easy bake oven sausages & tomatoes

layering flavors: bacon,rosemary & tomatoes

easy bake oven sausages & tomatoes. i love it when i can clear out my fridge and have a delicious easy meal. inspired by jamie oliver’s tomato show - this was the perfect use for the spicy italian chicken sausages i bought on sale at whole foods. tomatoes, some tired, some fresh and a few cherry. not much prep. no standing & stirring. just turn on your oven and layer in the flavors. takes a few minutes of prep; an hour and half or so of baking. see? easy. do it. here’s how:

you’ll need:

bacon, at least 4 strips
sausages, i had 4

sausage and tomatoes

tomatoes, enough to make it saucy, about 10 medium. i had 4 medium and a handful of cherry. core tomatoes & score at the core if they are cherry. I added canned tomatoes too.
1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes, tomatoes only, no juice - use canned if you do not have enough fresh or use 2 cans if you have no fresh at all. cooking is fun.
4 bay leaves
oregano, a tablespoon or so dried, 4 sprigs, if fresh.
4 rosemary sprigs
garlic cloves, unpeeled, at least 6 up to an entire clove
salt

a starch to sop up the juices! bread, pasta, rice, polenta, your choice.

jamie used a sheet pan in an outdoor pizza oven. i used a glass casserole dish and a regular ole gas oven.

lay bacon strips in casserole dish or sheet pan.
set oven to 400℉.
put dish/pan in cold oven and bake for at least 25 minutes.
note: thick cut bacon may take longer to render fat and crisp up.

when bacon has rendered most of its fat and is kinda crispy, move bacon to one side of casserole and add herbage to drippings. it’s fun to watch the herbs sizzle in the fat.

add tomatoes, cored/scored side down. return dish/pan to the oven for 15 minutes.
remove from oven & peel tomatoes with fingers - discarding peels.

salt tomatoes to taste.

add sausages to dish/pan.

reduce oven temp to 375℉ and bake for 1 hour. note: if using chicken sausage you won’t need to cook it as long as pork. let tomatoes/garlic mixture bake alone for 25 minutes, then add chicken sausage for the remaining 35 minutes. pull bacon to the top of mixture so it won’t get flabby.

plate --- don’t forget to get some garlic and bacon!

verdict: smells wonderful while baking. super flavorful. delicious. easy. fun.

risotto!

mushroom & spinach risotto!

risotto. i have been hesitant to make risotto at home. a rainy day & a hankering for comfort food forced me to crack open my martha stewart's cooking school cookbook. and yes, i had all ingredients on hand. i have been served disappointing risotto locally and had 1 good experience in austin, tx. sad or sublime (you choose) my home version kicked acadia’s & maddi’s asses. here’s how:

you’ll need:

martha’s recipe says to make a stock. i played along. i used what i had on hand, i freeze my shiitake stems for stocks, so, i added those in along with her recipe, minus the carrot,  i didn’t have one.

stock recipe:

1 celery stalk
1 medium carrot
½ small onion
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 sprig flat leaf parsley
7 cups of water or ½ h2o & ½ chicken stock

stock

combine stock ingredients in a 4 quart stockpot & bring to boil. reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. reduce heat to lowest setting to keep stock hot but not evaporating.

meanwhile:

mushrooms, about 6, sliced, optional

3 tablespoons olive oil
½ small onion, finely diced

1 cup arborio rice
⅓ cup white wine

in another 4 quart dutch oven, heat olive oil over med-high heat. cook onion until translucent stirring about for about 2 minutes. add rice and cook stirring until just starting to turn translucent, rice will start making a clicking sound about - 1-2 minutes. reduce heat if onion beings to brown.

note: i added fresh mushrooms to a DRY dutch oven first. i browned off the mushrooms, again, in a DRY pan, then i proceeded with above. optional.

add white wine and cook stirring just until absorbed. using a ladle, add hot stock to rice, stir with a wooden spoon until almost all liquid is absorbed. repeat this process for 20-25 minutes adding smaller amounts of stock near the end of cooking time. when the risotto makes a trail behind the wooden spoon, you know to add more stock. the risotto will be CREAMY when done and rice will be al dente but not crunchy. & p.s. dear acadia; risotto does NOT sit in a pool of stock. thanks.

2 tablespoons butter
½ cup grated parmesan cheese

fresh spinach, a couple handfuls, optional

when the risotto is finished. that means is tender and has absorbed all the liquid and is creamy --- finish it with butter. stir in butter until it is completely melted. then stir in cheese.

note: i added fresh spinach here. a couple handfuls. stir.

eat.

pasta e fagioli

pasta & bean soup garnished w grated parmesan & olive oil

pasta e fagioli. this is a pantry soup, meaning the recipe doesn’t call for many fresh ingredients. apart from rosemary from my herb garden --- onion & garlic complete the list of fresh items you will need. i was lucky and had all the ingredients on hand. this recipe doesn’t make much, so, if you want lunch tomorrow, double the recipe. if you save parmesan cheese rinds - dig ‘em out of the freezer and toss ‘em in the pot to simmer in the soup. do it, it’s delicious & easy & 1,000 times better than the watery olive garden version. yeah, i said it. here’s how:

you’ll need:

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 oz pancetta or bacon finely chopped
1 onion, finely diced
salt, about a teaspoon
2 garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic press
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can cannellini beans, drained & rinse
5 cups chicken stock
2 springs fresh rosemary
pepper

parmesan cheese rind
¾ cup tubular pasta, such as elbow mac or ditali

parmesan cheese, freshly grated
olive oil

you’ll do:

in a large dutch oven, heat oil over med-high heat. add pancetta or bacon and cook until crispy - about 5 minutes. add onion & salt and sauté until soft - about 6 minutes. add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds and add tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently - until paste turns rusty brown in color.

add beans, stock, rosemary, pepper & parmesan rind (if using). bring to a boil. reduce heat & simmer for 10 minutes. add pasta and cook until tender to the bite about 8 minutes.

serve and top with grated parmesan cheese and olive oil.

note: i cooked my elbow macaroni in a separate pot. if you are banking on leftovers, this is the way to go - add pasta to your soup bowl. the pasta will get flabby if forced to sit around in the soup.

pulled turkey

pulled turkey. you’ve heard of pulled pork, well, this may be better. braised in beer. cheap & easy. use bone-in, skin-on turkey thighs. i snagged ‘em on sale at whole foods. eat the pulled turkey in any dish you’d find pulled pork, on a sammie...in a taco. the sauce is the pièce de résistance! make ahead & let the shredded turkey and the sauce get to know each other in the fridge. bow chickie wow wow. do it. here’s how:

you’ll need:

1 food processor or blender (for the sauce)
1 bone-in turkey thighs or drumsticks (about 2 lbs total)
4 garlic cloves, peeled & sliced thinly
1 medium white onion, diced
2-4 fresh oregano sprigs
1 jalapeño or other picante pepper, deseeded & sliced into strips
1 tomato, chopped
1 dried chile, stemmed, seeded & torn into small bits
1 cinnamon stick
1 12 oz beer
1 cup water
olive oil
salt & pepper

you'll do:

season turkey with salt & pepper when you get home from the store. if you are going to brown it with in the next hour, let it hang out on the counter top. otherwise, rewrap it & stick it in the fridge.

in a large dutch oven, heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. when it shimmers, put in seasoned turkey. brown on each side, this will take about 8 minutes on med-high heat. transfer turkey to a plate.

reduce burner heat to medium, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to dutch oven and add garlic, onion, oregano sprigs and jalapeño. cook until onion is soft, about 8 mins. stir often.

add tomato, chile pepper, cinnamon stick and cook for about 4 minutes until tomato releases it’s juices.

return turkey to pot, add beer & water. bring to a boil. reduce heat to create a simmer, cover and cook for about an hour.

remove turkey to cool. remove cinnamon stick & what is left of the oregano sprig & discard.

increase heat to a boil and let sauce reduce for about 10-12 minutes. turn off heat.

meanwhile, remove turkey meat from the bone and shred into a bowl/container that will be able to hold the turkey meat and sauce.

when the sauce has cooled a bit, put into a blender or food processor and whiz until almost smooth. it will be thick like bbq sauce, but it tastes way BETTER. taste to adjust salt seasoning. whiz again.

pour sauce over shredded turkey. consume immediately or cover & refrigerate. gently reheat to make tacos or bbq type sammie. YUM.

note: this recipe was adapted from Deborah Schneider. no relation to Rob.

artichokes!

partially eaten steamed artichoke stuffed w garlic clove

steamed artichoke. if you have a thing for artichokes, you’ll want to try this recipe. super simple. flavorful. don’t be intimidated by cleaning the artichoke. get rid of the lower leaves - they are too tough to eat. watch this tutorial and get your water boiling! there will appear to be a lot of wasted leaves from a prepped artichoke, as anne burrell says: “accept it and move on.” here’s how:

you’ll need:

artichokes, prepped
1 lemon
1 stick of butter
herbs, finely minced
garlic cloves, 1 whole one for each artichoke & 2 finely minced for dipping butter
salt

you'll do:

get out your largest pot & place a steamer rack in the bottom. fill pot with water - do not submerse steaming rack. turn on heat to medium high. put lid on pot.

make acidulated water in a bowl large enough to hold your prepped artichokes. water + juice from ½ a lemon.

place 1 whole, peeled garlic clove inside artichoke before you put artichoke in steamer pot.

place artichoke, cut side down, stem pointing up on steamer rack & replace lid. set timer for 20 minutes. after 20 minutes, check water level - add more water if you need to. i didn’t have to - but i used a super large pasta pot. set timer for addtional 15 minutes. check stem with toothpick - if toothpick inserts easily into stem - artichoke is done. turn off heat. replace lid.

while artichokes are steaming; make your dipping butter. place 1 stick of salted butter in  glass measuring cup along with 2 finely minced garlic cloves, ¼ of salt and juice from ½ a lemon. heat on 50% heat in the microwave for 1 minute. let the residual heat melt the butter the rest of the way. before serving - add any minced herbs you’d like. i used a sprig each of marjoram, oregano & parsley.

dip & eat.

note: you do know that you do not eat the entire artichoke leaf, right? you dip the leaf in butter and scrap the flesh off the leaf with your teeth. you’re welcome.

creamy pasta w broccoli & spinach

creamy pasta w broccoli & spinach

creamy pasta with broccoli & spinach. fast. easy. delicious. this is no april fool's joke. the lemon zest adds the yum factor. spring has sprung!

you’ll need:

8oz pasta (i used whole wheat macaroni)
1 bunch broccoli
1 bunch fresh spinach
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup parm cheese
1 clove garlic, pressed
red pepper flakes
lemon zest (about ½ a lemon)
salt

you’ll do:

start a large pot of water to boil. when water comes to a boil add a handful of kosher salt.

prepare a large bowl with salted iced water to cool off broccoli & spinach.

cut broccoli into bite size florets. blanch broccoli for 3 minutes then transfer to iced water.

remove broccoli with your hand to a bowl - drain off excess water.

blanch spinach for 1 minute, then transfer to iced water.

add pasta to boiling water. yes, the water can be used 3 times.

in a food processor: add parm cheese, pressed garlic clove, lemon zest, butter, olive oil, red pepper flakes and the cream. whiz. taste & salt.

drain pasta and add back to large pot along with broccoli on low heat. add cream mixture and stir. grab a handful of spinach from iced bath and squeeze to remove excess water. add spinach to food processor and whiz. add spinach to pasta & stir. heat thru & eat!