Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Super Quick Sausage, Potato & Arugula Recipe

February 21, 2017 by Mary 20 Comments

We are on total overload moving our offices to be virtual. That translates into getting rid of 38 years worth of sample work, documents, furniture, books and everything, by the end of February. So time is of the essence to me these days and this Super Quick Sausage, Potato & Arugula Recipe has been a real lifesaver for us. It’s speedy to make, beautiful to serve and delicious!

Why this is great! It’s always great to use sausage in a dish as a real time saver because if you can buy really good homemade, all natural Italian sausage, it is already full of herbs, spices and flavor. You could even mix hot and sweet sausage, but in this recipe, I do prefer all sweet. The three different kinds of potatoes add interest in flavor and texture and of course I always love arugula. But try to get the real thing here – the bunches of big leaf arugula – as opposed to the clamshell packages of baby arugula that, to me, really don’t have any flavor any more. I want the real thing, with the spicy bite!

I first made this in January, on the day we had to take Zach to the airport for his flight back to Warsaw. Of course, in my usual bad style, I arrived home late and had planned to make this dish. But it came together so quickly, it didn’t matter that I was late. We still ate in plenty of time and got him to the airport early.

The original recipe was in Food and Wine magazine, but I have changed it, adding a bit more meat and less potatoes. I have also made it exactly like the magazine recipe but I prefer it my way.

SUPER QUICK SAUSAGE, POTATO & ARUGULA RECIPE – serves 4

1 large red potato, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch wedges
1 large baking potato, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
10 medium unpeeled shallots, halved
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
French Grey or Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 3/4 pounds sweet Italian sausage, cut into 3-inch lengths
One 8-ounce bunch of arugula, stemmed and chopped
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 425°. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss all of the potatoes with the shallots and the 1/3 cup of olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are lightly browned.

Brush the sausage with olive oil and add to the baking sheet. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes longer, until the potatoes are tender and the sausage is cooked through.

Line a large platter with the arugula. Transfer everything on the baking sheet on top of the arugula. Sprinkle lemon juice over all evenly. Serve with LOVE.

Chicken Breasts with Carrots and Leeks

September 18, 2013 by Mary Frances 21 Comments

This is one of my all time favorite recipes. It is a great go-to weeknight meal as it is quick, easy and delicious. It is even relatively low fat! The chicken always comes out perfectly done, moist and yummy, and it presents itself as much more gourmet than the time it takes to make. You can also vary the vegetables and herbs or add garlic or lemon. It is fancy enough for a company dinner and super easy on you!

Although my photos show 4 breasts, the recipe is for 2. Or make extras for another meal.

CHICKEN BREASTS WITH CARROTS AND LEEKS – serves 2

2 chicken breast halves, bone in, skin on, washed and patted dry
Salt
Pepper
1 tsp. olive oil – yes only 1 tsp. is needed
1 carrot – peeled and sliced into very thin julienned strips
1 leek – white part only, cleaned and sliced into thin julienned strips
6 thyme sprigs
2 tbs. dry white wine or dry vermouth
2 tbs. chicken stock
1 tsp. unsalted butter (optional)
2 tsp. chopped parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Trim any extra fat off from the chicken breasts, discard, and salt and pepper both sides.

Heat oil in a non-stick, oven-proof skillet on medium-high to high heat. Place chicken breasts in, skin side down, and brown for 6 minutes. Turn breasts over and scatter the thyme, carrots and leeks all around and under the chicken. Especially make sure the thyme is under the breasts, otherwise it will just burn in the oven and not impart its flavor. Pour in the white wine and chicken broth and place the skillet in the oven for 18 minutes. Check with an instant read thermometer, it should read 155 – 160 degrees in the thickest part of the breast.

When done, remove the breasts to a platter to rest for 5 minutes. Boost the oven up to 425 degrees and put the skillet back in the oven with the vegetables and sauce. Make sure your carrots and leeks are tender. Remove skillet from the oven and swirl in the butter, if you are using. The butter makes the sauce richer, but it is not necessary if you are watching your waistline.

Place the vegetables on top of the chicken and drizzle the sauce over all. Garnish with the chopped parsley. Smile and serve with LOVE! It’s so pretty!

Since this is one of my absolutely favorite, no-fuss, gourmet-looking and gourmet-tasting chicken dinners, I’ve selected it to submit to the Delicious Chicken Recipe Contest at Plated.com.

Sesame & Curry Crusted Salmon with Tomato Salad

March 12, 2013 by Mary Frances 30 Comments

This is a great, quick weeknight dinner that seems much more time-consuming and fancy than it is. It’s also light and healthy. People often ask me how do I have time to cook? Well I want to eat good food and I make the time. But with practice, you get quicker too. This dinner, even with setting up and making the video, took one hour. So without the video you could easily do this in 45 minutes. And really, most of my recipes here in this blog are like that. I may put more hours into a dish on the weekends or certainly for a special birthday dinner but even weekend dinners may just have more oven time, not active time. I am all about making gourmet meals in quick time!

SESAME AND CURRY CRUSTED SALMON WITH TOMATO SALAD – adapted from Grace Parisi – Food & Wine Magazine
– serves 4

1 tbs. sesame seeds
1 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1.5 lb. center-cut, salmon fillet, with skin
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tbs. plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved or Campari tomatoes, quartered
1/2 serrano or jalepeno chile, minced with seeds
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

Preheat the oven to 425°. In a spice grinder, combine the sesame seeds, curry powder and crushed red pepper and pulse until coarsely ground. Season the salmon with salt and pepper, brush one side of the fillet with 1 tablespoon of the Dijon mustard and coat with the ground sesame seed mixture.

In a large, ovenproof, nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the salmon, coated side down, and cook over moderately high heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Carefully flip the salmon. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for about 10 minutes, until the salmon is just cooked through. Transfer the salmon to a platter.

In a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice with the remaining 1 tsp. of mustard and 1 tbs. of olive oil. Season the dressing with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes, chile and cilantro and toss. Cut the salmon into 4 pieces and serve right away with the tomato salad.

I have this theory, with no scientific basis, but I think fish skin is good for you – and when it’s hot and crispy, it sure tastes good to me.

I served this with some steamed Basmati rice and sautéed mustard greens with roasted garlic.

Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Super Quick Sausage, Potato & Arugula Recipe

Chicken Breasts with Carrots and Leeks

Sesame & Curry Crusted Salmon with Tomato Salad

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