Recipe: Roasted Italian Sausages in Garden Sauce

This is a recipe that I planned in my head today while doing other things. You see the chourico and polenta recipe of a few days ago, got me to thinking about the Italian dinner I had at Al Forno that I based it on. So sometime around 8:00 AM I decided to do something similar. I walked in the door at 6:15 PM and started preparing it.

It was done by 7:30 and I photographed it. Then I sat down to eat it. It worked out deliciously well so after dinner here I am writing it all down for the blog which I will post right now!

Oh, you'll notice I call for the "thick good" balsamic vinegar for this dish. Don't go spending $100 or more on the vintage stuff. Get a few bottles of inexpensive balsamic vinegar and boil them down until they are rich and slightly syrupy. Yeah, food snobs will scoff, but it works great in most recipes calling for the top shelf variety.

What do snobs know anyway?

Roasted Italian Sausages in Garden Sauce

6 links of Italian sausage
2 TBS olive oil
3/4 cup of celery (finely chopped)
3/4 cup of carrot (finely chopped)
1-1/2 cups of onion (finely chopped)
1 tsp fennel seeds (coarsely ground)
1 pinch of red pepper flakes (or more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp dried rosemary (coarsely ground)
3 cloves of garlic (sliced thin)
1 cup of dry white wine
2 large tomatoes chopped
1 cup tomato sauce
2 TBS tomato paste
1 TBS balsamic vinegar (read above)
1-1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp crushed black pepper
3/4 cup of grape tomatoes
Pecorino-Romano cheese

Fill a pan with water and place over high heat. Pierce the Italian sausages with a fork. Place in the pan and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer until cooked through. Remove from heat.

Preheat your oven to 350°F

Place a large sauce pan or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil When the olive oil begins to shimmer, add the onions, carrots, celery, fennel, red pepper flakes and rosemary. Sauté until the the carrots and celery soften and the onions begin to brown.

Add the sliced garlic and stir in for 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Allow the wine to reduce to a thick sauce.

Add the chopped tomatoes and continue cooking as they reduce and give up their moisture.

Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, sea salt, black pepper and the balsamic vinegar. Bring the sauce to a low simmer and continue cooking. You want the sauce a little thick, not to thick, not too loose. Check for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

Get a large oven-proof casserole dish or cast iron skillet. Pour the sauce into the casserole dish or skillet and carefully place the Italian sausage in the sauce. They should not be immersed, but half exposed. Then take the grape tomatoes and distribute them around the sausages.

Place the casserole/skillet in the oven and keep and eye on it. You don't want it to thicken up to much. Cook like this in the oven until the sauce is just thick. Then transfer to the broiler to caramelize the top of the sausages, sauce and grape tomatoes. It's east to burn things in the broiler so keep a close eye on it.

When done, remove from the broiler. Shave some pecorino-romano over it and then serve with bread, over your favorite pasta or over polenta.

Recipe: Roasted Italian Sausages in Garden Sauce from Chop Onions, Boil Water by Henry Krauzyk
http://www.choponionsboilwater.blogspot.com

Recipe: Three-Cheese Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage

Today's world food you can prepare at home is a familiar one to many people. Baked Ziti comes in a myriad of styles and interpretations. That's because it's good and everyone takes their own angle at it. For many of my Italian friends it is one of their favorite comfort foods.

I'm not going to stretch the truth here, the recipe below is a little involved, but not really complicated, nor does it demand any special talents or tools. It's a large recipe that is suitable for a family dinner or even a party. Generally, this dish will get my family through three days worth of dinners. Correction: three days worth of welcome dinners!

Leftovers can make some folks groan, but there's a way around that kind of resistance. One restaurant trick I suggest using with this dish or similar ones like lasagna or chicken or eggplant parmesan is having a quantity of hot marinara sauce reserved for dressing the dish while placing it on individual serving plates. Sure, this may be common sense for a lot of home cooks, but I cannot count how many times I've been served similar dishes without the benefit of some fresh sauce! That's the reason I suggest the extra marinara first in the ingredients below.

Three-Cheese Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage

1 quantity of Sun-Dried Tomato Marinara Sauce
2 1 lb. boxes of ziti
3 TBS olive oil
4 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 lb. Italian sausage (skin peeled off)
1 lb. ground beef
1 28 oz. can roasted tomatoes (I use Muir Glenn Fire Roasted, see link at top of page.)
1-1/2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 tsp ground fennel
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper (to taste)
2 TBS sweet butter
1 lb. ricotta cheese
3/4 lb. mozzarella cheese (shredded)
1/3 cup parmesan-reggiano cheese (grated)
1 large tomato (thinly sliced)
1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Make the Sun Dried Marinara Sauce and keep it on a low simmer on your stove while you prepare the other ingredients.

Place a large sauce pan or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and when it begins to shimmer add the crushed garlic and cook it until it browns and softens. Remove the garlic and allow it to cool, then mash it into a paste and set aside.

Add the Italian sausage and ground beef to the oil and cook until crumbly and well browned.

Add the roasted tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken stock, fennel, bay leaf, mashed garlic, salt and pepper to the sausage and ground beef mixture. Mix well, raise to a boil, lower to a healthy simmer and continue cooking for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. You want it to reduce and thicken.

While the sauce simmers cook the ziti in the normal way being sure to keep it al dente. When the pasta finishes cooking, drain it and pour it into a large bowl. Gently mix in the butter to coat the ziti.

When the sauce is done, check for seasoning and adjust, remove it from the heat. Add the finished sauce to the ziti and blend it well.

Take a 10 x 14 baking dish and spread the ziti and sauce mixture evenly within the pan. Take spoonfuls of the ricotta and slip the ricotta under the ziti at regular intervals throughout the ziti. Now firmly level and press the ziti into the pan. You are looking to get it to pack a little so it will hold it's shape like lasagna after baking and cooling.

Sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over the top of the ziti, followed by the parmesan-reggiano. Then take the tomato slices and lay them out over the top of the mixture. Finally, sprinkle the bread crumbs over the mix and pop the pan into the oven for 35 to 45 minutes. You're looking for the top to get golden and bubbly here.

Remove from the oven and allow it to cool and set for at least 20 minutes.

Take your serving plates and spoon a generous portion of the marinara onto it. Carefully cut and remove a block of baked ziti and place it on the plate. Then add more marinara to the top. Serve with a sprinkle of cheese and perhaps some basil.

Red wine, crusty bread - HEAVEN!

Recipe: Three-Cheese Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage from Chop Onions, Boil Water by Henry Krauzyk http://www.choponionsboilwater.com

Recipe: Penne a'la Vodka

At my house we go through about three to four bottles of vodka a year, none of which is ever used for drinks. All of it is dedicated for use in this sauce. We even keep a sizeable plot of parsley growing, again, almost exclusively for preparing this sauce and chimichurri. Now, if I can just find room for a cow, I'll have my own source of cream.

In life, few things are certain, in fact the certainties stand out and one of mine is this: If I ask my wife Michelle what she wants for dinner she's going to ask for penne a'la vodka. She always does. She'll eat it for two days in a row with some as leftovers for lunch. She loves the stuff. Here, I'll do an experiment right now and ask her... (asks wife what she wants for dinner...wife answers "risotto!"). Alright, so fewer things are certain than I thought. One of the beauties of this sauce is that it is quick to make. In fact if your ingredients are prepared, you can put your pasta water on to boil and this sauce will be ready at the same time you are straining the pasta. The other great thing about this sauce is its rich flavor and silky smooth texture.

I add crumbled Italian sausage most times I prepare this, and I encourage you to do the same. This will give you a good idea of how this sauce can enhance the flavor of the food it is coupled with. It will also couple well with boneless chicken breast (cubed). In fact, I have been toying with the idea of using this sauce to make a lobster and scallop lasagna. You can look for that one in a future book as I think the creaminess of the sauce is a sure hit with the flavor and texture of the shellfish.

Penne a'la Vodka

1 large can of ground tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
1 lb. of penne or ziti
4 Italian sausages (pre boiled and crumbled)
1/2 cup of vodka
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of sun-dried tomatoes (diced)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
10 cloves of garlic (lightly crushed with the back of knife)
3 Tbs of Italian parsley (chopped)
1-2 Tbs of unsalted butter
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of dried, crushed red pepper
1/8 to 1/4 cup olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Place pasta water in pan to boil. Cook pasta in normal way.

Preheat a separate pan and add olive oil. When oil begins to smoke lightly and shimmer, add garlic and saute until lightly brown.

Add both cans of tomatoes, crushed red pepper and sun-dried tomatoes, bring to boil and then cover and place on simmer for 10 minutes.

Add vodka and mix in, simmer until pasta is done.

Fish out garlic cloves from sauce, discard.

Add crumbled Italian sausage to sauce, mix in well, continue to simmer.

Strain pasta (reserve some water in a separate container), fold in butter ensuring all the pasta coated.

Check sauce, add salt and pepper to taste.

Add cream to sauce, mix in well.

Add pasta and parsley to sauce, continue simmering to desired consistency. If mixture is too thick, add reserved pasta water.

Stir in cheese, let settle for a few minutes. Serve garnished with a little more cheese and parsley.
Recipe: Penne a'la Vodka from Chop onions, Boil Water by Henry Krauzyk http://www.choponionsboilwater.com

Recipe: Red Pepper & Italian Sausage Ragout with Lemon Pepper Risotto Timbals

The first thing I ever cooked was a fried bologna sandwich. I can't recall exactly how old I was, but I remember having to stand on my toes to see what was going on in the pan. It's a pretty vivid memory. I remember that I was doing it on the front, right burner in a black pan that had been greased with a little butter. I had two pieces cooking and they were doming up nicely. I also remember that I wasn't supposed to be doing it, and didn't want to get caught. In any event, I didn't get caught and the resulting sandwich was delicious and hot, with the perfect amount of mustard.

In contrast, the recipe to the right is probably the most elaborate looking one that I prepare. No, I'm not huge on presentation. I grew up in a socio-economic bracket that mandated the practical and economical above the esthetic. In order of importance, food should taste great and then look good. Food should never look better than it tastes. Hell, it can even look bad and smell bad (like morcella or sardines, etc.), as long as it tastes good.

It's been my experience that regardless of how precariously high it is stacked or how creatively garnished, a steak is a steak, chicken is chicken, and yes, a fried bologna sandwich is just a fried bologna sandwich. It's the ingredients and what takes place with them before reaching the plate that most often results in how good food is.

This dish is a favorite of my wife Michelle. It is also the longest recipe in my cookbook, but it is not hard to prepare by any means. I do suggest that you use very fresh vegetables and be sure not to overcook the red pepper. It should offer a little "tooth" and that way it will retain its sweetness and crunch.

Red Pepper & Italian Sausage Ragout with Lemon Pepper Risotto Timbals

1/8—1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 onion (chopped)
3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
2 tomatoes (coarsely chopped)
1 large red pepper (diced)
10 baby bella mushrooms (sliced)
4 Italian sausages (boiled, fried and sliced)
10 basil leaves-cut into strips
Salt & pepper to taste

Set stove on high.

Add olive oil to preheated pan. When olive oil begins to shimmer, add onions and cook until tender and translucent, stirring occasionally.

Add garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Do not allow garlic to brown or burn!

Add tomatoes and peppers, cook for about 5 minutes.

Add mushrooms and sausage.

Cook until mushrooms are just done, do not overcook the red pepper!

Salt and pepper to taste.

Add basil and continue cooking for 3 minutes.

Cover, and set over a warming flame while you prepare the risotto (recipe below).

Center lemon pepper risotto timbal on plate (be patient, they take a moment to slide out) and serve with the ragout surrounding the timbal.

Garnish timbal with a few strips of basil and serve.

Lemon Pepper Risotto Timbals

1/8—1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 to 6 cups of vegetable broth
1 pinch of saffron
2 shallots (chopped)
2-3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
2 cups of Arborio rice
Juice from 1/2 to 1 lemon (to taste)
Salt & pepper to taste

In a separate saucepan prepare the vegetable broth, bring to simmer and add saffron.

Place another pan on another burner set on high.

Add olive oil to preheated pan. When olive oil begins to smoke, add onions and cook until tender and translucent, stirring occasionally.

Add garlic and cook for 3-5 minutes. Do not allow garlic to brown or burn!

Add rice and fold into oil, onion and garlic mixture. Toast for a few minutes.

Cook risotto in the traditional way.

Add lemon juice, continue cooking until rice reaches the desired tenderness and consistency.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Let rice sit for a few moments before packing into lightly oiled ramekins to form into timbal, let sit a few moments, turn over ramekins and remove rice timbal.

Red Pepper & Italian Sausage Ragout with Lemon Pepper Risotto Timbals from Chop Onions, Boil Water by Henry Krauzyk