They were giving out free samples of this Emeril brand sausage (“with bacon, garlic, & red wine flavors”) at Sams Club. Riley liked it, and it’s always good to have more things to offer Mr. Finicky, so I bought some. The packaging had this recipe printed on the back, and I was intrigued enough to give it a try.

Ingredients:
4 links Emeril’s Chef’s Specialty Smoked Sausage
14oz fresh or dried pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
2 sweet potatoes, peeled, sliced lengthwise
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp rosemary
2 tsp shredded lemon rind
1 cup pitted kalamata halves
black pepper

Cook pasta al dente. While pasta is cooking, peel and slice* sweet potatoes. To roast, place potatoes on baking sheet. Combine sesame and vegetable oils and brush on potatoes. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake at 400 degrees F until golden brown. Slice sausage into 1/2″ diagonal pieces. Place olive oil and garlic in sauté pan and cook about 1 minute until golden. Add sliced sausage, rosemary, lemon rind, olives, and pepper. Cook 3-4 minutes or until warmed through. To serve, combine sausage mixture with warm pasta and top with roasted sweet potatoes.

I made it once, and found it delightful. I made it again a few nights later, and mistakenly grabbed a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon when adding the sea salt. Just about ruined the whole thing. I don’t believe I’ll be making that mistake again. It’s a pretty rich recipe anyway, and not “comfort” enough to become a dietary staple, but I’ll make it every now and then to shake things up.
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*I basically julienned them, french-fry size, and that worked pretty well with the fettuccini noodles.