eat your heart out thursday - penne with italian sausage

i had to make this for a cooking class last semester. at first, i thought it would be the most foul recipe of all time. fortunately, it proved me wrong. this dish is simple and delicious! serve it with a salad and crusty bread/bread sticks and you have yourself a fabulous dinner without too much hassle. i have made this a few times when we have had company over. its makes so much that we always have left overs. i think the last time i made it (tuesday) we got about 7 servings out of it and that is with 2 men whose "servings" are on the extra large size.

penne with italian sausage
from here

1 lb penne pasta
1 tbsp + 1 tsp salt
1 lb sweet or mild italian sausage, removed from casing and coarsely crumbled or chopped *i really like the chicken sausage from trader joes that comes in a variety of different flavors*
2 c thinly sliced yellow onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil *dried is fine too, just used less like 3 tsp instead*
1/2 c freshly grated parmesan cheese

bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. add pasta and 1 tbsp of salt and return to a boil. cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 15 minutes. remove pot from heat and drain pasta. return pasta to pot, but keep off the heat.

while the pasta is cooking, cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until evenly browned and cooked though, about 7-8 minutes. add onions and cook, stirring, until golden brown around the edges, about 8-10 minutes. add garlic, remaining tsp salt, and pepper and cook, stirring for 30 seconds.

add sausage mixture to pasta. add olive oil and basil, and toss until evenly coated.

to serve, dish it out and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.