Italian Sausage, Beans, and Greens

January 20, 2016January 20, 2016 ~ White House Red Door ~ 36 Comments

A friend and I were recently chatting, and the conversation turned to food. Is it me, or do all conversations inevitably lead to food? It may just be me, but it’s one of my favorite topics, and eating is something we all have in common. Anyway, she was looking for some new dinner ideas… but there were parameters- suggestions had to be kid friendly, accommodate allergies, and be on the table quickly. Immediately, one of my favorite go to meals came to mind, Italian Sausage, Beans, and Greens.

There are several reasons why this dish ticks so many boxes in the “pro” column. It’s delicious, done in 30 minutes, needs only a few basic ingredients, and is so flexible in terms of those ingredients. The basics include Italian sausage, cannellini beans, and greens. I make this with Italian pork sausage, but feel free to use chicken sausage or turkey sausage. The beauty of using Italian style sausage is that it has all the seasoning you’ll need- other than any salt and pepper added to taste at the end. Cannellini beans are easy to have on hand, I usually have a few cans in the pantry. The greens I use depend on what’s available; kale, chard, spinach, arugula, rapini, mustard greens, and dandelion greens all work really well. Stick with one type or combine your favorites. Even the measurements are just guidelines. Add more or less of the sausage, beans, or greens. There is plenty of room to play in order to suit your tastes. It’s all good!

My friend declared this a hit in her home, and has made it multiple times since. Now she’s looking for more new ideas… 🙂

Do you have favorite recipes that immediately jump to mind when someone asks, “What are you making for dinner?” What makes a dish one of your “go to” meals?

Italian Sausage, Beans, and Greens

Servings: 4-6
Time: 30 minutes
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Ingredients:
4 Italian sausage, about 1lb total (I used 2 sweet and 2 spicy)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 bunch kale, rinsed, stems removed and leaves chopped
1 bunch swiss chard, rinsed, stems removed and leaves chopped
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan for passing

loaf of crusty bread (optional)

Instructions:
In a large saucepan, parboil the sausage links, about 5 minutes. While the links are parboiling, I carefully prick them to release the liquified fat that has accumulated under the casings. Remove from the water, cool slightly and slice crosswise into ½-inch pieces.

Heat olive oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. When oil is shimmery, add sliced sausage. Be careful! There will be some splattering. Sauté sausage on both sides until brown, approximately 5 minutes. Remove sausage and set aside.

Return sauté pan to burner, lower heat to medium low and add greens. Stir to coat in any oil or sausage bits remaining in pan. Cover and cook until wilted, 2 minutes.

Add cannellini beans to wilted greens and stir to combine. Add sausage back to pan and heat everything through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately with crusty bread, passing parmesan for grating.

Parboiling the sausage in a saucepan. — Parboil the sausage. Carefully prick them with a fork to release liquified fat under the casings.

Parboiled sausage on cutting board with chef's knife. — Remove parboiled sausage to cutting board. Cool slightly.

Sliced sausage on a cutting board with chef's knife — Slice sausage into 1/2-inch rounds.

Heating olive oil in large sauté pan — In large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.

Adding sliced sausage to sauté pan. — Add sliced sausages to sauté pan. Be careful, they will splatter!

Sautéing sausage on cooktop — Continue to sauté sausage until brown on both sides, 5 minutes or so. When brown, remove sausage and set aside.

Adding greens to sauté pan — Add greens to sauté pan, stirring to coat with any oil or sausage bits left in pan. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook for approximately two minutes, or until greens are wilted.

Adding cannelloni beans to wilted green — Add cannellini beans to the wilted greens and mix well.

Adding sliced sausage to wilted greens and beans. — Add reserved sausage and heat everything through. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with crusty bread and parmesan for passing.

Butternut Squash Soup with Cider Cream

January 11, 2016 ~ White House Red Door ~ 13 Comments

Butternut squash has a long shelf life- which works well for me when I receive large quantities of it as part of my CSA! As you can imagine the growing season in New England is short, though our local farm does an amazing job of squeezing every last bit of sunshine and warmth out of earth and sky to make the harvest last as long as possible. In fact, they do such a good job, that the farm offers an “Extended Harvest” share, with pick ups well into November.

Each week from June through November I am the happy recipient of culinary treasures… fruits and veggies of all sorts. The spring and summer pick ups generally contain perishable produce that has to be dealt with immediately… eaten, frozen, or canned for future meals. The November shares are far more forgiving in terms of shelf life; onions, garlic, potatoes, and winter squash can live on my kitchen counter or in a cool spot in the basement for a long while before I turn my attention to them. Cabbages, radishes, and carrots will survive almost the entire winter in the produce drawers of my fridge.

Butternut squash is one of my favorite winter veggies and incredibly versatile. It can be baked, roasted, or turned into soup, pairing well with many different types of flavors. According to The Flavor Bible, the wide range of combinations include (but is definitely not limited to):
Butternut squash + bacon + maple syrup + sage
Butternut squash + cilantro + coconut + ginger
Butternut squash + ricotta cheese + sage

Below is my take on Butternut Squash Soup with Cider Cream. The tart apples are beautiful with the rich nutty squash, while the cider’s sweetness rounds everything out. I usually use chicken stock, but vegetable stock will work equally well if you’d like to keep this strictly vegetarian.

Do you have a favorite winter vegetable that you like to use? What do you with it?

Butternut Squash Soup with Cider Cream

Servings: 10
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
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*adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients:
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ½ lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into ½-inch pieces (about 6 cups)
2 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only)
½ cup chopped peeled carrot
½ cup chopped celery
2 small granny smith apples, peeled, cored, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
½ teaspoon crumbled dried sage leaves
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 ½ cups apple cider, divided
2/3 cup plain greek yogurt or crème fraiche

Instructions:
Melt butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium high heat. Add squash, leeks, carrots, and celery; sauté until slightly softened, about 15 minutes. Mix in apples, thyme, and sage. Add stock and 1 cup cider. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium low. Cover and simmer until apples are tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly.

Using an immersion blender, puree soup. Alternatively, soup can be pureed, in batches, in a blender.

Make cider cream. Boil remaining ½ cup cider in heavy small saucepan until reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes. Cool. Place yogurt or crème fraiche in small bowl. Whisk in reduced cider. (Soup and cider cream can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)

Bring soup to simmer. Ladle soup into bowls. Dollop with cider cream and serve.

Squash, leeks, carrot, and celery in dutch oven. — Melt butter in heavy large saucepan. Add squash, leeks, carrot, and celery.

Adding apples and herbs to sautéed vegetables in dutch oven. — Sauté until veggies are softened, 15 minutes or so, then add apples, thyme, and sage.

Adding stock and cider to sautéed veggies and apples. — Add stock and 1 cup of cider. Bring to a boil.

Simmering veggies, apples, and herbs in stock and cider. — Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until apples are tender.

Pureed Butternut Squash Soup — Through the magic of the blogosphere, the soup has been pureed. Actually, I used an immersion blender, but couldn’t get an action pick- not enough hands! If you don’t have an immersion blender, puree the soup in batches in a regular blender.

Cider syrup, plain yogurt, and whisk — Boil remaining 1/2 cup cider until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 5 minutes.

Pouring cider syrup into plain yogurt. — Pour reduced cider into plain yogurt or creme fraiche

Lentil Soup with Sausage and Kale

Lentil Soup in dutch oven with baguette on cutting board.

January 3, 2016 ~ White House Red Door ~ 19 Comments

Happy New Year!

Many cultures have very specific foods they eat on New Year’s Day, foods that are believed to put the odds in your favor for a wonderful year. So, if you’re superstitious, or don’t want to tempt fate, or just want to eat some delicious and healthy food, please read on! As I gathered information, digging through recipes and stories about these traditional foods, a pattern emerged. Certain humble ingredients are likely to lead you to a year full of wealth and good fortune. And though each culture’s final dish was different than another’s, the basic building blocks were the same.

Some key elements include:
Leafy greens (kale, chard, collards): Represent economic fortune as the greens are thought to resemble paper currency.
Legumes (beans, peas, lentils): Also represent economic fortune; the tiny round legumes are symbolic of coins.
Pork: Full of flavor and fat, eating pork signifies wealth and prosperity.

When living in Virginia and North Carolina, my family and I always ate Hoppin’ John on New Year’s Day. Hoppin’ John is a traditional southern one-pot meal made with black eyed peas, rice, and pork (bacon, ham hock, or fatback). We served it with greens on the side, usually collards. This year, after all the indulging between Thanksgiving and Christmas, my body needed a major reboot. Instead of Hoppin’ John for New Year’s Day, I tried something new. Using the same overall game plan… leafy greens, pork, and legumes, we kicked off the year with Lentil Soup with Sausage and Kale, healthy, but still full of good luck. Yes, I know there’s sausage in there, but really- it’s not a lot, less than 1oz per serving.

While the pork and kale will provide additional good fortune for the year, they are not necessary for the recipe. If you don’t want to add the sausage, don’t, but then do bump up the flavor by adding more garlic and other spices such as a bit more thyme, and perhaps red pepper flakes. Or maybe bacon or cubed ham steak is more your thing; either would be delicious. If you prefer a different green, try spinach. How about no greens? Add a bell pepper or turnips to the vegetable mix.

Hoppin’ John, a very special dish full of flavor and memories of our time spent down south, will remain in my arsenal of recipes, making an appearance once a year. On the other hand, this soup will be now be part of the regular rotation. Perfect for dinner with warm crusty bread, even tastier the next day for lunch at home or sent in a thermos to school or work. And who couldn’t use some help ensuring prosperity throughout the year, not just at the start?!?

I wish all of you a year full of health, good fortune, and delicious food shared with those you love!

Lentil Soup with Sausage and Kale

Servings: 10-12
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
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Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup diced carrots (about 3 carrots)
1 cup diced celery (about 3 stalks)
1 cup diced onion (about 1 medium onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 italian sausages, casings removed (I used 1 sweet and 1 spicy)
grape tomatoes (as many as you’d like)
2 cups green lentils, rinsed
8 cups water
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon thyme
1 bunch kale (stems removed), rinsed and chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
In a dutch oven over medium high heat, warm olive oil. Add carrots, celery, and onion. Sauté vegetables for 5 minutes or until just tender. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add sausage, breaking meat up as it browns. When sausage is cooked, stir in tomatoes and lentils. Add water, bay leaf, and thyme. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes-1 hour, until lentils are tender. During last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in chopped kale.

Check seasonings, adding salt and pepper to taste. Serve with crusty bread.

Carrots, celery, onions, garlic, sausage and lentils with dutch oven — The basics of lentil soup… carrots, celery, onions, garlic, sausage and lentils. The spices, kale, and water are waiting on deck.

Carrots, celery, and onions are sautéing. — Sauté vegetables for 5 minutes, or until just tender.

Adding sausage to sautéed carrots, celery, and onion. — Add the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.

Adding green lentils to sausage and vegetable mixture. — Add the green lentils (and tomatoes) if using, stirring them into the sausage mixture. I forgot to add my tomatoes at this point, but remembered and added them while the soup was simmering.

Adding water to sausage, vegetable, and lentil mixture — Throw in a bay leaf and thyme. Add 8 cups of water to the sausage, vegetable, and lentil mixture.

Simmering lentil soup — Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45-60 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Adding chopped kale to lentil soup. — About 5 minutes before the soup is done, add the chopped kale. Continue simmering the soup until kale is wilted, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serving lentil soup from dutch oven, along with baguette on a cutting board. — Serve with crusty bread.

Chili con Carne and Buttermilk Cornbread

Chili con carne with tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream.

October 28, 2015October 30, 2015 ~ White House Red Door ~ 14 Comments

Fall and winter suppers beg for chili. Hearty, warming, and versatile, chili is a one pot wonder perfect for brisk nights that begin to get dark as early as 4:30pm, casual get togethers with friends and family to watch a game in front of a roaring fire, or coming in from the cold after time spent raking leaves or shoveling snow. Of all evenings, Halloween is the ideal night for chili, shoring up your stamina (as well as that of any goblins or ghouls spooking you) for a night of trick or treating. Whether you are out in the neighborhood or manning the candy bowl at home, a warm bowl of chili before or after a night of haunts will keep you going and be an excellent antidote to all the sugar consumed.

Depending on your preferences chili can suit a wide variety of eaters… vegetarians or vegans at your table? Skip the meat and add more vegetables or beans. Offer an interesting assortment of toppings and sides like cheeses, cornbread, tortilla chips, avocado, and sour cream (I use greek yogurt) and let your family and friends build a complete meal around your chili base. And, like most stews and soups, making chili ahead of time allows it to become even more delicious. Chili only gets tastier as it “ages.”

This recipe is my own. Most of the ingredients are typical, but there are a few surprises. Dijon mustard adds a wonderful brightness and tang; the chipotle peppers in adobe sauce add a subtle smokiness, while the cinnamon delivers a hint of sweet warmth. It is also very easy to play with this recipe. Please experiment to suit your taste. Love bell peppers? Add more. Need more spice? Add a chopped jalapeño. Can’t stand onions? Eliminate or reduce the amount. Don’t like beans in your chili (I’m talking to you, dear husband!), then don’t add them. Play with your food and have fun!

The buttermilk cornbread is adapted from Kathleen’s Bake Shop Cookbook. Kathleen King owned Kathleen’s Bake Shop in Southhampton, NY in the 80s and 90s. One summer, I was fortunate enough to visit the bakery and in addition to the cookies I bought (which were quickly consumed), I also purchased a copy of her cookbook, a lasting souvenir. It was a wise purchase. My copy of the small spiral bound book is splattered, tattered, and torn- all signs of an excellent cookbook. The book practically opens itself to certain recipes, like the Devil’s Food Cake I use for birthdays, in addition to the recipe that inspired this cornbread.

In Kathleen’s intro to the original recipe, which was for corn muffins, she explains how the recipe has changed since she first received it. Her baker altered the formula by adding half-and-half instead of milk; I’ve tweaked it again by using buttermilk, instead of half-and-half or milk. In any case, the choice is yours… buttermilk, half-and-half, and regular milk all work just fine. The buttermilk lends a wonderful tanginess that seems a natural counterpart to the sweetness of the bread; the half-and-half produces a really rich cornbread, while using regular milk leaves you with a lovely straightforward cornbread. Another occasional adjustment I make is to add frozen corn kernels to the batter, maybe a handful or two. The kernels contribute a wonderful texture to the cornbread and add pops of sweetness too.

What are your favorite sides and toppings for chili? Do you have a go to dinner for Halloween night?

Chili con Carne

Servings: 6-8
Time: 45 minutes
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Ingredients:
1lb ground beef or turkey
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
2 bell peppers, coarsely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 chipotle chili in adobe sauce, finely chopped
1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coriander
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 28oz can of whole tomatoes, with juice
1 16 oz can kidney beans or black beans, rinsed and drained
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
In a large pot or dutch oven, heat olive over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until beginning to turn golden brown, approximately 5 minutes. Add bell peppers and sauté an additional 5 minutes. Add finely chopped garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add ground meat, and cook over medium high heat, stirring often, until cooked through.

Reduce the heat to medium low and stir in chili powder, chipotle chili, mustard, cumin, coriander, cayenne, and cinnamon and cook for 30 seconds or so.

Add beans and tomatoes with juice, breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon. Stir well, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with accompaniments such as rice, tortilla chips, cornbread, shredded cheddar or Monterey jack, sour cream and chopped avocado.

*This is the perfect dish to make ahead. Like most soups and stew, the longer it sits the better it gets. Just reheat when needed.

Cornbread

Servings: 16 squares
Time: 35 minutes
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*adapted from Kathleen’s Bake Shop Cookbook

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal or corn flour
½ cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9×9 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter and mix until crumbly. If you don’t have a pastry blender, use two knives, a fork, or even your fingers.

In a separate bowl, mix buttermilk and egg. Fold liquid ingredients into flour mixture, folding just until combined. Transfer batter to prepared baking pan.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.