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Delicious Sunday Morning Breakfast Sausage Patties

January 30, 2016 by Mary 15 Comments

We always enjoy a big breakfast on Sunday mornings. It’s nice to take the time to make a bountiful and beautiful one to linger over as a special treat. I am spoiled in that my husband always makes me breakfast during the week. As I‘m sure you probably do, we start our workdays eating breakfast in a rush, eager to get the day going. He serves me mine to eat while I’m putting on make-up and blow drying my hair. I take a bite and chew, hairbrush in hand, multi-tasking to try to save some time.

So this is all the more reason we truly enjoy our Sunday mornings! I know I’ve published my sausage recipe before but this one is a little different with the added shiitake mushroom. I LOVE mushrooms! My husband, not so much. However, I snuck this one in and he LOVED it!

One shiitake mushroom and multiple mushrooms behind it.

Use just one very large shiitake mushroom.

Chopped up shiitake mushroom on a wooden board.

One large mushroom chops up into a lot!

The mushroom did not add a deep mushroom-y flavor, but it did add a wonderful lightness that really made these Delicious Sunday Morning Breakfast Sausage Patties good enough to record, share and make again.

I hope you’ll try these – and remember it’s always better to know what is in the food you’re eating as opposed to buying store made sausage. That is why I do not mind taking the time to make these on a Sunday morning. They actually come together, very quickly and easily – takes about 20 minutes and then time to grill or sauté in a skillet.

You should also know that these reheat beautifully in the microwave for 30 seconds for that quick weekday breakfast. So leftovers are not a problem!

DELICIOUS SUNDAY MORNING BREAKFAST SAUSAGE PATTIES – serves 6, makes 14 patties

1 lb. ground pork
1 small egg
¼ cup of panko
1 Tbs. grainy mustard
¾ tsp. herbs de Provence
1 large shiitake mushroom, stem trimmed at bottom & stem and cap finely chopped
¼ cup finely chopped red onion or shallot
2 – 3 sprigs of Italian parsley finely chopped
Sprinkling of salt
Black pepper – 20 grinds

Combine everything together with your hands. Mix thoroughly, but lightly. Do not overmix.

Shape into 12 – 14 small patties.

Spray grill pan or sauté pan with a very light coating of canola or vegetable oil. Cook patties on high heat, turning once, for a total of about 7 minutes.

Serve with scrambled eggs, toast, fruit salad, coffee and LOVE!

Quick Pasta with Broccoli Rabe, Tuna, Olives & Slow Roasted Tomatoes

January 24, 2016 by Mary 16 Comments

So once again on a weeknight this past week, we got home from work late, starving, and of course wanted to eat something super quick. I had planned on a meatless dinner and yet again, my husband protested. (Does yours, all you women out there?) I acquiesced with a small can of tuna here, which is how I came to make this Quick Pasta with Broccoli Rabe, Tuna, Olives & Slow Roasted Tomatoes dish. It was delicious!!

Additionally, we were supposed to have a dinner party this week and I was going to serve this Spicy Beef Ragout but one of the guests messed up on the date and we had to reschedule, and I had already bought everything for the dinner. So I went ahead and made the stew and froze it. (It will be better! :)) But the roasted Roma tomatoes would not wait 2 weeks and I didn’t think would freeze very well. So the day before this dinner below, I slow roasted those tomatoes anyway, not really knowing how I would use them. They are so easy to make and super delicious!! You just need the time for the two hours. Slow roasting makes them super sweet and totally yummy! You’ll really want to eat them with anything so I knew it wouldn’t be a problem.

I threw this dish together in literally 30 minutes and it was terrific!! My husband even talked about it the next morning and you know it’s really great when they’re still remembering it at breakfast.

A quick minute in the microwave revives the tomatoes and rather than chopping and mixing them in, which I considered, I thought it was much more elegant to just position them on the side, so you could decide to have a bite with or without them. Much nicer.

At any rate, this whole combination is super satisfying, quick, easy and full of flavor. Using the same pot of water to blanch the broccoli rabe (which removes the bitterness) and cook the pasta in is the real time saver. I hope you’ll try it and maybe always keep some slow roasted tomatoes on hand. I’m thinking I should do that. Serve with LOVE and enjoy!!

QUICK PASTA WITH BROCCOLI RABE, TUNA, OLIVES & SLOW ROASTED TOMATOES – serves 4

½ lb. spaghetti
1 large bunch of broccoli rabe, stalk ends trimmed, chopped in 1” pieces, washed in a water bath
1 Tbs. coarse sea salt
5 large cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
3 Tbs. olive oil, plus 1 more Tbs. for finishing
1 5 oz. can white Albacore tuna, packed in water and drained
¼ cup pitted Kalamata olives, drained and chopped
2 Tbs. fresh grated Romano cheese
8 – 9 slow roasted Roma tomatoes
1 Tbs. olive oil
Thyme leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme

TO MAKE THE ROASTED ROMA TOMATOES: DO THIS THE DAY BEFORE. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Pile tomatoes on top, add 1 tablespoon of the oil, season with salt and pepper and toss. Add leaves from 4 sprigs of the thyme, toss again. Spread the tomatoes in a single layer on the foil-lined baking sheet, skin side down. Roast on the top shelf in the oven at 300 degrees for 2 hours. Let cool and store in a closed container in the refrigerator.

In a large pasta pot, place the washed broccoli rabe. Fill the pot with water to be at least 2 inches above the broccoli rabe. Add in the salt and stir to combine. Place the pot on high heat.

Meanwhile, warm the 3 Tbs. olive oil in a large skillet on low heat, (large enough to hold the broccoli rabe and pasta too), add the garlic and stir. Do not let it brown.

When small bubbles appear around the edges of the pot with the broccoli rabe, remove the rabe with a slotted spoon into a colander over a bowl and let drain. Let the water in the pot come back to a full boil. When that happens, add the pasta and cook for 3 minutes less than the lower number on the package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, (be sure to stir every once in a while), put the broccoli rabe in the skillet with the garlic. Cook a bit more, and toss. Add the tuna, flaking it as you stir.

When the pasta is near the end of cooking, take a large coffee mug and scoop out some pasta water. Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet with the tuna and broccoli rabe, stirring with tongs to combine. Add about ¼ cup of pasta water and the grated Romano cheese to make a loose sauce. Stir and taste until the pasta is done. Stir in the black olives to combine and finish with a drizzle of a tablespoon more of olive oil.

Taste to your liking with more salt or more cheese and some fresh ground black pepper.

Warm the tomatoes in the microwave for a minute or two. Serve the pasta in warmed bowls, with the tomatoes on the side as pictured above.

A complete meal in a dish and so delicious!!

We just had the leftovers for lunch today – still yummy!

Roasted Squash and Radicchio Salad With Buttermilk Dressing & Sweet Corn Arepas

January 17, 2016 by Mary 32 Comments

You know I love salads for dinner and since it is the season for squash, I wanted to share this recipe with you! It may sound a little bit time consuming, but it’s not. Perfect for a meatless weeknight meal, particularly after all the rich holiday food.

I love delicata squash because the skin is truly delicate enough so that you don’t have to go through the time consuming step of peeling it and you can eat it. It’s probably like potato skins and has more nutrients than the actual squash part. Don’t quote me on that, I’m just guessing.

This recipe is from Melissa Clark at The New York Times. I like a lot of her recipes as we seem to have the same likes. But at first when I read this recipe, I was not too keen on the buttermilk in the dressing as I’m usually just an oil and vinegar kind of gal. But, I went ahead and followed hers exactly (this is rare) and this was delicious!! Not at all creamy like a ranch dressing, which is what I was afraid of, just the right amount of creaminess to work oh so nicely with squash and greens.

Try this, this coming week. I served this with Delicias Andinas sweet corn arepas, toasted of course and gluten-free – so satisfying, different and delicious!!!

ROASTED SQUASH AND RADICCHIO SALAD WITH BUTTERMILK DRESSING – by Melissa Clark – serves 4

2 delicata squashes (10 ounces each), halved lengthwise, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch half-moons
1 Tbs. honey
1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. smoky chile powder, such as New Mexico or chipotle
6 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
⅓ cup buttermilk
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. finely chopped tarragon
1 large garlic clove, grated
1 head radicchio, cored and shredded (4 cups)
4 cups arugula
⅔ cup chopped toasted pecans (see note)
⅓ cup thinly sliced scallions

Toast pecans first by heating oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until they deepen in color and turn fragrant, 7 to 10 minutes. Cool before chopping.

Raise heat in oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, toss squash with honey, 3/4 teaspoon salt, chile powder and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Transfer to a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast, tossing occasionally, until tender and golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, lemon juice, tarragon, remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt and the garlic. Whisk in remaining 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) oil.

In a large bowl, combine radicchio, arugula, squash, pecans and scallions. Toss in buttermilk dressing; taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

So I know I’ve told you about how our two boys cook. They actually do most of the cooking in their partnerships. Both girls are great bakers, fearless with yeast, all breads and desserts. This is such a great thing as a mom of boys because we are always in conversations about food!! They text me their dinner photos all the time. Here’s Zach from Warsaw showing me his farmer’s market roast leg of mutton, perfectly cooked, I might add!! I’ve never had mutton – have you? So cool that he can be so far away, yet we can still be a very big part of their daily lives. This is what happens when you make great home cooked food a central theme.

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes and Arugula

January 10, 2016 by Mary 34 Comments

The inspiration for this recipe of Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes and Arugula came from a Melissa Clark recipe in The New York Times several weeks ago. However, I have changed it big time, making it more of roasted chicken and potatoes atop a salad of arugula as opposed to a few arugula leaves scattered on top.You probably know by now, I love warm things atop greens.

I prepared this for a dinner party Friday night in the city. Throwing a party on a Friday night is a great way to start the weekend! First of all, your guests are really excited that the week is over and they can truly relax because a Saturday sleep-in is possible. The noise level was intense. Of course that may have had something to do with the whiskey tasting that was going on. But that’s what I mean, that would have never gone on on a school night!

Tomatoes and dill air drying on a white paper towel.

Looks like Christmas all over again, right?

The beauty of this dish is that you do most of the work in the morning, marinating the chicken and potatoes in the harissa, olive oil and cumin, and the rest is easy. I even washed my arugula, tomatoes and dill in the morning, and let it get good and dry by laying it out on a clean counter before putting it in a plastic bag with a few paper towels to wick up the extra moisture that would form from being in the fridge. I had help from one guest to make the yogurt dressing, and voila, we had dinner!

Our oldest son has a friend who loves yogurt on EVERYTHING!! He would clearly LOVE this dish. He is half Austrian and half Turkish, mainly raised in Turkey. I always want to have yogurt on hand for him, and Zach says, “NO, not necessary, serve the dinner how you want … ” So he would really love this dish.

The day before New Year’s Eve, I had made a big pot of pea soup, so I froze half of that and used it to start the dinner. With light appetizers, just nuts and a smoked salmon tartare in phyllo shells, starting with a slightly heavier soup worked out just fine.

I hope you try this dish. It’s got a lot going for it. The spiciness of the harissa on the chicken and potatoes, mixed with the creamy yogurt dressing atop the cool arugula and every once in a while you get a hit of dill, it’s delicious!!

Easy, delicious and different – all that I’m after!

ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH POTATOES AND ARUGULA – serves 8

10 chicken thighs with skin and bones, fat and extra skin removed
2 ¼ pounds small Yukon Gold potatoes, (creamers), cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 ½ tsp. Kosher salt, more as needed
½ tsp. black pepper, more as needed
6 Tbs. harissa (or use another thick hot sauce, such as sriracha)
1 heaping Tbs. ground cumin
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed, divided
5 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
Lemon zest (from 2 large lemons), divided
1 heaping cup plain Greek yogurt
3 garlic cloves, grated or finely minced
Juice from one large lemon
10 oz. baby arugula, washed, air dried and chilled
21 cherry tomatoes
Chopped fresh dill, as needed

Combine chicken and potatoes in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together harissa, cumin and 1/2 cup of olive oil. Pour over chicken and potatoes and toss well to combine. Let it marinate up to 12 hours in the refrigerator or in a pinch, at room temperature for 30 minutes. If you have refrigerated it, let it stand at room temperature for one hour before roasting. While it’s marinating, if you can, toss and mix it up every so often.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine leeks, lemon zest, a pinch of salt and the remaining ¼ cup of oil.
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange chicken (skin side up) and potatoes on a large rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Roast for 15 minutes. Toss potatoes lightly. Scatter leeks over pan. Roast until chicken and potatoes are cooked through and everything is golden and slightly crisped, 25 to 30 minutes longer.

While chicken cooks, place yogurt in a small bowl. Grate garlic over yogurt and season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin with lemon juice from one large lemon. Zest another large lemon over the yogurt. Mix with a whisk to combine all.

To serve, place arugula evenly over a large platter. Distribute chicken and potatoes over all. Drizzle all pan juices on top. Spoon yogurt over chicken and vegetables. Scatter the dill and cherry tomatoes over all.

For dessert, I served a platter of Christmas cookies – date bars, pecan crisps, bourbon balls, and Hello Dolly squares – along with a touch of ice cream and strawberries.

Make this tonight! Perfect for a Sunday night dinner. Serve this magnificent colorful platter with LOVE. Your family or guests will love you back big time – guaranteed!

Funny, I don’t know about you other bloggers but I always seem to write better posts if I write them and then let them simmer a bit so I can think of other tidbits I want to add or embellish on and then have the time to do that before I actually post. How about you?

Many thanks to our friends, Sumantra and Indrani Sen for taking some of these pictures!

RawSpiceBar Winter Herbs on a Beef Rump Roast with Potatoes & Parsnips

January 3, 2016 by Mary 17 Comments

Growing up in the Midwest, and from a large family with lots of boys (five brothers) Sunday dinner was often a big beef roast with mashed potatoes, green beans and some sort of homemade fruit pie. That roast and the pie said “Sunday” to me and my mom did a great job of making sure the beef was cooked to a beautiful medium-rare. Desserts in the Midwest were pretty mandatory and her pies were spectacular. My father always loved her flakey crusts.

This little packet from RawSpiceBar doesn’t look like much. However, cut it open and the fragrance released is like nothing I’ve ever experienced from a mixture of dried herbs. They say that they’re special and you know what, they are! Also, you don’t think there’s much in the packet but there’s more than you think! My rump roast was pretty sizable, 2.7+ lbs. and I applied the spice mixture liberally and still have a third of my spices left!

So use these now to take advantage of their freshness and don’t be stingy. They are a little rustic with some stems in the mixture, but that all adds to the aroma!

Sprinkle Kosher salt all over your roast, then sprinkle on the herb mixture and press in. For the rounded sides of the roast, sprinkle the herb mixture and salt on a flat surface spread out about the same area you need to cover, and then roll your roast in it to cover completely. Neat trick, eh?!!

Do this as early in the morning as you can on the day you want to serve this. Do it the day before for even better results. Salting any meat ahead of time helps to tenderize it. While a rump roast is flavorful, it needs some help on the tender part.

RawSpiceBar WINTER HERBS ON A BEEF RUMP ROAST WITH POTATOES & PARSNIPS – serves 6

1 Tbs. Kosher salt
1.5 – 2 Tbs. RawSpiceBar Winter Herbs spice mix
2.7 lbs. beef rump roast, tied at 2-inch intervals
½ bunch marjoram
1.5 lbs. medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
1.5 lbs. medium parsnips, peeled, cut in 3-inch lengths
4 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1 large bunch watercress

FOR THE HORSERADISH SAUCE:
½ cup crème fraîche
2- 3 Tbs. horseradish, drained
Small pinch cayenne
Salt and pepper

The day before or in the morning, evenly cover the roast with the Kosher salt and the RawSpiceBar Winter Mix herb mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. (If you don’t have time for this, even 2 hours at room temperature before you put it in the oven will do.)

Remove the seasoned roast from the refrigerator at least an hour before you plan on putting it in the oven.
Line a roasting pan with marjoram branches and set roast on top. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Roast the beef, uncovered, for about 1 hour. Check with an instant-read thermometer after 45 minutes. For medium-rare, take the roast out of the oven when thermometer registers 120 degrees (residual heat will cause roast to continue cooking as it rests). Remove the roast, let it rest for 20 minutes; the temperature should rise to 125 degrees.

Meanwhile, while the roast is cooking, in a large pot of well-salted boiling water, cook potatoes until just done, about 15 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a baking dish. In the same water, simmer parsnips until just done, about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and add them to the potatoes in the baking dish. Pour melted butter over the potatoes and parsnips and use a brush to make sure they are all well coated.

Make the horseradish sauce: Whisk together crème fraîche, horseradish and cayenne in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate.

After about 45 minutes after the roast goes into the oven, put in the baking dish of potatoes and parsnips, uncovered, and roast until beautifully golden brown, about 25 – 30 minutes.

Slice the beef into thin slices and arrange on a warmed platter, garnished with a big bunch of watercress and the roasted vegetables. Pass the horseradish sauce separately.

Serve with LOVE and enjoy!!

DATE BARS! – updating a tradition

December 30, 2015 by Mary 24 Comments

This year, I only baked four types of cookies instead of my usual five. Maybe there’s something wrong with me but I’m starting to not make any recipe the exact same way twice. Do you do that? I keep on wanting to improve on them, tinkering, tinkering. So this year, my date bars were due for that tune up.

I have a funny story to tell you about my date bar post from a couple of years ago, when I first started this blog and posted the recipe. It was also about this time, right before New Year’s Eve. That one post got a ginormous amount of hits. Hint: DATE BARS – right before New Year’s Eve… very funny.

So here’s the change I made, which is small, but made an enormous difference. Everyone said, “Best I’d ever made!!”

I took a lesson learned from making homemade cornbread, in that you should let the batter rest for 5 minutes, in your baking pan right before you put it in the oven to bake, in order to let the baking powder do its thing and rise.

Because these date bars have only a quarter cup of flour in them and 2 eggs, there really isn’t much batter to speak of, yet you want a little cake around them to make it be like a bar cookie and not just totally dates. So I let this resting time happen and yes!! They did rise more and this bar cookie was much better!

So here is the revised recipe for my date bars. This recipe is originally from my mom and has been in the family for more than 70 years! I bet it’s been made every year by someone in our tribe for at least that length of time. (yikes – I’m just realizing this now!)

I hope these date bars will become a tradition in your home. They’re easy to make, use the in-season super fresh dates that are out now and are super delicious.

Serve with LOVE and a hot cup of coffee or a luscious glass of dessert wine. Enjoy!!

DATE BARS – makes 24 bars

2 large eggs
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbs. melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup cake flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup chopped dates
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp. vanilla
More sifted powdered sugar to roll the bars in

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8” or 9” square pan. I use a 9” glass Pyrex pan.

Beat 2 eggs a long time until very light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and melted butter.

Sift together the cake flour, salt and baking powder and add gradually to egg mixture on a low speed. Then add the vanilla, dates and nuts. Stir well. Pour evenly into your prepared pan and let sit on the counter for 5 minutes before putting in the oven. This allows for the baking powder to do its work.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool completely. Cut into 24 bars and roll each one in powdered sugar. Store in a wax paper lined tin. Make sure the tin closes tight to insure freshness!

Happy New Year to you all!! Wishing you LOVE, peace, joy and prosperity for 2016!