Spicy Spaghetti

Spaghetti is one of my favorite foods. A meal that frequently ended in fierce competition between my father and I, spaghetti has been in my family since childhood. I made spaghetti tonight, extra hot. However, I was in a rush, and only spent about an hour cooking time total. (Normal competition spaghetti in the Burr household would start around 3pm and be eaten around 6pm. THREE hour process, no thank you tonight.) The process usually takes so long because the Italian sausages are cooked from raw completely in the sauce. I precooked the hot Italian sausages in a pan to speed up the process a little bit.

Note: Unfortunately, I dropped the ball and did not take any pictures of this meal. But, use your imagination to create the most delicious spicy spaghetti imagery imaginable.

First I grabbed the largest pot I owned and poured in two starter spaghetti sauces. I used Classico, because they sell 3 packs at Costco, but you can use whichever you prefer. Then I put in one can of stewed basil and oregano tomatoes and one can of diced tomatoes. (Had I the resources for tomato paste, sauce or red wine…I would have added those ingredients as well.) I threw in two whole fresh jalapeños as “floaters”, which not only serve as a heat booster, but also adds esthetic appeal. I kept the heat on very low and let them simmer under a lid.

Meanwhile, I cleaned and minced (very tiny) a third jalapeño to add to the sauce. Then I added a healthy portion (you can’t really measure spices…) of oregano, some minced garlic, cumin, black and red pepper (cayenne). Cayenne is a very slow burning heat, hits the back of your tongue after you’ve swallowed. Jalapeño hits you more quickly, in the front of your pallet. The jalapeño / cayenne combo qualified one hell of a kick! I kept the heat on low, stirring frequently to prevent the tomatoes from burning to the bottom of the pan, and continued to simmer.

I used a five pack of hot Italian sausages from Fred Meyers, which were still slightly frozen when I began cooking. Obviously, I would recommend thawing your meat if time allows you to do so. I put the sausages in a large frying pan with about ¼ cup water (to create steam) and a lid. I babysat the sausages and flipped them frequently to prevent burning. They cooked for several minutes until almost completely cooked. They finished cooking in the tomato sauce for about another 40 minutes.

I boiled a large pot of water with salt and oil. I was out of spaghetti noodles, so I used my next favorite, bowties. I let the noodles cook for about 15 minutes until soft, drained the water in a strainer, and put the noodles back in the warm pot with a big chunk of butter.

Voila! Butter bowties, spicy spaghetti sauce, and hot Italian sausage….Parmesan cheese of course. It was excellent!

Beware: Tomatoes are very acidic, and tomato sauces do not stay good in the refrigerator for more than about three or four days I would say. Do not eat questionable spaghetti leftovers. You have been warned.