16 November 2010

Pasta E Fagioli With Sausage

Currently listening to From Above by Ben Folds and Nick Hornby


A quick internet search will reveal that there are many different versions of this dish running around Italy. It's apparently typically known as a peasant dish, but it's Italian and has cannellini beans which Charlee and I are huge fans of. Most versions are soupy, but I think I prefer less liquid, which makes it more of a pasta dish. This version came from NPR, but I'm not one to stick to a recipe word for word, and having made this a few times now, I'm confident I can have a go at this from memory.

Salt and Pepper
2 cups cannellini beans
5 cups of water
6-8 stems of thyme
4-6 cloves of garlic smashed and roughly chopped
2 Sage leaves minced
Olive oil
4 sausages sliced (any sweet Italian sausage will work)
4 Roma tomatoes seeded, chopped
1 pound of mini fusilli pasta, or something similar
1/2 to 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

Simmer the beans for 40 minutes in a pot with the water, half the garlic, the thyme and pepper. Once cooked soft, drain the beans, (saving the water), remove the thyme stems, and season with salt. Meanwhile cook your pasta.

In a pan heat up about 1/3 cup of olive oil, and cook the remaining garlic and sage for about a minute on medium low heat. Add the tomatoes, sausage, and 1/2 to 1 cup of the water from the beans. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the beans to the tomatoes and sausage and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Mix the pasta with the beans and sausage, toss with salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar to taste. If you want a soupier dish add more of the water from the beans, but I prefer mine less soupy. Looking back, some shredded parm would also top this off well.

Honestly, the only reason I'm posting this is because I'm lazy and can't be arsed to dig through all my recipe books to write this down.

11 November 2010

Liverpool Thus Far

Currently listening to Abandon by French Kicks
















We're about a third of the way through the Premiership, and looking over my predictions below, I'm not that far off. I must admit that I'm rather shocked by the form displayed by both Newcastle and Bolton. Having said that, let's not pretend that Bolton can keep this up, but I'm not so quick to write off Newcastle though. They've got the in form striker of the moment (Andy Carroll), and could quite possible ride him to a top half finish.

As for my Liverpool, I'll say this... (and I say this having watched all but the United match)

We're not as far off as some people would have you believe. I still think we'll struggle to finish in the top 4, but I think my prediction of a 5th place finish is spot on. Spurs have seen the effects of just what I spoke about in my last post, Champions League football. They've racked up injuries along their back line at a frightening pace, and they're beginning to see what Liverpool usually has to deal with. A glut of fixtures which puts even more pressure on a thin squad.

Liverpool meanwhile have have been able to quietly go about their business in the Europa League, trotting out reserves and backups in non-league matches, allowing us to focus on the task at hand, getting back to Champions League football. Much has already been made of the ownership situation and how much we've improved on that front, so I don't think I need to rehash those details. What is important to note however, is the shift in policy with the new regime. For awhile now, we've focused our view on the present. We've ignored the future and our youth system is devoid of major talents as a result. In the past we didn't have the money to buy younger players to mold into a first team player, we had to resort to buying risky options (Aquilani), or players who were aging and possibly past their prime (Kyrgiakos). However with the hiring of Damien Comolli to be our new director of football strategy, (who signed the majority of Arsenal's Invincibles and the majority of the current Spurs side), it appears a shift to youth is on the cards.

It's about time. Maybe now I won't have to read about all the rumors of the best young players in football being linked with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Barca, Madrid and United. Maybe now Liverpool will get back to what they used to be, and maybe now we can get back to competing for trophies. If Mr. Comolli needs any help identifying talent, I'd be more than happy to help. I'm pretty good on Football Manager at building clubs, and I've even been offered the chance to manage England. Damien Comolli, if you're listening (which I know you're not), we need a left winger. It just so happens that one of the brightest stars in all of football plays out on the left, and that if we buy him now, we could get the jump on all the other clubs trailing him.

Eden Hazard