The story below is a preview from our January/February 2026 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
The perfect fireside supper should always include garlic bread and a winter cocktail.
Sara Schober
Italian Drunken Noodles
Here’s the comforting warm dish you’ve been waiting for all winter: Italian Drunken Noodles. The pappardelle noodles “drink up” the wine sauce while being surrounded by spicy Italian sausage and bell peppers.
Served with my Shaved Brussels sprouts salad and Parmesan Garlic Bread Bites, it is the perfect fireside supper on a chilly winter evening. After dinner, cozy up to my fireside orange old fashioned spiced with Szechuan peppercorn Chinese 5 spice syrup.
Italian Drunken Noodles
Yield: 4 servings
Serve in warmed ovenproof pasta bowls.
- 8 ounces pappardelle noodles, uncooked
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 19 ounces (6 links) Italian sausage links, casings removed (use mild or spicy sausage according to your taste)*
- 1 medium onion, quartered and sliced thinly
- ¼ cup water
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ tablespoon Greek seasoning
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 red bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
- 1 orange bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup Chianti wine
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves chopped
- Shaved Asiago cheese
Place a braiser pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Once the oil is hot, crumble the Italian sausage into the pan in small chunks (you will want to keep the sausage fairly chunky). Brown the sausage in the oil for a few minutes. Once the crumbled sausage is browned, remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon and place into a small bowl.
Add the sliced onion into the pan with the sausage drippings, stir and allow the onions to caramelize, about 5 minutes or so, stirring to keep it from burning (add a little of the ¼ cup of water to the pan to help prevent burning). Once the onions are caramelized, add the salt, Italian seasoning and black pepper and stir to combine.
Add the sliced bell peppers and allow those to sauté with the onion for about 2 minutes until slightly tender. Add the garlic and once the garlic begins to brown add the Chianti wine. Cook over medium low heat for 10 minutes.
Add the crushed tomatoes and return the sausage to the pan. Stir to combine. Add sugar, stir. Cook for an additional 20 minutes over medium low heat.
While the sauce is cooking, cook the pappardelle according to package directions. Drain.
Warm the ovenproof pasta bowls in a low oven.
To finish the sauce, drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over the sauce. Stir in the Italian parsley and basil.
Serve the sauce over pappardelle in warmed pasta bowls. Garnish with shaved Asiago cheese.
Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Pistachios and Cherries
Yield: 4 servings
- 4 cups shaved fresh Brussels sprouts
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup toasted pistachios
- 1/3 cup sweetened dried cherries
- 1/3 cup grated asiago cheese
- ¼ cup snipped chives
- ¼ teaspoon flaked salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Thinly slice the Brussels sprouts using a mandoline. Place them in a salad bowl and toss with olive oil, lemon juice, pistachios, dried cherries, asiago cheese, chives, salt and pepper.
Right before serving, toss and drizzle with a little olive oil.
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The story above is a preview from our January/February 2026 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!