Sausages with Cabbage, Onion and New Potatoes

You have to understand this about the South where I live in the middle of North Carolina: We just don't have wind. It's usually blue skies (until chemtrails appear) and, at best, a light breeze. But wind? Forget it. It's blocked to the west by the Appalachian Mountains. Unless, of course, it sneaks in the backdoor--which means from the east/south via the Atlantic coast which means hurricane weather. And so that's what we had for several days courtesy of Hurricane Sandy. Along with overcast skies and unusually cold weather.

People complain. But I'm in heaven.

I refer to such weather as "Michigan weather"--my old home state. All that's missing is the Big Lake itself. Of course, I love it. I want to burrow between my new down comforter and sleep forever. Or eat hot, homey-kind of food. Food that fills you up and hugs you and warms you all at the same time.

Hello, sausages!

This is a one-skillet meal. If you do your chopping the night before, it's a snap to prepare. And since I don't get home from work until after 7 p.m., that is what I've been doing.

Any mild sausage will do. For this, I used Boar's Head kielbasa. I tried others, too. And, truth be told, my favorite was an inexpensive pork sausage from my local Food Lion. In the future, I will also use a good Knockwurst. Just don't use anything too spicy that will overpower the subtle taste of the cabbage.

Once, to brighten things up, I threw in a bit of purple cabbage with the green. Not a good idea. The potatoes tinged a bit on the pink side which I found unappetizing. I also tried it without the chicken stock but noticed the difference. A bit of chicken stock goes a long way. I used new potatoes out of the can (I love new potatoes out of the can (Del Monte brand) and fresh. Either will do. For this recipe, I used fresh.

My heart goes out to the victims of Hurricane Sandy. I wish could feed each and every displaced person this warm meal.

• 1 pound sausage, cut into serving-sized portions
• 12-16 ounces shredded Savoy cabbage*
• 1, 14.5-ounce can new potatoes, drained and rinsed or about 10 small new potatoes, peeled**
• 3/4 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1/4 cup chicken stock (canned is fine)
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• salt/pepper to taste

Melt one tablespoon butter in a 9 or 10-inch pan. Briefly brown sausages and remove. Wipe pan clean. Add two tablespoons butter over medium/low heat. When melted, add onion and caraway and sweat just until onions are soft and translucent. Add garlic and stir for about one minute. Add cabbage. It will fill the pan. Using tongs and a kind of swirling motion to combine cabbage with onion mixture. When you notice the volume shrinking, add the chicken stock and wine. Salt and pepper to taste. Continue to stir/swirl a bit.

Add sausages and tuck in potatoes. Dot with remaining one tablespoon of butter. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

The cabbage will wilt and cook down to what almost looks like sauerkraut.

If using canned potatoes, 20 minutes is fine. If using fresh potatoes, you may need additional time to cook them through. When the tip of a sharp knife easily slides into the fresh potato, the dish is done. Allow to rest, partially covered, for about 10-15 minutes.

Don't omit the caraway. The amount specified is just enough to season
the dish without overpowering it.

If desired, serve with a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkle of fresh parsley and/or a dab of butter on the potatoes.

*Savoy cabbage is a bit sweeter than regular cabbage.
**If the canned new potatoes are large, cut in half. Or use a larger can and pick out the smaller ones.

I'm sure a good-tasting turkey sausage would do for the pork sausage. Replacing the liquid with unfiltered apple cider is something I plan to do in the future.

Witch Fingers

Fingers, perhaps, from the weird sisters of Macbeth?

"DOUBLE DOUBLE

TOIL AND TROUBLE

FIRE BURN

AND CAULDRON BUBBLE"

Hello, my little pumpkins! Feeling a bit haunted? Chased by hobgoblins lately? Halloween is just around the corner . . . trick-or-treat . . . a night of fright!

I made up these witch fingers at work the other day. In the Produce Department we get in 50 lb. bags of bulk carrots that we trim and sell. But not all are worthy of salvage. As I trimmed away, one reminded me of a finger . . . My imagination kicked into overdrive and this is what I came up with: witch fingers!

They're simple to make. Search for the most gnarly, rubbery carrots you can find. Look for "knuckles" and joints. If they are sprouting "hair," all the better!

For nails, I used pistachio shells. I traced their outline onto the carrot using the tip of a sharp knife then gently removed a bit of pulp. I placed the shell, pointed side down and "stuck" it into the flesh of the carrot. Then I gently pushed down on it to embed it into the carrot to form a kind of cuticle at the base.

I wrapped the ends with rag strips that I first moistened with water. Using a Q-tip, I applied red food color for the blood. I placed them in the refrigerator overnight with a damp paper towel on top. In the morning, the pistachio shells absorbed the liquid and looked translucent and awesome.

I placed mine in a miniature plastic coffin:

A few of these sticking out from the sides of a green salad would be intriguing.

UPDATE: I've now had these for almost one week and the look even better and more shriveled. Sometimes I give them a sprinkle of water and place them back in the fridge to  "bring back to life." LOL.

A Very Simple Veal Stew with Polenta

This really is a lovely dish. The veal is mild. The sauce is mild. Even without the polenta, it's delicious on its own. Or with a bit of noodles or mashed potatoes on the side which, in the past, is how I would usually serve it. But this time, I wanted something a bit "lovelier" that would complement but not overpower the simple stew. Polenta with a bit of beef broth and Parmesan did the trick.

I have made this recipe for years. I have no idea where I got it. I did a few quick searches on the Internet and found one on All Recipes, but I know that's not where I got it. Five or so years ago, I included it in a "family cookbook" I gave away as gifts. A similar recipe appears in the vintage "Antoinette Pope Cookbook."

If you're like me, you ask yourself how a simple recipe of meat, onions, a bit of garlic and tomato sauce can work. Well, it does!

Veal is not always easy to find. And, like most meats, it has gone up in price. Sometimes, a supermarket will cut up veal it can't sell into "stew meat" at a lower price. That's the time to snatch it.

I had intended to make the polenta in advance so it could "set up." I thought I'd slice it and give it a quick sear in a pan. But "loose" seemed the way to go. 

Rosemary can be overpowering, so be careful. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Plate #2 in a series of six that I painted many, many years ago.

Serves 2-3. Easily Doubled

• 1 lb. veal stew meat, patted dry
• 6 tablespoons tomato sauce (canned is just fine)
• 1/4 cup dry, white wine
• 1-1.5 cups diced onion
• 2 medium cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1, 3-inch rosemary frond
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil/butter

Melt a bit of butter and olive oil in a skillet. When sizzling, add the veal and brown. Remove from pan and set aside. You may to do this in two batches. It's not necessary to cook the veal all the way through.

Add onion to skillet and cook just until they begin to soften a bit. Add the garlic. Stir until fragrant. Add the tomato sauce and wine. Add a bit of salt but more pepper. Add the thyme. Reduce to low and simmer for about 1.5-2 hours, covered. About thirty minutes before serving, add the rosemary sprig.

POLENTA

• 1.5 cups beef broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup polenta (I use Red Mill)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons fresh-grated Parmesan cheese
• Pepper
• Smoked paprika (optional)

Bring beef broth, water and salt to a boil. Using a whisk, slowly whisk in the polenta and lower heat to medium. Stir for 15 minutes until thick. Hold the whisk firmly while stirring. The easiest way to do this is to make a fist and insert the handle into it. This gives you more leverage without tiring your hand.

I have to say . . . I do love plain old McCormick black pepper.

Remove from heat and stir in butter and pepper. Add cheese and stir until melted and incorporated. Pour into a lightly buttered/oiled small loaf pan. At this point, I lightly sprinkle a bit of smoked paprika on one half. Cover with cling wrap and allow to "set." You can make this ahead and refrigerate. When ready to serve, slice and fry in a bit of olive oil just until warmed through.

This will make more polenta than you need for this recipe of veal stew. I like the paprika half to use with the stew. The other half I will slice for leftovers.

Yep, I licked the plate!

Pasta with Italian Sausage, Mushrooms, Spinach and Sage

The days are shorter; the nights, cooler. Salad days are waning. Melons are disappearing from grocery-store shelves and farm stands. It's the season of chrysanthemums, monarch butterflies, school buses and summer memories.

When I have a hectic schedule, which means eating on the run, I reach the point to where I just want a good, filling, home-cooked meal. And one that re-heats easily for leftovers. Pasta always feeds those requirements.

Here, it is summoned with Italian sausages, spinach, mushrooms and earthy sage in a velvety and garlicky sauce that nourishes the most basic of hungers. And more.

Some tips about pasta dishes: it is imperative "to taste as you go." Salt a little at a time as you go through the recipe. Many pasta dishes can be bland, even with the brightest and most savory of ingredients, without the distillation of salt. Allow the dish to rest so the pasta can absorb the flavors and to allow the starches to thicken the sauce. As such, always keep a bit of the pasta water on hand or some extra stock to add as needed.

For this recipe, I used Johnsonville Italian sausages, three hot and three mild. I ended up using all but 1/4 cup of a 14.5 ounce can of chicken stock. Add the stock gradually to give the recipe time to absorb and thicken.

• 1 lb. (about) Italian sausages (I used six links, hot and mild)
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 2 cups chopped mushrooms
• 3 cups lightly-packed fresh spinach leaves
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
• 20 fresh sage leaves, rough-chopped
• Red pepper flakes, just a pinch
• 1 cup cream
• 1, 14.5 oz. low-sodium chicken stock 
• 10 oz. linguine or spaghetti 
• 1/2 cup (or more) Reggiano Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• Salt
• Olive oil
• Butter

Bring to the boil a large pot of salted water.

In a large pan, fill with water just to cover sausages. Simmer about ten minutes. Remove to cool. Add the sausage water to the pot of pasta water. When sausages are cool enough to handle, slice into pieces. Add a bit of oil to the pan and cook sausage pieces just until brown. Remove.

Add a bit of oil and butter to the pan. Add the onion and cook until soft and just beginning to brown. Add the mushrooms and cook until they begin to reduce. Add the garlic and sage and stir just until fragrant. Salt to taste.

Add the cream and about one cup of the chicken stock. Simmer on low until it begins to thicken a bit. Add the sausage and allow to simmer. Taste and add more chicken stock/salt/garlic if needed, remembering that the pasta will mellow your sauce. At this point, I add a pat or two of butter. Last, add the fresh spinach and stir until wilted. Cover to keep warm.

Cook the pasta. Drain. Add the pasta to the pan, a little at a time. Mix with two forks. Add grated cheese and mix. If necessary, add a bit more stock as pasta absorbs the liquid. Also, taste for salt. Pasta can take quite a bit of salt.

Plate. Garnish with additional sage leaves. Serve. Enjoy!

Yes. I made the dish. The design is based on an Ojibway design I copied
from the Chicago Art Institute. I have six plates, different colors.

Notes: I used up a lot of leftover pasta for this recipe, including whole-wheat spaghetti. I'll do that again since I liked the visual play of textures. Add the thicker pastas to the boiling water first, then the thinner a minute or two later.