Italian Comfort Food

Lately I have been craving the food I grew up on- pasta, rich cheeses, broccoli rabe, sausage, meatballs, zucchini, Italian bread, olives, fried peppers, sopressata...the list goes on. Clearly, one cannot eat some of these foods on a daily basis (damn!). Here is a recipe that is inspired by food I ate growing up. It uses cubanelles which are a smaller and sweeter pepper that is a light green/ yellow in color. I have lightened it up slightly without sacrificing any of that comfort food feel. Don't get me wrong. This is not health food. But it's fresh and delicious. So, just get over it and eat some. I am bringing some to a co-worker of mine tomorrow because this is his favorite. (In return I get tostones. Definitely a fair deal in my book.)

Sausage, Peppers and Potatoes
This meal gets creamy and thick when you cook it down. Mmmm. You could use chicken sausage or pork sausage for this recipe. You can swap beef or veggie broth for the chicken broth. Or, use bullion with water. You could use white potatoes or red potatoes. I wouldn't really swap out the cubanelles because not only do they a lovely, sweet flavor they are also typically much cheaper than red or green bell peppers. I consider this a one pot meal, which I love! You could serve this with a crisp, simply dressed salad, fresh, and crusty bread, and a glass of white wine.

2 lbs sausage
8-10 cubanelle peppers, thinly sliced
1.5-2 lbs of potatoes, peeled and diced
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 small can chicken broth
olive oil
garlic powder, 1t
salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet light coated with cooking spray or olive oil, brown sausage on all sides.
While sausage is cooking, add peppers and onions to a second fry pan that is coated with a little olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the pan). Add a pinch of salt to onion and pepper mixture and cook until onions begin to look opaque and peppers have cooked down but still have a little bite. When onions and peppers are done, set them aside. Add a little bit more olive oil to the same fry pan (if needed) and lightly brown potatoes. After sausage has been browned on all sides slice them into bite size pieces. Drain any sausage grease from the pan. Return to same skillet. Add potatoes to the skillet with the sausage and cover with chicken broth. Turn heat up to a boil. Immediately turn down the heat to a slow simmer. Add garlic powder. Cook for about 25 minutes (stirring occasionally)until most of the liquid is cooked out, potatoes are tender, and sausage has cooked through. Add the peppers and onions to the skillet and combine with sausage and potatoes. Ciao!

XO- Jenn

heatwave veggie soup

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! I know I did. I went to several parties and spent time with friends and family. I did not have to do any cooking all weekend which offered a nice break. But reality hit me on Tuesday night when I noticed I still had a fridge full of veggies from my CSA this week. Yikes! I replenish my veggies on Fridays and I certainly don't want to waste these. What to do? Make a soup! Sure, there is a heatwave in the Northeast right now. But c'mon, soup always offers a lovely, comforting meal. And it's a great way to use up what you have in your fridge. So if you can't beat the heat, make some soup!

Heatwave Veggie Soup

This soup is more about a method than anything. You can add almost any veggie you want, fresh or frozen. Don't have potatoes? Add pastina or tortellini towards the end of cooking. Don't have spinach? Add kale. Want to make it a bit more hearty? Add a can or two of your favorite beans. You really can't go wrong. Feel free to add a chopped onion when you add the garlic to the pot. It got two thumbs up from my coworkers! This is so easy to make vegetarian. Swap out the water and bullion for veggie stock for equally delicious results. Also, don't be scared of kohlrabi if you have never used it before. The taste and texture is just like broccoli stems. You will just need to get rid of the tough ends and peel it before use. I have a photo at the top of this post of what kohlrabi looks like. I just became familiar with it this summer and I'm glad I did! By the way, this makes a ton!!

2 T olive or canola oil (just enough to cover the bottom of your pan)

5 cloves of garlic, pressed

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 medium carrots, peeled and diced

10 cups of hot water

4 chicken bullion cubes

half a head of cabbage, chopped

2 kohlrabi, peeled and chopped

2 yellow squash, chopped

2 large hand fulls of baby spinach

1 15 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes, diced

2 sprigs thyme

1/4 cup fresh oregano (or 1 T dried)

salt and pepper to taste

Add oil to a large, heavy bottom pot. Add garlic, potatoes and carrots and cook for about 5 minutes, stiring frequently being sure not to burn the garlic. Add the hot water and bullion and bring to a boil. Add cabbage and turn down to a high simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Add kohlrabi and cook for two minutes. Add squash and cook for another two minutes. Add tomatoes, herbs, seasonings and spinach and cook until spinach wilts down.

collard and cabbage goodness

This past week I received collard greens and cabbage in my CSA box. I enjoy cabbage and have cooked with it previously but collards were a mystery to me. Well, I found out that cabbage and collards are two great tastes that taste great together! And the fairy dust that made it happen? Bacon! Clearly this recipe is not vegetarian but you could leave out the bacon and swap the beef broth with vegetable broth. OR try veggie bacon strips because I think that bacony flavor is a real winner in this dish.

Collard Greens and Cabbage
Make sure to cut the thick stems out of the collards and wash and dry the leaves well. If you don't usually cook with cabbage, make sure you cut out the core and wash the first few leaves well, too. I found and freed a ladybug trapped in my recent head of cabbage. I suppose I have good luck now!

1 small head of cabbage cleaned, cored and chopped
1 bunch collard greens, approximately 5, stems removed and leaves cleaned
one half of a large onion, chopped
one half pound of bacon, chopped
one cup beef broth
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/2 t celery seed
1 t garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Put bacon in a large skillet and cook until fat starts to render. Add onions and cook until it is translucent and bacon is starting to crisp. Add collards and cook for about 5 minutes. Add cabbage into the mix and the seasoning and stir to combine. Add beef broth and cover the skillet and cook on medium/ high for 8-10 minutes. Uncover and cook until broth is cooked down and the vegetables are tender enough for your liking.