Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

Many years ago, we invited a bunch of people for lunch two days after Christmas, to use up the leftovers from an enormous holiday dinner party. We had just found a great soup recipe that we thought would be a perfect addition to the leftover casserole. We added a crisp salad with a light dressing, and it was a great meal.

The casserole comes from an old edition of 'The Joy of Cooking', and uses leftover turkey. This was also a 'food memory' from a visit with a friend who invited me to lunch after a Thanksgiving.

The soup is a somewhat spicy Navy Bean-Spinach-Hot Sausage recipe; but you can tone it down by using mild sausage, and not using as many of the red pepper flakes as we do. (We like stuff hot ;-)

The day of our brunch was an extremely cold day, and some people had just come from the local, annual Christmas Count. They said that this soup was just the thing for their nearly-frozen extremities!

Sausage, Spinach and Bean Soup

8 oz. Hot Italian Sausage, casing removed (or your favorite sausage - I usually use one of the little 'chubs' of hot sausage)

1 tsp. Olive Oil

5 cloves Garlic, minced (Yes, 5; you may want to tone this down, too)

1/2 tsp. dried Red Pepper flakes

2 10-oz packages of fresh Spinach, torn (Baby Spinach is good here)

2 15-oz cans of Great Northern Beans, undrained

1/4 cup unsalted Butter

1/2 c. shredded Parmesan Cheese

2 plum Tomatoes, diced (can use canned)

2 T. chopped Parsley

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Pepper

3 cups Chicken Broth

Brown sausage in hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat for 10 minutes, breaking it up and stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink.

Add garlic and crushed red pepper, and saute 2 minutes.

Add spinach and saute 2 minutes, or until wilted.

Stir in the beans and cook 1 minute. Add broth, and bring to a boil. Add butter, cheese, tomato and 1 T. parsley.

Cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in salt and pepper.

Sprinkle each serving evenly with 1 T. parsley.

And, the casserole:

Turkey or Chicken Casserole with Vegetables

(this is almost the same recipe as the one in 'The Joy of Cooking'; I add chopped walnuts or pecans sprinkled on top before baking, as per the original:

http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/turkey-or-chicken-casserole-with-vegetables/22145

-JT

[jjsheridan5]

Simple really, but really delicious. Melted butter and lemon juice, usually with some garlic. It will make you crave salads. The only reason I include it in my to-do list is because I am lazy about going to the farm to get real butter :)

[Jamestown1630]

I like that tradition. I love warm weather - I’ve always been sensitive to cold; but my favorite time of the year is from Hallowe’en to Epiphany.

And I believe in prolonging the get-together festivities as much as possible!

-JT

[darkangel82]

I had something similar at our farmers market, though it was sausage potato kale. Good soup.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

You can make your own fairly easily. Cooking the potatoes is the hard part so I cheat a bit.

I usually tuck in a half dozen potatoes into the oven when I am baking something else. Then I store them in the fridge.

When I want potato salad I pull them out, dice them up and add mayo, apple cider vinegar, salt, boiled eggs, mustard, celery and onions with some Cajun seasoning and bacon bits.

[trisham]

The vinegar makes a huge difference in taste.

[NorthstarMom]

I just put together a quick tomato soup using the rest of this week’s broth. I could cut it with a knife when I took it out of the refrigerator. That’s my goal-a very rich broth. It was in the crockpot for about 24 hrs. I add a generous splash of vinegar to the cold water and bones and let it sit for 15 before adding heat. It helps to pull all the minerals, collagen and gelatin from the bones.

I’ve had good luck roasting the beef soup bones, brushed with tomato sauce, before using them for broth. Remembering to skim the broth throughout the process.

I’m too cheap now, but when I first started making my own broth I would strain it through cheese cloth when it was done. It helped.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

that’s my problem! Sounds great, but how much do you end up with? Too many leftovers to eat! I’ve talked to my store’s manager. I like to get Swiss Steaks for lunch, but they package them 12 to a package! I’d like to get two, so I don’t have to freeze them, as I think meat that has been frozen has cell damage, and is just not as good as fresh. Manager told me to ask the meat guys for a smaller package, which I will do.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I rarely use white vinegar.

It is usually apple cider or red wine but sometimes I use tarragon, balsamic or raspberry.

There are just so many flavors you can add.

[trisham]

We usually use apple cider vinegar, but I would love to try the others as well.

We use white vinegar to clean out the coffee maker and kill weeds. :)

[jjsheridan5]

I have tried the roasting method, with mixed results. Part of the problem is that I use knuckle and hooves, more than leg bones. They will make a ridiculous amount of really thick base, but the taste is iffy. To give you an idea, one crock pot of knuckle and hooves would give me ~5 mason jars filled with what looks clear jello. With leg bones I would barely get 1/2 a jar.

I never found vinegar to be helpful, but, I think this was partly due to the fact that I wasn’t dealing with “soup” bones.

[Jamestown1630]

Potato salad is an easy recipe to divide. (You can’t do this with all recipes, especially when baking.)

Find a ‘Classic Potato Salad’ recipe. If the recipe says that it makes six servings, just cut all the ingredients in half, for 3 servings. Always taste as you go along - you’ll be able to make a small amount, just enough for Dr. B. P.

-JT

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Actually no.

That is why I use the baked potatoes. It means I can use only one or two of the potatoes and make some for dinner and some for lunch the next day.

There are a bunch of websites that feature "cooking for one" or, if you like leftovers, "cooking for two"

[dainbramaged]

I’ve got an eight pound pork shoulder and a pile of ribs going in the smoker tomorrow. Baked beans, cole slaw and corn bread alongside. Come on over.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

Thanks! I do some looking!

[Jamestown1630]

Oh, My!

[WXRGina]

You do a very good cooking thread! I like your stories and comments. :-)

[KosmicKitty]

Thanks for the info on soaking the bones first. I do really good with chicken bone broth, but not so god with beef. Have you ever tried adding a few chicken feet? I find they add a lot of collagen to the broth.

[Jamestown1630]

Thank you; I’m very glad that you enjoy it. It’s a lot of fun! and I get to meet so many really thoughtful, inventive cooks and share ideas with them.

-JT

[jjsheridan5]

Yes, I have done chicken feet (and heads, and necks). They do add a lot of gelatin. I generally stick with beef broth simply because it is almost tasteless, yet seems to bring out the flavor in just about everything. By contrast, the chicken-based broths tend to dominate in flavor (sometimes, not in a good way!).

[Focault's Pendulum]

Thanks for the ping!