Sausage and Peppers, Two Ways

I had just about given up on the return of my willingness to blog when, low and behold, it showed back up.    Maybe it's because I have a delicious way to use leftovers to post.  Maybe it's because I received a comment that wasn't in Chinese and didn't translate into porn websites.  Whatever the reason, it's back.  I do have a feeling that it may just be kind of testing the waters.

I admit that I came up with this dinner after I watched an episode of the Jersey Shore.  Don't judge me.  I can do what I want.

Sausage Peppers

First Way:  Oven-baked

We make this for two adults, a sausage a person, doubled so that there are leftovers.

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 hot Italian sausages

3 large bell peppers, sliced

8 oz of assorted mushrooms (we like brown and white buttons), sliced

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup white wine

2 tsp oregano (dried)

2 tsp fennel seeds

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1.  Preheat the oven to 400.  

2.  In a 5 quart stovetop and oven safe pan, heat the olive oil over a medium flame.

3.  Brown the sausages in the oil, roughly 30 seconds each side.  Remove from heat.

3.  Add the bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, white wine, fennel, oregano, and salt into the pan on top of the sausages.

5.  Cover and cook 45 to 60 minutes (until the sausages are done).  Serve hot with a side salad.

Second Way:  Grilled Pepperonata Sandwiches

The leftover sausages and peppers gets turned into this for a quick meal the following day.

In addition to leftovers from the above meal, you need:

2 hoagie rolls

several thin slices of mozzarella 

dijon

mayo

1.  Preheat your barbecue to medium.  

2.  Barbecue leftover sausages until hot.

3.  In the meantime, on a grill top or in a large skillet on medium high heat, warm the vegetables.  When the sausages are almost warm, place the cheese on top of the vegetables and push them around a bit so it gets the vegetables all melty.

4.  Lightly grill the buns.  Prepare with mayo, mustard, or whatever else you'd like.  Add the sausages and top with the cheesy vegetables.  

Drool.

What Not To Cook - Salty Smoked Ribs

Not everything we make is delicious. Sometimes we spend hours cooking and photographing a dish only to take two bites and dump it into the garbage.

Let it be known that my father makes the best smoked pork ribs this side of the Mississippi. They are so good he won't even tell me, his beloved and only child, his secret recipe. You know, the child that fly fishes with him, trades jokes with him...the one that everyone who knows us calls "his mini-me". Let's not forget that his genes die with me!

In an attempt to be all "fine, we don't need your stinkin' ribs anyway" we got our own Bradley smoker (thanks, Ny!) so that we could attempt our own rib recipes. No matter how hard we try though, we always fail.

This time, I was certain that we had nailed it. My husband even did a few small jigs over how we were going to be all "in your face!" to my dad's ribs. After driving our stomachs crazy with the smell of hickory all afternoon, we dug in.

All I can say is, thank god I had made cornbread muffins.

What We Did Wrong:

1 rack pork ribs

1/2 cup red peppercorns, cracked

1/2 cup black peppercorns, cracked

1/4 salt

Rub ribs with salt and pepper. Wrap in foil. Smoke with hickory at 225 F for 4.5 hours.

Analysis: 1/4 salt? What were we thinking? We're the people that don't use table salt and regularly come in under the sodium allowance for the day. Salt was the major killer in this dish.

Red peppercorns added a special flavor, but way too much of that somethin' somethin'. The foil, although it kept the ribs moist, prevented the smoke from penetrating the inner layers of the meat.

If We Could Do It Again:

1 rack pork ribs

1/4 cup black peppercorns, cracked

1/8 cup red peppercorns, cracked

1 tbs salt

Rub ribs with salt and pepper. Wrap in foil for first 2 hours and smoke with hickory at 225 F. After two hours, remove foil and continue to smoke for 2.5 hours.

Dinner Snapshot - Jambalaya

We made jambalaya last Sunday and ended up eating it three nights in a row. The flavors just got better and better as the days went by. The first night, this dish was good. The second night, this dish was incredible. By the third night, the flavor was mind-blowing and it made us want to cry into our bowls when we ate the last bite.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
12 ounces andouille sausage or kielbasa, quartered lengthwise and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 1/4 cups jasmine rice (9 ounces)
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 1/2 cups water
1 thyme sprig
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 pound lump crabmeat

12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 scallions, finely chopped
Tabasco

Instructions:

1. In a medium, enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the olive oil.

2. Add the andouille and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

3. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic to the casserole. Cover and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes.

4. Add the Old Bay, rice and andouille and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is opaque, about 2 minutes.

5. Add the stock, water and thyme, season lightly with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.

6. Cover and cook over very low heat until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

7. Fluff with a fork and stir in the crab, shrimp and scallions.

8. Cover and let stand for 3 to 4 minutes, just until the crab is hot and the shrimp are opaque; discard the thyme sprig. Serve in bowls doused with plenty of Tabasco.

Dinner Snapshot - Mussel and Chorizo Soup

David and I love to cook. We try to make wholesome, organic, preservative free food every night.
(You might find us slumming at Carl's Jr., but that's a whole other addiction. This post is about our addiction to cooking.)

He went snowboarding yesterday so I decided to make a warm, hearty soup for him to come home to.

Mussel and Chorizo Soup

1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon finely minced shallots
3 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 ounces dry chorizo, finely diced (about 3/4 cup)
2 medium carrots, finely diced
2 medium leeks, white and tender greens parts only, finely diced
1 small onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large plum tomato, finely diced
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
3 cups low-sodium fish stock, clam juice or chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 teaspoon chopped thyme

Directions
1. In a large, heavy pot, bring the wine with the shallots to a boil.

2. Add the mussels, cover and cook over high heat until they open, about 5 minutes. Strain the cooking liquid into a large bowl and reserve. Remove the mussels from their shells, reserving some unshelled for garnish, if desired.
3. In the large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the chorizo, carrots, leeks and onion; cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes.

4. Spoon off all but 3 tablespoons of the fat. Add the garlic, diced tomato and saffron and cook over moderate heat until fragrant, about 4 minutes.

5. Add the fish stock and reserved mussel cooking liquid and bring to a boil. Simmer the soup over low heat for 30 minutes.
6. Add the cream to the soup and simmer over moderately high heat for 3 minutes

7. Season with salt and pepper. Add the mussels and the thyme and simmer just until the mussels are heated through, about 1 minute.

8Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with the mussel shells and serve hot.

This meal is definitely going into our regular rotation.

* Recipe from March 2008 Food and Wine