Outstanding! We try to stick with the recipe as written whenever possible, but with ingredients on hand, we made a minor adjustment or three. We had a pound of Italian sausage (I guess you'd call it "sweet"), so we browned (in cast iron skillet) and drained it well. Then, we added 2 T olive oil before adding the onions and 8 cloves garlic. When all this was browned, we added the Merlot wine to help loosen all the good stuff carmelized in the pan, then combined everything in a separate pot to simmer. We don't like the flavor of higher acid foods like tomatoes when cooked in cast iron.

Reviewed On: Aug. 2, 2009