Andouille Sausage Pasta/Pepper Thing, plus a Giveaway

Contest is closed, but the recipe is still fantastic, so scroll down for that!

The random winner is #13, Marie. Congrats, Marie!

Stay tuned for more fun giveaways...

Up until I made this dish, I’d never had Andouille sausage. It’s true. Now I see that I’ve been missing out. Why didn’t any of you tell me how deliciously spicy it was? Where were you all when I was perfectly happy having Italian sausage? I love Italian, too, but this Andouille…it could make me forget about Italian sausage for a long while. This is serious, folks.

We regularly visit a farm in MA called Tendercrop Farms. They’ve got the usual local produce and locally made things, along with great gifts, beautiful plants, etc. What you would expect when you visit a farm. They also have this fabulous meat counter in the back of the store, with their own fresh meats and sausages! One weekend, on a whim, we got some Andouille. I had no idea what to expect, but as they usually do, they had samples out for customers to try. I’m not going to lie, I went back for about five samples from the Andouille tray. It’s addictive! I had no idea what I was going to do with it, other than cook it, hide in a dark room, and eat the whole pound of it by myself! Ahem…that thought never crossed my mind. Really!

This dish is very easy to make. It’s just a few steps to a nice bowl of slightly spicy comfort food. Add crusty bread--maybe with butter and garlic, and oh yes, comfort food heaven. We’re coming up on cooler weather in this part of the world, so think about this one when you’re craving a hot bowl of something that will warm you from the inside out. Or just crank up the AC and pretend it’s cold outside!

A note about the sausage--if you can’t find Andouille, use your favorite. If you want it sliced, cut it when it’s still slightly frozen. It'll hold it’s shape this way. If it’s fresh, put it in the freezer for 20-30 minutes to firm it up--this works just as well. If all else fails, remove it from the casing and crumble it in.

Andouille Sausage Pasta Thing

Serves 4 hungry people

1 (16 oz) box bowtie pasta (or your favorite shape)
olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped shallots (or onion)
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 small yellow red pepper, seeded and sliced
1 cup oyster mushrooms (or whatever kind you have on hand)
Old Bay Seasoning
fresh cracked black pepper
1 (6 oz) bag baby spinach leaves
1 pound Andouille sausage, sliced or removed from casing (if you can't find it, use Italian sausage)
2 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp cornstarch
small amount of water
1 1/4 cup small heirloom, grape, or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup fresh sliced basil leaves
grated parmesan cheese

Set a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain, toss with a small amount of olive oil, and set aside in a large bowl.

While the pasta water is coming to a boil, and while it cooks, set a large skillet over medium heat. Quickly sauté the garlic and shallots, about one minute or so, then add the peppers and mushrooms. Sprinkle with the Old Bay (about 1 teaspoon) and the pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon). Cook for about 3 minutes, then add the spinach. Cook one more minute and remove from the pan. Set aside.

Add the sliced or crumbled sausage to the pan and cook until no longer pink. Remove from the pan and set aside. Carefully wipe out the pan and place it back on the burner.

Add the broth to the pan and set the heat to high. Bring it just to a boil. Mix the cornstarch with just enough cold water to dissolve it--about a teaspoon or two. Mix it so there are no lumps, and then stir it into the broth to thicken it.

Turn the heat back to down to medium low. Add the bell pepper/mushroom/spinach mixture and the cooked sausage back to the pan, and stir to coat. Add the basil and tomatoes into the pan at the last minute, stir them through.

Pour all of this over the pasta that you've set aside. Toss to coat, test for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Serve and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.

• If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, hide them for yourself! This tastes just as good, if not better, the next day.

 

Now for the Giveaway!

We grew our own Oyster Mushrooms, right at home! It was totally fun,too. I was amazed how quickly they grew once they started--it was like there was no stopping them! Also, the kids really enjoyed watching them sprout to life. Most of the time, growing things at home takes a lot of patience, which as we all know, is in short supply when it comes to kids. Bonus! When you’re done growing them on one side of the box, turn it around and do the same on the other side!

Nikhil, from Back to the Roots, contacted me a while ago about trying one of their kits. I was immediately drawn to this, because their kits are made with recycled materials, and when you’re done, you can sprinkle the soil from the box right into your garden or as we did, right into the compost bin! So these are a win-win for everyone. (In fact, we noticed over the weekend that the mushrooms are growing in the compost bin now, too. So funny! I should have waited and tried again in the house before composting. Ah well, I can buy another kit!)

I’m also thinking that with Back To School time upon us, how great would it be to buy one of these kits to send to your kid’s teacher? It would be a fun lesson in not only recycling, but growing your own healthy food at home!

A little info about Back to the Roots:

• Back to the Roots was founded by Alejandro Velez & Nikhil Arora during their last semester at UC Berkeley in 2009.
• They came up with the idea (during a class lecture) of being able to potentially grow gourmet mushrooms entirely on recycled coffee grounds. Now that’s using class time wisely, in my opinion!
• Inspired by the idea of turning waste into wages & fresh, local food, they experimented in Alex's fraternity kitchen, ultimately growing one test bucket of tasty oyster mushrooms on recycled coffee grounds.
• With that one bucket, some initial interest from Whole Foods & Chez Panisse and a $5,000 grant from the UC Berkeley Chancellor for social innovation, they decided to forget the corporate route, and instead, become full-time urban mushroom farmers! 

Their efforts today:

1. On pace in 2011 to collect, divert and reuse 1 million lbs. of coffee grounds this year from Peet's Coffee & Tea
2. Help families grow over 250,000lbs of fresh food at home in 2011!
3. Sustained 10 urban school & community gardens by donating BTTRs premium soil amendment.
4. Selling the kits at over 300 Whole Foods nationwide! 

So after reading those facts, how could anyone not be on board with a great, eco-friendly business venture like this? Please check out the graphic at the bottom of their “Our Story” page to really see the cycle (or “recycle”) of how the kits are made!

One important point--in the kit directions, it says for best results, soak the inner package for 24 hours before proceeding. This is very important, so please make sure you do this step.

If you’d like to go ahead and order some kits right away, here’s a discount code for you to use to get 10% off: Mushrooms4me10

Back to the Roots is offering to give one of their kits to one of you!

To enter:

1. Just leave a comment here telling me what plans you have for your own kit. Would you use it yourself, or send it with your child to school? Would you give it as a gift? What would you cook with the mushrooms? You get the idea!
2. Leave a valid email address so I can reach you if you win, please.
3. Extra entries if you want to tweet about this or share it on your Facebook wall. One extra entry per tweet or FB share.

That’s it! I’ll choose a winner on Wednesday, Sept. 7th. (US shipping only.)

Disclaimer: I was given a kit to try at home, free of charge. My opinions are my own and not influenced by the supplier of the kit.

Deep Dish Pizza

What’s your favorite type of pizza? Do you like thick, soft(ish) crust, or thin, crispy crust? Are you a deep dish person? I usually go for a nice thin crust and sparse toppings to just add some extra flavor. Every once in a while, though, I want a nice thick crust, that’s able to hold up some heavier toppings. A couple of weeks ago, I wanted to indulge that craving, so we made a deep dish pizza, topped with Italian sausage, mushrooms and fresh basil. Oh, so good!

It so happened that Andra and I were talking on Twitter about deep dish pizza. Our local Uno’s closed a few years back, much to my disappointment. Every once in a while, all I needed was a personal size deep dish pizza from Uno’s to satisfy my hunger. Since I can’t do that anymore, I had to make one at home. By the way, if anyone’s got a killer recipe for Uno’s buttery crust, I’d love it! Andra and I decided we’d both make some pizza over the weekend.

I started with this recipe at Food Network.com. It had seriously mixed reviews. I decided to try it, though--I’m not totally inexperienced with yeast dough--I’ve been making it for years. I weighed out my ingredients and followed the directions carefully. This dough…wasn’t soft and didn’t have that “ahh, this is a nice dough” consistency. Not even close. In fact, my Kitchen Aid stand mixer was really struggling with it. That poor mixer was wheezing and straining like someone that has smoked three packs a day for fifty years! I had to stop it before it blew a gasket and gave up the fight. And no, I didn’t add the cornmeal, like some reviewers did. The dough was like clay. That awful, stinky gray clay that we used to get in elementary school. Remember? It was almost hard as a rock! Rather than try to fix it, (and let’s face it, if a KA mixer can barely knead it, how much worse would it get when it was baked?!) we gave it to my 7 year old to play with in the kitchen. And then, we do what we usually do--hit the local pizza joint for dough balls. I still can’t replicate theirs, and it’s absolutely perfect. At $3.50 for a 2 pound ball--totally worth it.

After the dough fix, we were on a roll. Ha! I removed the sausage from it’s casings, and browned it, then sautéed the mushrooms. I love mushrooms, but don’t really care for their raw flavor a whole lot.

We followed the remaining directions for cooking the pizza in the recipe I linked to above. Oven at 425 degrees, dough in the pan (reminder-we used a 2 pound dough ball), layer the cheese first-mozzarella and parm, then the sauce, and then the toppings. Ours was fully baked after 30 minutes. Let it set up for about 10-15 minutes, then stuff your face! We also topped ours with sliced, fresh basil after baking. Oh, we also heated the pan slightly and added a bit of oil and butter to it before pressing the dough in, and then baked the pizza (in the pan) right on our baking stones for a nice crunchy bottom crust.

This one’s filling, so it’ll definitely feed a crowd. Make two for a huge crowd, though!

Holiday Lasagne with Le Creuset

Giveaway officially closed, but the lasagne is still awesome, so keep reading! 

The two randomly chosen winners and lucky recipients of the Le Creuset Roasting Pans are:

Dave from Dave's Cupboard and G. from Tasteography.  Congratulations to you both!  And thank you so much to all of you that entered, tweeted and FB'd!  Stay tuned, because my Santa sack full of goodies still has more fun prizes to go around!

I’m beginning to feel like Santa Claus with a big sack of goodies to give away to you guys!  And I’m not going to deny it, I like it.  It’s fun!  Yes--a Le Creuset giveaway, starting today!

Le Creuset.  Mention it in front of anyone that loves to cook, and you’ll get a lot of ooh’s and ahhh’s, I guarantee you that.  Le Creuset--cookware made in France by dedicated craftsmen since 1925.  Do they know cookware?  Hell yes, they do!  If you’re lucky enough to have even one piece, you know what I mean.  Heavy duty, classic cookware that will become heirlooms for generations to come.  Perhaps you already own some heirloom pieces that belonged to your parents or grandparents.  Lucky you!

My 9 quart Le Creuset French Oven (Enameled Cast Iron) is my favorite piece of cookware.  It’s a trusted friend that never lets me down.  Perfect, even heating and cooking, and easy clean up.  I’m building a collection, piece by piece. 

 

I recently had a nice chat with Colleen at Le Creuset.  She mentioned that they had a new Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Roasting Pan that was just gorgeous.  She was right!  If any pan can be gorgeous, it’s got to be from Le Creuset.  Beautiful and functional:

• Two layered stainless steel with aluminum core
• Friendly to all cooktops, including induction
• Oven safe to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
• Includes roasting pan and non-stick roasting rack
• Dishwasher safe

This roasting pan is one that you’ll reach for again and again.  The classic design, strong handles, even heating/cooking, and versatility will never let you down.  Did I say it’s gorgeous?  It’s got a mirror shine that will take your breath away.  If you’re all geeky about that stuff, like I am.  

Colleen offered to give two of their new Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Roasting Pans  with roasting racks to my readers.  These pans have a $150 retail price.  Keep reading for details!

The first thing we decided to make was Lasagne.  Well, I decided to have it, but it’s Billy’s job to make the Lasagne around here.  I know, not what you think of immediately with a roasting pan.   But cravings are cravings!  This Lasagne is from the book “We Called It Macaroni--An American Heritage of Southern Italian Cooking” by Nancy Verde Barr.  I’ve had this book since…my gosh! 1990, when it came out!  It’s full of not only recipes, but stories (which I love!), history and photos (which I also love!) from Barr’s family.  The recipes are easy to follow, and always give mouth-watering results.  I should note, Barr uses a homemade semolina lasagne, and the recipe for that is also in the book.

Please excuse the nighttime lighting on this next photo.  Too hungry to set up lights for the shot, and a bunch of people waiting to dig in!

Nonna's Lasagne

slightly adapted from "We Called It Macaroni"
serves 10

3/4 pound of lasagne noodles (we use the Barilla no boil ones-just over one box)
olive oil
salt
1/2 pound ground beef*
1/2 cup breadcrumbs*
1 egg, lightly beaten*
fresh ground black pepper*
3 to 3 1/2 cups of your favorite sauce (Barr uses meat sauce-recipe is in the book)
1/2 pound ground Italian sausage, sautéed until browned
3 hard boiled eggs, cut in thin slices (yes, really!)
1 pound ricotta cheese
3/4 pound mozzarella, grated
1/2 freshly grated parmesan

*We usually double the meatballs.  If you decide to as well, double the beef, bread crumbs, egg, and salt and pepper.

First off, about the Barilla no boil noodles.  I always find that they need a little pre-soak in warm water to soften them up, otherwise, you get some uncooked parts.  Is that just me?  Anyway, when you're ready to assemble, put a stainless steel bowl or pan of warm water on the stove over low heat, and soak about 3 noodles at a time, for about 2 minutes.  The proceed with building your lasagne, soaking noodles as you need them.

Mix the meat, breadcrumbs, egg, salt and pepper and blend well.  Make meatballs the size of a walnut, and them fry in a bit of oil until browned.  Drain and set aside.  (Billy likes to slightly flatten the meatballs in the pan for faster and more even cooking.)

Heat oven to 375.  Brush a rectangular baking pan (9 x 13", or in this case, 10 x 14") with olive oil. 

Assembly:

1. Spread a bit of the sauce over the bottom of the pan.
2. Put a layer of noodles over the sauce, slightly overlapping them.
3. Next, cover the noodles with a layer of sauce.
4. Over the sauce, sprinkle some of the sausage, meatballs, and egg slices.
5. Dot the top of all of that with large spoonful's of ricotta.
6. Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan.
7. Add another layer of noodles and continue building until all ingredients are used.
8. The top layer will be just sauce, mozz and parm.

Bake for 45 minutes or until browned and bubbly.  Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

See the egg slices in there?  Don’t leave them out--they taste great!

Giveaway time! 

I have two of the Le Creuset Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Roasting Pans  with Roasting Racks to give away!  Each pan retails for $150.  (US shipping only.)

To enter:

1. Leave a comment here telling me what you’d like to make in your Le Creuset Roasting Pan.  Leave a valid email address, please!
2. You may tweet about the giveaway as much as you like, just don’t annoy your friends. Ha!  Leave one additional comment here for each tweet.
3. If you’re on Facebook and would like to share this there, please do!  Again, leave an additional comment for that.
4. Your comments must be on this post.  I’ve had a few giveaway comments lately that have been emailed to me through my Contact Page, and those won’t count.  You must post here, on this page.

I’ll choose two winners in one week--Monday, December 6th.  The winners must reply to me within two days, or another winner will be chosen.  Good luck! 

It's Wednesday! Do you know what that means?

Great island Common on the seacoast in New Castle, NH. Isn't it gorgeous there? The day I took this was just like today's weather--sunny and in the 70's. I'd love to be under that tree right now with a good book.

Neither do I. I was hoping some of you might. At least it's cooler today! We're currently at 74°, which is fine by me. We'll still be getting some warmer than usual weather later in the week, but for now, I'm totally enjoying this. It was so hot last night that I didn't even cook anything. We had roasted red pepper hummus and summer salad with whole wheat pitas and feta. So good, and no heating up the kitchen!

I've got a couple of recipes to share today. One is for a most delicious salad, created by Jerry at Cooking by the Seat of my Pants. You should check out his blog--he has great food to drool over. Jerry came up with this recipe for the Royal Foodie Joust sponsored by Jenn, The Leftover Queen, at the Foodie Blogroll. Please check her blog out, too, and if you haven't joined the blogroll yet, have a look around!

Since I won the previous joust, I got to pick the three required ingredients for this one, and those were...surprise! raspberry, lime and almonds. The jousters came up with such great recipes to feed my addiction, hehe. (It's almost like I had minions catering to my raspberry and lime whims!) I had to try the salad, not only because it looked delicious and had my favorite things in it, but because it's got my name on it! I think if something's named after you, it's a given--you've got to make it. It's so good! And will be a regular around here this summer. The dressing is tangy and not too sweet, the chicken is tender and nicely flavored, and all the extras in it come together to make one great meal. I couldn't find any sliced almonds at the store, so I used pecans--also delicious. The vinaigrette is like any dressing, to taste--I ended up adding a bit more raspberry jam (Trader Joe's low sugar jam) and lime juice. Actually, I just about doubled it so we'd be sure to have enough. I also added some fresh raspberries to the salad.

This one's definitely going to be on the menu again soon, and I hope you'll all check it out!
Almost forgot to link to the salad! D'oh! La Salade d'Elle (Chicken Salad with Almonds, Queso Fresco, and Raspberry Lime Vinaigrette.)

Next recipe! I must warn you, these pictures you're about to see aren't pretty. But! It won't matter because the food is so freaking good! It's typical baseball park, tailgating, or street food. So funny, because it's such a simple thing to make, but for me, it's such a treat. I'm like a little kid when we have these. So is my husband! He's happy when we have this. It's easy to feed a crowd with these, too, or cut back and make a smaller batch if you like. You can do these in the house, as I've done here, or on the grill, with a pan so you don't lose stuff to the coals. Either way, it's goooood eating!

Sausage, Peppers and Onions

For this batch, I used Sweet Italian Sausage, ten of them. They were on sale, what can I say? Normally I don't make ten at a time, but they're still so, so good the next day. I used three red bell peppers--use whatever color peppers you want, and two longish light green peppers. No idea what they were, but they were sweet, not spicy. I also used two large sweet onions, and about seven or eight cloves of garlic.

10 Sweet (or hot, if you like) Italian Sausage; you could also use chicken or turkey sausages
5 sweet bell peppers, any color, sliced into long strips
2 large sweet onions, sliced
7 cloves garlic, minced
vinegar (I usually use white wine vinegar, but use whatever kind you have)
fresh cracked black pepper and salt if you taste and think it needs some
sandwich rolls
yellow mustard (you can use spicy mustard if you want, but the best way to enjoy these is with good old yellow mustard)

In a large pan on medium heat, brown the sausages, about 3 minutes on each side, for a total of about 12 minutes.
Remove from pan and set aside to cool a bit, drain most of the oil from the pan.
Add the peppers, onions, and garlic, and saute until they get soft, but don't brown them too much. Stir them around occasionally for even cooking. You can add a little olive oil if you need to.

Before!

After!

While the peppers and onions are cooking, slice the sausages almost all the way through lengthwise, but leave one end intact so you can open them up, like this:

See? I told you these weren't pretty.

Add about 1/4 cup or so of vinegar to the onions and peppers and stir to coat evenly.
Open up the sausages and place them over their bed of peppery-oniony-vinegary goodness.


Cover the pan and lower the heat to medium low for about 10 minutes.
Serve in buns with yellow mustard, and lots of napkins. Street food is messy food.

Servings depend on the size of the sausages. Yes, size matters. We had stubby ones and needed two per bun. God, I can't believe I just typed that, hehe!

Doesn't have to be pretty to be freaking delicious!

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