eat like Laura - a recipe

a small chunk of tasso, cut up (or a few slices of bacon, but tasso is better)
diced onion (amount is up to you)
tablespoon of minced garlic (what is that in fresh? 3 cloves?)
one fennel bulb, sliced, but not obnoxiously thin (just trust me)
chicken broth or white wine
one can diced tomatoes
whatever seasonings float your boat.

If you're using bacon, fry it down, then get rid of all but about 3 tbsp of the grease. If you're using tasso, heat some olive oil in a pan, then toss in the chunks of tasso. Throw in the garlic and onion and sautee/sweat* it all down. When the onions are nice and soft, add the fennel and swirl it around. Add some chicken broth or white wine (1/4 cup?), clamp a lid on it and let it cook for about 8 minutes - until the fennel has softened just a leeeetle bit. Add the tomatoes and whatever spices you like - I used some parsley, a little extra salt and some cayenne. Stir, turn the heat down and let it cook w/ no lid for...5? minutes, until it's nice and thick. Serve over pasta** with fresh grated parmesan and a big glass of red wine.***

Eat while lusting over Warrick and Nick on the re-run of CSI.

Seriously dude...if Warrick keeps saying stuff like "I can get a print off the air"?? I'm gonna have to take a cold shower. Yowza.

*Yes, I know that sauteeing and sweating are not actually the same thing. My point here is, use whatever method you like to get the onions sort of translucent and soft. Since I am a lazy motherfucker and there was red wine and pretty, pretty men on my TV? I turned the heat down and sweated the onions.

**I recommend penne. I used the last of the angel hair, and it wasn't right - you need something that picks up the sauce.

**I'm drinking Pillar Box Red, a nice sturdy red, available for like $10. It stood up quite nicely to the extra shake of cayenne I put in accidentally. I {{{heart}}} cheap wine.