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Monday's Leftovers: Italian Sausage & Tomato Pasta

YumSugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 07:50:32 -0700

I got a little carried away at the grocery store this weekend, and as a result, I've got way too much Italian sausage left over in my fridge. So tonight, I'm going to assemble a quick pasta toss that makes the most of Italian sausage's fat and flavor without going overboard on the cased meats.

Since those links carry lots of zing, the key is to keep the rest of the ingredients sparse and simple. I'll add cooked tomatoes, red onion, and arugula to make it a balanced supper, and tie in all the elements with sprigs of basil and finely-grated Parmesan cheese. Presto: it's an alluring Monday night meal

Sunday BBQ: Italian Sausage Kebabs

YumSugar — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 06:00:09 -0700

This weekend might be a sunny one, and since I don't have any major plans, I'm thinking of inviting some high school friends over for an ultra-chill dinner. It's so casual that I'm not exactly positive what I'll be serving yet, but one thing's for sure: I'll definitely be grilling some of these skewers. They're goofproof to make, portable, and contain the perfect ratio of crunchy, charred bell pepper to spiced, succulent pork sausage and sautéed spinach. They take a mere 15 minutes to cook through, so get your hands on the recipe after the jump

Taste Test: Domino's Bread Bowl Pastas

YumSugar — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:00:53 -0700

The world of fast food is certainly quick paced, so the second Domino's begun advertising five flavors of pasta housed in a bread bowl, it seemed everybody was buzzing about it. When Party and I first got word of these monsters, we were simultaneously shocked (who came up with the concept?), appalled, and eager to try them. Yesterday turned out to be the Domino's day of reckoning - to find out how the bowls stood up to their shock value, read more.

It's hard to fathom why Domino's rolled out this concept of carbs inside more carbs, but the fact that competitor Pizza Hut has already racked up more than $500 million in sales of its Tuscani Pastas and lasagna, puts things more into perspective. However, as soon as we opened the delivery, we were faced with many unanswered questions: How many people was each bread bowl supposed to feed? Was the dish designed to be eaten like a pizza, or were we supposed to eat the pasta first, then the bowl?

Pasta Primavera: This bread bowl was filled with pasta, baby spinach, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and a goopy, oily Alfredo sauce. While the sole vegetarian option was filled with vegetables, I questioned whether the dish contained any protein.

Chicken Carbonara: Although this tasted somewhat like carbonara, it was covered with similar globs of white sauce.

Three Cheese Mac-N-Cheese: This was our least favorite. We love macaroni and cheese, but the flavors of the dish - bland, artificial nacho cheese, subpar penne, and a yeasty bread bowl - just did not seem to meld at all.

Italian Sausage Marinara: If we had to choose a best of the tasting, it would have been the Italian Sausage Marinara, which was rather reminiscent of regular pizza delivery with breadsticks. But then again, why not just order pizza and breadsticks?

Chicken Alfredo: All of the bowls were loaded with sodium (I drank water for hours afterward), but the Chicken Alfredo was swimming in a sauce that was over-the-top salty, to the point of being unpleasant to eat.

Unsurprisingly, the Pasta Primavera, Chicken Carbonara, and Chicken Alfredo flavors - which possess the same mysterious creamy white sauce - all taste remarkably similar. The bread bowl itself, which tastes a lot like Domino's breadsticks, was satisfying, but overall, unless we were starving and had no other options, or were carbo loading for a marathon the next day, we wouldn't eat this again.

Have you tried any of the Bread Bowl Pastas? If so, what was your assessment of them?

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Monday's Leftovers: Italian Sausage Heroes

partysugar — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 06:45:27 -0700

Use leftover pizza toppings to make a traditional sausage hero. With its toasty bread, spicy sausages, and soft veggies this classic sandwich is perfect on a warm summer night.

For a vegetarian version, omit the sausages and add crumbly goat cheese. To make a meal, serve the sandwich with a cold beer and a green salad.

To check out the recipe, read more.

Italian Sausage Heroes with Peppers and Onions
From Food & Wine

Ingredients

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 large bell peppers (1 red and 1 green), cut into thin strips
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 sweet or hot Italian sausages
4 hoagie or small submarine sandwich rolls

Directions

In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Add the onions and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until golden, 10 minutes. Stir in the paprika, sugar and red and green bell peppers. Reduce the heat to moderate and cook, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are softened, about 12 minutes. Stir in the water and oregano. Season with salt and pepper, cover and keep warm.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet. Prick the sausages all over, add them to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat, turning frequently, until browned all over, about 5 minutes.
Transfer the sausages to a cutting board and halve lengthwise. Return the halves to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until no trace of pink remains within, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Halve each roll (keep it hinged). Pull out some of the bread within. Toast the rolls.
Drizzle the cut sides of the rolls with olive oil and set 2 sausage halves on each roll. Top with the sautéed onions and peppers, close the sandwiches and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

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Not Your Regular Nachos: Italian Nachos

partysugar — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:40:19 -0700

Let me just say that taking a gorgeous, appetizing picture of nachos is hard. The image certainly does not do these amazingly delicious Italian nachos justice. They were so good that I ate an insane amount all by myself. What exactly are Italian nachos? A creation I invented based on a little web research. I took elements from several recipes to make my own version.

First I fried pieces of tomato basil tortillas. Next I made an Alfredo sauce and heated up finely chopped Italian sausage. The chips were seasoned with salt and dried oregano before being topped with the sauce, sausage, and a heavy sprinkling of mozzarella cheese. The whole thing was topped with a tomato, sun-dried tomato, black olive, and pepperoncini salsa. The final result was to die for.

For more details on how I made them, read more.

Italian Nachos
Modified from Joe Buona's Pizzeria and Wikipedia

Ingredients

For Alfredo sauce:
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tbs. unsalted butter
4 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
fresh-ground black pepper
pinch of fresh-ground nutmeg
For nachos
oil, for frying
2 tomato basil tortillas sliced into triangular pieces
dried, crushed oregano
salt
1 Italian sausage, finely chopped
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese (don't use fresh mozzarella, it will make the chips soggy)
2 tablespoons finely chopped tomato
2 tablespoons finely chopped black olives
1 tablespoon finely chopped sun dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon finely chopped peppercini
red pepper flakes, optional for serving

Directions

Make the chips: heat the oil in a large pot over high heat. When smoking add the tortilla wedges and fry for 30 seconds on each side until crisp and golden brown. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with dried oregano and salt. Repeat, working in small batches, until all the tortillas are fried.

Make the Alfredo sauce: combine cream and butter in a saute pan. Heat over a low flame, stirring frequently, until the butter is melted and the cream comes to a bare simmer. Remove the pan from the heat once the butter is evenly incorporated into the cream.
Add the cheese, the salt, the nutmeg, and several grinds of the pepper mill. Cover set aside.
Meanwhile heat 1 teaspoon oil in a saute pan over medium low heat. Add the sausage and cook until crisp, browned, and heated through.
Preheat the oven to 375°.
Make the salsa: combine the tomato, sun dried tomatoes, black olives, and peppercini in a small bowl.

Place the chips on a cookie sheet covered with foil.
Drizzle with Alfredo sauce and top with cooked sausage. Cover with mozzarella and drizzle with more sauce.

Bake in the oven for 4 minutes until the cheese is melted. Turn the broiler on and broil until the chips are crisp and the cheese is bubbling.
Remove from oven and top with salsa. Serve immediately with red pepper flakes for sprinkling if desired.

Serves 1.

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Fast & Easy Dinner: Cannellini Bean and Sausage Gratin

partysugar — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 06:18:31 -0800

I'm ga-ga for gratins - especially at this time of year - and got really excited when I found this recipe for a dinner gratin. Usually gratins are served as a side dish because they highlight the flavor of one ingredient. However in this case, beans, greens, and sausage are tossed with fennel, onions, and fresh sage before being baked in the oven. Plus, this recipe uses chicken broth instead of cream making it a lighter version. Bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese give the gratin a crisp, gorgeous finish. To discover a new gratin, read more.

Cannellini Bean and Sausage Gratin
From Real Simple magazine

3 tablespoons olive oil
4 sweet Italian sausages (about 1 pound), casings removed
1 small bulb fennel, chopped
1 small onion, chopped (½ cup)
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped sage
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 head swiss chard, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly coat an 8-by-10-inch baking or gratin dish with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, crumble the sausages and cook, breaking up, until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the sausage from skillet and set aside.
Add the fennel and onion to skillet and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and sage and cook 1 minute more. Add the Swiss chard, a handful at a time, stirring until slightly wilted. Stir in the broth, beans, sausage, salt, and pepper. Spoon the mixture into the baking dish and set aside.
In a small bowl, stir together the bread crumbs and Parmesan with the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle the bread-crumb mixture on top and bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Serve warm.

Serves 4 to 6.

NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 495(42% from fat); FAT 23g (sat 7g); PROTEIN 25mg; CHOLESTEROL 31mg; CALCIUM 232mg; SODIUM 896mg; FIBER 10g; CARBOHYDRATE 47g; IRON 6mg

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Say Cheese! Fresh Mozzarella, Italian Sausage Calzones

partysugar — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:26:33 -0700

Mozzarella is a widely known, mild Italian cheese that's made from a pulling, stretching, and cutting technique. At one time, all mozzarella was made from water buffalo milk, but now it's commonly made with cow's milk. Fresh mozzarella is packaged in water or whey and has a soft texture and delicate flavor. It's delicious alone, in a salad (like caprese) or melted. To find out how I used my fresh mozzarella boconccini, read more.

My first thought was to make a classic pizza margherita, but since I've never experimented with calzones, I decided to tuck the chunks of mozzarella into a pizza pocket.

This recipe is straightforward and can easily be adapted to your culinary specifications. That being said, I followed the recipe exactly, and it was wonderful! The combination of fragrant sausage, garlicky pesto, sweet peppers, and oozing cheese is utterly sublime. I made the components (roasted garlic, spicy tomato sauce, and pesto) from scratch, but feel free to take help from the supermarket.

Fresh Mozzarella, Italian Sausage Calzones
From Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients

1 ball of basic pizza dough (enough dough for 1 pizza)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and white pepper
1/2 cup thick pesto
1/2 cup roasted garlic
1 cup diced Italian sausage, cooked
1 red pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and julienned
2 tablespoons chiffonade of basil
4 (1/2-inch) slices of fresh Mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 cup spicy tomato sauce, hot

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Place the dough out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough out to form a 12-inch circle.
Spread the pesto over one half of the dough. Layer the garlic, sausage, peppers, and basil, alternately over the pesto.
Lay the Mozzarella and parmesan cheese over the basil. Fold the other side of the dough over the filling and pinch the edges to seal the calzone.
Make three slashes across the top of the calzone. Place the calzone on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the calzone with the egg wash.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Spoon the sauce in the center of the plate. Slice the calzone in half and place in the center of the sauce. Alternately, spoon the sauce into a bowl and serve with the calzone.

Serves 2.

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Fast & Easy Dinner: Italian Sausage and Potatoes

partysugar — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 09:00:57 -0700

On nights when I want a restaurant-quality meal without the fuss of going out or the hassle of standing in front of the stove, I turn to my oven. The oven is an excellent tool that can be used to make hearty, homey meals without a lot of hard work. For tonight's meal, chunked sausages, peppers, onions, and potatoes are all tossed together in a pan and left in the oven for 30 minutes. You can come home from work, pop it in the oven, hop in the shower, and enjoy in front of the TV. Paired with a glass of red wine and a green salad, get this perfect Friday night meal and read more

Italian Sausage and Potatoes
From Good Housekeeping magazine

1 pound sweet and/or hot Italian sausage, cut crosswise into thirds
1 pound small red potatoes, each cut in half
1 jumbo onion (about 1 pound), cut into 12 wedges
2 red and/or yellow peppers, cut lengthwise into 8 pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
In 15 1/2" by 10 1/2" jelly-roll pan, combine sausages, potatoes, onion, peppers , olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; toss to coat.
Roast sausage mixture 30 to 35 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender and sausages are lightly browned, stirring once halfway through roasting.

Serves 6-8.

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What Would You Make?

partysugar — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:13:31 -0800

Here's the scenario: you are at home and hungry. You have to cook up something scrumptious for you and your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/child/friend/etc., but the ingredients you have on hand are limited.

You have Italian sausage links, fresh mushrooms, and chicken broth. Using these products, along with whatever you currently have on hand in your cupboard and refrigerator, what would you make?

To see what I would whip up, read more

I would start by taking the meat out of the sausage casings. I would add this to a large sauté pan heated with a little oil. I would cook the sausage, breaking it into small bite sized bits.
Meanwhile, I would warm the chicken broth over medium heat.
After the sausage is throughly browned, I would transfer it from the pan to a plate lined with paper towels.
To the pan I would add chopped onions and garlic.
After several minutes of sautéing I would add the sliced mushrooms and saute a minute more before deglazing with wine.
Next I would add a cup of risotto rice and cook, stirring, adding chicken broth until it's absorbed, about 18 minutes.
I would mix in the cooked sausage, any fresh herbs like thyme or parsley, and some cheese. I would add salt and pepper to taste and serve my mushroom sausage risotto with red wine.

Source and Source

Fast & Easy Dinner: Gnocchi With Sausage and Spinach

partysugar — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 10:30:52 -0700

While I always have fresh pasta on hand to use in quick weeknight recipes, I rarely employ gnocchi in the same way. However, this recipe is going to change that!

Wilted spinach, sauteed onions, and Italian sausage come together to make a sauce that is flavorful and filling. A generous helping of Parmesan cheese adds a rich, creaminess to the final dish.

For the recipe, read more.

Gnocchi With Sausage and Spinach
From Real Simple

Ingredients

2 9-ounce packages refrigerated gnocchi or one 17.5-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 5-ounce bag baby spinach
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated Parmesan, plus more for garnishing

Directions

Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the sausage and cook, crumbling it with a spoon, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the garlic, spinach, salt, and pepper and cook, tossing frequently, until the spinach wilts, about 3 minutes.
Add the drained gnocchi, the reserved cooking liquid, and the Parmesan and toss. Divide among individual bowls and sprinkle with additional Parmesan.

Serves 4.

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