Jalapeño - Cheddar Sausage Soft Tacos with Chioggia Beet Salsa

I've been making a lot of comfort food lately, and I wanted to change things up a little. I had some jalapeño and cheddar sausages, and I thought they would make great tacos. I shredded some Napa cabbage to go on top. I made a salsa with chioggia beets, lime juice, cilantro, and onion to go with. I had made some ancho chili polenta the other day, so I sliced that thin and fried it up. I made some black beans with onion and cumin as a side. I warmed up some flour tortillas to wrap everything in.

The sausages were Johnsonville Jalapeño & Cheese Smoked Sausages. I liked them. They were moderately spicy, and the cheese kept them moist. I sliced the sausages in sixths lengthwise, then into thirds, to make little fingers. I fried them until brown over medium-high heat.

For the beans, I started with a can of Bush's Seasoned Recipe Black Beans, then added 1/4 onion, diced, 1 teaspoon cumin, and a pinch of salt.

The polenta I had made earlier in the week, thinking I would use the sausages, when a friend called and wanted to do dinner before flying out of  town. So, the polenta got stored in the refrigerator for later. I'm inherently lazy, so wanted to find a method to make polenta in a rice cooker. I found this recipe, which was my inspiration. I mixed water, polenta, cumin, ancho chilies, and salt in the rice cooker. It cooked perfectly. Since I could not use it the day I made it, I stored it in a rectangular container, and it firmed up nicely. I popped it out of the container, and sliced it thin. I fried the slices in a tiny bit of olive oil over medium-high heat, until golden brown.

Recipes

Ancho Chile Polenta

1 cup polenta
3 cups water
3 dried ancho chilies, de-stemmed, de-seeded, and chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt

Place all ingredients in a rice cooker. Switch to cook. When the cooking cycle is complete, let stand on warm 10 to 15 minutes, until it is the consistency you want. The longer you wait, the thicker it gets. If stored in the refrigerator, it will firm up enough to slice.

Chioggia Beet Salsa

3 small chioggia beets, finely diced
1/4 medium yellow onion, diced
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
3 tbsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt

Place diced beets in a small sauce pan with enough water to cover. Simmer over medium-low heat until tender, about 3 - 5 minutes. Drain, run under cold water to cool. Mix all ingredients, let stand in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Happy Eating!

 

Chicken Sausage and Napa Cabbage Soup with Lebni -Cheddar Biscuits

The spouse is fighting a bit of a head cold. I thought soup, salad, and hot biscuits might help her feel better. I spent the day making stock. For the soup, I added green onion, carrot, chicken sausage, and Napa cabbage. The sausage I used was Hillshire Farm Gourmet Creations Chicken Apple with Gouda Cheese. I've used these twice before, once grilled, another time in upscale beans and weenies. Okay, so I really like these sausages, and the spouse is really good at finding them on sale.

 

For the salad, I used fresh arugula, with julienned baby turnips and baby candy cane beets. I made a date vinegar, sesame oil, and zatar vinaigrette.

 

The biscuits are made with lebni, a Middle Eastern yogurt cheese, and shredded cheddar. It produced a wonderfully tender biscuit, with a bit of the yogurt tang. I was very happy with results. I like to use shaped cookie cutters, to add a bit of whimsy.

 

Recipes

Chicken Sausage and Napa Cabbage Soup

1 quart chicken stock

1 lb. chicken sausage, sliced into 3/4 inch slices

1 cup diced carrots

2 large green onions, sliced thin

3/4 small head Napa cabbage, shredded

salt to taste

 

In a large stock pot, heat stock over medium low heat to a low simmer. Add carrots and onions. Let simmer until carrots are tender. Add sausage, simmer another 15 minutes. Add salt to taste. Add cabbage, simmer two minutes. Serve.

 

Date Vinegar, Sesame Oil, and Zatar

1/4 cup date vinegar

2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. zatar

1/4 tsp. course sea salt

 

Whisk together all ingredients.

 

Lebni - Cheddar Biscuits

2 cups flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1/4 tsp. course sea salt

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup lebni

4 tbsp. milk

1 cup shredded cheddar

 

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together flour baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles course crumbs. Make a well in the center, add lebni, milk, and cheddar. Stir in until flour mix is just moistened. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 10 strokes, re-flouring board as necessary to prevent dough from sticking. Roll out to 3/4 inch thick. Cut out biscuits, place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, until golden brown. Makes about 15 biscuits.

 

Happy Eating!

Beer-steeped grilled sausages, zuchini, and cold noodle salad

Still using the grill for most of the cooking.  Tonight, we had beer-steeped grilled sausages, horseradish jelly-pomegranate molasses glazed grilled zuchini, and an ancho chili-tangerine cold noodle salad.

I used Hillshire Farm Gourmet Creations Beef & Bacon and Chicken Apple with Gouda sausages.  I grilled them, then simmered them in a pot with a pint of Shock Top Belgian White Beer and an equal amount of water. I love the chicken sausages, which I also used on July 4th.  Sinmmering in beer ensures the sausages get fully cooked, while remaining plump and juicy.
For the zuchini, I mixed about 3 tablespoons of horseradish jelly with 2 teaspoons of pomegranate molasses and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt.  I split the zuchini lengthwise, and grilled them cut side down, until they acquired good grill marks.  I turned them and brushed them with the glaze, then cooked them until tender. The pomegranate molasses added tangyness.

Ancho Chili-Tangerine Cold Noodle Salad

1 inch diameter bunch whole grain thin speghetti
3 dried ancho chilies
1 1/2 cups white wine
1/4 cup slivered almonds
8 ounces fresh snap peas
juice of 3 tangerines
zest of 2 tangerines
2 Tblsp. rice vinegar
2 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Remove stems and seeds from chilies. Place in bowl, cover with wine, let stand until rehydrated.

Boil speghetti in salted water until al dente, then shock in an ice water bath to stop cooking. Drain.

Toast almonds in a dry pan over medium heat.

Wash pea pods, and cut into 1 inch pieces.  Drain and dice chilies..

Whisk together juice, zest, oil, and salt.

Toss speghetti with pea pods, chilies, and almonds, and dress with juice mixture.  Chill until ready to serve.

I used dry mead for the wine, as I had an open bottle that needed to be used up. I was really happy with this salad.  The fresh pea pods and almonds added crunch, and the chilies I had were very mild and fruity.

4th of July Potluck

Like so many others, I got together with friends for the 4th of July holiday.  We had a potluck, and so I needed to bring things to share.  By now it's obvious that I am a serious foodie.  I love intricate, challenging. sophisticated cuisine.  However, I am not a food snob.  I freely acknowledge my middle class roots. 

As a child, my grandmother often babysat for me.  A common lunch was that classic; beenies and weenies.  Yes, Van Camp's pork and beans with hot dogs sliced into them.  Now, due to an unfortunate incident of food poisoning, I cannot bring myself to eat canned pork and beans ever again.  But, being nostalgic, and wanting to do something classic, I was determined to do an upscale version.  So, I made my own baked beans, and grilled some very good chicken, apple, and gouda sausages,  which I cut up and added to the beans.