Sausage and Lentil Soup

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• Hearty soups are an absolute favorite for me in the wintertime. Throw in some crusty French bread and a warm fireplace to sit near and I am a very happy gal. This robust one-pot dinner packs in lentils, sausage and plenty of vegetables, including mushrooms, spinach, onions and garlic. I love beef broth and red wine in soup; they give the dish an amazing richness that compliments the meat wonderfully and allow the food to be oh-so-comforting. Adapted from a recipe from Whole Foods, this recipe is nutritious, filling, and delicious.  A loaf of crusty bread is the only accompaniment you need for a complete meal.
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• Yield: about 6 servings
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• Ingredients:
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
• 1 pound sweet and/or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1/2 pound mushrooms (such as white, cremini, shiitake, portobello and oyster), chopped
• 1 cup (about 7 ounces) dried French or brown lentils, picked through and rinsed
• 2 1/2 cups beef broth
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes, with their juice
• 1 cup dry red wine
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/4 pound baby spinach, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Instructions:

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent. Add sausage and cook, breaking into small chunks, until it begins to brown. Add mushrooms and continue to cook until mushrooms have released most of their liquid. Add lentils, beef broth, mushroom or chicken broth, tomatoes and their juice, wine and pepper flakes; cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30-45 minutes.

Add spinach and salt and pepper, stir well and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more; stir in thyme.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into bowls and top with Parmesan. 

Pasta with Shrimp and Creamy Roasted Tomatoes

I'm on a roll with the shrimp recipes lately. My Garlicy Shrimp Scampi , New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp, Sweet and Spicy Honey Grilled Shrimp Skewers, and (my personal favorite) Lemony Asparagus Pasta with Shrimp are all incredible.  I'm a sucker for creamy pastas and juicy shrimp, so this recipe had my name all over it when I first saw it on Recipe.com.  I love the idea of roasting the tomatoes and adding them to a creamy sauce...this makes such a wonderful, roasted-tomato flavor.  Heavy cream also makes everything better, causing this sauce to be super creamy and comforting.  This has big, flavorful shrimp swimming in a roasted tomato-creamy sauce.  The sauce isn't too tomato-y, which I really liked, and has a touch of lemon flavor...very refreshing.  It was rich and filling (from the heavy cream), yet light and summery (from the lemon flavor and shrimp) at the same time. There is also a perfect amount of sauce in proportion with the pasta and shrimp.  If you like lots of shrimp, use two pounds.  If you prefer less shrimp, then use one pound.  I used two pounds and there was lots of flavorful, big, juicy shrimp with every bite.  My parents said this was "restaurant quality"...I totally agree.

Yield: about 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes
1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 pounds pasta (of your choice) 
1 cup heavy cream
1 to 2 pounds large shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 

Directions:

1.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large ovenproof skillet, toss the tomatoes with the olive oil and and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes for about 25 minutes, until starting to brown and their skins split.

2.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente; drain.

3.

Add the cream and a generous amount of salt and desired amount of pepper to the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook over moderate heat, gently crushing the tomatoes, until the cream thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Add the shrimp*** and simmer over moderate heat until cooked through, about 2-4 minutes.  Season with more salt and pepper. Add the pasta to the skillet along with the lemon juice and toss over low heat until the pasta is coated, about 1 minute. Add the lemon zest and parsley and toss. Add more salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer the pasta to warm bowls and serve at once.

***If using 2 pounds of shrimp, cook the shrimp in 2 batches, transferring the first batch to a plate with a slotted spoon and keeping warm with foil.  Add first batch of shrimp to pasta in the end.

***adapted from Recipes.com

New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp

I'm usually not a fan of spicy things, but boy was this tasty!   I really recommend making it spicy.  Add lots of salt and cayenne in the end.  I don't know why, but this dish is so, so, so yummy and especially flavorful when spicy.  It's adapted from America's Test Kitchen, who have never failed to impress me with their recipes. Here's the description on the recipe:

We started by determining the best cooking method for our version of New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp; in this case, searing the shrimp first, then sautéing the aromatics before returning the shrimp to the skillet to gently finish cooking in the rich sauce proved best. Sautéing the aromatics with some tomato paste enriched the sauce—the paste also reinforced the “barbecue" color.

To thicken the sauce, we turned to a classic New Orleans technique for thickening: starting the sauce with a roux. A bit of flour added to the sautéing aromatics created a sauce that was thick enough to coat the shrimp. Instead of a time-consuming seafood stock, we used bottled clam juice as the base for our sauce. To round out the liquid, tasters preferred mellow beer to acidic wine.

Seems like they know what they're talking about...am I right?  They also said: although authentic barbecue shrimp is always made with shell-on shrimp, peeled and deveined shrimp may be used. Light- or medium-bodied beers work best here. Serve with Tabasco sauce and French bread, if desired.

Definitely serve this wish French bread!!  It does a wonderful job of soaking up all of the yummy sauce.  I wish I had made more of this to have as leftovers...but there were none left!

Ingredients:

• 2pounds extra-large shrimp, peeled (21-25 per pound)
• 1/2teaspoon salt
• 1/2teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
• 2teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1teaspoon tomato paste
• 1teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
• 1teaspoon minced fresh thyme
• 1/2teaspoon dried oregano
• 3garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4cup bottled clam juice
• 1/2cup beer
• 1tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
•                       Additional salt, cayenne pepper
•                       Hot sauce (optional)

Instructions: 

• 1. Sear shrimp: Pat shrimp dry with paper towels and sprinkle with salt and cayenne. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook half of shrimp, without moving, until spotty brown on one side, about 1 minute; transfer to large plate. Repeat with remaining oil and shrimp.
• 2. Make Sauce: Melt 1 tablespoon butter in empty skillet over medium heat. Add flour, tomato paste, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in clam juice, beer, and Worcestershire, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to boil. Return shrimp and any accumulated juices to skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until shrimp are cooked through, about 2 minutes. Off heat, stir in remaining butter until incorporated. Add more salt and cayenne to taste.  Serve and garnish with hot sauce if desired.

Grilled Mustard-Glazed Pork Loin

This is my new favorite marinade ever!!  It is a recipe from America's Test Kitchen, so you know it's gotta be awesome because they test it so many times.  Two surefire ways to dress up a pork roast are to give it a flavorful, deeply caramelized crust on the grill and serve it with a savory-sweet mustard glaze. This Grilled Mustard-Glazed Pork Loin recipe has the [ best of both worlds ]. Leaving the boneless pork loin roast untrimmed added moisture and flavor—and scoring the fat kept it from tasting too fatty. For the mustard glaze, apple jelly was a perfect complement to the spicy crunch of grainy mustard, and both married well with the other glaze ingredients—brown sugar, garlic, and fresh thyme. To fully infuse the Grilled Mustard-Glazed Pork Loin with mustard flavor, the glaze is applied before, during, and after grilling.  This is incredibly delicious thinly sliced on a sandwich the next day, with some thinly sliced apple and a little spread of apple butter. I can't wait to use this marinade for chicken, too!

Serves 6 to 8

Dijon and yellow mustards also work well in the glaze, but make certain to use apple jelly (which is translucent), not apple butter (which is opaque). Look for a pork roast with about 1/4 inch of fat on top and tie the roast at 1-inch intervals to ensure an even shape. Keep a squirt bottle of water on hand during browning to quell any flare-ups.

Ingredients:

• • 1/2cup grainy mustard
  • 6tablespoons apple jelly
  • 2tablespoons dark brown sugar (light is fine too)
  • 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1garlic clove, minced
  • 2teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/2teaspoon salt
  • 3/4teaspoon pepper
  • 1boneless pork loin roast (2 1/2 to 3 pounds), fat on top scored lightly and tied (see note)

• 1. Open bottom vent on grill. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (about 100 coals) and burn until covered with fine gray ash. Pour coals evenly over one half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, open lid vent completely, and let grill heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk mustard, jelly, sugar, oil, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper in medium bowl. Reserve one-third of mustard mixture for serving. Coat meat completely with half of remaining mustard mixture.
• 2. Scrape and oil cooking grate. Grill pork directly over coals until well browned all over, 12 to 15 minutes. Place pork fat-side up on cooler side of grill and brush with about one-third of remaining mustard mixture. Cover, open lid vents completely, and cook, brushing with mustard mixture every 10 minutes, until meat registers 140 degrees, 25 to 40 minutes.
• 3. Transfer pork to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 15 minutes (temperature should rise to 150 degrees). Pour accumulated juices into reserved mustard mixture and whisk to combine. Cut roast into 1/4-inch slices, transfer to platter, and spoon mustard mixture over top.  Serve.

Momma Buscemi's Favorite Ribs

     

These are the best ribs in the entire universe.  They've been a family tradition ever since I can remember and they always turn out phenomenal.  I'm not usually a big pork fan...but I LOVE these ribs!  Sinking your teeth into one of these thick, juicy ribs, and then licking the sweet sauce off your fingers....it doesn't get much better than that. My mom made these for the super bowl this year and they tasted even more delicious than I remembered.  They're so much better than any ribs I've ever had in a restaurant.  The ingredients in the sauce are the secret.  The peach preserves and brown sugar give it an amazing, sweet flavor that make them melt in your mouth.  We had these with my classic biscuits (found here).  Oh my lordy...I was in heaven.


Ingredients:
3 racks baby back ribs

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste

2 slices of bacon
2 bunches fresh thyme
1/2 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups ketchup
1 cup peach preserves
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon prepared dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground paprika




Instructions:
1. Wrap the bacon around thyme, and heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add bacon wrapped thyme and cook for 4 minutes.  
2. Add chopped onion and garlic to skillet, and cook for 5 more minutes.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 15-20 minutes longer.
4. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Drizzle 1/4 cup olive oil on top of ribs, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in the oven to bake.
4.  Baste ribs with sauce every 15 minutes until 2.5 hours is done.

Baked Chicken Nuggets

 

I will never again order chicken nuggets at a restaurant (unless it's Chick-Fil-A of course...I just can't get enough of those), because I can now make them just as good at home!    I wanted to create a much more healthy alternative than deep fried nuggets and these baked ones actually taste better!   They are so much better than any fast food place or frozen nuggets. The milk really tenderizes the chicken and makes them super juicy.  And broiling them for the last five minutes makes the outside perfectly crisp.  Who says chicken nuggets are just for kids?  My mom and I finished all of these off in one sitting; [we just couldn't stop popping them into our mouths!] We had them as a main dish for dinner, but they would be great as an appetizer too. Serve these with ketchup and/or honey mustard...Mmm Mmm Mmm...

Ingredients:

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2-inch sized pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme and basil. Mix well. Put milk in a bowl or dish for dipping.
3. Dip chicken pieces into the milk first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place the well-coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.  Set the oven to broil, and bake for 5 more minutes.  Immediately remove cooked nuggets from cookie sheet and place on a cooling rack.  Place the cooling rack over the used cookie sheet to prevent crumbs from falling and to keep nuggets warm.

Apple, Sausage, and Cranberry Stuffing

I made this stuffing for Christmas dinner tonight, and it was phenomenal.  I know it's not exactly the best idea to test a recipe for the first time on the big day, but I couldn't imagine any stuffing possibly tasting that bad. The apples, spices, chicken soup, and cranberries give this stuffing the most delicious flavor.  I adapted this from the "Awesome Sausage, Apple, and Cranberry Stuffing" on allrecipes.com found here.  Based on the reviews, I changed it by using fresh herbs, adding an egg to make it hold and be less crumbly, using sage pork sausage instead of regular sausage for more flavor, and I used drained broth from chicken noodle soup instead of turkey stock.  The reason for my last substitution is because it was the only thing I had on hand.  I was actually planning on using chicken stock, but I didn't realize I didn't have it until the last minute.  So I used the chicken noodle soup stock, and I figured it would give the stuffing even more flavor since it had been sitting for so long.  And man was I right!  This stuffing was absolutely superb! Both my parents said it was their favorite dish of all the food we had today and yesterday..and we had some of the best food I've ever had.  I can't wait to try this stuffed in a turkey...my family all agreed that I'm making this for Thanksgiving next year.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups cubed whole wheat bread
• 3 3/4 cups cubed white bread
• 1 pound ground sage pork sausage
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 4.5 teaspoons fresh sage
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1 apple, cored and chopped (i used pink ladies)
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup finely chopped, fresh parsley
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup broth from can of chicken noodle soup (i used condensed)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F (175 degree C). Spread the white and whole wheat bread cubes in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until evenly toasted. Transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl.
2. In a large skillet, cook the sausage and onions over medium heat, stirring and breaking up the lumps until evenly browned. Add the celery, sage, rosemary, and thyme; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to blend flavors.
3. Pour sausage mixture over bread in bowl. Mix in chopped apples, dried cranberries, parsley, and egg.  Mix well. Drizzle with drained chicken soup and melted butter, and mix lightly. Spoon into lightly greased casserole dish and bake for 35-40 minutes, stirring halfway through. 

Herb Bread

    I made this loaf for my parents on another Sunday evening, and it was absolutely perfect.  It tastes very similar to the bread served at Macaroni Grill.  I think the only difference is theirs has more olive oil and/or butter and salt rubbed on the edges.  I know I haven't made many yeast breads, but out of all the yeast breads I have made, this is my current favorite.  I think I even like it better than my 100% whole wheat bread...and that's saying a lot.  The reason I like it better is because of the texture and the unique taste.  It is the perfect side to any meal.  And the spices make it have so much more flavor than white bread.  The texture of this loaf is so fluffy and soft...I served it with ham and potato soup, and the bread was SO delicious dunked in it!  It soaked the soup right up and complimented it perfectly.  My mom really enjoyed this for breakfast toasted with butter. My dad and I made egg sandwiches with it and absolutely loved them.  Aaaand I'm about to have it again with tomato shrimp pasta!  I'll be sure to dunk it(:

Yield: 1 loaf (about 12 slices)

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon margarine, melted

Directions

1. Combine 2 cups flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Stir in the water, olive oil, garlic powder, parsley, rosemary, and thyme. Use an electric mixer to beat on low speed for 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Turn mixer to medium, and beat for an additional 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in remaining 1 cup flour; mix until smooth. Scrape batter from sides of bowl. Cover, and let rise in warm place for 35 to 40 minutes.
2. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan. Stir down batter by beating about 25 strokes. Scrape batter into greased pan; pat down with floured hands. Cover pan. Let dough rise in warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Do not allow dough to over-rise.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. Bake in preheated oven until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, 40 to 45 minutes. (It may look very brown and it will feel hard, but it won't be when you slice it. And the inside will be soft.)  Brush top with margarine. Remove from pan, and cool on wire rack.