The circle of life

This isn't the story of birth or rebirth or death. It's the story of Austen as Simba/Dillon as Rafiki.

Ya got me, it's really the story of being silly and using pets as props for Saturday night entertainment when the hockey gang is recovering from the Junior Prom (or some such nonsense).

We have 2 cats: Austen, a large long-haired ginger who is the Beta cat and Sizzle, a shrinking gray-striped tabby who is the elder statesman and pretty much rules the feline roost. Oh, and they used to be male...if you catch my drift.

And if you're counting that makes me the lone female in the house.

But back to Austen...he looks like a miniature lion and has that distinctive caught-in-the-headlights expression when Dillon lifts him over his head to meet the kingdom. Is it cruel? Maybe. But it's pretty funny too. At least - as Rafiki - Dill doesn't say, It iz time, then bonk Austen on the head with a stick.

Ah yes, back to the food chain...the Bubbles gave me whatever was lyin' around - chicken & apple sausage and pappardelle pasta - and I turned it into baked pasta fit for a king.

Details?
Here goes:

-Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 by 13 baking dish.
-Start your super-salty water to boil for the half pound of pasta. And when ready, boil the pappardelle to al dente...any pasta would do for this, so don't worry if you don't have the long ribbons hanging out in your cupboard like I did.
-In a saute pan, toast 1 thinly sliced red onion and 2 minced garlic cloves in 2 T butter and season with salt and pepper.
-In a sauce pan, melt 3 T butter then add 4 T flour and stir to make a roux. Let it toast until cafe au lait color, then whisk in a quarter c white wine then a half c milk then 1 c chicken stock. -Season the bechamel sauce with 1 t salt, a half t each white pepper, smoked paprika and dried parsley.
-Finish the sauce by whisking in about 2 oz goat cheese. Keep warm on a very low flame.
[If the sauce is too thick, add more chicken stock in quarter c increments until it has a thick, but still liquid consistency.]
-Back to the saute pan...Thinly slice 12 oz sausage and add to the onions and garlic to warm. Add about 5 sliced cremini mushrooms, a half c frozen peas a splash of white wine and season with a half t salt and about a quarter t freshly ground black pepper.
-Cover and heat everything through.
-When the pasta's draining (out of the cooking pot), pour the contents of the saute pan into the pasta pot and pour the sauce over. Add the pasta and mix carefully to combine.
-Pour the whole shebang into the baking dish and top with a mixture of 2 T parmesan, a half c panko and 2 t olive oil.
-Bake for 40 mins or until crusty and bubbling.

And while I may be the de facto Queen of My Castle, your subjects will enjoy majestic pleasure with this dish...and elevate you to the top of Pride Rock.