoes, apartment-pickled p-patch beets, slices of freshly-baked artisan Tuscan bread, and a glass of Hogue Fume Blanc. Then Paul served the pasta, extra-wide homemade papardelle noodles smothered in sausage sauce and parmesan cheese. This was no ordinary sauce. We're talking Paul's homemade Italian sausage, San Marzano tomatoes, cream, cognac, and love. We were so busy stuffing our faces that we forgot to take a photo for the blog. Our guests brought over a bottle of Sagelands 2003 Four Corners Merlot, which paired perfectly with the rich sauce. We've had some great WA merlot the past couple of nights and we're beginning to think it may be one of WA's better varietals. Sideways prejudices be damned! And, although we didn't save room for it, there was of course dessert. We each had a very demure scoop of Paul's vanilla ice cream and a glass Claar Cellars 2003 Late Harvest Riesling, White Bluffs, Columbia Valley (just $4.99 during WA Wine Month!). The perfect end to the perfect meal.