Recipe: Spicy Breakfast Sausage Patties

Breakfast sausage patties: split and toast an English muffin, add a cooked egg on there and top it with a sausage patty (add a slice of cheese if you're a risk taker) and KAPOW: A really delicious breakfast sandwich.

I make these with ground turkey to keep them on the healthy side, but like all things made with ground turkey: ground pork is better! So, if fat and cholesterol are not big concerns for you, by all means go "oink" instead of "gobble" with this recipe. I also make a few months supply ahead of time and keep them in the freezer (separated with wax paper) until needed. They are usually needed every Saturday and Sunday morning for breakfast in my house!

Spicy Breakfast Sausage Patties

2 tsp dried sage
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper (freshly ground)
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp smoked sweet paprika
1 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (more if you like them spicier)
1/8 tsp ground cloves
2 pounds ground pork or ground turkey

Combine all the ingredients except the meat in a bowl and blend thoroughly.

Place the ground pork/turkey in a large bowl. Add the spice blend and cut it well into the mixture before thoroughly mixing it in with your hands.

When the mix is thoroughly blended form it in to patties by rolling it into balls and then flattening it out. When deciding on a size be sure to allow for shrinkage during cooking.

To cook, place a griddle or a large skillet over medium high heat. Sauté the patties flipping once until cooked through.

Recipe: Thai Red Curry Shrimp Skewers

Looking for a quick recipe that you can prepare on your grill outside or on your broiler indoors? Something that will do well in a salad or nestled with a few grilled vegetables in a wrap? Thai Red Curry Shrimp Skewers are a healthy, easy-to-prepare and quick-cooking dish that are delicious, spicy and light. Be sure to make more that you think you need, they go quick!

Thai Red Curry Shrimp Skewers

1 lb. fresh medium-sized shrimp (shelled and deveined)
1 tsp white sugar
1 Tbs Thai red curry paste
1 Tbs coconut milk

Preheat your broiler.

Rinse the shrimp in cold water and blot dry. Place them in a bowl and sprinkle the sugar over them. Toss to distribute the sugar evenly over the shrimp. Allow to rest for 5 minutes then toss again.

Place the Thai red curry paste and the coconut milk in a small bowl and whisk until it is well-blended. You are looking for a loose and smooth paste. Add more coconut milk if necessary.

Pour the paste into the bowl with the shrimp and coat the shrimp evenly. Allow to rest for a few moments.

Thread the shrimp onto the skewers* and broil turning once (about 5 minutes per side). DO NOT OVERCOOK.

Allow the shrimp to cool a little and serve warm, (on a bed of cilantro and sliced green onions if you want to get fancy).

*Use two skewers per "skewer" so the shrimp is easier to turn in the broiler.

Recipe: Chimichurri Sauce

 

 

Chimichurri is a popular sauce in Argentina and Uruguay. It is as common a condiment on those countries' tables as ketchup is in the United States or soy sauce is in Japan.

My first experience with chimichurri came one evening while I was dining at El Gaucho a very popular Argentine steak house in Ornajstadt, Aruba. I've since been back a number of times. In fact my recipe for chimichurri is modeled on the one from El Gaucho and it is close if not dead on.

Chimichurri's ingredients are common, and its preparation is quick and easy. It also will keep in the fridge for quite awhile. It can be used on all meats and fish and is especially good when those meats are grilled, where it can serve as both a marinade and a condiment, (keep those portions separate when doing that). Chimichurri is also excellent when used for dressing steamed vegetables such as asparagus and broccoli as well as salads.

Try this versatile South American sauce and you won't be disappointed
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Recipe: Chimichurri

1 large bunch of flat parsley
2-1/2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup of white vinegar
1 pinch hot red pepper flakes
Coarse cracked black pepper
Kosher or sea salt

(Note: The ingredients can easily be adapted to personal tastes. Adjust the garlic and red pepper flakes to preference. The amount of vinegar can also be adjusted for the "brightness" of the sauce.)

Wash and drain the parsley.

Remove parsley leaves from stems, discard the stems and set leaves aside. You should have enough leaves to equal two cups, moderately packed in a measuring cup.

Place parsley, garlic, pepper flakes and vinegar in a food processor, or use a large mortar and pestle.
While adding the olive oil, chop contents in the food processor until parsley pieces are about 1/4" in size. The sauce should be thick and chunky and not pureed or smooth. Add remaining olive oil.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Place in a covered contained for 2-4 hours before using, (store unused portion in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks).

Recipe: Lobster, Shrimp & Scallop Scampi Pizza

We had a pizza night last Friday night. Pizza night is usually scheduled to mark some event of note, most often it is to welcome foreign guests on their inaugural visits to Hancock Hall. This last pizza night was in honor of my friend Meg who hails from Los Angeles. Sure, I wrote that we welcome "foreign" guests and Meg is from the US, but I've been in Los Angeles at times and felt like I was on another planet, let alone another country! Anyway, pizza night is neither a complicated nor formal affair. A bunch of good friends piled around my homemade, rough-hewn-planked, cut-nail-fastened, Viking hall-style feast table drinking too much wine and beer and shouting over each other while pizza after pizza after pizza pops out of the oven. It's a whole lot of fun. I've got references if you don't believe me!

The pizza of course is important and includes regular things like cheese, chourico and roasted red pepper. Over the years we've also created some "house specials" including smoked bbq chicken with caramelized onions, Coney Island hot dog pizza, and summer squash with tomatoes and black pepper just to name a few. There have been some alcohol-fueled Frankenpizzas as well. Memorable only for their absurdity including one "works pizza" that probably had about 2 pounds of chourico and $50 of saffron on it. ALCOHOL-INDUCED-FAIL!

One of the most popular of our house special pizzas is a shrimp or seafood scampi pizza. Living in New England and specifically on Narragansett Bay has its benefits. We have access to some great fresh native seafood including cold water lobsters and small sweet bay scallops, both of which feature in the pizza recipe below. If you can't get lobster or bay scallops, you can substitute similar shellfish (langoustines, etc.). If you can, try to get fresh seafood as it certainly makes a big difference.

Before we move on to constructing the delicious Lobster, Shrimp and Scallop Scampi Pizza below, allow me to address four primary ingredients that all but guarantee your home made pizza is as good or better than the average shop. Get used to seeing these important "ingredients" because I am going to add them to every pizza recipe I offer. They are critical to your success.

Cornmeal: Cornmeal's tiny grains act like little ball bearings between flat surfaces. Spread cornmeal on the surface of what you build your pizza on and you'll be able to slide your masterpiece right off it and into your oven. Speaking of what you stretch your dough on, go get yourself a...

Pizza peel: Buy one, construct your pizza on it, use it to put your pizza in the oven, use it to take your pizza out of the oven. Seems like a small thing right? Try it! By the way, when you're using your peel to slide your pizza into your oven make sure your oven contains a...

Pizza Stone: Nothing is going to make your home pizza match or exceed the quality of the pizzeria bought stuff more than a pizza stone. Get a thick one and get a big one. I park mine right on the lowest rack of my oven and that is where it stays. It makes all the difference in the world and in no time you'll be pulling pizzas out of your oven that will make the thought of a store-bought pie a less-than-ideal option. The pizza stone is not going to work optimally though unless you...

Preheat your oven: Flat out, no joke, crank her up to 500°F and do that a full 45 minutes before you plan to sprinkle that peel with cornmeal, stretch that dough and then slide that pie onto that stone.

Lobster, Shrimp & Scallop Scampi Pizza

Enough pizza dough for two 14" to 16" pizzas

For the scampi:

2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs sweet butter (unsalted)
4 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 lb. raw shrimp (shelled and deveined)
1/2 lb. of raw bay scallops
1/2 lb. of cooked lobster (shelled and cut into bite-sized chunks)

Place a small sauce pan over a medium flame. Add the olive oil and butter. When the butter is melted, add the garlic and sauté until the garlic softens. Be careful not to brown or burn the garlic or it will become bitter.

Add the red pepper flakes and stir for a few moments. Add the shrimp and scallops and cook until half-done (just beginning to whiten).

Remove from heat, add the lobster pieces and be sure to stir the mix until everything is well coated. Strain the scampi sauce into a bowl, DO NOT DISCARD THE SCAMPI SAUCE! Place the lobster, shrimp and scallops in the fridge until needed. Allow the scampi sauce to cool while you prepare the other ingredients and wait for the oven to come to temperature.


For the pizza sauce:

2 cups grape tomatoes
The reserved scampi sauce
2 pinches of oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the grape tomatoes, scampi sauce and oregano in a food processor and chop until you have a moderately chunky sauce.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix it a little and adjust seasoning to your preference. Set aside while you prepare other ingredients and wait for the oven to come to temperature.


For the pizzas:

Cooking spray (Pam® or something similar)
1/4 cup parmigiano-reggianno cheese (grated)
Trader Joe's® Quattro Formaggio cheese blend (shredded parmesan, asiago, fontina and provolone)
1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup of chopped fresh basil
Extra virgin olive oil (for drizzling)

Stretch a dough ball to a 16" to 18" disc and place it on your cornmealed peel. I'm not going to go into dough stretching here because it is a learned thing and there are a variety of methods, each with its proponents, each for good reason. Do a little research and practice a bit. Don't plan on a perfectly round pizza all the time!

Spray a thin layer of cooking spray over the stretched dough.

Spread half of the pizza sauce mixture evenly over the stretched dough (if it seems like you don't need half, that's okay, just use what you need).
Sprinkle a little of the basil and parsley evenly over the pizza (reserve most of the basil and parsley for when the pizza comes out of the oven).

Sprinkle half the parmigiano-reggiano evenly over the the pizza.

Distribute half the lobster, shrimp and bay scallops on the pizza (try to avoid putting too much in the center of the pizza).

Distribute half the shredded cheese blend over the pizza. It is important to remember to keep most of the cheese out of the middle of the pizza. As it melts it will tend to gather toward the middle anyway.

Place the pizza in the oven until it is slightly browned on the bottom and the cheese is bubbly (8 to 12 minutes). Remove, add additional basil and parsley to taste, drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil, allow to cool for about 5 minutes, slice and serve.

Make a second pizza with the remaining ingredients.

EAT! NOM, NOM, NOM, NOM...

Review: Dr. Gonzo's World Famous Peppermash

My good friend in the absurd, 4Rilla Neil Foisy popped in the other night with more products from his favorite condiment purveyor Dr. Gonzo's Uncommon Condiments. You may remember my enthusiastic reaction to my last experience with some of the good doctor's product. That was my review of his Jalapenomash which is very near and dear to my heart. It's just not Mexican, Tex-Mex or Southwestern food for me now without some Jalapenomash on the table or in the salsa. It's not a fish taco without Dr. Gonzo's Jalapenomash!

This time 4Rilla Foisy brought Peppermash which is one of Dr. Gonzo's best selling products. The good doctor describes his World Famous Peppermash thusly:

"Our seasonal best seller. Yep, this is our original all natural hot pepper relish with the patent pending three to six minute burn time... …using a fine blend of Jalapeno and Cherry peppers, this product has heat with a whole lot of taste. Since we add no fillers, fluff or any unnecessary stuff, what comes out of the fields goes straight into the jar."

I like that "no fillers, fluff or any unnecessary stuff" line, it is pretty appealing given the ever-growing list of nonsense that "food" companies are putting in their products. It's good to know the good doctor doesn't. I hope this trend continues!

So, what do I think of Dr. Gonzo's Uncommon Condiments Peppermash? I love it. What the Jalapenomash does for the Mexican and Tex-Mex food, the Peppermash does for Portuguese, Italian and other foods. By coincidence the night 4Rilla Foisy came over for dinner I was preparing some João Grandes which I usually add a little Tabasco Sauce to just before eating. Neil and I both thought the chourico and chip João Grande sandwiches were the perfect thing to try some Peppermash on. So we added generous amounts of it to our sandwiches. We were not disappointed! It was great! The next evening I added some Peppermash to a Thai Mango Curry I was preparing and the results were equally impressive. Straight up, every product I've tried of Dr. Gonzo's is quality stuff. I haven't even reviewed his Moose River Adirondack Blackfly Mustard which I also love on my turkey sandwiches!
Sometimes people mistake my passion for exaggeration, so I want to be clear. I am a fan of Dr. Gonzo's Uncommon Condiments. I use them and I think they are great. I am not paid to write these reviews and these products come from a friend who lives near the shop, not the good Doctor himself (which would be fine with me, by the way!). My only regret regarding Dr. Gonzo's products is that my dad passed away before I ever learned of them. My dad made a mean hot crushed pepper and he would have loved the good doctor's products.

All passion and no exaggeration: Buy them, try them, you will not be disappointed. If you are, I'll take the leftovers.

Review: The Providence and Rhode Island Cookbook: Big Recipes from the Smallest State

Linda Beaulieu, an award-winning food and travel writer does a hell of a good job with "The Providence and Rhode Island Cookbook: Big Recipes from the Smallest State" (Globe Pequot). In the cookbook she tackles the multi-cultural masterpiece that is Rhode Island cuisine and she often does it wonderfully with great background stories and historical references. Any Southern New England resident or long-term visitor to the area will be very satisfied with the selection of recipes she has assembled here.

Within the generous 272 pages of The Providence and Rhode Island Cookbook you will find a host of regional delectables including: jonnycakes, quahog chowder, Italian wedding soup, grinders, Olneyville wiener sauce, caldo verde, creton, dynamites, strip pizza and many, many others. A homesick Rhode Islander could keep themselves busy all Autumn and Winter cooking and devouring the recipes in this book.

That's not to say The Providence and Rhode Island Cookbook is perfect. There are no color photos and most of the recipes have no accompanying photographs at all. Also, folks in the communities of East Providence and other parts of East Bay will surely note the absence of many popular Portuguese dishes. You'll find no chourico and peppers or "Portuguese soup"* recipes in The Providence and Rhode Island Cookbook. Also, one glaring error called for the addition of "chorizo" to give a quiche a "Portuguese flavor". Sorry, Mrs. Beaulieu but chorizo is Spanish and chourico is Portuguese and they are quite different. Local people will come to fisticuffs regarding that kind of inaccuracy!

None of those are deal breakers though. When considering the abundant information and recipes she does supply, Linda Beaulieu's The Providence and Rhode Island Cookbook should be issued to all life-long Rhode Islanders leaving the state and all restaurant professionals and food service students entering it. If you're into the local flavor of not only Rhode Island but the Southcoast of Massachusetts as well, this book will not disappoint you.

*The Providence and Rhode Island Cookbook includes a recipe for "caldo verde" which is a Portuguese soup, but should never be confused with the far more popular, rustic blend of chourico, meat and potatoes known ubiquitously as "Portuguese Soup".

Recipe: João Grande (Chourico and Chip Sandwiches)

All cultures have fast food. Here in the USA we have more than our share. The selections are endless and the icons of the industry are omnipresent. Names like the "Big Mac" and "The Whopper" are synonymous with fast food around the world let alone just here in the states. That got me to thinking what our local Portuguese equivalents might be.

We have a decent variety of Portuguese fast foods, Principally among them are Portuguese-style steak sandwiches and chourico sandwiches. Having covered Portuguese steak sandwiches in previous posts I figured it was time to focus my attention on another local favorite: The chourico sandwich.

Chourico sandwiches come in many incarnations. There are ground chourico sandwiches, chourico and pepper sandwiches, chourico and sauce sandwiches, chourico and egg sandwiches, chourico hot dogs, chourico burgers, chourico EVERYTHING! Chourico is a ubiquitous part of our local food culture. Chourico is food religion in Southern New England. Why? Because EVERYTHING IS BETTER WITH CHOURICO!

What I write three times is law:

EVERYTHING IS BETTER WITH CHOURICO!
EVERYTHING IS BETTER WITH CHOURICO!
EVERYTHING IS BETTER WITH CHOURICO!

One of my favorite types of chourico sandwiches comes from a great little hole-in-the-wall bar called "Billy's Cafe" in Fall River, Massachusetts. Billy's is one of those funky little places that doesn't change with the times, instead it just drags its time along with it. It is unpretentious and unrepentant. I ordered a glass of red wine there one night and I was asked if I wanted a small or a large! I can get behind that! Billy's is food and drinks their way, and their way is good.

They do a "chourico and chips" sandwich there that's great. Just good bread stuffed with fried chourico and french fries. It's just simple Portuguese fast food goodness. A couple of shots of Tabasco sauce on that and a LARGE wine or a cold beer and I'm in heaven. Check out Billy's if you're ever in the Riv. It's not for everyone, but it is certainly for ME!

I've made a few changes in my version of the chourico and chip sandwich. I butter and grill the bread a bit and I add some pimenta salgada and hot pepper rings to add a little more texture and a wider range of flavors. In keeping with the fast food motif, I've also named my version of the chourico and chip sandwich the "João Grande" (The Big John). I do that in honor of my Azorean great-grandfather: João de Lima da Ponte. As far as my Azorean Portuguese ancestors go, he was first to set foot on these shores and that at least merits naming a great Portuguese sandwich after him! It was also his daughter that introduced me to many Portuguese foods!

The "Big Mac" and "The Whopper" cannot compare to The João Grande!

João Grande (The Big John)

1-2 Tbs olive oil
1 package of chourico (cut into 1/4" disks)
Frozen french fries (enough to fill the desired number of rolls and some extra for sides).
2-3 soft torpedo sandwich rolls (sliced like hot dog buns)
2 Tbs sweet butter
1 pimenta salgada (rinsed well and cut into slices)
Hot pepper rings
Tabasco or Piri-piri sauce (optional)

There aren't many recipes this easy. If there is one trick to preparing a João Grande perfectly, it's timing! Try to have everything ready at relatively the same time. Keep that in mind when you're preparing the components!

Ready your fries for cooking. If you fry them (better-tasting) have your frying rig ready and hot. If you're baking them (healthier), preheat your oven. Time your fries to be ready just after the chourico and rolls are done.

Place two large skillets over medium heat. In skillet number one, add your olive oil. When the oil begins to shimmer add the chourico and cook, stirring occasionally.

While the chourico is cooking. Butter the inside surfaces of the rolls and place them one at a time (buttered side down) on the second skillet grill until they are well toasted. You may want to use a small plate to push them down a bit on the hot skillet surface.

Continue cooking the chourico stirring occasionally until the edges of the chourico begin to brown or even blacken a little. Remove from heat, immediately add the french fries, pimenta salgada and hot pepper rings (to taste) and toss together well.

Overfill the buttered and toasted rolls with the chourico, french fries and pepper mixture and serve plated with the extra french fries. Offer the Tabasco Sauce or the Piri-piri as condiments.

Couple these with giant mugs of extra-cold beer and make some friends!