Italian Sausage and Kale Soup

The weather in Memphis can change quickly, clear and 80 degrees one day, rainy and 35 degrees the next.  Sometimes you need to a warm hearty soup in a hurry.  Here it is, inspired by the Tuscan soup at Olive Garden (my daughter’s favorite restaurant).  However, you can make this soup at home, eat it, and wash the dishes faster than you can get a table at OG.

Italian Sausage and Kale Soup

Total time:  25 minutes

Serves 6 to 8

1 pound Italian sausage, removed from casings

5 1/2 cups chicken stock

2 or 3 medium potatoes, pealed and diced

1 bunch kale, thoroughly washed and stems removed, ruff chopped

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

½ cup heavy cream

Brown sausage in a 6 quart heavy pot, breaking up large chunks.  Add all other ingredients, except cream.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.  Continue to simmer until potatoes a kale are soft, about 10 minutes.  Add cream and simmer a few minutes more.  Serve

Would you like to have something sweet?

Some of my favorite things to eat are my mom’s raspberry shortbread cookies.  They are shortbread sandwich cookies filled with raspberry preserves and topped with powdered sugar. The cookies in this recipe are so easy to make that I’m pretty sure they were invented by the Irish. Then the Scots stole the recipe because it was so easy, even they could make it. This is a basic recipe, so don’t be limited by it.  Add chocolate chips or dip them in melted chocolate.  Top with a dollop of your favorite fruit preserves or bake with a small piece of fruit set in the center.  You really can let your imagination run wild.  Google pictures of shortbread cookies for more ideas.  I made a sugar-free version of these cookies (like those pictured) for Valentine’s Day.  That’s another reason I like this recipe: it works just as well with Splenda instead of sugar.

Butter Shortbread Cookies

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/3 cups sugar or Splenda

1 ½ teaspoons regular salt

3 egg yolks

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

In the bowl of a mixer, combine the butter, sugar (or Splenda), and salt and cream* on medium speed until blended, about 2 minutes. One by one, add the egg yolks, mixing until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and the scrapings of the vanilla bean. Scrape down the bowl.

Turn the mixer off and add the flour. Turn the machine to low and mix until the flour is completely incorporated. Remove the dough from the bowl. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let sit 20 to 30 minutes.  Or working on parchment or wax paper, form the dough into 4 logs 10 inches long and 1 1/4 inches in diameter, wrap, and chill.

While dough is resting, preheat the oven to 325°F.

On a floured surface, roll out dough to ¼ inch thickness and cut to desired shapes and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  If making rounds topped with sugar or other spice such as cinnamon: Place sugar (works best with raw or turbinado sugar) or spices in a small bowl. Cut the log into rounds. Dip one cut surface of each of the rounds into the sugar and arrange them 2 inches apart on all sides on a parchment-lined or nonstick cookie sheet or sheets.

  

Bake until light golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Don’t over-bake.  Cool the cookies on a wire rack.

*Cream: verb -- to beat ingredients together (usually butter and sugar) to form a creamy consistency.  Mixture should be light and smooth.

No Kitty! That's my pot pie.

I love pot pie.  Chicken pot pie, beef pot pie, pork pot pie, even veggie pot pie.  It’s just hot, chunky, meaty (except the veggie pie) crusty goodness.   It’s a whole meal in one pan.  And they are very democratic.  Forget apple pie, pot pie has way more in common with America than some fruit tart.  Put in what you want; season it the way you want; and top it with whatever you’ve got.  Because of that, pot pie recipes seem a little pretentious.  That being said, there are some proportions to keep in mind that will help prevent pie failure.  A good basic formula for a standard deep dish pie is 6 cups solid filling, 2 cups liquid, and 3Tbl each fat and flour for thickening.  You should always sauté vegetables before assembling the final pie because this will remove excess water and improve their flavor.  The vegetables will cook down when you sauté them so you may start with more than you think will fit.  The following recipe is my chicken pot pie.  As with many of my recipes, this one is my adaptation of someone else’s recipe.  The original is from Alton Brown of Good Eats and can be found here.

Chicken Pot Pie

Total Time: 1 hour (less than half of that is active time)

Serves:  6 to 8 servings

16 oz package frozen vegetable mix, peas, carrots, or dice your own to make 3 cups.

1 to 2 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 1/2 cups chicken broth (homemade is best or use low sodium canned)

1/2 cup milk

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

2 cups cubed cooked chicken

1 package puff pastry or single pie crust

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Toss frozen vegetables with canola oil and spread evenly onto a sheet pan. Place into oven and cook until golden brown.

In a large sauté pan heat 3 tablespoon of butter.  When foam subsides, add the onion and celery.  Sweat (cook out some of the water but not browned) onions and celery, 3 to 5 minutes.  Sprinkle with the 3 tablespoons of flour.  Continue to cook another minute or two.  Whisk in the chicken broth and milk and cook until thickened. Add the thyme, salt and pepper. Toss the browned vegetables and the chicken. Pour into a shallow baking pan or deep pie dish, and top with 6 to 8 circles of puff pastry or pie crust. Place into the oven and cook until puff pastry has browned and the mixture is hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes.

For St. Patrick's Day

The people in Ireland don't eat corned beef and cabbage, its strictly an American thing.  (For the whole story, see the Good Eats episode on corned beef.  Their loss, corned beef and cabbage is fine eatin'.  Even without this American invention, the Irish still have plenty of good food.

Irish Potato Soup

This soup is one of the best things to ever happen to a potato.  Hearty and filling, this potato soup gets flavor from onions and herbs.  It’s the perfect warm up meal for a cold wet day, (like most days in Ireland).  The recipe is a variation from the Irish Potato Soup in The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors, which is listed in the “I recommend…” section.

Total Time: 35 minutes

Serves 8 to 10

• 6 – 8 slices bacon, diced
• 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and diced
• 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 cups milk
• 5-1/2 cups homemade chicken stock or use canned
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, whole
• 1 cup light cream or half and half
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh chives

Heat a 6- to 8-quart stockpot, fry bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and reserve for garnish or just leave it in like I do. Reduce heat and add onions.  Sauté onions until translucent but do not let the onion brown. Add the peeled and sliced potatoes, milk, and chicken stock. Add garlic, celery seeds, and thyme. Cover and cook gently for about an hour.

Prepare a roux: Melt the butter in a small saucepan and whisk in the flour. Let the flour and butter mixture (roux) bubble for 2 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Thicken the soup with the roux, whisking carefully to avoid lumps. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes and then puree the soup in a food processor or food blender.  WARNING:  Putting hot liquid in a blender is dangerous.  It will blow boiling hot potato soup all over you and the kitchen if you are not careful.  Blend in small patches and cover blender with a towel before turning on.

Add the cream and gently reheat, but do not boil. Season with the salt and pepper. Serve with chopped fresh chives and the crisply fried bacon (if you didn’t just blend up the bacon with the rest of the soup) as garnishes.

Hearty Spaghetti

I thought this would be the best first recipe.  It seems to be a favorite and more people ask for this recipe than any other.  I have been making this sauce for so long, I can’t remember where it might have come from originally.  I am sure that over time, it has become my own.  As you can see, the quantities are based on what is convenient.  It’s easy to make and can be done in under half an hour.  Serve with a side salad and some crusty bread and you will have a hearty dinner with little time or effort.

Spaghetti

Total time: 30 minutes plus however long you can let it simmer.

Serves: 6 to 8 hungry people.

-        1 lb ground beef (I usually use 1 ¼ pounds because I buy the 5 lb logs and quarter them for freezer storage.)

-        1 lb Italian sausage, bulk or removed from casings

-        1 medium onion, diced

-        12 oz to 16 oz fresh mushrooms, washed and sliced (optional, see notes)

-        3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced (about a heaping tablespoon)

-        2 tsp salt

-        1 ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper

-        1 Tbl dried oregano

-        2 tsp ground or rubbed sage

-        2 tsp fennel seeds, coarsely ground or crushed (you can use a spice grinder, mortar and pestle or just put in a zip top bag and beat with a rolling pin, hammer, whatever)

-        1 tsp dried mint

-        28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed and chopped

-        15 oz can tomato sauce

-        6 oz can tomato paste

-        1 lb dried spaghetti

                                    

In a 5 quart heavy bottom, non-reactive pot (I use an enameled cast iron Dutch oven.  If you don’t have one – get one!) brown the ground beef and sausage over high heat, breaking up any large chunks (5 to 7 min.)  Add garlic, onion and mushrooms.  Continue to cook over high heat (3 to 5 min), stirring often.  Add salt, pepper, oregano, sage, fennel and mint.  Stir well and cook a few minutes more.  Scoop a big spoonful into a bowl and let cool for a minute.  Eat what’s in the bowl.  You need a big bite to really taste things.  It should be a little too salty and herby, you still have lots of tomato stuff to add.  But this bit is also very satisfying, a little treat for the cook. 

Pour juice from whole tomatoes into the pot.  Crush the tomatoes over the pot so all the juice squirts into the pot.  Chop up the crushed tomatoes.  (I suppose you could use a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes but it won’t be as much fun.)  Add tomato sauce and paste.  Bring everything to a boil then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer 5 min. to 3 hours.

Cook noodles according to package directions. 

Check sauce for final seasonings, add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve piping hot.  I like as much or more sauce than noodles.  Hold the canned cheese please.

Notes:

• –Please don’t use canned mushrooms.  Yes, wash your mushrooms!  They are grown in poop.  Just put them in a colander and hose them off.  No, they won’t soak up water.  Even if they did, a little extra water in the sauce won’t hurt near as much as a little extra cow poop.

•  To make this sauce a Bolognese, add ½ cup of heavy cream at the end after you reduce the heat to a simmer.