Cassoulet

We tend to eat pretty international around our house, and the past week had a French theme. A cassoulet is this soupy casserole dish named after the pot that it is usually made in. It contains white beans and pork. Its origin is in Southern France.

It was unique from what seasonings/flavors we typically use, but it was hearty and good.  I made it for about 3 servings instead of 6.  The recipe below is for 6 servings. 

I also could not find parsnips in this town, so I skipped them. Let me know if you can find them when you make this. I am now interested in tracking them down.

I got this recipe from the Savor book I read recently.


Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb turkey Italian sausage, casings removed (I used hot sausage.)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 carrots, diced
3 parsnips, diced
1 tomato, chopped, or one 8-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
3 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained
5 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp butter, melted


Instructions:
1. In a skillet or frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the sausage until well browned, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Remove and drain on paper towels; set aside. 

2. In a stock pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat, combine the chicken broth vegetables, beans, thyme, salt, pepper, one-third of the garlic, and the sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 1 hour, until thickened and the vegetables are tender. 

3. Heat oven to 400°. Pour cassoulet into an ovenproof dish. In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs, parsley, butter, and remain garlic. Sprinkle evenly over the cassoulet, and place in the oven. Bake, uncovered, until the crust is golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

4. To make ahead and freeze, prepare without the bread crumb topping. Cover and freeze up to 4 months. When ready to cook, uncover the cassoulet, sprinkle with the bread crumb mixture and bake, unthawed, 45 minutes to 1 hour at 400°.

Maque Choux

This is a Creole dish that has many variations. It can be sweet like a dessert or very spicy or even a blend of both. I kind of did a blend of both flavors because I am a mixer.

I got inspired by a Zatarain's Instagram post earlier this week and the fact that I had these ingredients in the house and needed a new side dish for some leftovers.

This is how I made mine, but you can mix up yours and do it another way.

1 medium onion
2 stalks of celery
1 clove garlic, minced
4 ears of corn, cut from the cob
1/2 pound sausage (I recommend andouille. I used hot Italian turkey sausage because I had it leftover from a previous recipe this week.)
1 can Rotel, drained
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
Creole (or Cajun) seasoning to taste



In a large skillet cook sausage over medium heat. Remove from pan and set aside, but keep the grease. Add the onion and celery and cook until they are tender (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute.

Add the corn, Rotel, and heavy cream and stir to combine. Add the salt & sausage and reduce the heat to a low simmer. Sprinkle in sugar if you want it to be of the sweeter variety. Cook, uncovered, for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the corn is cooked through and most of the liquid has evaporated.

Adjust seasoning to taste, adding Creole or Cajun seasoning, if desired. Allow to rest about 5 minutes to allow the mixture to thicken before serving.

Serves 6

Fregolotta (Italian Jam Tart)

This tart is delightful and so easy to make. It is a good way to use up jam that we have hanging out around the house. It goes well with vanilla ice cream.

This is one of my favorite author's recipes (Shauna Niequist) from her Savor book.

• Ingredients:

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

• 1/2 cup  sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract (I used vanilla instead.)

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup  jam (I used strawberry rhubarb.)

• 1/3 cup sliced natural almonds

• 
  

• Directions:

• Heat the oven to 350. 

• Mix the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is light in color (about 3 or 4 minutes). Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the side of the bowl. Add the extract and blend well (about 30 seconds).

• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add these to the butter mixture and combine on a low speed until thoroughly combined (about 30-40 seconds).

• Measure out 1/2 cup of the dough and set it aside on a small plate. Put the plate in the freezer. (This makes it easier to crumble later). 

• Press the remaining dough into a 9 or 9 1/2 inch tart pan in an even later. The edges can be a little higher than the rest, but make sure that the center is not the thickest part. (If the dough is too sticky, chill it briefly.)

Use the back of a spoon to spread the jam in a thin, even later over the surface of the dough, leaving a border of about 1 inch around the edges.


Remove the reserved dough from the freezer and crumble it into small pieces over the layer of the jam, allowing some of the jam to peek through. Sprinkle the sliced almonds evenly over the top of the tart.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the topping is a beautiful golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

You can also serve this with whipped cream.

Serves 6

delightful dates

Try this one for your next dinner party. I made it for kind of an appetizer when I knew dinner would be a bit later than normal. I got this one from Bread and Wine.

It is super easy with few ingredients, and I knew from the mix of flavors, I would love them. I did.

I normally only eat dates when I am at my Muslim friends' houses, but this recipe makes me want to eat them more.

Ingredients:
1 8 oz. package pitted dates
4 oz. goat cheese
1 16 oz. package bacon

Instructions:
My dates were already sliced on one side, so I could open them like little books, but if yours are not, slice along one side of each date. Fill the dates with a small amount of goat cheese, and then close each one.

Cut the whole package of bacon in half. (I did mine into thirds because I thought half a slice would be too much bacon for the date.) Wrap a 1/2 or 1/3 slice of bacon around the outside of each date.

Arrange seam side down in a baking dish or baking sheet with sides to catch any grease.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until well browned and crispy. Drain on a paper towel covered plate, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Homemade Toffee

This is another Bread and Wine recipe. It is super easy with few ingredients, which makes the minimalist in me happy. It does take a bit of planning to get it ready in time for dinner. I started it before I made the entree for dinner tonight, and both of them finished about the same time.

It was really good, and I especially liked the sweet and salty combination.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Directions:
Combine butter and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Over medium-high heat, keep stirring until it turns a deep amber color (about 8-9 minutes in).

Remove from heat and pour into a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or until cool and solid to the touch.

Melt chocolate chips in a glass bowl over a pot of gently boiling water. When the chocolate is smooth, pour it over the toffee and spread with a spatula. Sprinkle sea salt, and then refrigerate until cooled and solid.  Break into irregular pieces.

Enjoy!

Book Review: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Ever since the movie came out, all I heard was how hilarious this was. I got excited when I saw it in the library looking for my next Tallahassee trip book on CD.

Like I have said before, I enjoy the multi-tasking that listening to a book allows. It makes drives seem more quick. The stories accompany while I cook.  The voices in the reading of the book offer a different experience from reading it and hearing the story in your head in your own voice.

I have not seen the movie yet. I am not sure I want to see it after reading the book. I tend to like the book versions better, but this book was not what I expected.

Instead of comedy, I found this very dramatic. And what's worse - it is family drama.  Real life has enough of that, and I am not sure I want it when I want to escape to someone else's world. 

I am fascinated by foreign things, and I am trying to immerse myself in Asian culture as much as possible lately, especially Chinese things, since I teach Chinese students. I am not sure if this portrayal of Chinese families is really accurate, but most families tend to have "those" people in it. Wealth only complicates it in this family.

One phrase that is used a lot in this book is "a la muck." I have looked around to try to figure out what exactly it means. The closest I have found is garbage or poop. If any of my Chinese friends wants to enlighten me, I would love to find out what this phrase truly means.

A glimpse into another culture was nice, especially since I hope to visit some of my students in China in the next few years.

If you want family drama in a book, check this one out. If you are looking for comedy, I would pick another one.  It was not a bad story, though, with a few plot twists sprinkled here and there.

Enchilada Casserole

I am not the biggest fan of Mexican food at the moment, although I still love chips and salsa.  Jared really likes it though, so I tried this one out.

It is from the Bread and Wine book that I recently read and will write a review for soon.

Jared said that he would add fresh jalapenos to it but otherwise really liked it. I thought it was pretty good too.

I had a hard time finding the 28 oz can of enchilada sauce, so I got smaller ones to make into the correct size. Monterey Jack cheese was also not found at the local grocery store, so I used a mix that had some in it.

Because the tortillas are not rolled, this casserole has been described as an enchilada lasagna. I used small tortillas, but if you like more coverage/separation between layers, use the big ones.

Ingredients:
1 c. sour cream
1 28 oz. can green enchilada sauce
2 4 oz. small cans green chilies, diced
3 c. cooked chicken, shredded or diced
2 c. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
12 corn tortillas
1 c. chicken broth
cilantro

Instructions:
Mix green sauce with chilies and sour cream. Smooth 1 spoonful of the sauce mixture around the bottom of a 9 by 13 pan.

Simmer the chicken broth in a skillet, and before placing each tortilla in the 9 by 13 pan, use tongs to pass the tortilla through the broth for a few seconds. If you leave the tortillas in the broth for too long, they will fall apart, so just dip each one in for a few seconds to soften it before putting it in the enchilada pan.

Lay 4 tortillas over the first layer of the sauce.

After tortillas, add half the chicken, then one-third of the sauce, then one-third of the cheese.

Repeat so that there are 2 full layers.

Finish with a layer of 4 more tortillas, the remaining third of the sauce, and the remaining third of the cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees until warmed through and the cheese is melted, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Let sit at least 15 minutes before cutting. Top with chopped cilantro.

Serves 6