Sausage and White Bean Casserole

The snow is really coming down out there - they are calling for 3 to 6 inches tonight. What a good night for some easy comfort food! This recipe is adapted from Real Simple magazine.

1 Tbsp plus one tsp olive oil
1 lb sausage links - Italian, chicken, turkey - you pick! I slice it into rounds
2 carrots, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bunches Swiss chard, leaves cut into 2" strips
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 15 oz. cans cannellini beans, rinsed
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp bread crumbs

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, turning, until brown and cooked thru, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add the carrots and garlic to the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Add the chard and chicken broth and cook until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the beans, 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Nestle the sausage in the beans.

In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs and the remaining tsp of oil. Sprinkle over the sausage mixture. Transfer to oven and bake until golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Serves 4.

Christmas Cranberry Biscotti

I came across this recipe today while cleaning up the kitchen, now that all the holiday baking is done. I've made these biscotti for gifts at Christmas for family and friends the past few years, and we really enjoy them. I have modified the original recipe I found on Epicurious, cutting down the sugar and eliminating the white chocolate drizzled on top. You can try both recipes and see which you prefer!

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl; whisk to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, 2 eggs and almond extract in large bowl until well blended. Mix in flour mixture, then dried cranberries. Divide dough in half. Using floured hands, shape each piece into 2 1/2-inch-wide, 9 1/2-inch-long, 1-inch-high log. Transfer both logs to prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly.

Bake logs until golden brown (logs will spread), about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and leave on baking sheet to cool about 15 minutes. Maintain oven temperature. Transfer logs to work surface. Using serrated knife, cut logs on diagonal into 1/2-inch-wide slices. Arrange slices, cut side down, on same baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes; turn biscotti over. Bake another 8 minutes. Transfer biscotti to rack to cool completely. Makes about 28 biscotti.

Chicken Dijon

It's New Year's Day, so I am roasting a couple of pork tenderloins for dinner. I am going to borrow the sauce from my Chicken Dijon recipe to serve with it though, so I thought I might as well get that recipe posted - another quick, easy, delicious family favorite. Happy 2010!

Chicken Dijon

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts – either whole or cut into pieces
3 TBSP butter
2 TBSP flour
1 c chicken broth
½ half n half
2 TBSP Dijon mustard

In a large skillet cook chicken in butter. Remove chicken from skillet. Stir flour into skillet drippings. Add chicken broth and half n half. Cook and stir until mixture thickens and bubbles. Stir in mustard. Add chicken. Cover and heat 10 minutes. Garnish with parsley and tomato wedges if desired.

Chicken can be browned and sauce made ahead. Combine and heat when ready to serve.
Serves 4.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup is a family favorite. To bump up the health benefits of this low-fat soup, I add a can of black beans and some frozen corn, if I have some in the freezer. The flour added to the soup gives it a surprisingly creamy consistency.

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T oil
4 oz. can green chilies, chopped
15 oz. can diced tomatoes
4 c chicken broth
1 t lemon pepper
2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t ground cumin
1 t chili powder
4 T flour
1/2 c water
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken cut into small cubes OR 1 lb. cooked rotisserie chicken, shredded

Toppings: sour cream, tortilla chips, hot sauce

In a large saucepan, cook onion and garlic in oil over moderately low heat for 5 minutes or until the onion is softened. Add the chilies, tomatoes with their juices, broth, lemon pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and spices and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the flour with water and whisk it into the soup. Bring the soup back to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer for 5 minutes or until it is just cooked through. (If using shredded rotisserie chicken, add it here with beans and corn if including them.) Serve soup in bowls and top with tortilla chips and sour cream. You may add a few drops of hot sauce if you like!
Serves 4.

A Holiday Trifle

We are invited to a neighborhood New Year's Eve party tonight and we all contribute an appetizer, dessert or a beverage of some kind. This is what we will be bringing. It's a chocolate trifle that I have made a few times for parties with a recipe that I originally found in a Taste of Home magazine. I've tweaked it some by adding/changing a couple of ingredients, so we'll see how everyone likes it tonight. This is a fancy do-ahead dessert that serves a lot of people. The recipes says it serves 8-10, but I think 16-20 is more like it. Happy New Year!

Chocolate Raspberry Trifle

1 package (18.25 oz.) chocolate fudge cake mix
1 package (6 oz.) instant chocolate pudding
1 cup raspberry preserves
1/4 c. Kahlua
1 carton (16 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed
6 Heath bars (1.4 oz. each), crushed

Bake the cake according to package directions. Cool. Prepare pudding according to package directions; set aside. Crumble cake and reserve 1/2 cup. Place half the remaining cake crumbs in the bottom of a 4 1/2-5 quart trifle dish or decorative glass bowl. Sprinkle on half the Kahlua. Spoon dollops of half the preserves onto the cake crumbs. Layer with half the pudding, half the whipped topping, and half the crushed candy bars. Repeat the layers of cake, Kahlua, preserves, pudding, and whipped topping. Combine reserved cake crumbs with remaining crushed candy bars; sprinkle over the top. Refrigerate 4-5 hours before serving.

Note: I do believe this recipe came from a Taste of Home magazine clipping which credits Pam Botine of Greensboro, North Carolina for the dessert - thanks, Pam!

Linguine with White Clam Sauce

Last night the kids had a pasta party with a few cross country friends - just penne and meatballs. Good, but nothing special. It got me thinking I should post one of our family favorites. It's a pretty quick dinner to put together with pantry ingredients. I normally make this recipe ahead and let the sauced pasta rest in the pan for about 15 minutes before serving. We like how the sauce thickens during that time and clings to the linguine. To keep the clams from getting tough, I add them to the pasta after it has rested. The heat of the pasta warms them sufficiently. Serve with salad and Italian bread, and you've got a delicious meal!

Linguine with White Clam Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (preferably Italian)
8 garlic cloves, chopped (I use only 4 cloves of garlic)
4 6 1/2-ounce cans chopped clams, drained, juices reserved
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon white wine Worcestershire sauce (I use regular Worch. sauce)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt (I skip this)
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper (I use fresh ground black pepper)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound linguine, freshly cooked
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped parsley and chopped garlic and sauté until garlic just begins to color, about 45 seconds. Add reserved clam juices, whipping cream, dry white wine, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, white pepper and cayenne pepper. Simmer until mixture is reduced to thin sauce consistency, about 10 minutes. Add chopped clams and freshly cooked linguine to pot and toss until sauce coats pasta thickly, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve, passing Parmesan, if desired. Serves 4.

Bon Appétit, February 1995, Celeste Kuch (Devon, Pennsylvania)
Epicurious.com © CondéNet, Inc. All rights reserved.

Trying to organize recipes - again!

With a new year right around the corner, I am somewhat motivated to find a way to manage the new recipes I try and like and want to keep. The printed stacks of recipes are getting out of control, as are the emails I send myself of new recipes to try. And then there is always the fear that my Recipe folder on the hard drive will be deleted (again). So I thought I'd post the "keepers" as I make them and throw in a family favorite now and then as well. If I remember, I'll try and post a photo of the finished dish too - doesn't a delicious-looking dish make you want to try and make it?

Here goes with a recipe I made last night after watching Tyler Florence on Food Network whip it together. Plus I already had all the ingredients in the house...

Angel Hair Pasta with Fried Chili Flakes, Lemon and Arugula
Recipe by Tyler Florence of Food Network

Ingredients
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons
2 cups panko bread crumbs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, slivered
1 teaspoon dried red pepper chili flakes
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 pound angel hair pasta (I used linguine)
6 cups lightly packed wild arugula (I used 3 c. arugula from Trader Joe's)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions
In a dry skillet over low heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the panko bread crumbs and toast until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Put into a bowl and set aside.

Set the skillet pan back over medium heat and add the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil, the garlic and the red pepper flakes. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes to infuse the oil and cook the garlic. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the lemon zest and remove from the heat.

In a large pot of well-salted boiling water, over medium heat, add the angel hair pasta and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and add to a large mixing bowl. While still warm, toss in the arugula, the infused oil, the bread crumbs and the cheese. Using tongs gently fold everything together and transfer to a large serving bowl or platter to serve. Serves 4-6.