Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

Broccoli Rabe made the grocery list this week because there was a 'special' going on - $4 for any 2 broccoli bunches. Yes, we are dealing with NYC prices here, so this may not sound that great to some of you. Anyways, hands down I knew I was making it with orecchiette and Italian sausage. Something about this combination goes very well together. Sausage isn't that pricey either, so you can make a big batch of this awesome dish for less than 10 bucks. I picked hot Italian sausage to give the dish a spicy kick.

As for the pasta choice, I love orecchiette. The best I've had was homemade orecchiette pasta in Italy. It is a goal of mine to eventually attempt to make it from scratch as well, but for now the store bought will do just fine.

Ingredients: Serves 4

• 1 Bunch of Broccoli Rabe, stems trimmed off and sliced into chunks
• 2 Spicy Italian Sausages, sliced into chunks
• 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup White Onion, diced
• 6-8 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup Grated Pecorino Romano
• 1/2 tbs Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (or to taste)
• Salt to taste
• Cracked Black Pepper to taste

Cook the broccoli rabe in salted boiling water for about 3 minutes. Strain and run under old water.

Cut the sausage into pieces. If the casing comes off, just discard it.

In a deep skillet, heat about 3 tbs of the olive oil and saute the onions and garlic for a few minutes. Add in the chopped sausage and toss together. Once the sausage is almost cooked, add in the broccoli rabe, some salt, and toss again. Lower the heat and cook with lid on.

In the mean time, cook the orecchiette in boiling salted water. Once it is done, strain the pasta and add it to the skillet with the broccoli rabe and sausage. Combine with the grated pecorino, black pepper and additional drizzles of olive oil. Toss until the cheese is melted and blended in.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ode to October - Pumpkin season. There is no better way to celebrate the fall and pre-Halloween than to make something with pumpkin, right? I've been thinking about making pumpkin cookies for a couple weeks now. It's the first time I've ventured into the land of canned pumpkin, but I was pleasantly surprised on how moist and delicious it made the cookies. Happy Pumpkin Season - Enjoy!
Ingredients: Yields ~36 cookies

• 1 15oz Can of Pumpkin (Libby's)
• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup of Granulated Sugar
• 1/2 cup Canola Oil
• 1 tbs Cream Cheese
• 1 Egg
• 2 1/3 cups All-purpose Flour
• 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 tbs Milk
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In your standing mixer or bowl with a hand mixer, mix the egg, sugars, pumpkin, oil, cream cheese, milk. Then add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and continue mixing until it is well blended.

Add the chocolate chips and give it a final stir so they are evenly mixed into the batter.

Spoon the batter on greased cookie sheets.

Cook for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool before eating.

Turkey Chili

Chili is one of those foods, unlike most, that the longer it cooks, the better it tastes. Making a big crock pot of chili is a fall/winter must in my household. I always make a big batch and freeze small containers for future meals. My chili is made with ground turkey breast because it is leaner, healthier, and tastes just as good - if not better - than any other protein since it's cooked with loads of flavor. The great thing about this recipe is the versatility with the protein - if you are a vegetarian just take out the turkey and add more beans and peppers. If you want to make it with beef instead, go for it!

Today, I made the chili in a slow cooker and let it cook for 3 hours, but you can also cook it on the stove top for about 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours on a low setting.

Have a beer with this! Drink the same (pumpkin) ale that you used in the recipe. I used Brooklyn Brewery Post Road Pumpkin Ale - amazing!

Ingredients: ~10 Servings

• 2-2.5 lbs Ground Turkey Breast
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
• 1 Yellow Bell Pepper, chopped
• 1 Orange Bell Pepper, chopped
• 1 Jalapeno Pepper, diced
• 1/2 Large White Onion, copped
• 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 3 tbs Olive Oil
• 1 bottle of Pumpkin Ale Beer (or another dark ale)
• 1 Can of Black Beans, drained
• 1 Can of Pink Beans, drained
• 1 Can of Kidney Beans, drained
• 2 14.5oz Cans of Diced Tomatoes
• 1 15oz Can of Tomato Sauce/Puree
• 2 Hefty tbs of Chili Powder
• 1 tbs Dried Oregano
• 1 tsp Paprika
• Pinch of Cayenne Pepper (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• Pinch of Cumin
• Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper
• Pinch of Cracked Black Pepper
• Grated (Wisconsin) Cheddar [optional]
• Dollop of Sour Cream (fat free) [optional]
• Tortilla Chips or OysterCrackers [optional]
• Splash of Apple Cider Vinegar [optional]

In a large sauce pan, heat up the olive oil and add the onions, then the garlic and let them sweat out. Add all the chopped peppers and stir with the onions and garlic.

Let this cook for about 1-2 minutes, and then add the ground turkey. Smash the turkey with your spatula to make small chunks. Once it is about half way cooked, add in the beer and mix well.

Once the beer is about half cooked off, put the diced tomatoes and beans in the slow cooker. Stir

everything together, then add in the turkey, peppers and onions from your sauce pan into the slow cooker. If you aren't using the slow cooker, just add the tomatoes and beans into the sauce pan with the turkey. Add in all the spices and cook for 3 hours on high in slow cooker or 1.75-2 hours on stove.

Serve in bowls with 1-2 tablespoons of grated cheddar and a dollop of sour cream (optional of course) and a side of oyster crackers and/or tortilla chips (also optional).  

Flourless Chocolate Rosemary Custard Cake

Should I refer to this cake as "Spiked" or "Spiced"? Well, it's a little of both, actually. I spiked the cake with red wine and spiced it up with some herbs and spices. Maybe it sounds odd, but that is actually what makes this dessert so delicious.

I wanted to make something unique for my parents' anniversary this past weekend. I've always been intrigued by the combination of heat and chocolate. I've also been intrigued by using herbs in desserts. Taking these two ideas, I invented this cake. It is a cross between a flourless chocolate cake and a chocolate custard... so let's just go with Flourless Chocolate Custard Cake... The combination of rosemary, espresso, cayenne, and cinnamon are very sophisticated and happily surprise the pallet.

PS - the cake is super rich, so a sliver will be enough per serving.

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 16oz Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1 Stick of Salted Butter, ½ Stick of Unsalted Butter
• ½ cup Red Wine
• 1 tbs Ground Espresso
• 7 Eggs
• ½ cup Granulated Sugar
• Hefty pinch of Cayenne Pepper
• 2 Sprigs of Rosemary, de-stemmed & minced super fine
• Pinch of Cracked Black Pepper
• ½ tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp of Vanilla Extract

Chocolate Ganache Topping:

• 1 cup of Half & Half, or Whipping Cream
• 9oz Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1 Sprig of Rosemary

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8inch round cake pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Warm the butter and chocolate chips on low heat in a medium sauce pan. Add the red wine, espresso, rosemary, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and cinnamon. Mix well until the chocolate and butter is melted. Turn off heat and set aside to get to room temp.

In a standing mixer (or bowl with hand mixer), beat the eggs and sugar until it gets frothy (about 4-5 min). Add the vanilla extract.

Slowly pour the chocolate mixture and continue mixing until well blended. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 30 minutes (or once a fork poked in the middle comes out clean).

Once done, remove the cake from the cake pan and cool to room temp.

In the mean time, let's prepare the ganache. Place the chocolate chips in a mixing bowl. Warm the half and half in a small saucepan with the rosemary sprig. Once it comes to a boil turn off heat and remove rosemary. Pour the liquid over the chocolate chips and whisk until well blended. Refrigerate for a couple hours to set.

Spread over the cake and on the sides. Decorate the cake with a small sprig of rosemary. Keep cake regrigerated.

Barbecue Pulled Porked Sliders

It's football season - it's fall - it's getting cold outside. Comfort food is much needed this weekend.

We were gifted a slow cooker from our wedding registry, and I've been DYING to use it - I love this thing! The first thing I did with it was make this pulled pork. It's super simple to make - the pork just has to sit in the slow cooker for hours. Once it's done you just "pull" it apart. The barbecue sauce and blue cheese coleslaw is probably the more difficult part of this meal! The barbecue sauce is made from scratch, it had a tangy, spicy taste, which goes well with the pork. The coleslaw adds a great texture and lightness to the sliders.

If you have left overs, you can keep it refrigerated for a few days, or you can be creative and make pulled pork hash and eggs for breakfast!

Ingredients: Serves about 4-6

• Pork Shoulder or Pork Butt - about 3.25 lbs
• 1/2 Can of Root Beer
• Sea Salt
• Cracked Pepper
• Slider Buns (or normal size buns)

Barbecue Sauce:

• 1 of Slice of Bacon
• 1 Bunch Fresh Thyme
• 1/2 Vidalia Onion, chopped
• 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 2 Cups of Ketchup
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 tbs Liquid Smoke
• 2 tbs Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 tbs Spicy Brown Mustard
• 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1 tsp Paprika
• Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
• Cracked Black Pepper

Pulled Pork:

Rinse the pork butt and pat dry. Cut off the excess fat. Season with lots of salt and pepper.

 Put the pork in the slow cooker (or crock pot), and pour in the root beer. Cook on low for 12 hours.

Rotate 2-3 times during the cooking process

Once it is done, turn the slow cooker off to cool the meat.

After 12 hours - shrinks about 30%!

Remove from slow cooker and place on a cutting board. Pull the pork apart with two forks or with your hands.

Meat will easily pull apart

Strain the juice in the crock pot, as we will use some of this to keep the pork moist.

Put the pulled pork back in the slow cooker and add some of the strained juice (about 1/2 cup or as needed) to keep it moist. About 30 min before serving, put the slow cooker on the "keep warm" function so that the pork is warmed up to eat.

Barbecue Sauce:

Wrap the bacon around the bunch of thyme and tie with kitchen twine. Over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan. Once the oil is heated, add the bacon-wrapped thyme and cook slowly 3-4 minutes to render the bacon fat. This will help give the barbecue sauce a nice smoky taste.

Add the onion and garlic and cook slowly for 5 minutes. Then, add the remaining ingredients and stir altogether. Turn the heat down to low, and cook slowly for about 20 minutes to blend in all the flavors. Once done, turn off heat and discard the bacon wrapped thyme.

Preparation:

Place pulled pork on your buns, and spoon the barbecue sauce on top of the pulled pork. Serve with a side of blue cheese coleslaw. I ended up putting some coleslaw in the sliders, adding great taste and texture!

Blue Cheese Coleslaw

I've never been a huge fan of coleslaw, maybe because I didn't grow up eating it, ever. Things with mayo always sort of discouraged me. Over the years coleslaw has grown on me and I've learned that it can add nice flavor and crunch to certain dishes (like my pulled pork sliders!). We initially had this coleslaw in Wisconsin, credits to Ryan's mom, and he immediately fell in love with it. In an effort to be a good wife and make one of his favorite foods, I made this coleslaw (Ina Garten's), but tweaked it a bit to be my own. I used two different kinds of blue cheese for a more sophisticated flavor, and I used miracle whip instead of mayo to make it a tad bit healthier.

Ingredients: Party Size

Left - Roquefort, Right - Danish Mild Blue

• 1 Small Head Green Cabbage
• 1 Small Head Red Cabbage 
• 4 Large Carrots, cleaned and julienned
• 2 cups Miracle Whip (one jar) 
• 1/4 cup Dijon Mustard 
• 2 tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 tsp Celery Salt
• 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1/4 lb Roquefort Blue Cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 lb Danish Mild Blue Cheese, crumbled

Cut the cabbages in half and then in quarters and cut out the cores. Slice them very thin and chop into smaller slices, OR run them through a food processor. I prefer to hand cut so that I can get the size and texture I want. Transfer into a large bowl. Add the julienned carrots and mix altogether.

In a separate, medium bowl, whisk together the miracle whip, mustard, vinegar, celery salt, kosher salt, and pepper. Add in the crumbled blue cheese and mix again. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours to allow the flavors to meld. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Pulled Pork Hash and Eggs

I made Pulled Pork this weekend for Pulled Pork Sliders (recipe to follow), and there was A LOT of pork to go around. So, we decided to make a hash for breakfast. Umm.. YUM! I will explain the pulled pork process in a separate post, but basically I slow cooked pork butt for 12+ hours with salt, pepper, and a half can of root beer. However, you can make this hash with any left over meat, like steak, roast, corned beef, or you can even use bacon as a substitute! Today, we made this with eggs over-easy (a personal preference), but you can prepare your eggs as you please - poached (a close second favorite), fried, scrambled, or sunny side up.

Ingredients: For 2

• 2 Yukon Gold Potatoes, chopped into small cubes (one potato per person)
• 1-2 tbs diced Vidalia Onion
• 1 tbs Butter
• 3 Small Cherry Peppers, (the jarred kind) diced
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• Salt and Pepper to season
• 1/4 cup Water (or more as needed)
• Pulled Pork
• Eggs, prepared as you wish

In a large to medium skillet, heat up the butter. Then, add in the onions and sweat them out. Add the potatoes, and mix them in well with the onions. Season with salt, pepper and paprika.

Mix in the cherry peppers and water. Continue stirring so that the hash is mixed well. The water will assist the potatoes in cooking thoroughly. Let the potatoes cook with the lid on for about 10 minutes, or until fully cooked through. Stir occasionally so that it doesn't stick to the bottom. Add additional water as needed. Taste for salt/pepper, add more as needed.

Add in your pulled pork (or your substitute protein) and let cook together for another couple minutes.

Serve with your eggs!