roberto!

This is the best soup! Helen Rosner is a soup queen! Go read her original recipe. The condensed version here is to make shopping easier for me.

Ingredients

Olive oil
1 big onion
2-4 cloves garlic
Salt
1 pound hot or sweet italian sausage

1 28oz can tomatoes, diced or crushed or whole (crushed)
1 14oz can of beans of any type
4 cups of broth (chicken, beef, veggie, or honestly just a mix of water and wine is great)
1 bunch of kale
Pepper
1 lemon

Put the olive oil and onions in a soup pot over medium heat, with a pinch of salt (a pinch is about a quarter teaspoon) and stir them all together. Slowly cook them all until the onions are soft and translucent, about 4 minutes, but sometimes as many as 7. Add the garlic and wooden-spoon it around in the onion until you get hit with that nostalgic garlic-and-onion smell, about 1 minute. 

Raise the heat to medium-high and add the sausage squeezed out of its casing. Stir it into the onion and garlic, breaking it up in the pot into small pieces that could comfortably fit on a spoon. It's better to overcook than undercook the sausage: For the best flavor, you want the pieces to start to brown on the outside. It should look speckled with dark spots.

When the sausage is starting to brown dump in the tomatoes (including all the liquid), the beans (it's okay if there's a little liquid left in the can, add that too), and 4 cups of the broth/whatever and bring the whole thing to a simmer. If you'd used canned whole tomatoes, use your wooden spoon to break them up against the side of the pot.

Once it's at a simmer, add the kale. Get the greens in there and put the lid on and turn the heat down back to medium and let the whole thing simmer for about 5 minutes more, or even longer if you want to. Taste the soup (use the wooden spoon, you're less likely to burn your mouth) and decide how much salt and black pepper you think it needs. Then add half as much salt as you want to, and twice as much pepper. Add a little more pepper. 

Serve the soup, which is very hot, in bowls and squeeze a wedge of lemon juice into each bowl. Add parsley if you want.

any sausage kale soup

This works with literally any sausage but the smokier it is the better it turns out. Homemade chicken broth also does wonders.

1 tablespoon olive oil 

4-5 sausage links

1 sweet onion

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3-4 sweet potatoes

4 cups chicken broth

1 glug of red wine

1 bunch of kale

Heat oil in Dutch oven. Slice sausage into bite sized pieces and add to oil in the pan (or crumble sausage into oil if uncooked). Cook until browned.

Chop onions and add to the sausage. Cook until softened. Add tomato paste and cook until color deepens about 1 to 2 minutes.

Chop sweet potatoes into bite sized pieces. Add to the pan and cook for a minute or 2.

Add chicken broth and red wine and bring to a boil.

Add kale, cover pan and turn heat to low.

Once kale has wilted, stir into broth, cover and cook over medium-low heat until sweet potato has softened.

Let cool and serve.

ginger world soup

We adapted an earlier recipe into what you see below, and while it can literally include anything you'd like, this version was so good we wanted to capture it so we could make it again.

Ham, Mushroom and Ginger Soup

1 package dried mushrooms (we used maitake, but anything should work)
4 cups nearly boiling water
1 onion, diced
3 links hot italian sausage
3 links sweet italian sausage
A 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and diced finely
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch
6 cups homemade ham broth
1 cup diced ham
1/2 package sliced shittake mushrooms
1 bunch of bok choy, cut into bite-sized pieces
sichuan pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
sesame seeds

Bring the 4 cups of water nearly to a boil. Soak the dried mushrooms in the boiled water for 20-30 minutes.

While the mushrooms are soaking, mix the soy, sugar, salt and corn starch in a large bowl. Make sure there are no corn starch lumps. Add the ham, shittakes and ginger to the bowl, toss to coat with the marinade, and set aside.

Heat the olive oil and sesame oil in a stockpot. Dice the onion and add to the oil. Add sichuan pepper to taste. Cook until the onions have softened but not browned. Remove the sausage meat from the casing and add to the pot. Heat until cooked through.

When the mushrooms have softened, remove from the water (saving the soaking liquid) and slice thin. Add the mushrooms into the bowl with the ham and ginger. Pour the soaking water though a fine-meshed sieve lined with a paper towel back into the cooking pot.

Put the ham and mushroom mixture, and the 6 cups of ham broth into the pot and bring to a boil. Add chopped bok choy. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook gently for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve hot. 

dreams of new orleans

As I recently discovered, don't skimp on the 45 minute cooking time. Giving the flavors time to blend is important.

Red Beans and Rice

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound fully cooked smoked sausage or Kielbasa, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 14 1/2- to 16-ounce cans kidney beans
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning
3 cups cooked rice

Heat olive oil in heavy large Dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat. Add sausage, onion and garlic and sauté until onion is brown, about 15 minutes.

Mix in kidney beans with their juices, broth and Creole seasoning. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until flavors are blended and mixture is very thick, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.

Divide cooked rice among large shallow soup bowls. Spoon bean mixture over rice and serve.

Adapted from Epicurious.com

polenta and sausage casserole

We haven't tried this recipe, but it includes lots of ingredients we usually have on hand, so it should be a good go-to in a pinch.

Polenta Layered with Cabbage and Sausages

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 sweet italian sausages
2 pounds savory cabbage, thinly sliced (about 15 cups)
2 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
2 cups coarsely chopped peeled tomatoes
2 cups uncooked polenta (prepare as directed)

Directions:
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add sweet Italian sausages; sauté sausages until golden brown on all sides. Add thinly sliced cabbage; sauté until cabbage is wilted, about 10 minutes. Add 2 cups beef stock and chopped tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 40 minutes to blend flavors. Remove sausages.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spoon half of Basic Polenta into 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Top with half of cabbage and half of cooking liquid. Spoon remaing polenta atop cabbage. Arrage Italian sausages atop polenta. Spoon remaining cabbage and cooking liquid over sausages. Bake unitl flavors blend, about 30 minutes.

Courtesy of Epicurious.com

this isn't your momma's home-cooking

Over the course of a week I had three amazing home-cooked meals, all with new ingredients or new cooking methods. I'm very lucky to have friends who love to cook and are really good at it. I just hope I can recreate these in the future.

Lamb Chorizo with Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Ingredients:
2 links of lamb chorizo
1 store-bought package of sweet potato gnocchi
1 sweet potato
2 roasted tomatoes
1 1/2 cups of frozen okra
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 cup chicken broth

To roast the tomatoes: turn oven to the lowest setting, cut smallish tomatoes in half, place in baking dish and sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in oven for at least 3 hours. The longer they roast the more intense the flavor will become.

Heat the sweet potato in the microwave to soften, about 5 minutes. Peel the sweet potato and cut into 1 inch pieces. Place these on a cookie sheet and broil first for 6 minutes, then flip over and broil for another 5 minutes.

Begin boiling water for gnocchi. When water boils, add gnocchi and cook for 5 minutes or until they float.

Brown the chorizo in a large frying pan. Add the garlic and fry for about a minute before adding the frozen okra, tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add the  gnocchi and sweet potatoes. Simmer until the sauce thickens. Ladle into a bowl and top with parmesan cheese if desired.


White Fish with Red Chilis and Lime

Ingredients:
1/2 pound white fish
cornstarch to coat
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 limes
zest of 1 lime
2 red chilis
peanut oil


Pork with Roasted Vegetables and Balsamic Glaze

Ingredients:
2 pork chops
roasted vegetables: peppers, red onions, eggplant, portobellas
grape tomatoes
1/2 cup balsamic fig vinegar
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (or 1 cup if you don't also have balsamic fig)
1/4 cup brown sugar
ricotta


Sweet Hot Apricot Chicken (SHAC)

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 pounds of chicken thighs
1 10 oz bottle of apricot fruit spread
6 teaspoons of Frank's Red Hot
2 teaspoons wildflower honey
salt and pepper
1/2 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons bacon fat

Heat bacon fat in frying pan. Salt and pepper both sides of chicken. Brown both sides of chicken in the bacon fat. Meanwhile, combine apricot fruit spread, Frank's Red Hot and honey. When chicken is brown, pour apricot sauce over chicken in pan and simmer until chicken is cooked through and slightly orange outside. Raise heat on stovetop and continue boiling sauce until it reduces. After 10 minutes of reducing add butter and stir in. Cook for another 3 minutes. Pour sauce over chicken and devour.

portuguese green soup

Wow. Wowee. Wow. I had an idea in my head to make a soup with spicy sausage, white beans, and some sort of greens and rice. What I found was Portuguese Green Soup. Some of the ingredients aren't what I originally planned on, but it turned out even better than I expected. Of course I was starving, so that might have made it better, but I think it was objectively amazing.

Here's the original recipe:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch collard greens, center stems cut away, leaves thinly sliced
1 pound fully cooked spicy sausage (such as linguiça, andouille, or hot links), cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
5 3/4 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 3/4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, diced
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Heat olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until onion is soft and golden , about 5 minutes. Add collard greens and sauté until wilted, about 4 minutes. Add sausage and sauté 5 minutes. Add broth and potatoes. Simmer soup uncovered until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer 2 cups soup (without sausage) to processor. Blend until smooth; return to pot of soup and bring to simmer. Mix in crushed red pepper. Season with salt and black pepper.
 

Courtesy of Epicurious.com

 

I made a few adjustments, mostly because I wasn't feeling either garlic-y or chicken-ish. In case I want to try to replicate this in the future, here are the exact-ish measurements I used.

 

1 half onion, diced

3/4 bunch of collard greens, chiffonade

2 links hot italian sausage, Niman Ranch, sliced

2 potatoes, diced

1 box Kitchen Essentials vegetable broth

 

I then followed the recipe as directed. The final boil took almost 35 minutes, but it was well worth the wait.

 

For just five ingredients this was incredibly tasty. Can't wait to try it tomorrow once all the flavors have had a chance to meld.