Sausage Chili and Cornmeal Biscuits

Hi all.  Just a heads-up:  This is the first of many soup recipes to come, so be prepared.  I'm going to be throwing everything I can get my hands on into a soup pot.

This sausage chili (originally by Emeril Lagasse, I think?) has been a big favorite in this house for a long time.  Using sausage instead of ground beef really adds a lot more flavor and makes all the difference.  This chili is hearty, spicy, and comforting. 

I served it up with cornmeal biscuits.  Usually I just go with the usual cornbread, but these biscuits were super easy and delicious. Original recipe here.

The onion and sausage brown in the bottom of the pan. . .

 And then you add the beer.  I might not be able to drink it, but I sure can cook with it!

  Biscuits ready to go in the oven.

And the finished product.  I'm sure leftover biscuits would be amazing the next morning toasted for a fried egg sandwich.

Sausage Chili

 feeds 5-6

Ingredients:

1 lb. sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 cups onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

28 ounces crushed tomato

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon sugar

2 cans kidney or pink beans

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

salt & pepper to taste 

1. Brown sausage in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add onions, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and oregano.  Saute until onions are soft, about 4 minutes.

2. Deglaze the pan with beer (make sure to scrape up all the tasty bits off the bottom!).  Cook 1 minute.  Add crushed tomato, tomato paste, sugar, and beans.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a simmer, lower the heat, and let simmer uncovered for at least 30 minutes.  Serve.

 Cornmeal Biscuits

from The view from Great Island

makes about 8 biscuits

Ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal

1 1/4 cup buttermilk*

1 tablespoon honey

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut in pieces

1.  Preheat oven to 450 F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2.  Whisk the cornmeal, buttermilk, and honey together and set aside.  Add dry ingredients to the bowl of a food processor along with butter pieces and pulse 10 times, or until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.  OR use a pastry cutter or two butter knives to cut the butter into the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

3.  Add the buttermilk mixture and combine just until dough stays together.  Turn out onto a well-floured surface and form into a 9-inch round.  Cut out as many biscuits as you can with a 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 inch biscuit cutter or glass. 

4.  Bake for five minutes, or just til they start to rise, then turn down the heat to 400 F.  Bake for another 8-10 minutes, until golden.

*You can easily make buttermilk by adding one tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to milk, then letting it sit for 10 minutes.

Eggplant, Caramelized Onion, and Tomato Pasta

It's the time of year for hearty meals.  This means lots of pasta, lots of soups and stews, lots of dinners that fill you up right to the brim.  I am most definitely ready for hearty meals.  I have a list of soups and breads to try, and I've already made one batch of my family's favorite sausage chili. (recipe coming soon!)

This pasta dish definitely meets the requirements for a filling meal.  It's going into our roster for sure.  Eggplant Parmesan is a much-loved dish in our family, and this was a nice breath of fresh air.  Super filling and delicious.  Perfect for fall.

 This recipe is originally from Chez Panisse Vegetables, but I used the version on Alexandra's Kitchen.  

Eggplant getting ready to roast.

Caramelizing onions

Just a couple things before we start: I didn't use any cheese, but if you like, you could serve ricotta or Parmesan with the dish.  I also used a bit more eggplant than the recipe calls for, mostly because we had eggplants to use up from the garden.

Eggplant, Caramelized Onion, and Tomato Pasta

from Chez Panisse Vegetables and Alexandra's Kitchen

serves four-six

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants (approximately 3 cups diced)

olive oil

1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

handful of fresh basil

salt

1 lb. penne or other similarly shaped pasta

sherry vinegar

1 cup tomato sauce

red pepper flakes

either Parmesan or ricotta to serve with, if desired

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Cut eggplants into approximately 3/4 inch cubes, toss lightly with olive oil, and spread out in a single layer on sheet pan.  Roast for about 25 minutes, until eggplant is golden and tender.

2. Put large pot of water to boil for pasta.  Add large pinch of salt.  Cook pasta al dente.

3. While eggplant is roasting, heat large saute pan with olive oil and onions over medium heat.  Saute onions just until caramelized.  Season with salt.  Add garlic and cook a moment more, then deglaze with splash of sherry vinegar.  Add roasted eggplant, tomato sauce, and a pinch of red pepper flakes.  Heat sauce to simmering.  Drain pasta, add to tomato sauce, and toss gently.  Slice basil and add to pan.

4. Serve pasta with ricotta crumbled on top or Parmesan, if desired.

Here's a gratuitous picture of my cat sleeping in a shoebox.

Spanakopita Strudels

Spanakopita is a Greek dish consisting of spinach and feta filling wrapped or layered with fillo dough brushed with butter. This recipe is in strudel form, with the spinach filling wrapped into little individual pastries. They were so cute I had to make them.



You learn something new every day. For example, when I made these strudels, I learned that you should always, always squeeze the liquid out of spinach after washing it. Otherwise something like this can happen:

You see that green liquid around the strudels? Yup. My fault. Don't make my mistakes, people.

Thankfully, these were salvageable after baking. Once the spinach juice was scraped away, the strudels were delicious. The fillo dough is wonderfully flaky and buttery, and the garlic in the filling just ties it all together so nicely.

The original recipe can be found here, at Alexandra's Kitchen. I altered it just a little bit, adding only half the amount of cottage cheese called for. I also added a clove of garlic and grated Parmesan since we had some left over from making Cheesy Pesto.

Spanakopita Strudels

adapted from Alexandra's Kitchen

makes approximately 9 strudels

Ingredients:

10 ounces baby spinach

four ounces cottage cheese

12 ounces feta cheese

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1 clove garlic, minced

5 eggs, beaten

1 box fillo dough, thawed (preferably 9 x fourteen sheets)

1 1/2 sticks butter, melted (I ended up needing a little bit more than this, but I think I may have been overly generous with the butter)

1. In small batches, place spinach in food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Squeeze out all liquid thoroughly either with paper towels or a kitchen towel. Place in large bowl.

2. Add cottage cheese, feta cheese (broken into pieces), Parmesan cheese, garlic, and eggs. Use spatula to stir until combined.

3. Set up work station: A large cutting board can be helpful for assembly. Use a 1/2 cup measuring cup to measure filling.  A small spoon, like one you would eat with, is necessary to spoon butter onto the fillo dough and you need a pastry brush to brush butter onto assembled strudels. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.  

Four. Open a box of fillo. If it comes in bags, open one bag and unroll it. Place next to your cutting board. Fillo dries out very quickly, so I covered it with a kitchen towel while assembling. If you need to leave the assembly process, gently re-roll or fold the fillo and place in a ziplock back.

5. Preheat oven to 350 F. Place one sheet of fillo on your cutting board or work surface. Spoon three spoonfuls of melted butter over the layer of fillo. You don't have to make sure every inch of dough is covered. Top with another layer of fillo. Spoon three more spoonfuls of butter over the areas of this layer that were not covered in the previous. Top with one more layer of fillo and again spoon with three spoonfuls of butter.

Six. Using your 1/2 cup measuring cup, scoop out a level cupful of filling and place on fillo about 2 inches from bottom. Pull bottom of fillo over top of this filling. Fold sides in. Then, fold the bottom portion up and over itself and keep folding until you've made a little parcel. Place this parcel seam side down on parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush top with butter. Repeat with remaining fillo and filling.

7. Bake strudels for 30 to forty-five minutes or until golden brown on top. Cool briefly and serve.

Browned Butter and Sage Mushrooms over Cheesy Polenta

There was definitely a bit of autumn in the air this morning. That hint of a chill that makes you eager for sweater weather and hot cider.

This recipe is one way to bring the fall a little bit closer. It's comfort food at its best: a delicious meal that fills you up and leaves you feeling all warm inside. (And it has cheese. That's a necessity for good comfort food.)

The sage and brown butter were perfect complements for the mushrooms. And the polenta? Don't even get me started on the polenta. I could probably have eaten the whole pot if no one stopped me. 

Once you start cooking, things move pretty quickly so it's best to have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go as soon as you start.

 The recipe said it would serve three to four people, but I made an additional half cup of polenta and was able to feed six people.

Browned Butter and Sage Mushrooms over Cheesy Polenta

adapted from The View from Great Island

serves six

Ingredients:

Mushrooms

1 ounce package of dried mushrooms
8 ounces chicken stock or water
1 1/2 pints fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 stick unsalted butter
3 heaping tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
1/3 cup Marsala wine, or dry sherry
quarter cup heavy cream (I used half and half) 
salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Polenta

1 1/2 cups polenta
3 cups water
3 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Three-quarters cup grated Parmesan cheese


1. Heat the stock or water in the microwave until hot. Pour over dried mushrooms and let soak for about 30 minutes.

2. Brush the dirt off fresh mushrooms with a damp cloth and slice. Set aside.

3. Heat the butter in a large saute pan on medium heat. Continue heating butter until solids start to turn brown. The overall color of the butter will turn golden first, and then the milk solids will start to turn brown. As soon as this happens, add sage. Let cook for about 30 seconds, then add fresh mushrooms. Turn down the heat a bit and saute mushrooms for a couple minutes until they turn golden.

Four. Add the dried mushrooms with their soaking liquid along with sherry or Marsala. Bring to a simmer, then add cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a minute or two. Check seasoning and set aside.

For the polenta:

1. Bring milk and water and salt to a simmer in saucepan. Slowly pour in polenta, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Cook polenta for 15 minutes, or time indicated on the box, until thickened.

2. Take the polenta off heat and stir in butter and cheese until smooth and creamy.

3. Ladle into shallow bowls and top with mushrooms.