Italian Sausage with Roasted Grapes and Polenta

I know this might sound weird. And it’s not that pretty. But it’s delicious. I first spotted this recipe on The Bitten Word blog. They found it on the Bon Appétit site. The Bitten Word guys made some changes to the original Bon Appétit recipe, but they still weren’t that impressed. I was convinced there must be some way to save the recipe, it seemed full of potential.

I checked out the comments to the Bitten Word and Bon Appétit recipes and googled the three ingredients and got some ideas. I decided to add red onion (instead of shallot), garlic and fennel seeds to the pot, and use chicken broth and balsamic vinegar instead of white wine for the finishing touch. It was a success. I wasn’t sure what Jim would think because, like many men, he’s not a fan of meat and fruit combos, but he enjoyed it too.

If you avoid making polenta because you don’t want to be tied to the stove, stirring a big pot, you’ll be happy to know this polenta recipe is quick and carefree. Maybe it won’t measure up to authentic polenta, but I’m no judge. All I know is since I discovered this method of making polenta in another recipe, I’ve been making polenta a lot more often.

Italian Sausage with Roasted Grapes and Polenta

You’ll need a medium microwave-safe bowl, whisk, plate and large ovenproof skillet.

• 3/4 cup medium-grind polenta or cornmeal (not instant polenta – my cornmeal was quite finely ground, but still worked well)
• 3 large sprigs thyme
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Butter
• Grated parmesan cheese
• 1 pound fresh hot or sweet Italian sausages (turkey, chicken or pork – confession, I used pork. Maybe that explains why it was so good?)
• 1/4 cup low-salt chicken broth
• 1 pound seedless red grapes, off the stems
• 1 red onion, thickly sliced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)
• 1-1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chicken broth
• Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional)
• Grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 450. Put cornmeal and 2-1/2 cups water in a medium microwave-safe bowl and whisk to combine. Add 1 thyme sprig and season with salt and pepper. Cover the bowl with a plate and microwave for 4 minutes. Carefully remove the plate and whisk polenta. Cover and microwave for 4 minutes longer. Repeat until the polenta is soft and aromatic, adding more water by 1/4-cupfuls if gets too thick. I usually only do it once or twice more. Stir in the butter and parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Meanwhile, heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausages and fry until browned, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add broth, remaining 2 thyme sprigs, grapes, red onion, garlic and fennel seeds. Transfer the skillet to the oven.

Roast, turning grapes and sausages halfway through cooking time, until grapes begin to caramelize and sausages are cooked through and begin to burst, 12–15 minutes.

Spoon polenta into wide, shallow bowls. If it’s too thick, whisk in a little water, cover and reheat for a few minutes in the microwave. Remove sausages from the skillet and cut them into diagonal pieces. Arrange sausages over the polenta.

Add balsamic and chicken broth to the skillet. Stir over high heat, scraping up browned bits. Drizzle grape pan sauce over sausages. Sprinkle with parsley, if you wish.

Original recipes: Creamy Polenta with Sausages and Roasted Grapes, Bon Appétit and The Bitten Word

Stuffed Green Peppers with Brown Rice, Italian Sausage and Parmesan

Can you believe I never made stuffed peppers before? I was never a big fan of stuffed peppers, until a few years ago they bored me. I like the ones my guy makes occasionally with a ground beef filling, so when I saw this recipe on Kalyn’s Kitchen blog, I decided to give this healthy version a try.

I am a fan. They have everything you want in a stuffed pepper: nutty brown rice filling, spicy sausage and vegetables, and just enough cheese on top to take it to the comfort food level.

Although I’m not a stuffed pepper aficionado, I’m declaring this a pretty flexible recipe. I added mushrooms, garlic and hot red pepper flakes to give the filling some extra oomph. Some brands of chicken and turkey sausage are bland, but others are really good, your luck will depend on your store’s selection. If you’re stuck with boring links, you could substitute a fattier, but perhaps tastier, pork sausage. And of course you could increase the cheese.

If you don’t have time to make brown rice, you could use white, but you miss out on the nutty brown rice flavor. I used some of the Perfect Brown (and Wild) Rice I had in the freezer. Jim just wiped out the rest of my stock when he made stir-fry the other night so I better make more.

I was very pleased with this recipe and will definitely make it again, probably after I snag some bell peppers on sale. It was a good meal for a cold night, definitely meeting the comfort food requirements.

I served the peppers with roasted root vegetables – beets, rutabagas, parsnips, sweet potatoes and regular potatoes – and, since I can’t bear wasting, sautéed beet greens.

Stuffed Green Peppers with Brown Rice, Italian Sausage and Parmesan

You’ll need a baking dish just large enough to hold the peppers and a large skillet.

•  1 cup long-grain brown and wild rice, cooked
• 4 large green bell peppers, bottom trimmed just enough so the pepper can stand up straight, cap end cut off and diced, seeds removed
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2/3 cup chopped mushroom
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoon + 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 links turkey or chicken Italian sausage (or any sausage of your choice)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray baking dish with non-stick spray or brush it with oil. Place hollowed-out peppers in the dish. If you like your peppers to be soft and not at all crispy, you could boil them for 3-5 minutes. You can tell by the photo that mine got soft enough (crisp-tender) without pre-boiling.

Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet, and sauté the diced pepper and onion for 3-4 minutes, until starting to soften but not brown. Remove pepper-onion mixture to a bowl, add 1 teaspoon more oil, squeeze sausage out of the casing and cook until it’s lightly browned, breaking apart with a spoon or spatula.

Put the onion-pepper mixture back into the pan with the sausage, add the spices, and sauté 2-3 minutes to blend the flavors. Add cooked rice and Parmesan cheese, season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste, and cook just long enough to warm it, about 1-2 minutes.

Stuff the filling mixture into the hollowed-out peppers, using a spoon to press the mixture down so it’s tightly packed. If you have any extra filling, you can put it in a small ramekin and bake alongside the peppers.

Bake peppers for 30 minutes, then remove from oven and put a tablespoon of mozzarella on top of each pepper. Put peppers back into the oven and bake about 10-15 minutes more, until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Serve hot.

Original recipe: Stuffed Green Peppers with Brown Rice, Italian Sausage and Parmesan, Kalyn’s Kitchen

Baked Cod, Sausage and White Beans

Fish and sausage?! Does that sound weird to you?

If you’re Portuguese, you’re saying, oh no, not weird at all. The Portuguese are longtime masters of mixing seafood and pork. One of the most famous examples is Porco com Amêijoas à Alentejana, or Alentejo-Style Pork with Clams. That’s going on my “recipes to try” Pinterest board. Another popular dish, Amêijoas na Cataplana, is made with clams and sausage. It’s cooked in a cataplana, a pot with a hinged lid that is sealed with a clamp during cooking, and looks a bit like a clam shell

I found this recipe on the Eating Well website. The original recipe calls for 1-1/4 pounds of cod and only 2 ounces of chorizo. I didn’t want that much cod because I was only making dinner for two. Even though I used less cod, I kept all the other ingredient the same,  and increased the sausage. The original recipe calls for chorizo which would have been great, but my market didn’t have any, so I used andouille instead. The andouille’s spiciness was perfect for this recipe. If you’re in Portuguese-American country (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, California), linguica would also be fantastic.

For sides, I roasted asparagus with some garlic and then tossed it with lemon juice and zest once it was done. I also parboiled cubes of sweet potato and then sautéed them with onions and smoked paprika. I softened the onions before adding the sweet potatoes to the pan.

Holy moly, everything was so good. I will make this dish again and again. I may go lighter on the sausage to make it healthier, or try to find a chicken sausage with that same type of heat and flavor. You can tell from the photo that my dish was quite liquidy. That was a surprise because it wasn’t that liquidy when it went into the oven. Maybe I didn’t need those extra tablespoons of wine.

I highly recommend this one!

Baked Cod, Sausage and White Beans

You’ll need a medium saucepan, baking dish large enough for your fish fillets and deep enough for sauce on top, and foil.

• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 5 ounces andouille (2 sausages) or chorizo, diced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup dry white wine, divided
• 1 15-ounce can great northern or cannellini beans, rinsed
• Salt, to taste
• 3/4 pounds Pacific cod, cut into 2 pieces
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat baking dish with cooking spray.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallot, sausage and thyme and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and 1/4 cup wine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are broken down and the wine is almost evaporated, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in beans and salt, to taste, and remove from the heat.

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper, and place it in the prepared baking dish. Top each piece of fish with equal amounts of the tomato mixture. Pour the remaining 1/4 cup wine (or less, if you wish, I only put in a few tablespoons) into the pan and cover the pan with foil.

Bake until the fish is just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve the fish with the sauce spooned over the top.

Original recipe: Baked Cod with Chorizo & White Beans, Eating Well

Eggplant Pepper Sausage Parmesan

I love eggplant parmesan, but this is much better, so it’s a fitting recipe for my 200^th Gusto post. Woo hoo! I’m glad this recipe ends up being my 200^th  because I made it up as I went along, and you can too. It’s also a fairly healthy recipe if you don’t go overboard on the cheese.

It all started one Saturday evening when I had a big eggplant, a few poblano peppers, some Italian turkey sausage and no dinner plans. Looking in the cupboard I discovered some spaghetti sauce and in the frig I had basil pesto and mozzarella cheese. I swear I’m not Italian but you wouldn’t know it sometimes. My mind started clicking and my stomach started growling.

This is more an assembly job than anything else, but it’s easier if all your ingredients are ready to go. First you need to roast your eggplant and peppers.

To prepare the eggplant, I peel it, slice it crosswise and lay the pieces out on a foil-lined sheet pan or toaster oven tray. Brush the slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Broil, but not too close to the flame or element; they need to cook, not char. When the top sides are golden-brown, flip them over, brush with oil, sprinkle with salt and roast until golden-brown and cooked.

I used poblano peppers the first time I made this, and after having red bell peppers the second time, I prefer the poblano. They have a more interesting flavor and add green to the layers. To prepare the peppers, cut off the top, remove the stem, seeds and ribs, slice the body into slabs and lay all the pieces (including the top, cut in half) on a foil-lined sheet pan or toaster oven tray, skin side up. No brushing or salting is required. Broil until just the skin is charred, not completely burnt through. Place the pieces in a plastic bag and seal. Let them steam until they’re cool enough to handle, then peel off the skin.

Get the rest of your ingredients ready – mise en place first! My sausage was raw so I had to cook that ahead of time too. You can make this dish with any combination of ingredients you like and in any order, but here’s how I did it last time.

Eggplant Pepper Sausage Parmesan

You’ll need a sheet pan (for roasting ingredients), plastic sealable bag (for steaming roasted peppers) and a baking dish.

• Eggplant, sliced and roasted
• Roasted poblano or red bell pepper, cut, roasted and skins removed
• Italian sausage slices, cooked, sliced crosswise
  
• Spaghetti sauce
• Basil pesto
• Shredded cheese, mozzarella or Italian mix
• Optional – parmesan cheese
  

Preheat the oven to 375 and let the assembly begin! I made stacks, keeping eggplant with the same diameter in the same stacks. Here’s how I assembled it:

• Spread a thin layer of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.
• Place slices of eggplant in the dish, separated a bit.
• Spoon some sauce (maybe a tablespoon) on each one, spread it around.
• Add a few sausage slices to each one, 2-4 slices depending on the size of the eggplant.
• Add some cheese to each, maybe a tablespoon, you be the judge.
• Then it repeats, sort of. Another slice of eggplant.
• Some sauce.
• Now add a slice of roasted pepper.
• Add a bit (maybe a half teaspoon) of pesto, spread it around.
• More sausage.
• Another slice of eggplant.
• More sauce.
• And the final sprinkling of cheese, go a bit heavier this time. You could add a sprinkle of parmesan on top too.
  

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Everything is already cooked so you’re just allowing it to melt and meld together.

Serve with spaghetti and tomato sauce, garlic bread and a green vegetable, like broccoli or broccoli rabe. Oh, and of course, red wine.

Damn, It’s Good, and Good for You Too, Gumbo

With a bag full of okra in my refrigerator, I knew it was time to make gumbo. I’ve never cooked with okra. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten much okra; maybe I had it fried once. I’ve always been a bit put off by its mucilaginous nature.

Now there’s a word, huh? How often do you get to say mucilaginous? And that sentence reminds me of a line from Elle Driver in Kill Bill: Vol. 2. She says to Budd, as he writhes in pain from the fatal bites of a black mamba, a black mamba she had concealed in a briefcase of money, “The amount of venom that can be delivered from a single bite can be gargantuan. You know, I’ve always liked that word “gargantuan,” I so rarely have an opportunity to use it in a sentence.”

Back to slime, I’ve said “mucilaginous” a lot lately, not only because of an abundance of okra, but also because slugs have been feasting at night on my cat’s food on the front porch. No more nighttime snacks, kitty, sorry!

I ended up with a bag of okra thanks to Jim’s brother and sister-in-law, organic farmers about an hour and a half from here. We’re also enjoying their beautiful big eggs too. I used some of the okra in this gumbo, more in a curry recipe that I’ll post next week and the rest I chopped and put in the freezer for future gumbo.

This is a lower fat version of gumbo from Cooking Light. Instead of the usual andouille, it calls for chicken or turkey sausage. I used turkey kielbasa because I couldn’t find a spicier option. An advantage to using okra for stews is that it’s a natural thickening agent. And, in case you’re wondering, I didn’t notice any slime in my bowl of gumbo.

The gumbo must be good because Jim had three bowls. It tastes even better the next day and the day after that. Update: Why be modest, this gumbo is DAMN good.

Good for You Gumbo

You’ll need large pot or Dutch oven with lid and a whisk.

• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon canola oil, divided
• 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 pound low-fat chicken or turkey andouille, smoked sausage or kielbasa, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds (or good ol’ pork andouille that, honestly, will take your gumbo to higher heights — the magic of the pig)
  
• 2 cups chopped onion (about 1 very large onion)
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper (about 1 large pepper)
• 1/2 cup chopped celery (about 1 large stalk)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground red pepper, depending on your heat preference
  
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 4-5 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, depending on your soupy preference
  
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3 cups (1/2-inch) slices fresh okra
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, cut in bite-sized pieces
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 cups hot cooked long-grain rice (2 cups water, 1 cup rice)
  

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil and let it heat up. Add chicken and sausage, and cook, stirring, for 4 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan (leave drippings in pan). Add onion, bell pepper and celery to pan, and cook 4 minutes. Add garlic, thyme and red pepper, and cook 4 minutes or until onion is tender and garlic is fragrant. Remove everything from the pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Add 3 tablespoons oil to pan. Add flour, stirring with a whisk so it absorbs all the oil. Cook 10 minutes or until roux is light brown, whisking constantly. Because I have an electric stove, the heat varies — it’s burning red, then nothing. Things tend to burn unless I shuffle the pot on and off the burner. I had a lot of dark goodness on the bottom of my pot from the meat and the vegetables, so my roux was tan from the beginning. I waited until it changed consistency, less than 10 minutes. On a gas stove, it might be different.

Gradually add the broth, keep whisking. Add back the chicken, sausage, onion mixture, tomatoes, okra and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in parsley and shrimp; cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are done. Discard bay leaves. I can only ever find one bay leaf. The second stays hidden until the third bowl of gumbo. Taste for seasoning. Serve over rice. I like to shake some Texas Pete onto my bowl. Despite his name, Pete’s a Louisiana loving guy from Winston-Salem, NC. He’s welcome in my kitchen any time.

Original recipe: Crescent City Gumbo, Cooking Light,  May 2005

Pasta with Italian Sausage and Peppers

I never intended to write a post about last night’s dinner, fettuccine with Italian sausage and peppers, because I made it with a jar of spaghetti sauce. I didn’t think a “semi-homemade” recipe merited a blog post. How Sandra Lee! Did you know she lives with NY Governor Andrew Cuomo? I bet he’s had this dish a hundred times.

But then I thought, why not? It’s a quick and easy recipe that’s really delicious. It doesn’t even look or taste like a processed meal. Maybe some of my friends would appreciate adding this to their repertoire.

My next nagging thought: isn’t this one of those dishes, like hamburgers, that everyone already knows how to make? No, I shouldn’t assume everyone knows how to make this. Heck, a lot of people probably wouldn’t even think about making it. Sure, if you’ve spent a lot of time around an Italian-American family or kitchen, you’re used to seeing this pasta. But I doubt everyone thinks about this dish when they see sausage and peppers on sale.

My cooking inspiration was the Italian sausage on sale at Lowes Food this weekend for $2.97/pound. Hot or mild, the meat man asked. Hot, please. I picked up a few bell peppers and then scored a package of sliced Portobello mushrooms for 79 cents – one of those deeply discounted items I love so much. Whenever I buy these crazily discounted foods, I come home so happy, bragging to Jim about each of my finds. “Do you know what a deal that is?!?” I’m not sure he’s even listening anymore, but I can’t help myself and will continue to share my enthusiasm with him. Ha, sorry honey!

If you use mild Italian sausage instead of hot, taste the sauce toward the end and see if it needs any additional heat. If it does, add a little crushed red pepper flakes. I used 1-1/2 jars of spaghetti sauce because I wanted enough sauce for a pound of pasta. I like a saucy sauce. Plus there’s enough for dipping your garlic bread. Yes, buy or make some garlic bread. And red wine.

Pasta with Italian Sausage and Peppers

You’ll need a large pot with lid and a large deep pan.

• 1 pound of pasta – fettuccine, linguine, penne – it’s your choice
• Salt
• Olive oil
• Hot or mild Italian sausage, sliced into ½” pieces
  
• 2 green bell peppers (or 1 green and 1 red), sliced into thick strips
• 1 large onion, sliced
• Mushrooms, sliced – use as many white, cremini or Portobello as you wish
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 to 1-1/2 jars of spaghetti sauce – have a second jar on hand, just in case
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil, or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• Ground black pepper
• Optional – crushed red pepper flakes
• Fresh Italian parsley
• Parmesan cheese

Put a large pot of water on the stove, cover it and bring it to a boil over high heat. When boiling, add salt and the pasta. Give it a good stir and cook according to pasta package directions for al dente.

Heat a bit of olive oil in a large deep pan on medium heat. Don’t use too much oil, maybe a teaspoon will do it, because the sausage will give off a lot of grease. Cook sausage, stirring so all sides cook, until it’s browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Add peppers, onion and mushrooms to the pan. Cook, stirring every now and then, until softened, about 5 minutes. Make some room in the middle of the pan, and add the garlic to the bottom. Cook about a minute or until just starting to golden.

Stir in the spaghetti sauce. Add oregano, basil and black pepper. Turn the heat down to low and let it simmer very very lightly. The sauce is already cooked so you only need to heat it up, but a little extra time at really low heat will help the flavors meld. Be careful not to burn the sauce by using too much heat. Stir and taste. If you want more heat, add a little crushed red pepper flakes. Season with anything else it needs – additional salt, pepper, basil or oregano.

Meanwhile, drain the pasta when it’s cooked to al dente. When the sauce is ready, add the pasta and parsley to the pan and mix it all up. I let it sit a bit more (maybe a minute or two) so the pasta absorbs the sauce flavors. Hopefully you’ll have enough sauce to coat the pasta. If not, quickly add more sauce from the jar, stir it in and taste again for seasoning.

Serve the pasta with parmesan cheese. Have your garlic bread and red wine ready too.

This recipe makes enough for two big eaters with plenty of leftovers for breakfast or lunch the next day. Breakfast of champions!

Beer Brats, Red Cabbage and a Beef with an Antiquated Law

I’m still cooking with beer in the Grabbing the Gusto kitchen. Just like wine, broths, juices and vinegars, beer adds flavor to a dish. And with dozens of beer styles, you have a large selection of flavors to choose from. It’s a cooking ingredient as well as one of my favorite beverages.

That’s why I was so steamed up yesterday morning. Jim and I went to the supermarket around 9:00 am to buy the fixings for a few nights’ meals since we’re expecting an ice storm and, most likely, a power outage. I planned to make a pot of chili and he planned to make a roast chicken. If we lost power, we could heat meals up on our camp stove.

When we got to the cashier with our cart full of groceries, including dark beer for my chili, we were reminded that in North Carolina, you can’t buy beer (or any alcoholic beverage) before noon on Sundays. Arrggh! This has happened to me before when I tried to buy red wine for beef bourguignon. What an antiquated regulation! I’d have to make a special trip back to the store after 12 just to buy a bottle of beer.

I bitched on Facebook and Twitter and then sat down and wrote letters to my state senator and representative. If you live in North Carolina, please join me in letting our state policy-makers know that the silent majority is fed up with living in olden times. I’m not anti-church, I believe some churches are the best communities around, but I can’t be silent about their imposition of restrictions on the rest of us just because they’re afraid of secular competition. I posted my letter on Google docs in case you’d like some ideas for writing a letter of your own.

I realize that in many states you can’t buy any alcohol on Sundays or you can’t buy beer and wine in grocery stores. That stinks too, complain about it. I’ve heard the reasoning behind these blue laws and, frankly, none of it resonates with me. So I’m bitching and I’ll keep writing these letters every Sunday morning I forget that I can’t buy beer or wine.

Back to the brats. I served them with a green vegetable and Beer Cheese Soup. You can make the brats and cabbage in no time at all, a definite 30-minute meal.

photo by Jessie Terwilliger

Beer Brats

• 3 bratwursts
• 2/3 cup onion, chopped
• 1 bottle beer – whatever’s in the refrigerator, I used a pale ale

With a sharp knife or kitchen fork, prick each sausage several times. In a saucepan, combine 2/3 cup onion and 1 bottle of beer and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the sausages and poach until almost cooked through, about 5 minutes or until they are done. Remove the sausages from the pan and set aside. Grill or pan-fry the sausages until cooked through and beginning to brown or char, about 5 minutes, turning to cook evenly on all sides.

Braised Red Cabbage

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 head of red cabbage, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a large pan, heat the oil. Add the cabbage and cook over medium high heat, stirring, about 3 minutes. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and crushed red pepper. Season with salt and pepper.

Make ahead: The cabbage can be made up to 4 hours ahead. Warm up, stirring, over medium-low heat.

Original recipe: Braised Red Cabbage, Food & Wine

Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage

Many in the culinary world, and even home cooks, look down their nose at Rachael Ray, but I don’t. She is who she is. She doesn’t pretend to be a chef, she knows she’s not. She’s simply a gal who loves food, loves to cook and loves telling stories. You’re either going to like hanging out with her or she’ll drive you crazy. She found a great niche in 30-minute meals and has worked it better than anyone else ever has.

I’ve been watching cooking shows forever. Sometimes they’re on in the background and I semi-pay attention, sometimes I curl up on the couch and lose myself in them. I have a theory that techniques and ideas work their way into your brain to stay after years of watching. I’d like to think that Julia Child, Jacques Pepin and Lidia Bastianich are partly responsible for anything I know.

Rachael Ray shares a lot of shortcut tips on her show. The fact that she’s now selling her garbage bowls doesn’t make them any less of a good idea. I would suggest using a compost bowl instead, and I’m sure my birthday buddy would think that’s a good idea too. Yes, Rachael and I share the same birthday, just the day, not the year.

When I lived in Sacramento my friend Allison invited a few of us over for  this pumpkin pasta. I loved it. Allison’s a busy lobbyist with an active social life and a regular yoga practice, so she’s definitely a 30-minute kind of gal. I remembered this dish the other day when Jim and I were taking inventory of the freezer and I discovered a package of chicken apple sausage in there. I had been craving pumpkin lately and still had a few cans in the cupboard.

To counter the sweetness and orange color of the apple sausage and pumpkin, I wanted something green and maybe even a bit bitter for a side. I found a recipe for broccoli rabe on Elise Bauer’s Simply Recipes blog. Elise’s blog is another one of my go-to sites for recipe ideas, definitely worth adding to your Google Reader.

photo stolen from the Food Network site, ssshh

Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage

• 1 Tbsp olive oil, plus 1 Tbsp
• 1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage, or chicken apple sausage
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade (thin slices), about 2 Tbsp
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup heavy cream or fat-free evaporated milk
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
• 1 – 2 tsp brown sugar
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound penne, fusilli or shells, cooked al dente, and pasta water
• Romano or Parmigiano, for grating

Start pasta. Before draining, reserve a few ladles of pasta water.

Heat a large deep nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to the pan. If you’re using uncooked sausage, brown it. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate.

Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add remaining Tbsp oil, and then the onion and mushrooms. Sauté 2-4 minutes until the onions are just getting tender. Add garlic and sauté until golden. Add bay leaf, 1 Tbsp sage and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Add sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream or evaporated milk. Season the sauce to taste with the cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.

Remove the bay leaf from sauce. Add drained pasta and combine with the sauce. Toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and remaining sage leaves.

Original Recipe: Pasta with Pumpkin & Sausage, Rachael Ray, Food Network

broccoli rabe (flickr photo by cbertel)

Broccoli Rabe with Caramelized Onions

• Olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, sliced into slivers, lengthwise (with the grain)
• 1 large bunch of broccoli rabe, rinsed and cut into 2-inch long pieces
• 2-3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
• Salt and black pepper

Heat oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened and lightly browned. If the onions start to dry out, lower the heat (you can add a little water to them too.) They should brown, but not get dried out.

After you start the onions, bring a large pot of water to a boil. The onions take at least 15 minute to cook, so you’ll have time to get the water boiling. Salt the water, about 1 Tbsp of salt for 3 quarts of water. Prepare an ice bath — a large bowl filled halfway with ice water. Add the rabe to the boiling water. Blanch for 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to remove from the boiling water and put in the ice bath to stop the cooking. Shocking the rabe with ice water will also help keep the rabe bright green colored. Drain the ice water from the rabe. Wring out the excess moisture from the rabe.

Once the onions are lightly browned, remove them from the pan. Using the same pan, add another Tbsp of oil and heat the pan on high heat. Add the chili flakes. Once the chili flakes start to sizzle, add the garlic. Once the garlic just starts to brown at the edges add the broccoli rabe and onions. Toss the rabe mixture so that it gets well coated with the olive oil. Cook on high heat until most of the moisture is gone, about 5 minutes if you blanched first, a minute or too longer if you skipped the blanching.

Original recipe: Broccoli Rabe with Caramelized Onions, Simply Recipes

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Why does a recipe you could easily make in one dish on the stove look more tempting if it’s made in a crockpot? I’m not a gadget gal, so that’s not it. Although it was originally a dump-and-cook recipe, I adapted it to coax more flavor out of the ingredients, so I ended up with the same amount of dishes to wash too. Hmm, the crockpot is a mysterious creature.

Seriously, I do know the answer. I would never leave the house with something cooking on the stove. But cooking in a crockpot? That’s a different story. Opening the front door and smelling Louisiana, okay, my less than authentic Louisiana, that’s why we use crockpots!

I made this for dinner the night Jim came back from a week away attending a conference and hiking in Nevada with his son. I wanted dinner to be ready as soon as I got back from picking them up at the airport. I didn’t want to fuss with anything on the stove or heat something up. Ah, the beauty of the crockpot.

I added the rice before I left the house and turned the crockpot to Low. When I got back I added the shrimp and waited until they were heated through to serve it up. And, oh, it was good. Don’t wait for Mardi Gras to try this one!

Laissez les bon temps roulez!

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Serves 4

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 pound (or less) andouille sausage, diced – I used chicken sausage
• 2 cups cooked rice (brown) — you may want more than 2 cups, I added at least 1 cup to the crockpot to soak up some of the liquid.
• 1 pound frozen peeled and cooked shrimp, thawed

Brown the chicken. Remove to a plate. Saute onion, green pepper and celery, and then garlic. In a slow cooker, combine chicken (and any juices), onion, green pepper, celery, garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste and chicken broth. Stir in oregano, Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, Worcestershire, bay leaves and thyme.

Stir in sausage (if pre-cooked) and some of the rice about 30 mins before end. Stir in thawed shrimp, cover and cook until shrimp is heated through, about 5 minutes before the end. Total cooking time: LOW for 5 hours or HIGH for 2-3 hours. Discard bay leaves and spoon mixture over the extra cooked rice.

Original recipe: Slow Cooker Jambalaya (Food Network)