Mushroom Sauce - Salsa Di Funghi

From: Maryanne Esposito - Ciao Italia------------ Mushrooms Sauce for pasta is a nice alternative to tomato sauce, and goes especially well with whole wheat fettucine. This is a rich dish, so a little goes a long way. This sauce makes enough for 1 lb. of pasta. For those of you that don't know Maryanne Esposito, let me introduce you to a marvelous cook, who cooks only "Authentic" Italian food, and it is incredible! I had the priviledge of meeting Maryanne at a woman's luncheon many years ago, and she has her own cooking show on Channel 11 in NH. She and her husband, who is a local doctor, live in the next town from where I used to live and work.

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  lb  mixed mushrooms, thinly sliced (beech, button, cremini, shittake)
• 1⁄2 lb  sweet pork sausage or 1⁄2 lb  hot pork sausage
•  salt and pepper, to taste
• 1  lb  whole wheat fettuccine, cooked, and drained
• 1  cup heavy cream or 1  cup half & half light cream
• 3⁄4 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large saute pan, and cook the garlic until it is soft.
2. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until they begin to give off their liquid. Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl, and set aside.
3. Brown the pork sausage in the same pan, breaking it up with a fork.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. If the sausage seems dry, add a little butter to the pan while it is cooking.
6. Return the mushrooms to the pan, and mix ingredients well.
7. Cover the pan and keep warm.
8. Cook the fettucine as directed on the package, then drain it, and add it to the pan with the sausage mixture.
9. Stir in the cream and cheese, and mix everything quickly over med-high heat, until the mixture is hot.
10. Serve immediately.