Ina's Split Pea Soup

Well, really, it's called Parker's Split Pea Soup but I figured, who knows who Parker is just by reading the title of this post? Parker was a chef at Ina's gourmet food store, Barefoot Contessa, when Ina featured his split pea soup in The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (and maybe he still is but I can't confirm that).

Did I forget to mention that as a kid, I would groan when I found out that split pea soup was on the menu? Yeah, well, all of a sudden a few weeks ago, I felt this indescribable need to make split pea soup. I'm really not sure why but I went out a bought a couple pounds of dried split peas and some chorizo sausage to add to this recipe (instead of the ham or hot dogs my mom added when I was a kid). I put the recipe on hold until Kyle and I returned from our vacation and made the soup the first night we were back. It was simple and required minimal time from me standing over the stove which made it the perfect choice for a meal on a night where I definitely didn't feel like cooking.

Oh.My.Goodness. I can't describe how incredible this soup turned out!! It's seriously one of the best soups I've ever had, let alone made because as we all know, my soup skills aren't quite up to par. I made the whole recipe (which is 1/2 of what is written in the cookbook) and there were plenty of leftovers which neither of us minded at all. The soup was thick, flavorful, and the chorizo sausage was a wonderful addition. This will definitely make a appearance on my menu again soon!

Parker's Split Pea Soup

source: Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

• 1 cup chopped yellow onions
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/8 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups medium-diced carrots (3 to 4 carrots)
• 1 cup medium-diced red boiling potatoes, unpeeled (3 small)
• 1 pound dried split green peas
• 8 cups chicken stock or water

1. In a 4-quart stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with the olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper until the onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, 1/2 pound of split peas, and chicken stock.
2. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Skim off the foam while cooking. Add the remaining split peas and continue to simmer for another 40 minutes, or until all the peas are soft. Stir frequently to keep the solids from burning on the bottom. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Artichoke and Sausage Stuffed Shells

Finally, a recipe from my "must make" list! I've been dying to try Giada's Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells for ages but have had some reservation about it because I wasn't sure how it would go over with Kyle, although I know I shouldn't have any reservations about making any of Giada's recipes because they all turn out so wonderful. Once again, we were not disappointed by Giada!

We ended up swapping out the ground turkey for ground pork because it's what we had on hand and it certainly was a good move; the combination of artichoke with sausage is just heavenly! We didn't make the sauce in Giada's recipe because we're still working through the large pot of sauce that Kyle made over the weekend and I really don't think the recipe was missing anything without Giada's sauce. I didn't include the sauce recipe below but you can find it by clicking on the link to the original recipe above. All in all, this recipe is just perfect for a cold New England [pre]winter night and I can guarantee that they will be back on our plates before the winter is through.

In fact, these shells are also just the perfect dish to bring to Peabody's Housewarming Party this weekend! It's a potluck-style party and I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve waiting to see what everyone "brings"! Not only are my stuffed shells incredibly tasty and will everyone at the party love them, the shells can be made in advance (and frozen if you wish) and they travel well (yes, even virutally). They can be baked after being frozen or refrigerated (baking time adjusted accordingly) and will turn out beautifully either way. And be honest, who doesn't love stuffed shells??

Artichoke and Sausage Stuffed Shells

adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

• 1 (12-ounce) box jumbo pasta shells (recommended: Barilla)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pound ground pork (sweet Italian sausage)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/4 teaspoon
• 1 (15oz) can artichoke hearts, coarsely chopped
• 1 (15oz) container ricotta cheese
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 5 cups sauce, homemade or jarred
• 1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella (about 5 ounces)
  

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and partially cook until tender but still very firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain pasta.
2. Meanwhile, in a large heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and the garlic and cook until the onions are soft and starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the ground turkey, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is slightly golden and cooked through. Add the artichoke hearts and stir to combine. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. In a large bowl combine the cooled turkey mixture with the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, basil, parsley, and the remaining salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
   To stuff the shells, cover the bottom of a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish with 1 cup of sauce.
4. Take a shell in the palm of your hand and stuff it with a large spoonful of turkey mixture, about 2 tablespoons. Place the stuffed shell in the baking dish. Continue filling the shells until the baking dish is full, about 24 shells. Drizzle the remaining sauce over the shells, top with the grated mozzarella. If freezing, cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1 day and up to 1 month.
5. To bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake until the shells are warmed through and the cheese is beginning to brown, about 60 minutes (20 minutes if shells are unfrozen.)

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes (fresh); 60 minutes (frozen)

Serves: 6-8

Sausage and Peppers

I have been made blatently aware that Kyle's favorite carnivorous choice is pork in [almost] any form: Italian sausage, breakfast sausage, ground pork, bacon, pork chops, roast pork, pork tenderloin. The only form of pork that he shys away from is ham (thankfully because I'm not a fan either). He recently confessed that if he was ever stranded on a deserted island and he could only choose one food to eat for the rest of his life, it would be pork. Such a man! I suppose this is the reason why I have so many pork posts in this blog and the reason why I have come to love chicken sausage as it's a great and less-fattening alternative to pork sausage.

So Kyle has been in a cooking mood recently. Last week it was the broccoli aioli, on Sunday he made a big pot of sauce, and on Monday night, he thawed the frozen hot Italian sausages from our favorite Italian deli on Long Island that he's been dying to have. He reserved these sausages strictly for sausage and peppers, a dish that he is totally in love with and only on a rare occasion will he let me make because of how much he enjoys making it. Sometimes I wonder if he loves sausage and peppers more than he loves me! (kidding)

Anyway, enough chatter about a dish I didn't even eat. Yes, that's right: he made sausage and peppers for what was supposed to be 3 lunches this week and only turned into 1 lunch because he couldn't restrain himself from eating the rest when he got home from work on Monday. For shame!

Kyle's Sausage and Peppers

• 4 hot Italian pork sausages
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 tbsp plus 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 2 green peppers, seeded and sliced
• 2 medium onions, sliced in half-moons
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a deep heavy-bottom pot or dutch oven over medium heat, heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Add sausages and cook, turning occasionally, until fully cooked, about 10-15 minutes. Turn the heat to low or medium-low if the sausages are browning to quickly.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat; add peppers and cook for 5 minutes then add onions, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes or until peppers and onions begin to soften. Reduce heat to medium. Add in garlic and cook for 2 minutes. If mixture becomes too dry, add some additional oil.
3. Add wine to the pot containing the sausages and deglaze the bottom of the pot. Be sure to scrape the bits of sausages from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. When peppers and onions have softened, add to pot and turn heat to low. Stir to combine and cook for an additional 5-8 minutes, taking care to not let the garlic burn. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese before serving.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Serves: 2-4

Show me the gravy!

As a kid, my parents drove my brother and I all over the place: Niagara Falls, Disney World, Connecticut, Montana/Idaho, Hershey Park (PA). Driving truly sucked, especially with a bratty little brother in the back seat the whole ride...but that's another story for the couch so I won't go into it here. I suppose as a kid, I never really appreciated the opportunities to see the country that driving provided (which is why I self-medicated with Dramamine), but I did see the opportunities in tasting the local foods wherever we drove through or ended up. There's no question what my favorite local fare was and I looked for it on every menu at every truck stop, Denny's or IHOP we ever stopped at: Biscuits and Gravy. :: insert Homer Simpson drooling sound here :: It's not a dish that you can readily find here in the Northeast so it's always such a treat to order it, especially when I'm down South.

However, now I don't have to wait until I travel to find it!! My mom cut out a recipe for Biscuits and Gravy a few years ago from her local newspaper and it turns out that it's a wonderful and fairly authentic recipe that I've been making ever since. I'm sure the recipes in the South call for some form of lard to enhance the flavor (and of course further clog the arteries) but this recipe is pretty basic, and it's certainly not lacking in flavor. It happens to be Kyle's #1 breakfast request for special occasions, weekends hosting guests, and holidays - but I refuse to make it for any sort of random day because I feel that we should have a "special" breakfast made only a couple times of year so that the novelty of this great meal doesn't wear out.

Our most recent indulgence was for Thanksgiving morning breakfast and even with the hustle and bustle of preparing a turkey dinner for later in the day, there was still plenty of time to put this in our bellies because it's so easy to make. For this occasion, I didn't make biscuits from scratch (but have in the past), and used a can of refrigerated biscuits - no shame in that! I've never actually used the biscuit recipe below so I can't attest to how it turns out but it sounds like it would turn out OK. Please note that I've made some changes to the gravy recipe, which you can see in italics.

Biscuits and Gravy

source: Bev Bennett in Newsday, April 6, 2003

For the biscuits:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold butter, cut into pieces
• 4 to 5 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp minced chives (optional)

1. Combine flour, salt, baking powder and sugar in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture contains small chunks of butter. Add 4 tbsp milk and stir. If dough is stiff, add remaining tbsp of milk. Knead in chives. Dough should be soft, but not sticky.
2. Pat dough to 3/4 inch thickness on lightly floured board. Cut into 4 circles with 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Place on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before splitting open. Makes 4 biscuits.

For the gravy:

• 8 oz bulk (ground) pork sausage in sage or hot seasonings (I use 12oz of ground breakfast sausage - either Jones' or Jimmy Dean)
• 1 tbsp* flour
• 1 cup* milk or combination of milk and half-and-half (should be room temperature)
• freshly ground black pepper (lots!!)

1. While biscuits are baking, brown sausage in a medium, non-stick skillet (it doesn't have to be non-stick). Do not pour off fat.
2. Add flour to sausage and fat and stir to make a paste. Stir (whisk) in milk or half-and-half and cook over low heat (medium works better), stirring frequently, until sausage is hot and gravy is smooth and thick. (The mixture will need to come to a simmer before you get the right consistency.) Season generously with pepper.
3. To serve, split each biscuit in half and top with 1/4 of the gravy mixture. Serve immediately. Serves 2.

*Notes:

1. You might need a little extra flour and milk if you use extra sausage.
2. Usually my gravy is a bit more "runny" than what these pics show but I was running low on milk that morning and had to make sure I had enough to last through the remainder of the holiday.
3. This recipe easily doubles but I don't recommend fully doubling the milk. Add as much milk as necessary to bring your gravy to your desired thickness.

Maple Braised Pork Chops

I'm always looking for a new recipe for pork chops because there are only so many times I can marinate them in Italian dressing and dry them out on the grill. Kyle and I have both come to love Giada's parmesan-crusted pork chops but in all honesty, they tend to be a bit unfriendly to those looking to watch calories. I ran across this recipe while perusing through Joelen's blog (a fellow member of my favorite cooking message board) and knew that I needed to try it. In fact, I passed the recipe along to one of my friends who made the chops (although the recipe does call for ribs) that same day and let me know that her hubby (who isn't a huge pork chop fan) raved about them...that's what sealed the deal for me.

I broke out the crockpot yesterday afternoon, determined to get my money out of it (even though I got it on sale at Williams-Sonoma last winter for about 40 bucks), mixed up the quick spice rub, rubbed the chops down, and got them cooking. The result was more than worth the 6 hour wait for them. The chops came out with the meat falling off the bone and flavor was a nice mix between sweet and savory; the maple in the background of everything is what made this dish. I'll admit they did come out a little dry so next time I'll cook them for 5 to 5 1/2 hours rather than 6, but because they tasted as good as they did, a little dryness didn't matter all that much.

Maple Braised Pork Ribs

1-2 lbs pork ribs (I used bone-in chops)
maple rub (recipe below)

Maple Rub

• 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• splash of worchestershire sauce
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup chicken stock for the bottom of the crockpot
  

1. Combine above ingredients in a bowl. Consistency will slightly clumpy and paste like. Coat pork ribs with this paste using your hands - a basting brush isn't as effective.
2. Place coated pork in a dutch oven or in a shallow baking pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees for 3-4 hours OR Place coated pork in your crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours. (I think 5 to 5 1/2hrs in the crockpot would be enough time)

Prep time: 5-10 mintues

Cook time: Oven: 3-4hrs Crockpot: 5 to 5 1/2hrs

Serves: 4

Apple and Onion Stuffed Roasted Pork Tenderloin

HELLO FALL!!!! Ah....this is the day I've been waiting for since June 21st. Bring on the sweaters, pumpkins, foliage, and of course, fall-inspired foods. I celebrated the first day of this glorious season with a nice hearty meal - apple and onion stuffed roasted pork tenderloin with roasted butternut squash and sweet potato on the side. The smell of this cooking alone was enough to make me want to throw on a sweater and light a fire in the fireplace!

This wasn't a recipe I found anywhere, but my own "concoction" and I'm proud to say that it turned out really well and was SO easy! Kyle says that he isn't a fan of sweet potatoes ("sweeties" as I sometimes call them), but once again, I was able to hide them in a dish...and he ended up going back for seconds. Roasting them with the butternut squash, you can't at all tell the difference between the two. You might think that the squash and sweet potatoes together in the same dish might seem a little odd but by adding some herbes de Provence, salt, pepper, and a wee bit of garlic powder, the combo of the sweeties, squash, and savory seasonings proved to be a definite winning combo. I'm not sure where I got the idea for the tenderloin but since it was in the freezer, I decided to do something "fallish" with it.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potatoes

• 1/2 butternut squash, diced (1" pieces)
• 1 large sweet potato, washed, peeled and diced (1" pieces)
• herbes de Provence
• salt, pepper, garlic powder
• olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 415 degrees F.
2. Place squash and sweet potato in an oven safe dish (8x8 or 7x11).
3. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Sprinkle a couple pinches of herbes de Provence, pressing herbes to release oils as you sprinkle. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder.
4. Cook for 45 minutes, flipping squash and potatoes occasionally to prevent sticking. You might need a little extra salt and pepper when serving, but taste first before you add more.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Serves: 4

Apple and Onion Stuffed Roasted Pork Tenderloin

• 1 apple, cored and diced (1" pieces)
• 1 medium onion cut into chunks
• 1 shallot, coarsely chopped
• 1 pork tenderloin
• olive oil
• 1 tsp herbes de Provence
• salt and pepper

1. While the squash and potatoes are cooking, pat tenderloin dry and season with herbes de Provence, salt and pepper.
2. Cut a slit lengthwise on the top-side of the tenderloin, making a pocket, being careful not to cut through to the bottom. Stuff pocket with a little shallot, some onion, and some apple pieces. Put the remaining shallot, onion, and apple on the bottom of a roasting pan and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil. Secure tenderloin opening with a couple of toothpicks.
3. Carefully place tenderloin on top of apples and onions. Cook for 30-32 minutes at 415 degrees F.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30-32 minutes

Serves: 4

Giada's Rigatoni with Sausage, Peppers, and Onions

Yum!!! I'm not a huge fan of sausage and peppers mostly because all of the oil and fat from the sausages causes so much guilt that I have trouble enjoying the dish. If Kyle wants it for dinner or to serve it to guests, he makes it (I help him prep). But I've finally found a recipe that doesn't call for so much oil. Where you ask? From Giada of course!

This one comes from Giada's Everyday Italian cookbook and it highlights the lighter side of how sausage and peppers can be prepared - turkey sausage and less olive oil. Kyle begged me not to use turkey sausages so I used sweet Italian sausage instead but cooked them down pretty well so that most of the fat cooked out. And with the seasonings and Marsala wine, I turned out a great new sausage and peppers dish that I will definitely make again.

Rigatoni with Sausage, Peppers, and Onions
Everyday Italian, Giada De Laurentiis

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage
• 2 red bell peppers, sliced
• 2 yellow onions, sliced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup Marsala wine
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
  

1. Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown on both sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain. (I sliced the sausages before cooking them to reduce cooking time)
2. Keeping the pan over medium heat, add the peppers, onions, salt, and pepper and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the oregano, basil, and garlic and cook 2 more minutes.
   Add the tomato paste and stir. Add the Marsala wine, tomatoes, and chili flakes, if using. Stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the browned bits. Bring to a simmer.
3. Cut the sausages into 4 to 6 pieces each, about 1-inch cubes. Add the sausage back to the pan and stir to combine. Cook until the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes.
4. While the sauce simmers, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes. Drain the pasta and add to the thickened sauce; toss to combine. Spoon into individual bowl and sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4-6

No longer a polenta virgin!

After years of wondering what polenta tastes like and being too much of a chicken to attempt making it myself for fear of it ending up like cold oatmeal and ruining our dinner, I took the plunge last night. As I was perusing through my new cookbook, Everyday Food: Great Food Fast, looking for something to accompany my parmesan-crusted pork chops (Giada De Laurentiis), I stumbled upon a basic polenta recipe. I had heard that you can make polenta either with polenta (duh) or cornmeal and this recipe accomodated the lack of polenta in my pantry. Cornmeal it was! OK, so true polenta aficionatos might say that I didn't make polenta, but throw me a bone here!

The outcome of the whole meal was fantastic! The pork chops were just as everyone on my cooking board has raved about - tender...flavorful...delicious. The polenta surpassed my expectations and I think I really surprised Kyle as well - he just about licked the plate clean! I can't wait to find out what REAL polenta tastes like!!




Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs
• 3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
• 4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops (each about 10 to 12 ounces)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• Lemon wedges, for serving
  

Whisk the eggs in a pie plate to blend. Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate. Place the cheese in a third pie plate. Sprinkle the pork chops generously with salt and pepper. Coat the chops completely with the cheese, patting to adhere. Dip the chops into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to plates and serve with lemon wedges.

Note: Even over medium heat, the chops browned quickly, leaving the centers uncooked. I finished them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees in the same pan I used for the stove-top cooking, which was oven-safe of course.

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 20-25 minutes Serves 4

Soft Polenta

source: Martha Stewart, Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

• 3/4 cup cornmeal or polenta (not quick-cooking)
• 4 cups water (I used 2 cups water, 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock)
• 1 1/2 tsp salt (I used Kosher)
• 1/8 freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp butter

In a large saucepan over high heat, bring 4 cups water with 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to a boil. Very gradually, add cornmeal in a thin stream, whisking constantly until smooth. Reduce heat to medium-low (low was hot enough); simmer, whisking often, until thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in butter and cheese until smooth.

Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 10-12 minutes Serves: 4

A twist on your typical sausage and peppers

A long time ago, in the harried rush to get a weekend's worth of food, clothes, and activities for 4 people together before heading out on our family's boat to Davis Park on Fire Island, Long Island, my mom came across this recipe. Looking back, I can't imagine how she did all of this nearly every weekend from the end of June through Labor Day weekend - for at least 4 summers in a row. Nonetheless, I remember the night she tried this recipe on us as we squeezed into the 4 person dinette in the boat's cabin. At the age of 11 or 12, I know that I most likely turned up my nose at eating green peppers. Not a surprise, though, because I always turned my nose up at the prospect of having to eat green peppers. I ate the dish anyway (and probably picked out a lot of the peppers) but we all loved it! This was an easy and relatively inexpensive meal for my mom to make at home, pack in the cooler, and serve cold on the boat. By eating it cold, my mom avoided having to heat up the already overheated and sickeningly humid boat cabin...and it avoided my dad having to standing over the grill in the rain with an umbrella (how can you get through a few weekends in the summer without it raining??) trying to cook us dinner. This became a much-loved dish in my family for years to come.

Fast-forward about 10 or 12 years to the night when my whole family brought dinner to my grandma who was in the hospital recovering from a knee replacement. This was the main course that night and it was the first time Kyle had ever tried it (I wasn't much of a cook way back in the beginning of our relationship). We got in the car that night and he said to me, "That was SO good. You have to find out how to make that." And the rest is history. This is now in Kyle's "Top 3" which also consists of my chicken parmesan and our caprese pasta dish that I've yet to blog about.

Looking at the picture above, it does look a little plain, but trust me, it's full of flavor. The sausage explodes with flavor when cooking it down with the wine, and I've found out through trial and error that the type of wine I use really does matter. Neither of us are wine drinkers (Kyle is allergic and I think that I may be) so I don't usually have "good" drinking wine in the house and had been using regular cooking wine you can find in the grocery store. That all changed last night when the dish was taken to another level with the leftover Chardonnay from the fridge that I wanted to use up before it went bad. Amazing what some "good" drinking wine will do!! My mom's original recipe is below with a couple of my modifications below that.

Pasta, Sausage and Peppers

• 1 lb shells or other small macaroni
• 6 tbsp olive oil*
• 1 1/2 lbs sweet Italian sausage
• 1 cup dry white wine*
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 3 cups diced green peppers
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup parsley*
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese*

Cook pasta, drain, rinse in cold water, add 2 tbsp olive oil, and toss.* Remove sausage casings, cook meat thoroughly, stirring. Stir in wine and cook until thickened*. Remove this from pan, set aside. Add remaining oil* to skillet with onions and peppers, saute until almost tender, stirring often. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds. Return sausage to skillet. Add parsley and heat. Add sausage and cheese to pasta and toss well.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10-15 minutes

Serves: 8

*Modifications

1. I reduce the oil by half. We eat the dish hot so I don't rinse the pasta or toss it in olive oil. I use 1 tbsp to cook the sausage and 2 tbsp to saute the veggies.
2. My mom's version notes that you can substitute beer for wine if you don't have any wine.
3. If I don't already have parsley in the house, don't worry about it. If I don't have it, I won't by it just for this dish as I'm not a fan of it.
4. When has a little extra cheese hurt anyone? We always top the dish with some extra grated Parmesan.
   

Bringing a little of the South to New England

Traveling down South you can always guarantee that you'll be able to find a few certain foods at any truck/rest stop, diner, Denny's, etc...grits and bbq pulled pork. And let me tell you, if, when traveling with my parents as a child (always by car), a place didn't have bbq pulled pork, my dad would not be a happy camper. This one is WAY up on his list favorite foods...right up there with chicken parmesan. And funny enough, my mom never ever made this while I was growing up...and I'm not so sure why, because it is SO easy to make!! HELLO CROCKPOT!!!

I pulled my gleaming almost-never-used crockpot out the other day from one of my spare bedrooms (which is acting as a makeshift small kitchen appliance overflow/storage area) and cranked it all the way up to low ;) earlier this week. I had bought a 6 pound pork shoulder at the grocery store over the weekend and was bound and determined to make some kick-ass pulled pork this week. And what a treat this was!!! To come home to a great-smelling home and not have to worry about preparing a whole meal after a long day was the best! The pork was tender and so tastey that I think Kyle sneaked back for thirds!

BBQ Pulled Pork

• 1 large pork shoulder or butt (bone in)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 bottles of your favorite bbq sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's Original)

In a heavy stock pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Trim off some of the visible fat, but not all. Lightly brown all non-fat sides of the meat in the heated oil.

Place onions, garlic and water in the bottom of crockpot. Transfer browned pork to crockpot and place on top of onions and garlic. Cover pork and onions with bbq sauce. Cover crockpot and cook for 8 hours on low.

When finished cooking, remove pork from crockpot and shred with two forks. Combine shredded pork with remaining bbq and onion mixture. Serve alone, on hamburger buns or on hard sandwich rolls.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 8 hours

Serves: 6-8

another Tyler "eh" recipe

OK, I'll admit that I haven't tried all that many Tyler Florence recipes but the ones I have tried have been just "eh" rather that "ultimate." And really, it's kind of a bummer because the idea of what he makes and how his food looks when he cooks it is great but in the end, there is always something that's just...missing, I guess. Don't get me wrong, the outcome is never bad, but I always say, "Well, I guess I can tweak the recipe a little next time" which really is OK because I'll tweak it to our tastes, not the masses'.

Tyler's smothered pork chops were on the menu last week and I had been anxious to make them for a while after reading lots of reviews on the cooking message board I frequent. Elly was really the one who introduced the recipe to the board and I knew I should have followed Ella's recipe modifications and maybe not have omitted the buttermilk (I was afraid it would be too tangy!), because I said to Kyle after we finished eating, "That really could have used some sauteed onions rather than onion powder." You live, you learn. I'm not going to post the whole recipe here - you can find it in the smothered pork chops link above - and I've linked Elly's version here. And to mix it up a little, I made Giada's creamy orzo instead of mashed potatoes because I just couldn't bring myself to make garlic mashed potatoes twice in one week.