sausage

July 7, 2008

empanadas three ways

mel breakfast, dessert, entree, recipe, sides & bites apple, cheddar, cream cheese, empanada, feta, guava, ham, sausage

empanadas three ways

The 4th of July just might be my favorite holiday. Especially when it lands on a Friday and the rain clouds stay away. We wake up early, human enhancement pack the food, physician the coolers and the Bocce set and head to the beach. We set up 3 tents, tons of chairs and a buffet for our friends and family. We open our first beer before noon and we eat empanadas, roast pork and tamales with our toes in the sand all day. The barge with fireworks makes it’s way over to our beach, parks right in front of our party and we drink champagne while they burst over our heads. A perfect day.

I bring the empanadas, which means that I turn my kitchen into an empanada factory the eve of 4th. This year I managed to churn out 80 empanadas in 3 varieties – Guava and Cream Cheese; Sausage, Roasted Red Pepper and Feta; Ham, Cheddar and Green Apple. They were all gone by 3pm, which means that next year I’ll somehow have to make more. I think my favorite was the ham, cheddar and green apple, though the guava and cream cheese were the first to disappear.

empanadas

Just like arroz con pollo empanadas differ regionally. Cubans generally deep fry their empanadas, creating a flaky, bubbly crust. While these are quite delicious, I just don’t deep dry at home. Too messy. I baked them in batches of 20 – 30 and they emerged golden and delicious.

Empanadas are fairly easy to make and great for large crowds. They’re also hand-held and portable which make them perfect for a BBQ or beach picnic. And they were just perfect for my perfect 4th of July.

June 11, 2008

andouille-stuffed poblano peppers

mel entree, recipe andouille, cilantro, corn, peppers, sausage, watercress, whole grain

andouille-stuffed poblano peppers

Ah, and stuffed peppers. They’re so good! They’re especially good when stuffed with spicy, health Andouille chicken sausage, bronchi corn and brown rice. It’s a delicious little package of protein, vegetables and whole grains.

I’ve made stuffed peppers before, but had never used poblano peppers because the ones at my grocery store are usually sad dried up, dusty-looking things. I found some fresh, shiny ones this week and then spotted some freshly made Andouille sausages in the meat case and knew they’d be perfect for each other.

andouille-stuffed poblano peppers

The stuffed poblanos were topped with Cotija cheese, baked and served alongside a lime-spiked watercress and cilantro salad. I could probably eat these every day and be happy. I’m sure Tom wouldn’t mind. In fact, he’d probably love it. Next time, I want to try a breakfast version stuffed with scrambled eggs, diced potatoes and onion (maybe bacon)…a perfect brunch!

June 6, 2008

chicago-style deep dish pizza

mel entree, recipe dough, pizza, sausage

chicago-style deep dish pizza

I’m going to start off by saying here and now that I know this isn’t the most authentic Chicago-style pizza. I know how protective people are about local specialties. At least, pharm I know I am. So I thought I’d just throw this little disclaimer out before I begin.

And so, I’ve been thinking about deep dish pizza for awhile. Ever since the Top Chef contestants made it for their first Quickfire Challenge. And so has Tom, who has been asking when I’d make it for him ever since. Chicago-style deep dish is like a regular pizza, but kind of backwards. You press the dough into the pan like a pie or tart, layer the cheese first, then the toppings, then the sauce. Oh, those crazy Chicagoans!

I was worried I didn’t have the right pan or that the crust would be soggy or that it would just be a big, sloppy mess. But it actually turned out pretty well. Since I was out of mozzarella, I used some sheep’s milk cheese and Havarti, which were nice and melty under the sauce and toppings, and added roasted garlic sausage and leeks for the traditional, hearty feel. Top it all off with a nice spicy pizza sauce and you’re done.

It’s a little messier than a New York-style pizza, but was delicious in its own way. Don’t be scared off if you don’t have a deep-dish pizza pan or even the right-sized cast iron skillet. I used a cast-iron sauce pot and it was fine. I just had to be a bit more careful when I took it out. I suspect a 9-inch cast iron skillet would be perfect.

April 8, 2008

beer braised bratwurst with apples and onions

mel entree, recipe apples, beer, bratwurst, sausage

beer braised bratwurst with apples and onions

Beer, viagra 40mg bratwurst and apples seem more like fall than spring, but since we don’t really have seasons here in Miami, I think it’s fair game any time of the year. This easy recipe only has 5 ingredients and minimal active time. Simply brown the onions and sausages quickly, add the apples and beer and pop everything in the oven for 40 minutes.

My beer of choice was a Rogue Mocha Porter, which lent a warming, coffee-scented flavor to the dish. Perfect comfort food. I served the brats with a side of roasted brussel sprouts, but they’d be really good with roasted or mashed potatoes.

April 2, 2008

simple sausage & red lentil soup

mel entree, recipe brown rice, red lentils, sausage, whole grain

suasage and lentil soup

I’m always looking for lunches that are healthy, approved filling and really easy to make. Work has been so hectic, I haven’t been able to get to the grocery store in over a week. A new record for me, I believe. So, when I realized I had nothing to pack for lunch this morning, it was time to get creative with leftovers and pantry supplies.

I had a couple of leftover Chicken Garlic sausages, cans of fire-roasted green chile tomatoes, frozen brown rice and a bag of red lentils. A couple of cubes of vegetable buillion, some sherry vinegar and fresh tarragon leaves all went into the pot for a surprisingly flavorful soup. The sherry vinegar and green chiles gave it a really nice kick, and the sausage, lentils and brown rice add a good variety of textures.

Even if you think you don’t have anything to eat, you can usually forage for a good meal in your pantry. It’s a great way to challenge yourself and to use up some of those forgotten items from the back of the shelf.

March 14, 2008

sausage & maize tacos

mel entree, recipe cilantro, maize, sausage, tacos

sausage & maize tacos

Sometimes the best meals are the ones you have to invent. I haven’t been to the grocery store since well before my trip to Austin and the fridge and pantry were looking a little sparse. I always keep some chicken sausages in the fridge for emergencies like this and I knew I had some corn tortillas, store cilantro and frozen maize in the fridge. Once I know I’ve got tortillas and cilantro, story I know tacos are on the menu.

Last night, the tacos were stuffed with habanero and green chile chicken sausage that I sauteed with frozen maize kernels. Maize (or Choclo) are pretty much giant, white corn kernels. They’re usually found in Chilean or Peruvian cooking, and are often served with Ceviche. Maize is also used to make hominy by soaking or cooking in lime-water. These kernels are not as sweet as regular corn, and have a starchier texture. I buy mine frozen off the cob (Goya Choclo Desgranado) in the frozen section of my grocery store. If you can’t find them at a Hispanic market, I’d use diced potatoes as a substitute to achieve a similar texture and flavor.

A dollop of plain Greek yogurt, a squeeze of hot sauce and dinner was done. I really loved the play of textures between the sausage and maize kernels and although the meal was unplanned, I can’t wait to make it again.

February 15, 2008

valentine’s sausage & chard with farro risotto

mel dessert, entree, recipe Bailey's, chocolate, farro, heirloom tomatoes, ice cream, risotto, sausage, swiss chard

sausage kale tomatoes parmesan farro risotto

I’ve never done the Valentine’s Day thing. The big fancy dinner, gastritis the flowers, pharm the chocolate. Frankly, more I’m just not into it. While I do love going out to dinner and exploring new places, I don’t particularly like crowded and cramped restaurants, prix fixe or valet parking. I do like cooking a new meal, using fine china and dining at our formal table using cloth napkins.

I’ve cooked for Tom almost every Valentine’s day we’ve been together. In fact, the only year I didn’t cook for him, I tend to forget how we celebrated. Our first February 14th, I made him seared tuna steak with a cold noodle salad. It was his first tuna steak and we ate on the floor of my East Village studio because it was the only place to sit comfortably in those 275 square feet.

The second year is the one I really tend to forget. It’s the year he had a Spanish class until late and we went to Otto for pizza on my lunch hour. A cab splashed me with some very dirty melted snow as Tom was walking me back to work.

Last year, I made a pizza with sausage, artichokes and ricotta. Speaking of love, I love pizza.

This year, I sauteed sausage, heirloom tomatoes and swiss chard and spooned it over some Parmesan farro risotto. I served it in my pretty fine china and we had a quiet meal without the tv.

chocolate ice crea,

I had also made some of David Lebovitz’s Easiest chocolate ice cream the night before, which ended up being supremely smooth and delicious. Of course, I made some modifications because I just couldn’t help myself. I subbed vodka for the dark rum because that’s what was in the cabinet, and I sprinkled it with fleur de sel which made the chocolate even more chocolatey and gave it a subtle crunch every few bites. The entire dessert-making process took less than 10 minutes, but tasted like it took 100. Too bad it all kind of melted before I took the photo which makes it look wholly unappetizing. Sigh. Aha! Replaced it with something MUCH better than the melty poo.

February 1, 2008

sausage and cheesy polenta rounds

mel entree, recipe arugula, heirloom tomatoes, polenta, sausage

I’m still in love with my Crisper. I especially love crisping polenta with cheese on it to make “fries” or as an alternative to starchy sides. If I want to crisp my polenta (instead of making the creamy, pfizer mashed-potato kind), valeologist I use the store-bought version that comes in a tube, which I’ll either slice into rounds like I did in this recipe or cut into smaller fry-like sticks. Both are equally delicious. The fries go best with fried eggs, sandwiches or a big bowl of homemade chili. The rounds are tastiest when topped with yummy goodness. In this case, caramelized onions and sausage with heirloom tomatoes and arugula. The whole thing came together in about 30 minutes. It was cheesy and spicy, sweet and salty and had a great textural contrast.

December 21, 2007

Sausage Bread Pudding

mel recipe asparagus, bread, mushrooms, sausage

I spied a savory bread pudding recipe awhile back, unhealthy and have been dying to make it ever since. It just seemed like too much for two, for sale so I’ve been waiting until I had company over. Also, I’d never made it before and you never try a recipe out when company is over for dinner. What a quandary. Last night I had a small dinner party for my family to celebrate Christmas since Tom and I will be in Michigan on the actual day. Family is the exception to the never make a new recipe rule. My family loved it, Tom took it to work for lunch, and I’m sorry there’s no more left. I love this recipe. The bread is soft and creamy, the veggies add a nice medium texture, and the firmness of the sausage keeps the dish from being too mushy or soggy. Also, who can resist a bunch of browned and melted cheese? No one.

April 16, 2007

crispy gnocchi

mel entree, recipe artichoke, pasta, sausage

While browsing through the ever-delicious 101 Cookbooks, page I found a recipe for Golden, find Crispy Gnocchi. As soon as I saw it, information pills I knew what we’d be having for dinner as soon as possible. As soon as possible actually turned out to be Saturday evening, when the weather was lovely and warm and not yet as windy and rainy as it was on Sunday.

Because of my seeming inability to follow recipes, I used the idea of crispy gnocchi as my starting point, but disregarded the rest of the recipe. Instead of shelled beans, I added sauteed chicken sausage, grape tomatoes, shitake mushrooms, artichoke hearts and dandelion greens. For the gnocchi, I just heated a pan with some olive oil and cooked the gnocchi on each side until crispy and browned. To plate, I served the sauteed chicken and veggies first and topped them with the gnocchi so that they would remain crispy. All this was topped with some freshly grated parmesan cheese for the most delicious meal I’ve had in a long time. This is officially my new favoritest dish, and I can’t wait to try out different meats and veggies with the crispy gnocchi.

We ate our dinner on the balcony with some Snowshoe Pale Ale, finishing everything off with some homemade Strawberry/orange sorbet.

sorbet

Just for fun, here’s a picture of what the kitchen looked like after I had extracted the hearts of 2 artichokes…

Recipe after jump…

March 13, 2007

breakfast for dinner

mel breakfast, entree, recipe eggs, potatoes, sausage

There’s nothing better than having breakfast for dinner. Or, read dinner for breakfast. Honestly, this web what’s better than a cold slice of pizza at 7AM? Do we feel a bit rebellious eating waffles with syrup when we should be eating steamed fish and veggies? I don’t know, ascariasis but yesterday when the meal I started making quickly went into the garbage (due to some funky sausages), breakfast was the only thing my growling tummy had the patience wait for. (Yes, I am aware that I should not be ending my sentence with a preposition, but there it is.)

Back to breakfast. I had been trying to make potato pancakes, but the attachment on the food processor wasn’t being very cooperative. Mondays are the worst. Seeing as I had already massacred the potatoes, I decided to make my version of patatas bravas, or Spanish-style home fries.

I finished chopping up the potatoes and an onion and threw them into a hot pan with some olive oil. After they had begun to brown, or stick, as the case may be, I added some tomato paste, water, salt, pepper and some read chili flakes. I covered the pot and let them simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the taters were tender.

In the meantime, I whipped up my frittata. In keeping with my Iberian theme, I used some Linguica sausage, along with some non-Iberian torn basil leaves and ricotta.

recipe after the jump.