Simple Supper: Country Sausage with Peppers and Onions over Fried Polenta

Doesn't get much simpler than this - - a perfect weeknight fall meal with all of the comforts of 'home cooking'! Yes, this recipe involves frying and sausage, so it might not want to be a weekly staple. But it's a great break from grilled chicken!

My grandparents had come back for the Kutztown Market with some fabulous locally-produced sausage; so we tried this Italianized take on classic sausage with peppers. Enjoy!

Country Sausage with Peppers & Onions over Fried Polenta

Cook one package of instant polenta as directed. Pour polenta into 2 mini-loaf pans, top with shredded cheddar cheese and refrigerate until firm.

In a large frying pan, place 1 lb. of fresh sausage, one sweet onion (cut into slices) and one red pepper (cut into strips). Add a few shakes of worcestershire sauce, two minced cloves of garlic, 1 tbps. dried basil and 1 tbsp. dried oregano. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook over high heat until sausage is cooked through. If it looks the sausage is starting to dry out, add a little bit of water to the pan.

In a separate sauce pan, heat up jarred or previously prepared tomato sauce (we're putting up a recipe for homemade sauce, soon!)

In a separate small frying pan, heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Slice chilled polenta in 1/2" slices and fry until both sides are golden brown. Place three pieces of polenta on a plate.

Slice sausage into 4" strips. Place one strip of sausage overtop the polenta. Add sauteed peppers and onions. Spoon prepared sauce on top.

Enjoy!

Inspired Cooking: Barbeque Grilled Chicken Salad

I don't know about you, but I think Thursdays are the toughest nights to motivate myself (or my husband) to cook. Walking in the door around 7 p.m., the last thing I want to do is kick off my heels and decide what's for dinner. It's not actually cooking the meal that's exhausting - - simply figuring out what to cook drains me faster than training for a marathon. And the "what" is usually determined by how fast (and easily) can it be done - - - hmmmm.... frozen pizza? Spaghetti with jar sauce? Cereal?

Not that we don't like pizza, spaghetti or cereal, but we've often found throwing a salad together is the healthiest - - and most satisfying - - choice. We team up: I chop and slice veggies, my husband grills/cooks/sautes the protein. 20-25 minutes later, dinner is on the table. Of course, the salad changes every time because it's dependent on whatever we have in the fridge. The grilled barbeque chicken salad below is one of our favorites!

On another note, we were (pleasantly?) surprised to see that shiitake mushrooms were featured as the "power food" for the latest addition of Body + Soul. It's funny because our last two entree recipes featured shitake mushrooms as key ingredients! According to the magazine, these mushrooms are high in fiber protein, as well as contain potassium and zinc. Apparently, shiitakes can help boost your immune system if you're fighting an infection or staving off a cold. Who'd have thought? If you haven't checked out the magazine, you should definitely take a look at their online website.

We especially liked wholeliving.com's advice for breaking out of a food rut (and the recommendation seems timely given that Thursday is often too-tired-to-cook night!):

You don't have to be a trained gourmand to turn average, boring meals into inspiring creations. Just ask Sally Schneider, author of the "The Improvisational Cook." Her suggestion: "Tackle a few base recipes that lend themselves to many other things. For example, you can transform slow-roasted tomatoes into sauce, soup, jam, or a condiment." If you want to have a little more fun in the kitchen, don't be afraid to make a few mistakes. Plan an experimental night to take an easy recipe that your family already loves and change only one or two ingredients. When things go awry -- and they will --chalk it all up to the learning process. After all, Schneider says, there's always tomorrow night.

Guess we'll have to check out The Improvisational Chef! Here's to many more inspiring creations...

Grilled Barbeque Chicken Salad

Preheat your grill.

Lightly glaze all sides of 2 chicken breasts with honey barbeque sauce, Indian barbeque seasoning (if you have it!), pepper, worcestershire sauce, and garlic. Let sit for 10 minutes.

In large bowl, combine lettuce, diced celery, diced carrots, cooked corn, diced onion, shredded cheddar cheese, black olives, sliced tomatoes and coarsely chopped cilantro. Set aside.

In small bowl, combine honey barbeque sauce and light ranch dressing. Stir.

Grill chicken. Once done, slice into strips and place atop salad greens. Serve dressing on the side.

Enjoy!

Searching for the Perfect Risotto...

My absolute favorite dish while I was studying in Italy was the Asparagus Risotto at a tiny little family-run restaurant near the Santo Sprito bridge - - which is somewhat mind boggling since asparagus is one of my least favorite veggies! The risotto was the ideal combination of creamy cheese, prefectly-cooked rice and yes, asparagi. In the five years since I returned home from Florence I've been searching for the dish. I've scoured restaurants and recipe books, magazines and online forums. Usually the recipes are intimidating, the restaurant versions sometimes pretentious or good-but-not-quite-it.

There have been many botched attempts (perhaps a result of a recipe with 600 steps?). Many times, the risotto stuck to the bottom of the pan like superglue. This usually resulted in some sort of crunchy fried rice thing and a call to a local pizza shop. I've had mushy rice that looked more like paste than anything you'd want to consider eating.... But tonight, I've finally gotten it! This recipe, adapted from finestchef.com, was delicious! I'm looking forward to experimenting with it more - - trying different herb combinations, various stocks and cheeses. And if I, the queen of risotto mishaps can do it, I'm pretty much convinced anyone can. I'd love to hear how it works out for you and the different combinations you come up with as well.

To balance the heartiness of the risotto, I added a side of fresh tomato salad. This weekend, we'll be posting our favorite tomato dishes, so check back for that recipe. It's a summertime staple in our family.


Mixed Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

Rinse 1 1/2 cups of arborio rice. In medium sauce pan, cover rice with 1 1/2 cups of water. Cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until water is absorbed. Rinse rice with cold water and set aside. (Rice will be underdone).

In a large skilled, heat 1 tbsp. butter and 2 tbsp. olive oil. Add 1 cup of diced onion and 2 cloves of garlic (minced). Saute over high heat until onions are caramel colored. Add 1 1/2 cups of mixed mushrooms (baby bella, shitake and oyster) and 10 spears of Asparagus (diced into 1/2 inch pieces). Toss in 1 tsp. of dried oregano, a pinch of kosher salt, pinch of pepper and 1 tsp. of dried basil. Cook about seven minutes.

Add boiled rice to the pot and stir. When rice begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, add 1 1/2 cups of brown beef broth. Cook until beef stock is absorbed by rice and then taste the rice. If it's still not done, add more beef stock and cook a few more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of freshly grated parmesan-reggiano cheese. Scoop into shallow bowls and enjoy!

Date Night! Braised Short Ribs with Wild Mushrooms, Garlic-Cilantro Mashed Potatoes and Strawberry-Rhubarb-Oatmeal Cobbler with Cinnamon Cream -- YUM!

So, it’s raining here. Not a little bit. A TON. Apparently there’s a tropical storm outside. It’s the kind of driving rain and howling wind that makes you just want to stay inside and curl up with a good book - - or experiment in the kitchen. It also made the decision to stay in on Saturday night an easy one. But rather than cook an old standby, we decided to experiment with fall flavors and cook a fabulous, cozy dinner for two. According to my husband, this is one of the best meals we’ve ever had.

Since it’s date night, the table had to get dressed up a bit. We have a rather large round table in the dining room, so to make it cozier I used placemats as a make-shift runner to separate the table in half. To finish off the tablescape, I added a few pink roses floating in footed dessert bowls atop cobalt blue appetizer plates and an assortment of candles. I used extra napkins as placemats and draped them off of the table, giving the feel of a tablecloth. A smattering of rose petals completed the look.


Now to the fun part - - dinner. Although the recipe for braised short ribs with wild mushrooms might look cumbersome, it only takes about 20 minutes to put together. The rest of the time the ribs are simmering on the stove and require relatively no attention. Now, the ribs take about 2 hours to cook so make sure to plan accordingly. This is not a meal that we could put together on a weeknight for obvious reasons, but it makes a fantastic date night meal. You could consider the short ribs a one pot meal; however, I liked to use the garlic-cilantro mashed potatoes to anchor the richness of the meat. The ribs require a cup and a half of zinfandel wine. We opened a bottle of Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin to cook with --- and then had the rest with dinner.

And the pièce de ré·sis·tance? The strawberry-rhubarb oatmeal cobbler with cinnamon cream. SO delicious! And ridiculously easy. The oatmeal makes the cobbler have a heavier texture, so we liked the way the cinnamon cream balanced the dessert. It was absolutely to die for.


Braised Short Ribs with Wild Mushrooms

Season 2 lb. of short ribs with kosher salt and pepper to your liking. (We like a lot). In a large bowl, mix together 1.5 cups of Zinfandel, a few shakes of Worcestershire Sauce, 1/4 cup of white sugar, 6 oz. canned diced tomatoes (with juice), 1 cup of beef broth, 2 cloves of garlic (minced), 1 tsp. of Chinese 5 Spice, 1 tsp. of dried thyme, and 1 tsp. dried basil.

Pour 2 tbsp. of canola oil into a 5 qt. cast iron pot or dutch oven and place over high heat. Once oil is hot, brown all sides of each short rib. (You may want to work in small batches, but I found it pretty easy to manipulate 2 lbs. of beef in a 5 qt. pan). After each side of meat is brown, remove all meat from the pot.

Add 1/2 cup of diced celery and 1 cup of diced onion to the 5 qt. pan. Allow the onion to cook until browned, about 10 minutes. Be sure to stir frequently!

Return beef to pot and pour in the wine mixture. Bring liquid to a boil and then reduce heat. Skim the fat from the surface and allow liquid to simmer a few minutes.

Add 1 package of fresh gourmet mushrooms (I like the mix variety pack, but choose your favorite!) to the pan. Cover and simmer over very low heat until meat is fork tender and falling off the bone - - about two hours.

Once the beef has cooked, remove the meat from the pot and keep it warm. Turn up the heat to high and reduce the pot liquid until it’s thickened (about 10-12 minutes).

Place meat atop mashed potatoes and pour sauce on top. Bon Appetit!


Garlic-Cilantro Mashed Potatoes

Peel and cut 4 russet potatoes into large cubes. Place in sauce pan and fill with cold water until water reaches about an inch over top of the potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste (again, we like to be generous with seasoning but usually go easy on the salt). Add 1 tbsp. of butter.
Bring the water to a boil and boil potatoes until they are fork tender. Drain.

In a large mixing bowl, put 1 cup of reduced fat sour cream, 1 tbsp. of butter, 1 tsp. of garlic powder, and 1 tsp. of dried cilantro. Add potatoes and beat with a mixer. Add milk a few tbsp. at a time until the potatoes achieve your desired consistency. (Mashed potato consistency is a personal choice :)). Enjoy!


Strawberry-Rhubarb-Oatmeal Cobbler with Cinnamon Cream

Preheat oven to 425 F.

In a large saucepan, combine 1 cup of white sugar and 4 tsp. cornstarch. Stir in the juice of one orange. Add 4 cups of diced fresh rhubarb. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thick and bubbly. Remove from heat but keep the sauce hot.

In a mixing bowl, stir together 1/2 cup of flour, 3 tbsp. white sugar, 1.5 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 cup of quick cooking oats and 1 tsp. of cinnamon. Whisk together one egg and 1/4 cup of milk. Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Mixture should have the consistency of thick morning oatmeal.

Stir 1 pint of strawberries (rinsed, halved with stems removed) into the rhubarb mixture. Pour hot fruit mixture into a 2 qt. baking dish. Spread oatmeal mixture on top - - you’ll want to cover the entire top of the baking dish, but you want a thin layer of oatmeal mixture. Sprinkle top with brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Place baking dish on top of a foil-covered cookie sheet. (Yes, the strawberry/rhubarb mix will spill over!) Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool slightly (you’ll want to serve it warm -- but not right out of the oven).

In a large mixing bowl, place 3 tsp. of white sugar, 1 tsp. of cinnamon, 1 tsp. of vanilla and 1 small container of heavy whipping cream. Beat until creamy. Place a dollop on top of each cobbler serving.

(This recipe makes enough cobbler for 6-8 people - - so you'll have leftovers :) Makes a great late-night snack!)

Fettuccini Alfredo - Delicious, Fast and Fresh with Baltimore Style

Last night was one of those too-tired-to-figure-out-dinner nights. One of those nights where it’s hard to take our own advice and slow down to enjoy a good meal and conversation. We hadn’t been to the grocery store in more than a week and the fridge, in all honesty, was looking a little sad. But rather than phone in a Chinese takeout order (which, admittedly was tempting!), we decided to be adventurous and see what we could put together with relative ease. A quick scan of the fridge revealed we had a few slices of leftover cooked ham, lemons and heavy cream. Thus, last night became Fettucini Alfredo night. I LOVE this take on a traditional Italian meal because it adds a Baltimore-style kick by throwing in some Old Bay, garlic, and onion powder. Enjoy!

And we’re excited to announce that Petticoat’s Advance is now on BAKESPACE! What a fun community of foodies! It’s easy to create your own online recipe box and find/print recipes from other fabulous food lovers. We’ll be uploading all of the recipes we share on Naturally Original to BAKESPACE. We encourage you to join, create a recipe box and don’t forget to add petticoatsadvance as a friend! :)

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Fettuccine Alfredo - Baltimore Style

In large, heavy skillet, stir 1 cup heavy cream and 1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice to blend. Add 6 tbsp. unsalted butter and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once the butter has melted, stir in one pinch of each of the following: freshly grated lemon zest, old bay, garlic powder, onion powder, and cinnamon. Add 1 cup of cooked diced ham, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well. Cook about another minute and remove from heat.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add 9 ounces fresh fettuccine and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite. Drain. Put your sauce skillet back on stove over low heat. Add pasta, another 1/2 cup of cream, 1 cup freshly grated parmigiano cheese to your sauce skillet. Toss over low heat until the sauce thickens, about two more minutes.

Serve immediately. Ahh --- Baltimore-ized Italian. And a fast, fresh dinner.