Cantoro's Italian Market, Livonia, Michigan

After two weeks of seemingly non-stop holiday revelry, we found ourselves with a Saturday morning completely void of any obligations. Thankfully, it was a beautifully sunny, but nearly sub-zero, day--perfect for running random errands that had been neglected over the holidays.

Following a long, sunny drive from the far west- to near east-ends of Grand River Avenue (the reason for which is unimportant here), we made a brief stop at Cantoro's Italian Market on Middlebelt Road in Livonia, just south of 8 Mile Road. It's quite a paradise for all ingredients Italian: fresh breads, cured meats, canned Italian tomatoes, jarred anchovies and tonno in olive oil, traditional Italian desserts, and various and sundry olives, pickles, and cheeses. I wandered its long aisles over and over again, in search of items to re-stock our barren pantry.

For a while, I'd been wanting to create my own version of a favorite dish from the Italian menu of El Barzon restaurant in Mexicantown:Strozzapreti Norcina. It's a dish of twisted, housemade pasta, tossed in a ragu of Italian sausage. With a fresh batch of homemade marinara waiting for me in the refrigerator, I picked up some fancy, imported pasta and sweet Italian sausage. While some recipes for Pasta Norcina call for the addition of cream or milk, I thought I'd skip that step, allowing instead the starch from the pasta to add creaminess and body to the dish.

Twisted Pasta with Sausage Ragu'

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casing removed

3 c. homemade marinara

Pinch of red chile flakes

1 lb. twisted pasta (e.g., Cavatappi, Trofie, Strozzapreti)

Parmigiano Reggiano, for serving

In a large saucepan over a medium flame, add the olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add the sausage and cook until no longer pink and only slightly browned, crumbling into small and medium pieces. Do not overbrown, as this will cause the sausage to toughen as it cooks in the sauce. Add the marinara and chile flakes, and allow the sauce to simmer while you cook the pasta.

In a large stockpot, cook pasta in boiling, salted water, until just short of al dente (approximately 2 minutes short of suggested cooking time). Drain pasta in a colander, reserving about one cup of the pasta cooking water. Add the drained pasta to the simmering sauce and allow to finish

cooking until al dente, stirring and adding the pasta cooking water little by little to prevent the sauce from becoming too dry. The starch in the pasta cooking water will add body and

creaminess to the finished dish.

Turn the pasta into a serving dish, and grate fresh Parmigiano over. Serve additional Parmigiano on the side.