Creamy Baked Rigatoni with Italian Sausage

Today we’re going to talk about emergency survival rations.  I take my civic duties pretty seriously here, so today I’m going to offer you some sage culinary advice on how to be prepared for some of life’s unexpected little curve balls.

So let’s say, for instance, that you’re moving your 87-year-old parents across the country to live closer to you, and you’ve planned the actual trip quite meticulously.  Household goods are on the moving van heading in the right direction, airline tickets are in order,  and plans are in place for negotiating the airport for a gate change in Denver to make the connecting flight home.  Of course you’ll all be expecting to feel a little tired after packing up and moving a life-time’s worth of treasures and belongings, but you’re ready for that too. 

But let’s say the connecting airline doesn’t get the memo about your neatly-laid plans and decides to delay your flight not once, not twice, no, not three times, but four, possibly 5 times (we lost count), and the nice little 4 ½-hour trip you had planned which would get you all home in plenty of time to relax, have a glass of wine and a nice dinner turns into a 12 or 13-hour odyssey that at long last dumps you off at your home airport well into the night and leaves you dragging your nether parts into the front door long past dinner time.  And, of course, you’re beat tired and starving.

Survival tip #1… Pour a glass of wine.  Or any adult beverage of your choice.

Survival tip #2… Take that luscious baked rigatoni, that you made before you left, out of the refrigerator

 

and stick it in the oven.  Put your suitcase somewhere you can’t see it, put your feet up and try to forget the last 13 hours of your life.  

Pull that now bubbling, golden brown baked pasta out of the oven, grab a fork and congratulate yourself on a job well done.  You survived…. you’re home, you’re well fed and all is right with the world once again.

As with most emergency survival-type situations, you cannot wait until the moment of crisis to create your exit strategy… this must be done ahead of time.  To that end, I encourage you to head to your kitchen immediately and make this awesome creamy baked rigatoni and stick it in your freezer.  Life is uncertain.  Baked pasta can save you.

Creamy Baked Rigatoni with Italian Sausage

Click here for a printable recipe

You can use spicy or sweet Italian sausage for this.  If using spicy, you can reduce the amount of crushed red pepper or eliminate it altogether, depending on how spicy you like your pasta.

Serves 8-10

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup mascarpone cheese
(2) large cans Italian tomatoes
2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 lb rigatoni pasta, cooked about 1 minute less than the package instructions
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
12 oz grated fontina or mozzarella cheese (divided)

Combine the grated parmesan and grated fontina cheese.  Separate about 1/3 cup to use for the top and set aside.

Use a hand blender, food processor or standing blender to break down the tomatoes.  You can leave little bits if you would like the sauce more chunky, or completely puree them if you like.  I do not recommend using canned tomato puree for this.

Preheat the oven 375 degrees.

In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil and add the onion and garlic.  Saute until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the Italian sausage, marjoran and crushed red pepper (if using), and saute until pretty well cooked through.  Add the tomatoes and salt and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the mascarpone cheese.

Add the cooked rigatoni to the sauce, mix well, and then stir in the parmesan and grated fontina or mozzarella cheese.  Place in a large 4-qt. baking pan or casserole dish (or two medium-sized ones) and top with the remaining cheeses.

Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and the top is golden brown.  If using a large baking pan, you may need to bake this an extra 10 minutes.  

Note:  I like to put this in two medium casserole dishes and stick one in the freezer.  In case of emergency, pull it out of the freezer and thaw in the microwave while the oven is preheating.  Bake according to the directions.

Comments

[The Food Hunter]

Yum! and I actually have some extra mascarpone that needs to be used up...how perfect is that!

[erin]

so, if i were to freeze this, would i bake it first and then freeze it? and then when i would revive it, how long should it be in the oven and at what temp? it sounds delicious and i love the idea of an in case of emergency meal!

[Patrice Berry]

I put it in the freezer before cooking it and then let it come to room temp before baking it, Erin. Then just follow the baking instructions. You can also place it in the microwave on medium power to thaw while your oven is preheating. If you want to bake it straight from the freezer, cover it with foil and set the oven for 350. It will probably take an hour or more to fully cook. Remove the foil for the last 20 minutes of baking and increase the oven temperature to 375.

[emiglia]

Ugh... sounds like a horrendous trip! I can only imagine how happy you were knowing you had this in the freezer!

[Alyssa Trobacher]

Very entertaining! Thank you for the story, the pasta looks awesome!

[Trish]

This sounds fantastic. I may try it with cream cheese instead of mascarpone- what do you think? mascarpone I'm sure would be divine but it's not easy for me to get.

[Patrice Berry]

If you substitute cream cheese, I would mix it with a little sour cream to create a similar flavor and texture to the mascarpone. I'm sure that would work great.

[The Mom Chef: Taking on Magazines]

You seriously had 4-5 delays? I would have figured that for Chicago's airport, not Denver! Wow. You really do plan well if you had this amazing dish waiting. I love rigatoni. Pasta is up there as comfort food anyhow, but bake it up with a lot of cheese and sausage and I'm in heaven. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

[Julie]

Loved the travel nightmare story.....we can all relate!
Seems like I'm always taking a meal to a friend or family in need so I'll do this delish sounding pasta next time and keep one for myself.
I will do a bit of "lightening up" though.....will use a lighter spicy turkey Italian sausage and reduced fat cream cheese and sourcream for the mascarpone.
Thanks!

[Courtney M]

I was wondering about the marjoram in the ingredients list??? Its never actually mentioned in the cooking steps... when do I add this if at all??? I am actually in the process of making this dish as I type LoL and it smells AMAZING :D

[Patrice Berry]

I'm so sorry, Courtney. You add the marjoram at the same time as the crushed red pepper. I'll fix the recipe. Thanks for letting me know!

[Heather]

This looks so divine! If I can find all the ingredients, this is going to be dinner tomorrow! I'm in Korea, so finding ingredients for Italian dishes is sometimes very difficult.