A Good Appetite: sausage

Showing posts with label sausage. Show all posts

Friday, April 19, 2013

Spanish Chorizo Fried Rice

The other night Matt had a meeting leaving me on my own for dinner. I was craving some rice, so I went looking through the fridge and freezer to find things to add to it. What I came up with was this mix of Spanish and Asian flavors.

I have to tell you this really worked. The smoked paprika flavor of the sausage worked so well with the sweetness of the peas. I kept the sauce simple, just some salty soy and sweet/hot chili sauce. The sausage also a nice chewy texture. I can't want to make this for Matt now.

Spanish Chorizo Fried Rice
Make sure to get a Spanish and not Mexican chorizo for this dish. The Spanish version is a hard sausage link.

1/4 dry white rice, like jasmine or basmati
1 t olive oil
1 oz Spanish chorizo, cut into small pieces
1 c frozen sugar snap peas
1/2 t soy sauce
1 t sweet chili sauce
1 large egg

Cook the rice and let it sit in the open air for a little bit to dry out. You don't have to do this, but it gives it a nice texture in the finished dish.

In a skillet or wok, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the chorizo and sauté for about a minute. Add the peas and cooked rice. Cook until the the peas are warmed through, stirring occasionally. Stir in the soy sauce and chili sauce. Move the rice mixture to the side and crack the egg in the middle of the pan. Stir, breaking the yoke and blending. As the egg set stir into the rest of the dish.

1 serving
Approximately 486 calories

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Thursday, April 4, 2013

Stout and Sausage Pasta

The current issue of Cooking Light (a magazine which has really been great while we are counting calories) has a section on Macaroni and Cheese dishes. This dish is adapted from one of those recipes.

I am not calling it a mac and cheese because really it doesn't have much cheese flavor. That is because we replaced the Velveeta in the recipe with cream cheese. Why did we make the replacement? Well, we don't really use Velveeta, so it seemed like a waste to buy it to just use 1oz. Cream cheese on the other hand has become an ingredient in a lot of our dishes lately. We use the light version and add it to mexican dishes and pasta for a creamy sauce with less calories.

In this pasta the beer is really a prominent flavor, so I don't recommend it if you aren't a fan of stouts. The beer flavor really pairs well with the Italian sausage. Our sausage was a little mild and I found myself wishing for one that was a little heavier with the spices to stand up to the stout. The sauce is creamy, with just a touch of cheese making this a very satisfying dish.

Stout and Sausage Pasta
4 oz pasta (we used a medium shell, but you could use rotini or penne or even elbows.)
1 t olive oil
2 oz bulk Turkey Italian sausage
1/3 c onion, diced
1 1/4 T all-purpose flour
1/4 t pepper
pinch of salt
1/2 c stout
2 1/2 T skim milk
1 1/4 oz reduced-fat cheddar
1 oz light cream cheese

Preheat oven to 450F.

Cook the pasta to al dente, drain and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onion. Sauté until the sausage is cooked through. Reduce heat to medium. Sprinkle with the flour, salt and pepper. Cook while stirring for 1 minute. Slowly stir in the stout. Bring to a boil. Stir until thicken, this should happen pretty quickly for such a small amount. Remove from heat and add the milk and cheeses. Stir until melted. You may need to add some low heat if everything doesn't melt.

Stir in the pasta. You can divide between two small ramekins like we did or just put in one larger casserole dish. Bake for 10 minutes.

Makes 2 servings.
417 calories per serving

Monday, October 1, 2012

Backyard Oktoberfest

We've been having some fall beautiful weather here in Minneapolis just perfect for inviting the family over for a Backyard Ocktoberfest. It was also a good reason to grind up some of that pork in the freezer and turn it into sausage.

The night before, Matt pulled out the Kitchenaid Meat Grinder and Sausage Stuffer attachments, making both traditional and Wurtemburg style brats.

Sunday afternoon they were headed to the smoker. Matt tied them to the upper grate of the smoker so they could hang to smoke. This helps them smoke more evenly.

They only took about 1 1/2 hours on the smoker to completely cook and get a good smoky flavor without being over-powered by it.

In the meantime there was plenty of German and Oktoberfest style beers to taste. Instead of buying six packs of one or two beers, we like to buy single bottles (or cans) of various beers. Everyone gets a tasting glass and gets to try some of each beer. This way if you don't like one beer you are only a few sips from the next one. Our favorite of the ones we tasted last night was the Surlyfest (which I realize is not pictured above, what can I say, we'd drank all those beers already.). It was light and bright, but not too light. Our least favorite was the Coney Island Freaktoberfest. Though the bottle was a big hit and we were all shocked when it poured out a bright pink.
Everyone nibbled on soft and hard pretzels with assorted mustards and cheese sauce while the sausage was finished up on the grill. This gave them a nice crispiness on the outside.

As the sun set, we served the brats with some potato salad and German red cabbage. I used this recipe for the cabbage and it was the perfect mix of sweet and sour.

Look at the lovely smoke ring on that brat. Our chef, Matt, deserved his special after dinner digestif.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Lentils, Sausage and Spaetzle

Matt and I are trying to figure out where to go on vacation this year. Right now the place on the top of the list is Munich and the Bavarian Alps. One of the things that kept coming up while Matt was doing research was this dish.

It seemed a little weird to me, both lentils and spaetzle, but we loved it. We cooked the lentils with bacon and vegetables to give them a lot of flavor and seem a little more like a stew. Traditionally, this dish is made with German hot dog, but we went with a bratwurst. These were wonderful housemade brats from our local grocery store, Kowalski's. They added another layer of flavor to what I was afraid would be a band dish.

We didn't make our own spaetzle, because I can't seem to get the hang of it. Luckily, one of our local German restaurants sells their in the grocery store.

Lentils, Sausage and Spaetzle

2 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 T olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1/2 c dried lentils
handful fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 bratwurst links
salt and pepper
hot cooked spaetzle

Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until it renders its fat. Add the olive oil and heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Sauté until the onion is translucent and the rest of the vegetables are starting to get tender. Add the lentils, 2 cups water and parsley. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let cook for about 20 minutes. Add the brats and cook covered for another 15 minutes until the brats are cooked through and the lentils are tender. It should be the consistency of a stew. If it is too watery, let cook with the top off until thicker. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Serve over spaetzle with mustard.

Makes 2 servings.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Red Beans, Chorizo and Rice

I was about to put chili on the menu again last week, but then realized it had been a long time since we'd had a nice big pot of beans and rice. Matt noticed there were a couple chorizo links in the freezer, so we decided to add those too.

Other than cooking the bean, this is a one pot meal. The rice absorbs wonderful flavor from being cooked in the bean cooking water, red peppers and liquid from the tomatoes. Yes, you can use canned beans, but then I might add some chicken stock with the rice for a little more flavor.

Red Beans, Chorizo and Rice

1 1/2 c dried red beans (we used Good Mother Stallard from Rancho Gordo)
1 T olive oil
2 red peppers, seeded and chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 - 3 links chorizo, 6 to 9 oz (Spanish chorizo), sliced in half lengthwise and cut into half moons
1/2 t smoked paprika
1 t dried parsley
1 c long white rice
1 14 oz can diced or crushed tomatoes
salt and pepper
hot sauce (optional)

Rinse and sort the beans. Put into a pot or crock pot an add 4 1/2 cups water. If cooking on the stove bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Let simmer until the beans are tender, 3 - 4 hours. If using a crock pot, set it to high and cook the same amount of time. Add more water if it looks dry while cooking. Set aside. Do not drain.

In a large pot like a dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the peppers, onion, garlic and celery. Sauté until the onions are translucent and everything is tender. Stir in the chorizo, paprika and parsley. Add the rice and cook for one minute. Add the beans with cooking water and the tomatoes. You want there to be a little more than 2 cups liquid (just eyeball it). If you need a little more add some water. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes until the rice is tender.

Taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as needed. Serve with hot sauce if desired.

Makes 6 servings and is really good reheated as a leftover.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Matt's Hawaiian Stir-Fry

Last week, I suggested to Matt that we have some of the sausages we have in the freezer for dinner. He started listing the kinds we had and remembered there was a Hawaiian sausage flavored with pineapple and cherries. He thought it would be good in a stir-fry.

I have to be honest with you this did not turn out exactly as we had planned. The sausages were uncooked, so Matt put them to simmer in a pot with a little water. Well, the skins burst open and they completely fell apart. What we were left with was more of a ground Hawaiian sausage. Luckily, this would work just as well in the stir-fry as slices of sausage.

The sausage itself was really interesting. We picked it up at RJ's Meats last summer. They used a mixture of ham and pork along with the pineapple, cherries and spices. The flavor of the ham really stood out in this sausage, to tell you the true it reminded me a lot of Spam. And really can you get more Hawaiian than Spam?! Mixed with some red pepper, coconut and fresh pineapple, it gave us a little flavor of the tropics during a Minnesota winter.

Matt's Hawaiian Stir-Fry

1 T canola oil
1/2 a red pepper, chopped
4 scallions, sliced
1 1/2 c pineapple cubes
3/4 c cooked white rice (we used jasmine)
6 oz Hawaiian sausage, sliced or crumbled (or use Spam)
2 eggs, whisked
handful of unsweetened coconut flakes

Sauce

2 T soy sauce
2 T oyster sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T hoisin sauce
1 T honey

Mix sauce ingredients together and set aside.

In a wok or large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the onion and pepper. Cook 1 minutes. Add the pineapple. Cook 2 minutes until the pepper is softened and the pineapple starts to brown. Add the rice and sausage. Stir to combine. Pour in the egg and stir until cooked. Add the sauce and coconut. Cook until everything is combined and hot.

2 servings

By the way the left over red pepper, sausage and pineapple made for a great pizza later in the week.

We just added some red sauce and mozzarella.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Crock Pot Bean and Sausage Soup

We are all about the comfort foods right now and this soup came about because of a craving for cassoulet. Now, this is by no means a cassoulet, but it's a kissing cousin with its slow cooked beans and sausage.

You could not get much easier than this dinner. It's pretty much a throw everything in the crock pot and let it simmer all day sort of thing, I didn't even bother crisping the bacon before cooking. It smells amazing and is full of wonderful slow cooked flavor.

A few notes on this dish: You could easily skip the kale, but we are always looking for ways to get a dark leafy green in the winter. The only thing I might do differently next time is add the sausage the same time as the kale. It got a pretty soft texture from the long cooking. The soup gets a lot of its flavor from the sausage, but that last hour should be enough time for that to happen.

Crock Pot Bean and Sausage Soup

1 c dried white or yellow beans (we used Rancho Gordo Yellow Indian Woman Beans)
12 oz smoked andouille sausage links, sliced into rounds
2 slices smoked bacon, chopped
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
2 springs fresh thyme
5 c chicken broth or if you are using a good hearty stock a mix of stock and water
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thin
2 bay leaves
2 c frozen pearl onions
4 oz chopped kale
salt and pepper

Rinse the beans. Put everything except the kale in the crock pot. Set to high and let cook for about 4 hours. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add the kale. Let cook about another hour until the beans are nice and tender. Serve with a good crusty bread.

Makes 4 - 5 servings.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Biscuits with Sausage and Coffee Gravy

Sun Street Bread had buttermilk biscuits at the farmers market on Sunday, so we decided to pick some up and make biscuits and gravy for dinner. Yes, yes, I can make my own biscuits, but with such fantastic ones easily on hand there is no need to.

Ok, there is really no pretty way to photograph this dish, believe me I tried, but what it lacks in looks it totally makes up for in taste.

Sausage gravy is really pretty basic, sausage, milk, flour and lots of pepper. Matt thought we should add one more ingredient to give it an extra kick, instant espresso. Coffee is the secret ingredient in my grandmother's recipe for Swedish meatball gravy, so it made perfect sense to me. What you end up with is a dark rich gravy with a hint of coffee flavor. I loved it. Matt thought there was a little bitterness from the espresso, but I didn't notice it at all.

Biscuits with Sausage and Coffee Gravy
Do not skimp on the pepper in this gravy!

1/2 lb bulk Italian sausage
olive oil, if needed
2 T all-purpose flour
1 c milk
1/2 t instant espresso or coffee
30 grinds fresh pepper
salt
3 biscuits

In a large skillet, sauté the sausage over medium heat until cooked through. If your sausage is lean and doesn't release much fat add about 1/2 T olive oil. Sprinkle with the flour. Stir while cooking for 1 minute.

Mix the espresso into the milk. Stir slowly into the sausage. Cook while stirring until thick and creamy. If it is too thick stir in a little more milk. Stir in the pepper. Taste and add salt as needed.

Cut biscuits in half and top with sausage and gravy.

Makes 3 servings.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Sausage, Bean and Kale Soup

What could be better on a chilly, rainy fall day than a bowl of hearty soup?

Not much in our books. We really couldn't be more happy to have soup season on us again and this soup was a great way to kick it off.

This soup is super simple to make and, despite that fact it doesn't have a huge list of ingredients, it's full of flavor. The trick is to use good beans and sausage, both of which give a lot of flavor to the broth. We used Ranch Gordo Yellow Indian Woman Beans, which is a small bean that retains it shape while cooking yet still gets creamy on the inside. They have a rich, earthy flavor. You want to make sure the sausage is well spiced, some brands can be a little bland (which is why we started making our own). If yours is, add a little extra fennel and garlic with the red pepper flakes to the broth. A good dose of seasonal kale ups the healthy quotient.

Sausage, Bean and Kale Soup
(I use dried beans, but you can used can beans if you wish and cut the first simmering time to 30 minutes.)

1 c dried yellow Indian woman beans (or white beans)
1 T olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
8 oz bulk Italian sausage
1/4 t crush red pepper flakes (skip if you use a spicy Italian sausage)
1 T tomato paste
1 bay leaf
5 c chicken stock
kosher salt
4 oz fresh kale, roughly chopped

Rinse the beans. Put them in a pot or crock pot with about 3 cups water. Simmer for about 2 hours until almost tender. Drain.

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until the onion becomes translucent. Add the sausage and cook through. Stir in the red pepper flakes and tomato paste. Add the bay leaf and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.

Remove the cover. Taste the broth and add salt as needed. Add the kale and simmer uncovered until tender, about 30 more minutes.

Makes 5 - 6 servings.

What soup is fall making you crave?

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Teriyaki Brat and Pineapple Kabobs

Looking for a simple dish to throw on the barbecue this holiday weekend but, you want something other than your typical burgers or dogs? Well, here's a little something that fits the bill.

Matt and I were wandering around the grocery store the other day trying to think of what we wanted to grill for dinner that night. He was leaning towards sausages of some kind but, I wanted something a little different then just a sausage on a bun. Then it hit me, pineapple gets nice and caramelized on the grill and is so tasty with pork. Teriyaki goes will with pork and pineapple so why not with a pork brat?! The results was an easy Asian-inspired kabob that surprised both of us with how good it was.

There is really no recipe here at all since it's just putting brat slices and pineapple chunks on skewers, coating them in teriyaki sauce and barbecuing until everything is heated through. Here's a few tips though...
* Choose a smoked pork brat that is cooked through already. A fresh brat will be hard to cut into sliced and skewer.
* Look for a teriyaki barbecue sauce instead of the normal teriyaki sauce in the Asian section, it will be thicker and stick to everything better.
* We bought fresh pineapple chunks in the produce section of the grocery store which made putting this dinner together quicker than cutting up our own pineapple.
* Skewer your brat slices through the edges so the cut sides will be sitting on the grill. This puts more of the meat in contact with the heat.
* Barbecue until the pineapple chunks start to get some good dark grill marks on them.
* We served our kabobs with jasmine rice and some frozen vegetables that I stir-fried up with a little of the teriyaki sauce.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Quick Sausage and Olive Pasta

I love the idea of cooking up a big Sunday roast dinner but, Sunday seems to be the day we end up running all our errands and by the time we get home we just aren't up to making the big meal. This Sunday was no different. We are in the midst of having the front of our house re-stuccoed which means we can finally replace the ugly brass house numbers glued on right now and the porch light. I can't believe how hard it is to find nice numbers! We drove from one end of town to the other and found nothing. Luckily we did find a nice light on clearance. Anyway, back to the food. By the time we did that and the grocery shopped, cooking was not high on our list, making it a perfect night for a simple pasta like this one.

The olives, and the way their brininess infuses the sauce, are what really make this dish something more than pasta with meat sauce. You'll want to serve it with some crusty bread to get all the sauce you can.

Quick Sausage and Olive Pasta

(I don't like my pasta to be overly saucy, if you prefer more double the amount of tomato sauce in this recipe.)

4 oz dried pasta
1/2 T olive oil
1/2 lb Italian Sausage (mild or spicy, your choice)
1/2 a red onion, sliced thin
1 c tomato sauce
1 T tomato paste
1/2 - 3/4 c green olives (halved)
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
kosher salt
grated Parmesan

Cook the past according to the directions. When done drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and red onion. Cook until the sausage is cooked through breaking the sausage up as you go. Add in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, olives and red pepper flakes. Heat through. Taste and add salt is needed (you might not need any with the olives already adding salt). Stir in the drained pasta. Serve with grated Parmesan on top.

2 servings.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Sausage and Olive Bites

Here's a perfect little snack to have with those Friday night cocktails...

Whenever we eat at Broder's Pasta Bar these days, we start our meal with an order of olive ripiene, olives stuffed with fennel sausage then breaded and deep fried. Oh, they are a crunchy, salty treat. I had some leftover Italian sausage in the fridge so, I thought I'd try to make my own version.

Instead of stuffing the olives with the sausage, I wrapped mine in it, almost like a Scotch egg with an olive in place of the egg. Then I rolled them in a little panko and baked them. The panko toasted up in the fat of the pork makes for a crisp little bite without the hassle of frying. The flavor of the fennel and pork sausage mixes with briny olive to create a bite goes so wonderfully with your favorite libation.

Sausage and Olive Bites

1 lb bulk Italian sausage
48 green olives with the pimento
1/2 c or so panko

Dry off the olives with a paper towel. Make a little patty with a small bit of the sausage, about 2 inches wide. Put an olive in the middle and wrap the sausage around it. Roll in your hands to make a meatball about 1 inch in size. Roll in panko. Continue until all the sausage and olives are used up. Chill for at least an hour. (My mom thinks you could freeze them & then pull them out when guests stop by though, I have not tested this.)

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Put the bites on a baking sheet with sides. Bake for 20 minutes until the panko is turning golden brown and the sausage is cooked through. Serve hot or warm.

I'm not exactly sure of the yield here. I had a little less than 1/4 pound of sausage and got 10 bites out of it so, I think a whole pound will get about 4 dozen.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Wisconsin Spaetzle and Cheese

Remember when you were a kid and your mom made you Kraft mac and cheese with hotdogs cut up into it? Well, here's your grown up version of that with a little bit of a German-American twist.

A few days ago Lara over at Wandering Fork posted a spaetzle dish and it totally gave me a spaetzle and cheese craving. Then I started thinking spaetzle, cheddar...aha brats. We had some Gigawatt Brats in the fridge from Bar 5 Meat. They had a nice heat from jalapenos and red pepper which I think added a lot to the dish. At the last minute, we decided to add some spicy brown mustard to the sharp cheddar sauce which added another perfect flavor layer.

So, why do we call it Wisconsin Spaetzle and Cheese? Well, to us, it just seems like a combination of foods we relate with our neighbor state all rolled into one big helping of comfort food. All it needs is a cold bottle of New Glarus Beer and I think you have a meal that would make any one from the Dairy State happy.

A note on making the spaetzle: The original Tyler Florence recipe says to push the dough through a large sieve or grater to make the spaetzle. There was no way this was happening with this loose sticky dough. Matt even tried pushing it through the garlic grater which just made a huge glob. I ended up just using my hands and dropping small pieces of dough into the boiling water. Try to keep the pieces thin an about 1/2-inch long.

Wisconsin Spaetzle and Cheese

Spaetzle
(adapted from Tyler Florence)

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
3/4 t salt
pinch of pepper
1/2 t dry mustard
pinch of nutmeg
3 large eggs, beaten
1/4 c + 2 T milk

Mix the flour, salt, pepper and mustard together. Mix in eggs and milk until you get a thick, smooth batter. Let sit 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a big pot of salted water to a boil. Drop the spaetzle dough in a little at a time in small pieces. When they float to the top scoop out of the water with a strainer. Rinse with cool water and drain. You'll have to do this in a few batches and may have to add more water to the pot as you go.

Mustard Cheese Sauce

1/2 T unsalted butter
1 T all-purpose flour
1/2 c milk
1/4 c heavy cream
4 1/2 oz sharp cheddar, cut
pinch of salt
few grinds of fresh pepper
1 T spicy brown mustard

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and cook while stirring for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and cream. Whisk while cooking until smooth and slightly thickened. Add the cheese & stir until completely melted. Stir in the salt, pepper and mustard.

Assembly and Cooking

2 brats, cooked and sliced into rounds (we used a spicy brat & I highly recommend that bit of spice)
a little grated cheddar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Mix the spaetzle, sliced brats and cheese sauce together. Pour into a casserole dish. Top with the grated cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes until the cheese is melted and the top is golden.

Makes 4 servings.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Banh Mi Dogs with Asian Peanut Slaw

Day two of our playing with hot dog toppings is a combination I've wanted to try for awhile now, a dog with all the toppings of a banh mi. Banh mi can be made with lots of different meats, pork, chicken, ham so, why not a hot dog?!

We started with a nice hoagie roll smearing one side with mayonnaise and the other with homemade pate. Then we added some pickled carrots and sliced jalapeno. Topped that with a good 100% pork dog (though any good hot dog will work) & a good handful of fresh cilantro. It really worked as a sandwich though, for our dogs, it really required a lot of toppings otherwise the seasoning in the dogs overpowered everything else. A good way to have a banh mi if you don't have any other cooked meat on hand.

We served the dogs with an Asian Peanut Slaw. I adapted Alton Brown's recipe by having it, leaving a few things out like mint & adding Sriracha. It is very peanuty & we ended up adding more soy but next time I think I'd also add a little more vinegar for a touch more tang. It makes for a really colorful side dish with the red peppers, carrots & onions.

Asian Peanut Slaw
(adapted from Alton Brown's)

1 small head napa cabbage, sliced thin (about 2 cups)
1 carrot, grated
1/4 c thinly sliced red pepper
1 T minced jalapeno
1/4 c sliced red onion
1/4 c rice wine vinegar (I would use a little more next time I make this)
1/4 c peanut butter
2 1/2 t soy sauce
1 t sesame oil
1 1/2 t lime juice
dash of Sriracha
pinch of dried ginger

Mix the cabbage, carrot, peppers & onion together in a bowl.

Whisk the remaining ingredients together until smooth. Stir into vegetables until coated. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Makes 2 - 3 servings.

Ok, we have a couple dogs left, what unusual toppings do you suggest?

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Oh, La, La French Dog

It's the opening of baseball season. Now Matt & I could really care less about the sport but, we do appreciate the food most associated with it, the hot dog. With the temps warming up & grilling season upon us, Matt thought this was a good week to play with hot dog toppings.

His first creation was inspired by a jar of cornichons in the fridge. He decided to make a dog with a decidedly French twist.

He started with some nice hoagie rolls (though any hot dog bun will do). He smeared them with a good amount of Dijon mustard. Then he added some slices of brie & cornichons. Topped off, of course, with the hot dogs. The dogs we used were 100% pork (they were part of the last 1/4 of a pig we bought) but any good hotdog will do. Since our buns were big we put two dogs in each.

Ok, this was surprisingly good. Matt said a cheese dog but, a really good cheese dog, one with that funky kick from the brie. The texture of the brie is great especially when it gets all warm & melty from the hot dogs. We were a little afraid the cornichons would overpower everything but instead they added a nice tang against the creaminess. We would totally do this version of the dog again!

Tomorrow another international twist on the all-American hot dog....

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Italian Sausage and Bean Soup

We like to make a big pot of chili or soup during the week so we can have it for weekday lunches. During the winter it is so much more appealing than a cold sandwich or salad. Matt came up the the idea for this soup as a way to use up a pound of Italian sausage in the freezer. It made about 6 - 7 servings so, we are set for a couple days anyway.

Oh my, was this a flavorful soup & we didn't even use any stock in it. A lot of the flavor comes from the seasoning in the sausage so, make sure your pick a really good one or even better grind & spice your own. The red pepper, which was a last minute addition, is also a prominent flavor. Finally, we use the cooking water from beans in the soup as well. In the last couple of months we've really come to love the flavor the pot liquor from cooking beans adds to soups & stew, don't throw it out! It probably helps that we use really good Rancho Gordo beans.

Italian Sausage & Bean Soup

1 c dried white beans (we used Rancho Gordo snocaps)
1/2 T olive oil
1 lb bulk Italian sausage
1/2 red pepper, seeded & chopped
1/2 c chopped yellow onion
1 14/5 oz can diced or crushed tomatoes, juice included
1 T tomato paste
1/4 c red wine
1/2 t dried basil
1/2 t dried oregano
salt
Parmesan rind (optional)

About 3 hours before you want to make the soup start your beans. Rinse the beans & put them in a pot or crockpot with about 3 cups water. Let simmer for 2 - 3 hours until almost completely tender (I like to under cook mine a little since they will cook a little more in the soup).

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage & cook through, breaking up with a spoon while cooking. Add the peppers & onions. Cook until the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes with juices, beans with their cooking liquid, tomato paste, red wine, basil, oregano & two cups water. If you are adding a Parmesan rind do it now as well. Let simmer for about 30 minutes. Taste & season with salt as needed.

Serve with a good crusty bread. If you haven't used Parmesan rind you may want to sprinkle a little grated Parmesan on top.

Makes 6 - 7 servings

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Sausage and Bean Soup

I don't know about you guys but I'm starting to feel the holiday pressure. Really it's my own fault. You see, I decided to make a bunch of handmade gifts this year, 2 knit scarves, a pair of mittens, 2 pairs of pjs &, here's the topper, 4 quilts. The knitting projects are done but the sewing projects are taking a little longer, I still have the pjs & 2 quilts left to make. Plus I'm heading off to San Francisco again next week! Ok, breath. (Want to see all the stuff I'm making? Visit my craft blog.)

So, what does this have to do with food anyway? Well, as I'm sewing busily away in my craft room the last thing I want to do is stop everything to make dinner. This is when I love my slow cooker. Everything gets put together either in the morning or at lunch & then I have the whole afternoon to sew without stop. This soup gave me the time to quilt a whole quilt yesterday.

Served with some crusty bread this soup makes for a hearty winter meal with lots of flavor. It uses just a little stock & mainly water as the base because the sausage & beans impart so much flavor to the broth. Chose a good flavorful, garlicy sausage.

Let's talk beans. We used Rancho Gordo Snocap beans in this soup. They are bigger than the navy bean I would usually use in this type of soup & have a wonderful creamy texture. But really you can use any white bean in it. Using dried beans though, does really make a difference here because of the flavor they add to the broth while cooking. I totally recommend buying good dried beans like Rancho Gordo's. They have such a variety & the flavors & textures are so superior to most we get in the grocery store. We usually stock up with a few pounds whenever we go to San Francisco but they are available online & are starting to pop up in stores around the country. I know here in Minneapolis you can now get them at Surdyk's.

Sausage & Bean Soup

2 oz pancetta, diced (substitute bacon if you wish)
4 oz onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 c chicken stock
2 c water
1 c dried white beans, rinsed
2 polish sausages (brat size), cut in half length-wise & then sliced
1 bay leaf
1/2 t worchestershire sauce
1/2 t salt
1/2 t dried sage
a couple grinds of fresh pepper
a few dashes hot sauce

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta & cook until it renders its fat & begins to get crispy. Add the onions, carrots, celery & garlic to the skillet & sauté until the onion begins to get translucent.

Put all the the ingredients into a slow cooker. Turn to high & let cook for 4 1/2 - 5 hours until the beans are tender. (This time will really be depended on the size of your beans, we used quite a large bean.)

Makes 4 servings

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Lasagna Soup

When Matt travels I often find myself picking up containers of soup from the deli at the local gourmet grocery store, Kowalski's, for lunch or dinner. Recently, they seem to have a whole bunch of new varieties for winter & I was intrigued by one called lasagna soup. It was so good I knew I had to try creating a version of it at home.

A creamy tomato soup is made even creamier with ricotta cheese & seasoned with basil & oregano. Sausage & lasagna noodles are added creating a hearty soup with all the flavors of lasagna. We used a spicy Italian sausage which gave a good bite of heat against the creamy, cheesy soup. The broken lasagna noodles make great soup noodles,retaining their texture even two days later, plus, I like a thick noodle in soups. This soup was tasty as is but next time I may add some spinach for color & to get some greens in our winter diet.

We had our first snowstorm of the winter this past weekend which kept us trapped inside on Saturday. This soup was the perfect warmer in front of the fire re-watching all the Harry Potter movies (yes, I'm getting excited to see the new one Thursday night!).

Lasagna Soup

1 lb bulk Italian sausage, we used hot but mild would be find too
5 oz yellow onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped, about 2 T
1 T tomato paste
1 t dried basil
1/2 t dried oregano
2 t kosher salt
few grinds fresh pepper
2 14.5 oz cans of crushed or diced tomatoes
2 T sherry
2 c chicken stock
1 c half & half
1 c ricotta
1/4 c grated parmesan
6 lasagna noodles (not the no boil kind)

In a large heavy soup pan or dutch oven brown the sausage over medium-high heat until cooked through, break it into pieces as you go. Remove from the pan & set aside.

The pan should have a good coating of fat in it from the sausage if not, add a little olive oil. Cook the onions & garlic over medium-high heat until tender & the onions are translucent. Add the tomato paste, basil, oregano, salt & pepper. Cook while stirring for about a minutes. Add the tomatoes & bring to a simmer. Let simmer 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water. Break the lasagna noodles into large pieces & put into the boiling water. Boil until just undercooked, for us that was about 6 1/2 minutes. Drain & set aside.

Process the soup until smooth either in a blender or with an immersion blender. Stir in the sherry, chicken stock & half & half. Heat through over low heat. Add the ricotta & parmesan. Stir over low heat until melted. Stir in the sausage & noodles. Taste for seasoning & adjust as needed.

Serve with extra grated parmesan if desired.

Makes 8 servings.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Pumpkin Guts

Gooey, oozy & oh so tasty...

Pie pumpkins are the perfect individual sized serving dish especially when stuffed with bread, cheese & sausage. Plus, how cute are these to serve on your Halloween table?

The pumpkin flesh softens during roasting so it can be mixed into the filling when it comes time to eat creating a yummy one dish (ok, one pumpkin) meal. It's almost like having a cheese fondue with all the dippers mixed in.

We'd actually made this before a couple years ago using one large kabocha squash & then scooping out all the filling to serve. With the larger squash we found we had a lot of squash leftover after eating all the filling. With these smaller pumpkins there seemed to be a much better ratio of squash flesh to filling. I also changed the filling slightly this time by adding white wine to it.

Pumpkin Guts
(Since every pumpkin is going to be a different size you may use a little less or a little more cheese & sausage than this recipe calls for.)

8 oz bulk Italian sausage (spicy or mild, your choice)
2 pie pumpkins (about the size of a large soup bowl)
vegetable oil
3/4 c heavy cream
1/4 c white wine
pinch of nutmeg
8 slices french bread, preferably day old, about 1/2" thick
3 oz grated cheese, emmental, swiss or gruyere would be good

Cook up the bulk sausage & set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Cut off the top of the pumpkins as if you were going to carve them into a jack o'lantern. Clean the pulp & seeds from the inside & top. (Save the seeds to roast!). Lightly oil the outside of the pumpkins including the top. Oil a baking pan with sides & place the pumpkins in it.

Mix the cream, wine & nutmeg together.

Put two slices of bread in the bottom of each pumpkin. Then layer in 1/4 of the cheese & 1/4 of the sausage into each pumpkin. Top with 1/4 of the cream sauce. Press down. Repeat the layers using all the remaining bread, cheese, sausage & cream sauce. Do not go over the edge of the pumpkin. Put the tops on the pumpkin.

Place in the oven& bake for about 1 hour until the pumpkin is soft & the filling is bubbling.

They may ooze over a little bit. Let sit a few minutes before serving.

2 servings.

Don't forget to click through & read the other blogs in the GreatHallowTweet on the left over there & to enter to win a yourself a treat from Ghiradelli chocolate.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Smoked Sausage Gumbo

You might remember about 2 weeks ago we smoked 6 pounds of sausage for our Smokapalooza party. We had a little sausage left over & Matt suggested I turn it into gumbo.

It's been hot here & I didn't really feel like having gumbo cooking on the stove all day so I looked for a version that could be done in the crock pot. The crock pot has really been my friend during the hot weather since it just doesn't heat up the kitchen in the way the stove & oven do. You do have to do a little stove top prep for this recipe when you make the roux but, I just do that in the morning while it's still cool.

This gumbo turned out quite good with a great thick texture. I was a little worried the okra would make it slimy but after cooking all day thee was no slime at all. The original recipe called for a mixture of sausage & chicken but we had so much sausage I left the chicken out. It was good but I think I would have enjoyed the addition of chicken even more. I added the hot sauce & worcestershire sauce to the recipe to give it even more flavor. Of course, Matt added even more hot sauce when he ate it. All & all this was a great use for leftover sausage.

Smoked Sausage Gumbo
(adapted from Southernfood.About.com)

40 - 60 minutes prep time

4 T unsalted butter
1/4 c all-purpose flour
2 c chicken stock
1 lb smoked sausage, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 heaping c sliced okra (I used frozen)
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t salt
few grinds fresh pepper
1/4 t crushed red pepper
few dashes hot sauce, something like Tabasco or Crystal
few dashed Worcestershire sauce
water

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour. Cook while stirring for about 3 - 4 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium & continue to cook, stirring constantly for about 15 minutes. You are looking for your roux to be the color of a copper penny.

Put the chicken stock into a crock pot. Stir in the roux. Add all the remaining ingredients except for the water. Add enough water so everything is almost covered (You can use more chicken stock instead of water if you want. I was using homemade stock which is really flavorful so using water won't dilute the flavor too much.)

Turn crock pot to high & let cook for 4 - 5 hours.

Serve over hot rice.

4 servings