Italian Sausage Chili

This chili is really, really tasty. We're both big lovers of black olives. And smoked sausage. And beans.


Or, is this really a soup? Doesn't matter either way... it's good!

Makes: 8 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb smoked sausage, grilled and cut into 1/2" rounds (or cut into rounds and brown)
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 T garlic, minced
• 3 T olive oil
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 3/4 black olives, pitted and sliced
• 1 T fresh basil, chopped (or 1 t dried)
• 1 1/2 t baking cocoa
• 1 t fresh ground black pepper
• 3 (14 1/2 oz) cans stewed tomatoes
• 1 (16 oz) can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 oz) can butter beans, rinsed and drained

1. Sauté the onion, celery, peppers and garlic in olive oil in a large soup pot until tender.

2. Add all of remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pepper Palace Apple Cinnamon BBQ Sauce

Could this be our new favorite BBQ sauce for ribs, replacing Grandma Foster's Smooth & Spicy?We picked up a few bottles of Pepper Palace's Apple Cinnamon sauce at their shop in Gatlinburg last September. We finally got to slather some on some ribs on the smoker this last weekend, and we gotta say we loved it! Just the right amount of cinnamon and spice.

According to their web site, this sauce won 3rd at the 2010 ZestFest. Awesome!

It's a nice change from your standard tomatoey or mustardy sauce. We recommend it!

Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan and Pancetta

I'm often guilty of not paying enough attention to making sides. So, I'll be (hopefully) posting some new side recipes we've tried and enjoyed.

These cauliflower were absolutely delicious. Of course, anything pancetta is pretty much destined to be great!


The original recipe came from Giada De Laurentiis.

Makes: 6 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into pieces
• 4 oz pancetta, diced
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flower
• 1 1/2 cups milk (can sub low-fat)
• 1 clove garlic, whole
• 1 t dried red pepper flakes
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t fresh ground black pepper
• 1/8 t fresh grated nutmeg (can sub dried nutmet)
• 1/3 cup fresh bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Bring large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add the cauliflower and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain and transfer cauliflower to a buttered 9x13 inch baking dish. Let cool about 5 minutes.

3. Brown the pancetta in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

4. Melt the butter in the skillet. Add the flour and stir until combined. Continue stirring and cooking for 2 minutes.

5. Slowly add the milk, stirring until it is fully incorporated and there are no lumps.

6. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic and red pepper flakes and stir until thickened.

7. Stir in the cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and reserved pancetta. Heat until cheese is melted.

8. Pour sauce over the cauliflower. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

9. Bake until cauliflower is completely cooked and the breadcrumbs have turned golden in color.

Smoked fatties

We decided that we'd take a shot at making our own fatties, so we bought a fattie piston. I figured, why not?

Today we fired up the WSM and Anita made three fatties, and I gotta tell ya, they were great! We're already dreaming up more fattie ideas.

We started with 3 rolls of Jimmy Dean sausage. Anita flattened them into 9" x 9" squares. (Update: It's much easier if you put the sausage into a 1 gallon resealable bag. Then use your roller to flatten the sausage to the edges of the bag. Cut along the edges of the bag to expose a perfectly square sausage ready for filling). Then, we stuffed whatever filling we wanted into the fattie piston and let that chill for about 10 minutes. The filling then went onto the sausage square and was rolled up, ready for the smoker.

Here's the potato/Tillamook cheddar/ham/onion filling getting ready to get rolled up. Anita fried the potato and onion before hand. We sprinkled this fattie with some Dizzy Pig Raising the Steaks rub.

Next fattie was a mix of fresh buffalo mozzarella and diced mushrooms. We sprinkled a little garlic salt on top of this fattie for a little extra kick.

The last one had bacon and Tillamook cheddar as a filling.

As an added twist, we wrapped this fattie in a bacon weave. This was my first attempt at this, and I have to say it was pretty easy. Thanks to Cowgirl's Country Life for her great post on making the weave.

After you make the weave, you just roll the fattie up in it.

Everyone then went onto the smoker at 225° F for about 3 1/2 hours. I had a few racks of spareribs done St. Louis-style on the smoker too, along with the trimmings. I'll freeze the trimmings and toss them in the pot next time I make a soup.


Here are the final moneyshots. Great eats! We can't wait to make them again!

French Dip Sandwiches Redeux

I made an old favorite again the other day.


I modified the original recipe by adding some sauteed green peppers and onions. On the side, sweet potato matchsticks. And ya know, them matchsticks are pretty good dipped in the au jus!

Smoked Sausage and White Bean Soup

Mmmmmm..... Yummy!


This is based on a recipe from Emeril.

Makes: 6 servings
Prep time: 24 hours 15 mins (includes overnight bean soak)
Cook time: 3 hours
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb dried navy beans
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 lb smoked sausage, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
• 2 cups onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 T garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 3 cups water
• 2 t salt
• 1 1/2 t black pepper
• 1/2 t cayenne pepper

1. Rinse beans then soak in cold water overnight. Drain and rinse.

2. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and saute until browned. Remove and drain.

3. Add the onions to the pot and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

4. Add the sausage back to the pot and stir in the beans, bay leaves, thyme, chicken stock, water, salt, pepper and cayenne. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook covered for 2 1/2 - 3 hours stirring occasionally.

5. Add salt and pepper as desired. Mash some of the beans using a potato masher. Simmer another 30 minutes, uncovered, until beans are tender and beginning to fall apart.

Sun-Dried Tomato Butter

A few weeks ago we spent the night at the Hilton Garden Inn in Edinburgh, IN. We ate at the Great American Grill there at the hotel. We've always had really good service and food there.

That night I ordered a tilapia with a sun-dried tomato sauce that I thought was quite tasty, so I set out to duplicate it. It does have a fairly strong caper flavor, which usually isn't a good thing for me, but the addition of the wine, tomatoes and lemon juice really balanced it out. I think I came pretty close, except maybe this version is a little thinner. I've added more cook time to the second step to counter that. You can use this on fish, chicken, and just about anything.

We had it over sautéed chicken thighs along with roasted asparagus.


Makes: About 2 cup, enough for 4-6 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, sliced
• 1/2 cup cold butter
• 2 T capers
• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1. Add the wine to a small sauté pan over medium heat and cook for 3-4 minutes until it reduces by half.

2. Add in the capers, lemon and butter a little at a time and whisk to combine. Cook another 5 minutes until thickened.

3. Remove from heat and add parsley and sun-dried tomatoes.

4. Serve over fish, chicken, or whatever you have!

Tex-Mex Meatloaf with Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

This is some kicked-up meatloaf, for sure! We love traditional meat-and-potatoes meatloaf, but this variation was really, really good. And the potatoes were just insanely good!


This is a variation on this recipe by Emeril. Serve along with some roasted green beans.

Makes: 6 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients for the meatloaf:

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 1 poblano pepper, diced (you can substitute a green bell pepper, but the poblano will give you much better flavor. I've started to replace green bell peppers with poblanos whenever I can.)
• 2 T garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 t Emeril's Southwest Essence
• 1 t salt
• 1 t dried oregano, crumbled
• 1 lb ground sirloin
• 1 lb Mexican chorizo sausage, crumbled
• 1 cup crushed tortilla chops
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup chili sauce
• 2 T pepper jelly (I used a nice jalapeño jelly that was really yummy and not hot)
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, plus 1 T adobo sauce
• Cheddar mashed potatoes (see below)

1. Place oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the onion, bell pepper and poblano until very soft, about 6-8 minutes.

2. Add the garlic, Essence, salt, and oregano and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

3. Preheat oven to 350° F.

4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooled vegetables, ground sirloin and chorizo, tortilla chops, eggs, and heavy cream and mix until well-combined. Transfer to a 6x9 loaf pan and form into a smooth loaf.

5. Place the chili sauce, pepper jelly, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce in a food processor and blend until smooth. Spoon about 2/3rd of the mixture over the meatloaf while reserving the remaining 1/3rd.

6. Bake loaf until done, about 1 hour (internal temperature should be 150° F). Remove from oven and let set for 10 minutes. Cut into slices and serve drizzled with reserved sauce.

Cheddar Mashed Potatoes:

Makes: 6 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients for the Cheddar Mashed Potatoes:

• 3 1/2 pounds large Idaho potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 8 T unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 t salt
• 1 t ground white pepper
• 8 oz sharp Cheddar, grated (recommend Tillamook)

1. Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with 1" of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer, and cook until fork-tender, about 12-15 minutes.

2. Strain the potatoes in a colander and return to the saucepan over medium-high heat to evaporate any remaining water.

3. Lower heat and add the butter, sour cream, heavy cream, salt and pepper.

4. Use a potato masher to mash into desired consistency.

5. Add cheese and stir until melted and combined. Serve.

Raccoon visit

Raccoon enjoying some birdseed...

Raccoon getting ready to leave....

Raccoon almost gone...


Raccoon gone... FAIL! (note the paws stuck in between the fence slats)

Spaghetti and Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Sometimes in the winter, you just need a big ol' helping of meatballs with spaghetti. This recipe from Bobby Flay hit the spot.


I didn't have any ground veal on hand, so I just used 1/4 cup more each of the ground pork and beef. Adjust the ratios as you desire.

Makes: 4 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Printable Recipe

Ingredients for the Meatballs:

• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1/2 pound ground veal
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 2 large eggs, beaten lightly
• 1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped fine and sautéed
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped fine
• 1 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine all ingredients except oil in a bowl. Season.

2. Roll the mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry meatballs in batches until golden brown, but not completely cooked. Remove to drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Ingredients for the sauce:

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 (28 oz) cans plum tomatoes and their juices, puréed in a blender.
• 1 (16 0z) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small bunch Italian parsley
• 1 chile pepper, chopped (I used a Serrano since I prefer some heat)
• Meatballs, from above
• 1 pound cooked spaghetti, drained, but still in the pot
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft.

3. Add puréed tomatoes with their juices, along with the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf, parsley, chile pepper, and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil.

4. Taste and season. Reduce heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes.

5. Add meatballs and let simmer another 15 minutes until the sauce is thick and the meatballs are tender.

6. Remove the bay leaf.

7. Spoon a little of the tomato sauce into the pasta pot and stir, covering the pasta.

8. Serve pasta with meatballs and garnish with basil.

Italian Breadstick Popcorn

Nothing beats a tasty bowl of popcorn for an afternoon snack. I found this recipe at the Recipe Gold Mine. Using a good, fresh popcorn (and not that horrid microwave stuff) makes a huge difference.


Makes: 4 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:

• 1 T basil
• 1 T parsley
• 1 clove garlic, minced (can sub 1/4 t garlic powder)
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 T olive oil
• 5 T popcorn
• 2 T oil

1. Mix all but the oil and popcorn in a bowl.

2. Add oil and popcorn to popper and pop until just done.

3. Remove popcorn from heat and add the spice mix. Stir until mixed thoroughly.

4. Serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Shrimp Sandwiches with Roasted Red Pepper Remoulade

This is a shameless copycat of a post on Rawtalent's Club Eclectica blog.


I'm not sure I 100% duplicated Rawtalent's remoulade (certainly his money shot looks so much better!), but it came out tasting great.

Makes: 2 sandwiches (with plenty of sauce left over)
Prep time: 3 hours 5 minutes (Only 5 minutes if you make the remoulade and shrimp ahead of time and let them chill)
Cook time: 5 minutes
Printable Recipe

For the remoulade:

• 1 egg (See below if you're averse to eating a raw egg)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 (6 oz) jar roasted red peppers, drained (or roast your own, about 2 medium peppers worth)
• 1/4 cup sweet onion, minced
• 1 T Creole mustard (I used Zatarain's)
• 1 t dry mustard
• 1 t fresh lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 t sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t ground cumin
• 1/4 t ground red pepper

1. Place egg in food processor. Turn on low and slowly pour in the oil. Scrape down sides and pour into a small bowl.

2. Place remaining remoulade ingredients into food processor and pulse until smooth. Fold into the egg mixture.

3. Cover and chill.

Note on using a raw egg: You can use egg substitute instead of the raw egg, or omit the egg and oil and substitute 2/3 cup of mayo.

For the shrimp:

• 1/2 pound fresh shrimp, shelled and deveined (You can use precooked shrimp if you wish)

If you're using raw shrimp, cook them first, as below:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil.

2. Remove from heat and add the shrimp.

3. Let steep for 3-5 minutes until done.

4. Remove shrimp from water and drain. Chill until ready to use.

For the sandwiches:

• 2 Portuguese sandwich rolls or sub rolls, whichever you desire
• Prepared horseradish, to taste
• 2 green onions
• Cooked shrimp
• Roasted red pepper remoulade, to taste
• 2 T fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 green onions, sliced

1. Toast buns.

2. Spread horseradish and remoulade on bottom of buns.

3. Add shrimp, parsley and green onion.

4. Top with more remoulade.

Enjoy!

Birthday Cake by Shug's Cakes

Here is a pic of my birthday cake that my niece, Christine, made for me. Isn't it beautiful? It's in my favorite color, orange! It was delicious! The bottom layer was red velvet (my favorite), the second layer was chocolate and the top layer was white. Christine is going to start making cakes professionally soon. Here is a link to pictures of other cakes she has done.

Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken with Sweet Potato Matchsticks

This turned out to be an outstanding dinner. The chicken was moist and had a great aroma and taste. The sweet potato matchsticks were just great. Super crunchy and with just a little kick from the Cajun spices. We added some roasted Brussels sprouts to round out the dish.


The original chicken recipe came from Whole Foods. The sweet potato matchsticks are a recipe from Tyler Florence, one of my favorites on the Food Networks since he does really cook and doesn't need gimmicks in his shows (back to the How to Boil Water days).

I think I could eat sweet potato matchsticks all day.

Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken

Makes: 4 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 T paprika
• 1 T ground cumin
• 1 1/2 t salt
• 1 1/4 t pepper
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 1/2 T white wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 t canola oil
• 2 large Vidalia onions, sliced thick (I substituted sweet onions)
• 2 red or yellow bell peppers, cut into large chunks
• 4 split chicken breasts
• 1 lemon, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 425° F.

2. Grease a 9x13 inch pan.

3. In a small bowl, combine the paprika, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic, vinegar and oil to make a thick paste.

4. Place onions in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of the paste.

5. Rub chicken with remaining paste and place in pan. Cover with onions, peppers, and lemon.

6. Roast until chicken is cooked through, about 35 minutes.

7. Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Sweet Potato Matchsticks

Makes: 4 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• Oil, for frying
• 2-3 large sweet potatoes
• Cajun spice, to taste

1. Slice sweet potatoes into thin, flat sections on a mandoline. Turn the sections sideways and slice into matchsticks using the mandoline.

2. Place potatoes in a large bowl of ice water to remove any starch. Soak for a few minutes then rinse with cold water. Repeat until water is clear.

3. Drain matchsticks very well and dry on a towel. It is critical to remove as much water as you can.

4. Heat oil to 365° F in a Dutch oven or deep fryer.

5. Working in batches, fry the potatoes until crispy and golden, about 3 minutes. Remove to paper towels to drain.

6. Sprinkle with Cajun spices or salt to taste and serve.

For the Brussels sprouts, look here.

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

This is similar to another recipe I've posted, Easy Chicken Alfredo, but I like this one better and it is very easy and quick to make. It's also like a blackened Cajun chicken recipe I have that I will post soon.


I really like the kick and cream sauce in this version. Serve this with garlic bread and a good green salad.

Makes: 2 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
• 4 oz linguine, cooked al dente
• 2 t Cajun seasoning
• 2 T butter
• 1 green onion, sliced thin
• 1-2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 T sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t dried basil
• 1/8 t ground black pepper
• 1/8 t garlic powder
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl and toss to coat.

2. Sauté the chicken with butter in a large skillet over medium high heat until chicken is tender, about 5-7 minutes.

3. Reduce heat and add the remaining ingredients except the cheese and pasta.

4. Heat thoroughly. Server over pasta and top with cheese.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Oh my, these shrimp from Giada are so good! We did them up simple, just served over angel hair.


Trust me, you can't go wrong with these. Serve with a salad and garlic bread.

Makes: 2-4 servings (Being a shrimp addict, I think it's more like 2 servings!)
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 pound large shrimp, cleaned, peeled and deveined
• 1 t salt plus more to taste
• 1 t dried red pepper flakes
• 4 T olive oil
  
• 1 medium white onion, sliced
• 1 (14 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 t dried oregano
• 3 T fresh parsley, chopped
• 3 T fresh basil chopped

1. Toss the shrimp in a bowl with 1 tsp of salt and the red pepper flakes.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and saute for about a minute, toss, and continue cooking until just cooked, about 1-2 minutes.

3. Transfer the shrimp to a plate and reserve.

4. Add onion to skillet along with some more oil if needed. Saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.

5. Add the tomatoes and their juices, wine, garlic, and oregano. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.

6. Add shrimp back to sauce and toss to coat. Heat for about 1 minute, stirring. Do not overcook the shrimp.

7. Add in parsley and basil. Add salt to taste and serve.

French Lick Springs Hotel

We decided to take a 4-day weekend and head down to French Lick Springs, about 3 hours south, southeast from Indianapolis. Despite having grown up nearby, Anita has never been there. Nor had I.


What a fantastic hotel. Everything was just great, from the room to the atrium.

We ate at the 1875 restaurant in the hotel. The food and service was great. Anita had the filet, with broccolini and garlic mashed potatoes. I had the prime rib, broccolini and asparagus. Yum! (As a note, the sides are huge... Don't be afraid to share them!)

After dinner we walked down to the casino and played slots for a few hours.

I made sure that the girls from The Shining weren't in the hallway before we headed out. Just kidding... but it does kinda look like the same place as in the movie (the Overlook Hotel), doesn't it?

Fortunately, they do have a non-smoking section in the casino, and it's rather large. We didn't win, but we didn't lose much either.

We had a great time. We'll be returning again in warmer weather to walk the awesome grounds at the hotel, and to take in the nearby railroad museum. We'll also go to the nearby West Baden Springs Hotel.

On the way back home we decided to take the backroads and ended up hitting some fairly thick fog along the way. The fog was frozen to the trees and roads, making it more fun than I had bargained for. Still it was eerily beautiful.

Papa Roux Cajun Restaurant in Indianapolis

We stopped by Papa Roux on Thursday for lunch on our way to French Lick.


It was our first time eating there. Anita ordered the muffaletta and I had the shrimp po'boy. We cut them in half and traded halves. As soon as we both took a bite we looked up at each other and said at the same time "oh my, this is sooo good"!

So, on our way back home today we again stopped by and picked up two shrimp po'boys with coleslaw sides and a bag of Zapp's Voodoo Gumbo potato chips. We also picked up a pint each of red beans and rice, vegetarian étouffée and some vegetarian creole stew for dinner, later. We got everything to go since we were ready to head home and unpack from our trip (Anita will blog on our trip soon).


I could just keep on eating their shrimp po'boys. The remoulade sauce they make is insanely good. I'll post on tonight's dinner later. We couldn't stop ourselves at lunch, so we did try a quick taste of the red beans, étouffée and creole stew... Man, dinner is going to be good!

I can't wait to return and try more items on their menu.

Smoked Sausage and Sweet Corn Chowder

It's really hard to beat corn from My Dad's Sweet Corn, specially when it's married with some smoked sausage in a chowder!


The original recipe calls for using cream-style corn, but I substituted some sweet corn kernels I had in freezer from last year's farmer's market. I made a few other changes too.

Makes: 4 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 pound smoked sausage, fully cooked, cut into rounds on the bias
• 1 cup green onion, sliced (plus more for garnish if desired)
• 2 t oil
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups potatoes, diced
• 2 1/2 cups (or 1 can) corn (cream-style or kernel)
• 1/4 t red pepper, ground
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

1. Cook onions in oil over medium heat 3-4 minutes in a large saucepan.

2. Stir in sausage, broth, potatoes, corn and red pepper.

3. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer (B2BR2S as Chef Anne would say).

4. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

5. Add cream and heat.

6. Garnish with additional green onions, if desired.

Broccoli with Cheddar Cheese Sauce

I found this recipe on the Whole Food's website and thought boy, that'd be good on a baker! So that's what I did!


Just bake your potatoes like you normally would then top with the broccoli and cheese sauce. Add bacon, salt and pepper, sour cream.. whatever other toppings you enjoy!

Makes: 6 servings (about enough for 3 large potatoes)
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 cups broccoli florets
• 2 T butter
• 2 T all-purpose flour
• 1/4 t dry mustard
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated (I recommend Tillamook. Chez John got me hooked on it!)
• White pepper, to taste

1. Steam the broccoli until crisp tender, about 4-5 minutes.

2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk in flour, mustard and salt.

3. Gradually stir in milk, whisking over medium-low heat until thickened.

4. Add cheese, stirring until completely melted.

5. Season with white pepper.

6. Place broccoli over potatoes and cover with sauce.