Hickory Smoked Brisket, Slaw & Avocado Spring Rolls - TexAsian Style

You all know I've been putting the new smoker through its paces since I fired that baby up for the first time. Proteins of all ilk have done a turn through various wood smokes - orange wood chips, maple chips, hickory and even peach chips have flavored the bounty my smoker has seen. Veggies - corn, red peppers, potatoes, onions -  and even eggs have soaked up delicious smelling smoke in my backyard lately. That's a good thing. 

The downside is that there ends up being a whole LOT of smoked meat leftover even after sharing with relatives, friends and neighbors (and maybe even random strangers who happen to wander by the house on occasion). Even after sharing with nearly everyone I can think of, there's still a hefty portion to use up. 

Sandwiches were made with orange smoked chicken - both hot and cold. My mojo smoked turkey turned into hash. With hickory and maple smoked brisket there were quesadillas and nachos to create, smoked eggs became chipotle kissed deviled eggs and smoked corn was cut from the cob, sauteed in butter with chile powder and sweet red peppers, then finally graced with a generous shredding of cheddar that melted into gooey goodness. 

We've all done most of the above, haven't we? New horizons for precious surplus smoky meats needed to be conquered. What new smoky deliciousness could delight both taste buds and a sense of adventure? How about an Asian spring roll with a Texas twist? And so, the hickory smoked brisket spring roll with pickled slaw, red pepper, purple onion, avocado and cilantro with a sweet tart orange and tamari dipping sauce was born.   

Hickory Smoked Brisket, Slaw & Avocado Spring Rolls - TexAsian Style

• 12 rice paper spring roll wrappers 
• 12 slices hickory smoked beef brisket (Don't have home smoked brisket? Buy some at the deli!)
• 12 very thin slices raw red bell pepper
• 12 very thin slices raw purple onion
• 12 thin slices avocado
• packaged coleslaw mix
• pickle brine from a jar of your favorite sweet or dill pickles - I used Famous Dave's Spicy Pickles (nice sweet dill pickle with a KICK!) ALWAYS keep your pickle brine when you finish a jar of pickles to make quick pickles. Besides slaw mix, I pickle thinly sliced carrots, red peppers, cucumbers, tiny green beans, thin asparagus spears, onions...just about anything! Don't have pickle brine? Use the brine and keep the pickles in another container and when the slaw is done, put the brine and the reserved pickles right back in the jar!
• fresh cilantro leaves

• 1 C bottled hickory BBQ sauce 
• 1/4 C tamari or soy sauce (I used wheat-free tamari to make this gluten-free)
• 6 T fresh squeezed orange juice

Put 2 C coleslaw mix in a deep narrow bowl and drain the brine from a jar of pickles over top. Press the slaw down into the brine and let it sit while you proceed with the rest of the recipe. Don't throw away the pickles! Just put the brine back into the jar after "pickling" the slaw mix.

Next make the dipping sauce - BBQ sauce, tamari and oj. Set aside.

Now set up an assembly line. Find a shallow dish - a large pie plate or a 9X9 baking dish should work just fine - and fill it halfway with water. This is to soften the rice paper spring roll wrapper. Next line up the brisket and the rest of the filling ingredients for easy assembly. Also dampen a kitchen towel and lay it on your counter between the shallow dish and the rest of the assembly line. 

Starting with a rice paper wrapper, assemble the spring rolls one at a time. 

Take a wrapper and submerge it in the water, turning it until it begins to soften. Gently place it on the dampened towel. Lay the filling in the center of the wrapper starting with a slice of brisket, then red pepper next to the purple onion, the avocado slice on top of that, a pile of brined slaw that has been squeezed dry and 2 cilantro leaves. 

Gently fold the bottom of the wrapper up snugly over the filling, then fold the left side over, the right side next and finally roll the whole package up to the top. You know, just like you're making a burrito.

That's it! It's a keeping-the-kitchen-cool, using-up-the-leftovers appetizer, lunch or dinner that feels like you're dining in one of Pittsburgh's newest and trendiest restaurants. So good!

NOTE: Feel free to use any other veggies you like...spring onions, carrots, fennel, asparagus...let your imagination flow free. Just keep the veggies sliced thinly. Well except for nice thin spears of asparagus. And pickle those suckers, too, in pickle brine!

Artichoke, Mushroom, Chicken, Red Pepper & Feta Pasta Bake

Idea #372 under "400 Uses For A Rotisserie Chicken." Okay, I made that up. I haven't begun to get that far in my list of things to do with a rotisserie chicken...although, if my memory were sharp enough, it might be darn close!

This one is actually a Quickie, because the definition of a rotisserie chicken is practically instant dinner...the first night when you bring it home for a quick dinner and the multiple iterations of the leftovers, too.

Fortunately, I happened to have a few roasted red peppers from the weekend's grilled veggies and some extra baby portobellos, too. If you don't have grilled or roasted red peppers on hand or fresh mushrooms, canned and jarred is just fine. In fact, it would be even speedier. 

Once all the veggies were cooked and everything was warmed through, I simply mixed the veggies with cooked pasta, crumbled some feta in too, seasoned everything well and poured it all in the casserole dish. Into the oven for a spin and BOOM! Dinner. 

This one is easy and ready to delight the family in the blink of an eye. Okay, I made that part up, too. Not quite a blink of an eye, but pretty darned fast!

Artichoke, Mushroom, Chicken, Roasted Red Pepper & Feta Pasta Bake

• 1/2 pound penne pasta, cooked & drained (use gluten-free pasta to make this GF)
• 2 C rotisserie chicken breast, torn into large pieces
• 1 T butter
• 1T olive oil
• 12 medium-large baby portobello mushrooms, stems removed & discarded, caps sliced 1/2" thick
• 1 C roasted red peppers, jarred is fine - cut into 1" squares
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 12 oz jar marinated artichokes, drained (I REALLY like the tang of the artichokes with the creaminess of the cheese!)
• 1 T butter
• 1 t dried oregano
• salt & pepper to taste
• 6 oz feta, broken into large crumbles
• Pecorino Romano cheese, just a little freshly shredded to finish the dish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a shallow casserole dish with cooking spray.

In a skillet, melt butter and olive oil. Add sliced mushrooms and garlic; cook until mushrooms begin to wilt down. Add the red peppers and drained artichokes to the skillet and mix well. Let everything warm before adding the chicken to the skillet, too. 

In a large bowl, mix cooked pasta and the contents of the skillet. Add the additional tablespoon of butter, the oregano, salt & pepper and feta. Mix gently and thoroughly. Pour into prepared casserole dish.

Bake for 30 minutes, grate a little pecorino romano over the top and bake another 15 minutes until the grated cheese is melted. Serve with a green salad.

NOTE: One half of the full chicken breast made 2 C...those Costco rotisserie chickens are HUGE! We'd already enjoyed the thighs and wings the first night, just used half of the breast meat for this casserole...you know what that means, don't you? Chicken salad for lunch tomorrow! Mmmmm.

Also, I kept the veggie and chicken pieces large because penne is a larger pasta. If you choose to use a smaller pasta, feel free to cut the chicken and veggies smaller. Proportion!

Eggplant Parm Grilled Cheese Supreme

Sometimes there's nothing quite like a sandwich for dinner. Now I'm not talking about a PB&J on squishy Wonder Bread or even baloney and a square slice of American "cheese" straight from the cellophane (not to diss the cheese...unless, of course, we're talking Velveeta) with a smear of Miracle Whip. Nope, I'm talking about a favorite Italian entree turned into a glorious grilled cheese sandwich. The Eggplant Parm Grilled Cheese Supreme.

What makes this grilled cheese supreme? Besides warm slices of crispy eggplant, slivers of roasted red peppers, bits of fresh basil, and slices of smoky provolone? Why, both outsides are finished with shredded mozzarella and double grilled to create a crispy, crunchy fried cheese surface. A frico exterior, if you will.

Costco has those beautiful little eggplants in the fresh produce section again, so naturally I bought a bag...then promptly forgot about making them - nothing new there (oops). Once remembered, I set out late in the evening to make a nice big dish of eggplant parm. I started out strong, but once the purple edged veggie slices were oven fried, I simply ran out of time and energy. Instead of cooking into the wee hours, I put them in the fridge for the night after enjoying a couple for "quality control" purposes. The next day, I had "fried" eggplant slices to play with!  

First, I built the sandwiches (and delivered an extra to my sister, Jeanie, for dinner last night). I still have slices to make into individual ramekins of eggplant parm and just to eat as a side dish with grilled chicken or a good medium rare steak. You know, I might just make eggplant slices ahead from now on...I bet it would even freeze to use whenever I wish. Ooooo...and often!

Eggplant Parm Grilled Cheese Supreme

• 2 C fresh or packaged fine breadcrumbs - I used 3 slices of gluten-free bread to make mine GF
• 1 1/2 t granulated garlic
• 1/2 t Kosher salt
• 1 t dried oregano
• 6 small or 3 medium eggplants, tops and bottoms cut off, sliced lengthwise into 1/2" slabs
• canola oil
• Pam or other cooking spray
• jarred roasted red peppers, cut into strips
• smoked provolone slices
• shredded mozzarella
• fresh basil
• Italian bread, cut diagonally into hefty 1" slices
• a good jarred marinara

First combine breadcrumbs, granulated garlic, salt and oregano in a plastic bag and shake until well mixed. Set aside. 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Using 2 baking sheets, pour enough oil on each sheet to just skim the surface. Spray both sides of the eggplant slices with cooking spray, then put a few slices at a time into the breadcrumb mixture. Shake and coat the slices well, place on the baking sheets and repeat until all the eggplant is coated and on the baking sheets. Spray the top sides with cooking spray to help them brown.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until all the eggplant is crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Let cool. At this point, either use the eggplant right away for the sandwiches or store covered in the fridge until ready to make the sandwiches or whatever else you may be making.

Sandwich Assembly:

Butter the outsides of the bread slices. In a skillet or griddle, put the buttered side of one slice of bread down, add a slice of provolone (and whatever more you need to cover the bread), then  a layer of eggplant (be sure to warm the eggplant quickly in the oven), strips of roasted pepper, torn pieces of fresh basil, another slice of provolone (and whatever more you need to cover the contents of the sandwich), top with the other slice of bread (buttered side up) and grill until the bottom of the sandwich is beautifully brown. 

The proper amount of shredded mozzarella to finish the sandwich.

Carefully turn the sandwich over, carefully put a thin layer of shredded mozzarella on the already grilled side. When the other side is beautifully browned, carefully turn the mozzarella-ed side down and repeat the shredded mozzarella on the upside of the sandwich. Carefully turn again and brown the second mozzarella-ed side. Be careful not to burn the mozzarella...just brown it until crisp. Remove to a plate and serve with warm marinara to dip.

After the final grilling with the mozzarella browned, crisped, and ready to cut and serve.

DO try this. It. Is. Fabulous! 

Grillades And Fresh Veggie "Spaghetti"

The good folks at Tuttorosso Tomatoes (who sent a lovely variety of products to my door) are featuring lightened recipes for spring on their website...of course using their very fine products.

Coincidentally, I recently came upon a recipe I'd never heard of before...grillades (pronounced GREE-yads) and grits. After checking out a number of recipes, I decided it sounded a lot like the Swiss steak I've made for many years only with a decidedly Cajun/Creole twist. This was something that needed to be made...and Tuttorosso tomatoes would be perfect for the recreation of a southern classic.

While the recipe I developed didn't use the dark roux used in versions I read (gluten-free issue, you know), I think my recipe is a little lighter, features more healthy trinity veggies - peppers, onion and celery - and even includes my favorite southern veggie staple....okra! (You know how I LOVE okra!) The bonus of adding okra is that it helps to thicken the sauce and adds lots of flavor at the same time.

Since the Tuttorosso promotion, Inspiralize the Spring, lightens recipes by using spiralized veggies in place of pasta, I did the same in place of cheese grits. You CAN use cheese grits instead, of course, but I found the raw zucchini and red peppers I used made for a very bright base for the tomato and beef Grillades. Hot grillades over raw spiralized veggies cooked the veggies just enough to keep them crisp, yet still brought out all the wonderful veggie flavor.

The online Tuttorosso promotion features recipes by Ali Maffucci like Parsnip Spaghetti All' Amatriciana, Pasta Arrabiata with Carrot Noodles, and Spiralized Turnip Mushroom and Tomato Risotto. Obviously, Ali is a Spiralizer master! 

Check out those and other recipes at Inspiralize Spring and while you're there, enter to win aprons, Ali's cookbook, "Inspiralized," an Inspiralizer or the Grand Prize of all of the above PLUS more kitchen gadgets packed into a picnic basket. What are you waiting for? When you're done entering the contest, come on back and make a nice pot of Grillades and Fresh Veggie Spaghetti!

Grillades and Fresh Veggie "Spaghetti"

• 2 1/2 pounds round steak, pounded thin and cut into approximately 4" X 4" pieces
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3/4 C flour (gluten-free in my case)
• 2 T Paul Prudhomme's Magic Salt Free Seasoning, divided
• canola oil
• 2 T butter
• 2 large onions, peeled and diced
• 1 large green pepper, seeded and dixed
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 C beef stock, salt free or low sodium
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
•  28 oz. can of Tuttorosso diced tomatoes
• 12 oz. frozen okra

• 2 zucchini, spiralized
• 1 red pepper, julienned (didn't spiralize well, what the heck...julienning worked just as well)

Combine the flour and 2 T Paul Prudhomme's in a plastic bag. Set aside.

Salt and pepper both sides of the round steak pieces, then shake them in the flour mixture until well coated.

Heat enough canola oil in the bottom of an skillet (or a slow cooker than browns - I use an Instant Pot that browns...LOVE it!!!!!) and brown the meat well on both sides. Remove to a plate.

Add a touch of butter to the bottom of the skillet, browning slow cooker (or Instant Pot) and saute the onions, green peppers, celery and garlic until soft. 

If you don't have a browning slow cooker, transfer the meat to a slow cooker. Then pour all the veggies over the top, add the stock, Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes, and okra over all and then gently combine all.

Cover and set your slow cooker (or Instant Pot) to high and let 'er rip for 4 hours. At the end of the time, uncover and taste, then adjust seasonings - I added another teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of Paul Prudhomme's, another tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and 2 tablespoons of Frank's hot sauce.

To serve, pile the spiralized zucchini and red pepper on a plate and spoon the Grillades over top. Unless, of course, you decide to use traditional grits! Go for it!

Bacon Crusted Upside Down Pimiento Mac N Cheese

Yeah, yeah...I know...it's grilling season when we all go super healthy and eat nothing but lean meats and fish and rainbow colored veggies and kale salads and we all absolutely GLOW with all the vitamins surging through our bodies in preparation for bathing suit season. Nobody craves those bad-for-you, but oh-so-good, carb-loaded dishes from the blustery days of winter. Nobody but me, apparently.

Mac n cheese was my downfall over the weekend. Obviously I somehow didn't manage to get my minimum daily requirement (MDR) of golden cheddar and toothsome, perfectly cooked pasta over the last few weather-appropriate-for-pasta months. So I fixed that oversight! 

Of course, it wasn't ALL that bad...there was a healthy dose of pimientos mixed in to cover the veggie portion of this show. Vitamin C loaded pimientos - the essential ingredient of the down south favorite, pimiento cheese - counts as a good-for-you vegetable, right? Whew. In that case, pay no attention to the crisp and golden bacon bottom crust. LIKE YOU COULD!

How did I get that crunchy, golden, upside down bacon crust? My trusty old cast iron skillet. I lined it with thin strips of bacon, popped it into a HOT oven, cooked the bacon almost all the way through and then poured the macaroni and cheese mixture into the hot skillet. 

Hot skillet + Bacon + Oven = Crisp, crunchy, golden crust. A few minutes of rest, once the skillet came out of the oven, and Bacon Crusted Upside Down Pimiento Mac n Cheese became reality.  

Speaking of reality, remember that bathing suit season I mentioned earlier? No worries. There's LOTS of time to compensate for the mac n cheese transgression. There are almost three whole weeks to work this all off. Ooof.

Ready to cut into wedges and serve!

Bacon Crusted Upside Down Pimiento Mac n Cheese

• 1/2 lb elbow macaroni - you know I used a good gluten-free type to make this GF - cooked al dente
• 2 T butter
• 1 T cornstarch - check to be sure it's gluten-free to make this GF
• 1/2 t salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup milk - I use skim milk, but use what you like...there's so much cheese, what difference does it make?
• 10 oz. extra sharp cheddar, shredded
• 1/2  of an 8 oz container of Philadelphia Chipotle Cream Cheese spread - yes, you read that right...my secret ingredient for creaminess. If you don't like the heat, feel free to use 4 oz of regular cream cheese!
• 1  jar sliced pimientos, drained (you know, the bright red, squat jar Dromedary kind?) 
• 8-10 slices of THIN-sliced bacon

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Take a 9-10" cast iron skillet and line the bottom with with the strips of bacon. I did mine in a circular pattern and made sure the sides of the bacon strips touched. When the oven comes up to temp, pop the skillet into the oven and cook the bacon to almost done. Remove the skillet from the oven, CAREFULLY drain the dripping from the skillet.

While the bacon is cooking, in a saucepan, melt the butter and gradually add the cornstarch while whisking. When smooth, add salt & pepper. Gradually add milk, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens. Add the cream cheese and whisk until smooth, then add the cheddar and melt completely into the mixture; stir in the drained pimientos.

Add the sauce to the cooked, drained macaroni and set aside while keeping warm.

After cooking the bacon and draining the drippings, CAREFULLY pour the mac n cheese mixture into the HOT skillet right on top of the bacon in the skillet. Lower the oven to 400 degrees and bake for about 45 minutes. 

Remove the skillet from the oven, let rest for 5 minutes or so, then run a knife around the perimeter of the skillet to loosen the contents. 

Then take a large platter - larger than the cast iron skillet - and place the platter upside down over the skillet. CAREFULLY, using oven mitts, flip the skillet and platter over and let the contents sit for a moment before lifting the skillet. You should have a beautiful bacon-crusted vision of mac and cheese on the plate. Cut into wedges and enjoy!

Not Quite Your "Basic" Stuffed Peppers

There are recipes we make month after month - or at least year after year - we take for granted that absolutely everyone makes the same. We (read "I") also assume that just about everybody knows how to make certain menu basics. Now, we Pittsburghers might consider "basic" what non-Burgers consider exotic...like stuffed cabbage or halushki or chipped ham BBQs. (Chipped ham BBQ sandwiches EXOTIC?! Bwahahahaha...maybe I'm exaggerating a wee bit.) 

Last week I actually saw a Facebook post by a pretty prominent food blogger/caterer/event planner/culinary team builder - and all round good gal - from Florida who said she was making stuffed cabbage, hadn't done so in many years (since she left Michigan), and did anyone have any suggestions for the perfect version? Did I have suggestions? Hey...I'm from Pittsburgh, of COURSE I have stuffed cabbage suggestions! 

Through the thread it became obvious that stuffed cabbage is NOT the same around the country as I had surmised. Some iterations use pork, some answering Facebookers were aghast at the idea of sauerkraut and tomato as a base for the cabbage rolls (something that I think of as standard along with the inclusion of rice), others even make a kind of sweet and sour version with raisins. Bottom line is that what I take for granted is a whole 'nother ball game to someone else. Which brings me to stuffed peppers. 

Basically, I make my stuffed peppers like my mom did except I use a little granulated garlic - something my mom would NEVER do, a packet of (shocked at this one?) Ranch Dressing mix, a touch of Worcestershire (woo-stah-sher) sauce, a touch of white wine and a few other things to give the dish a little more "character." (I have mentioned before that Mum's cooking was pretty bland...sorry Mum.) 

Regardless of the small(ish) differences, my recipe is basically the same as what I enjoyed around the chrome and Formica kitchen table in the 50's. Ground beef, rice, tomato all piled into peppers and baked. Oh, and while I normally use green peppers for stuffing, the abundance of red, ripe peppers in the fall allow me to use those beauties for a sweeter pepper and a prettier presentation. As luck would have it, both Kuhn's AND Giant Eagle had red peppers for $1.99 a pound ON SALE! What an out-of-season stroke of luck! Stuffed RED peppers it was. 

So here's my version. Maybe you make stuffed peppers yourself, maybe you don't...maybe your recipe is similar to mine, maybe it isn't. One thing I've found in life, it's always good to have options! 

(What ever happened to the stuffed cabbage La Diva Cucina made? She declared them glorious. Nothing like good ol' stuffed cabbage whether you're in Pittsburgh or Poland or even Florida! Hits the spot every time.)

Not Quite Your "Basic" Stuffed Peppers

Serves 4     

• 4  green peppers - or RED! (multiple colors look really pretty - orange, yellow, too), tops cut off, seeds & ribs removed
• 1  pound  ground beef, extra lean
• 1/2 cup  instant rice -- uncooked
• 1/2 packet Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix (Secret ingredient! Gives the filling a subtle, smooth flavor that balances the acid of the tomatoes and Worcestershire)
• 1 small  onion -- finely minced
• 1 egg
• 1 can  diced tomatoes, whirred in the food processor until chunks are gone and divided in half
• 1 14.1 oz can Heinz tomato soup FROM ENGLAND  (find this in the imported-from-England/Britain section at Giant Eagle - this is gluten-free) or another equivalent brand if you're not concerned about gluten - divided in half -DO NOT DILUTE THIS, this isn't condensed soup so use it full strength as it comes from the can 
• 1 t granulated garlic
• 1 t salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 cup white wine
• Heinz (of course!) ketchup for the tops

Mix all ingredients but peppers (using only 1/2 a can of tomatoes and 1/2 a can of tomato soup). Mix it all up VERY well.

Stuff mixture evenly into peppers and place in deep casserole small enough to hold peppers snugly (so they don't fall over). 


Mix wine with remaining 1/2 can of tomatoes and tomato soup and pour around peppers.  Drizzle ketchup over the tops, almost covering.

Bake uncovered at 375 for an hour and a half or until browned, the filling is cooked through and the peppers are soft - longer if the peppers are large.

Serve with lots of sauce spooned over the stuffed peppers and a couple of good veggies - whole roasted carrots and Brussels sprouts are nice - on the side.

Bonus pic of these GORGEOUS carrots...don't you love the speckled one?

NOTE: The amount of filling (stuffing) you need is relative to the size of the peppers. If the peppers are small, you may have some filling left over. I say PILE THOSE SUCKERS HIGH with stuffing! 

If you don't have enough stuffing because the peppers are really big, make another half recipe of stuffing and that should do it.

NOTE 2: Not sure how many peppers you need to snugly fit into your casserole dish or which dish to use? Before you cut the tops off, do a trial run and see just how many you need or just which casserole dish works best for the number you need to make. Once you have the dish and the number figured out, THEN cut the tops off and proceed. 

If you don't have a taller casserole, instead of standing the peppers on end and stuffing a whole pepper, cut them in half lengthwise, lay them down in a shallower dish and bake stuffed pepper halves just like you would whole ones. Bonus? Stretches the recipe to serve twice as many AND cuts the baking time, too.

 

Slow Cooker Italian Sausage, Chicken & Veggie Stew

Sometimes what a fast paced life needs is just a little bit of slow...in the form of a slowcooker, of course. There is nothing like coming home from a long, busy day and opening the door to the welcoming, wafting aroma of a hearty dinner. 

In this case, chicken and sweet Italian sausage simmered with red and green bell peppers, red onion, yellow squash, eggplant, garlic, spinach, mushrooms, fresh basil and a good jarred marinara sauce into a stew-like delight that I served over gluten-free spaghetti. Kimber enjoyed hers over spaghetti squash, but you could just as easily simply serve it in bowls as a veggie-hearty Italian stew.
 
When it comes to slow cooking, I like to take a few extra steps to ensure good depth of flavor. It might take a little bit longer to brown the chicken and sausage before loading them into the crock, but the difference in the end is worth it. 

Think of the difference between roasted chicken and boiled chicken...THAT'S the difference...I like to call it oomph. Then, too, I deglaze the pan with the marinara sauce and a little water to get every single smidgen of goodness into the slowcooker and, eventually, into your mouth!
 
So here's the recipe for a vitamin-rich, hearty, colorful, e a s y one-pot wonder of a dinner. What more do you need? Oh yeah...a glass of good red wine would be very nice. 

 Slow Cooker Italian Sausage, Chicken & Veggie Stew

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3 sweet Italian sausage links
• salt and pepper, to taste
• granulated garlic, to taste

• 1 small red pepper, seeded, 1/2" dice
• 1 small green pepper, seeded, 1/2" dice
• 1/2 large red onion, cut into slivers approx 1/4" wide
• 1 small yellow squash, cut in half lengthwise and across into 1/4" slices
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 cups spinach, torn
• 1 large eggplant, cubed
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
• 2 teaspoons oregano, dried

• 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce, your favorite store-bought brand
• 1/4 cup tomato paste

• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Heat oil in a heavy skillet. Season chicken with salt, pepper and granulated garlic to taste. Brown the chicken breasts and sausages until just cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside. Leave the drippings in the skillet and set aside.
 
Add the veggies to a large slow cooker. Slice the chicken across the grain, slice the sausages into 1 1/2" pieces and mix into the veggies in the crock. Any juices that may have accumulated from slicing the meats, add them to the skillet.
 
To the skillet, add the marinara sauce to the pan juices, add water and tomato paste and stir up all the brown bits over low heat. Pour over the meats and veggies in the crock and mix gently.
 
Cover and turn heat to high for an hour. After the hour, turn the slow cooker down to low and cook for another 5 hours. When ready to serve, mix the water and cornstarch together and stir gently but thoroughly into the meats and veggies to thicken the sauce. Serve as is as a stew or over pasta or spaghetti squash.

One dish dinner, baby!

Spicy Peppadew Bacon Cheese for Burgers

What's more American than a classic burger on the grill on Memorial Day? Not much. Unless you top it with that classic Southern delight, pimiento cheese!

Occasionally I develop a real craving for pimiento cheese and for the last couple of weeks, that's been the case. 

This time, instead of using traditional pimientos from the squat little Dromedary jar we all use, I had other plans. Pickled Peppadew peppers would make a nice little twist on the original recipe! If you haven't had Peppadews, they're about the size of a cherry tomato, slightly spicy and totally delicious. 

The vinegary-ness of the Peppadews countered the richness of cheese and mayo and bacon added a nice smoky, salty edge to the mixture. What a way to top our holiday burgers in style!

Spicy Peppadew Bacon Cheese for Burgers

• 4 slices thick cut bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
• 8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded on medium disc of food processor
• 1/3-1/2 c. jarred Peppadew peppers, chopped
•  1/4 c. mayonaise
• 2 T. onion, grated
• 1/2 t. Kosher salt
• a hefty grinding of black pepper

Add everything to a bowl, mix well and refrigerate until burgers are ready. Spoon the mixture on top of the burgers, add whatever other toppings you like - tomatoes, onions, lettuce, pickles - and serve.

NOTE: Have some of the cheese spread left over? Spread it on crackers! Yum. Have some peppadews left over from the jar? Stuff them with some of the cheese for an appetizer or stuff them with chicken or tuna salad - also for an appetizer. Be creative!

Tomato Smoked Chicken Soup with Black Rice

By now you know I'm not one to let anything go to waste...especially when it would make a good soup stock. Can you believe I JUST realized you can make stock from smoked chickens? Missed that boat, folks! And that error of omission was fixed on Sunday.

All the smoke-infused goodness that was left over from Sunday's Cajun-rubbed-beer-can-style chicken was plopped into my soup pot along with onions and celery (with LOTS of leafy celery tops), halved fresh jalapeno for extra kick and lots of garlic...Jane's Crazy salt, too...you know how I love that stuff. As the stock simmered, it became a deep, burnished mahogany red as a result of all the Cajun spices. The stock was gorgeous!

After the pot of stock cooled, it was tucked away into the fridge to mellow overnight. I'd planned on making a version of tortilla soup, but upon tasting the stock decided to go in a different direction. The stock stood on its own and it would be a sin to mask the Cajun flavor. It was perfectly delicious just as it was. 

Just a few veggies were needed to round it out, so I roasted fresh tomatoes, zucchini and red pepper slivers. I cooked up a pot of black rice to add a little "heft" to the soup and for the contrast in color. (Have you tried black rice? Packs more flavor and nutrients than regular white rice and is so much prettier than brown rice...I think it might make for a very interesting rice pudding!)

So here's the recipe for a rich, colorful and soothing soup to warm you in the last of the cool days of spring. At least we hope it's the last of the cold weather!

 Tomato Smoked Chicken Soup with Black Rice

Serves 6 

• 2 quarts chicken stock (approximately), from the carcass of a smoked chicken (see directions below)
• 6 Roma tomatoes, cut in six pieces each, lengthwise - I used Campari tomatoes
• 1 zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise, then across into thin slices
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1" julienned slices
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 6 large basil leaves, fresh
• cooked chicken, reserved from the stock
• 3 cups cooked black rice - if you can find it, brown or white rice otherwise
• fresh basil leaves, thin slivers, as garnish

Stock: Using the bones, skin and leftover meat from a smoked chicken (that you smoked outside and had been rubbed liberally outside and in with Cajun seasonings), put the chicken pieces into a large soup pot. Add 4-5 celery ribs with ALL the leaves and broken into 3-4 pieces each, 2 peeled and quartered onions, 1 large jalapeno cut in half lengthwise, 2 T. Jane's Crazy salt, 2 T. dried minced garlic and just cover with water. Bring to a boil, cover. Lower heat to a simmer. Simmer for several hours until the meat falls off the bones and the stock is rich and red. Cool and refrigerate overnight. The next day, first remove all the solidified fat at the top of the stock. Then remove all the meat and reserve. Remove and discard the veggies and strain the stock into another large pot. There should be approximately 2 quarts of stock.
 

Veggies: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray olive oil over a baking sheet with sides and scatter the tomatoes, red bell pepper slices and zucchini evenly over the baking sheet. Sprinkle with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Spray again with olive oil and roast until the veggies are soft.
 

Soup: While the veggies are roasting, start warming the stock on top of the stove. Add the tomato paste and basil leaves to the stock and when the veggies are ready, add them to the pot along with any accumulated juices on the baking sheet. Stir. Simmer about half an hour, heat the chicken separately. Heat the cooked rice separately.
 

Serve: Put a rounded scoop of rice in the bottom of a bowl, gently ladle the soup around the rice, add sliced chicken to the top and garnish with slivered fresh basil.
 

NOTE: If you haven't smoked a chicken, you can use the carcass of a store-bought rotisserie chicken or home roasted chicken and use a nice smoky Cajun seasoning to taste in place of the Jane's Crazy Salt. 

Chorizo, Poblano & Smoked Gouda Breakfast Strata

Merry Christmas!  

Here's a quick little post for today's quick and easy breakfast casserole. We put together a strata last night to just pop into the oven this morning...no fuss whatsover on this busy and bustling morning.   

Of course, we added a Christmas-y red Bloody Mary to start off the day right.  Cheers!
   

Chorizo, Poblano & Smoked Gouda Breakfast Strata

• 2 chorizo links, removed from casing, crumbled and fried.  Drain and set aside.
• 1 large red bell pepper, roasted or grilled until blackened all over, popped into a plastic container immediately.  Let sit for at least 10 minutes.  Rub off the blackened peel, remove seeds and cut into 1/4" dice. Reserve 2 T. for garnish.
• 2 large poblano peppers, roast as above & pop into the same plastic container.  After removing skin & seeds, sliver.  Reserve several slivers for garnish.
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, Toast in a little olive oil in a very hot skillet until beginning to brown.  Remove.
• 7 ounces gouda cheese, be sure it's SMOKED gouda.  Shred.
• 8 slices white bread, gluten-free to make this GF (I used Whole Foods Light White) or a good French bread or challah if you're not dealing with GF issues

• 6 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups milk
• 4 tablespoons butter, plus extra to grease casserole dish

• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, for garnish

Beat the eggs and milk together.
 
In a buttered 2 1/2 quart oval shallow casserole dish (or equivalent), layer half the bread, half the mixed poblanos and red pepper, half the corn and 2/3 of the smoked gouda. Add the rest of the bread, the peppers, the corn, the last of the smoked gouda and top with the crumbled chorizo.
 
Pour the egg mixture evenly and slowly over the top.  Cover with saran wrap or if you have a lid for the dish, use that - I did.  (Love that CorningWare French White baking stuff!) Refrigerate overnight.
 
The next morning, set oven to 350 degrees.  Bake the casserole for an hour or until the casserole is puffed, browned and beautiful.  Top with the shredded cheddar, bake another 10 minutes and remove.  Let stand for 15-20 minutes before serving.  Garnish with the reserved red and poblano peppers.  Serve!
 
This is easy to cut in half.  Use half of everything and make it in a 1 1/2 quart oval shallow casserole dish.  This is the smaller of the set of 2 CorningWare French White set.  The 2 1/2 quart size is the larger of the 2. 

Grilled Orange-Glazed Bok Choy Skewers

Grilled vegetables are one of the delights of summertime - okay, ANYtime!  While the veggies pick up those pretty grill marks, they also develop beautiful sweetness from some caramelization time over the flames.  At the same time, as long as they don't spend TOO much time over those flames, they are simultaneously tender and crisp.  SO good!

I fell in love with bok choy as a grilling veggie a couple of years ago when I found tender, small heads at the now long-lamented Right By Nature store in the Strip.  Oh, I've used it in stir fry for many years, but until that day it never occurred to me to try grilling this sweet and crunchy, frilly green-skirted relative of cabbage.  

The Right By Nature "small" heads were probably a good 8 to 10 inches long.  Last week I was perusing the piles of veggies at Lotus Foods in the Strip, hoping to find small heads again.  Find small heads, I did!  These were teensy, tiny, beautiful little baby bok choy...cute as the dickens!  The smallest were probably 2-3 inches long...adorable!  The "big" ones 3-4" long...perfect for threading onto skewers whole.  

Grill them I did...right alongside a couple loin pork chops and dinner was soon served.  It made for a healthy, low calorie, high fiber dinner, too!  Oh, and those teensy, tiny ones I still have in the fridge?  They're destined for the dinner table stir-fried whole.  Yum.   

Grilled Orange-Glazed Bok Choy Skewers

• 8 small heads bok choy (about 4" long, if you can't find it this small, cut larger bok choy into pieces)
• 1/2 sweet red bell pepper, cut into large cubes
• 1/2 purple onion, cut into wedges

• 2 T. orange marmalade
• juice of 1 orange
• 1 T. hoisin sauce (gluten-free to make this GF)
• 1 T. soy sauce (wheat-free tamari to make this GF)
• 1/2 t. granulated garlic
• 1 t. honey
• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 1/2 t. 5-spice powder
• 1/4 t. red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/2 t. dark sesame oil (optional)

 Alternate veggies on skewers - if you use bamboo skewers, be sure to soak them in water for an hour before threading veggies onto them (you don't want the bamboo to catch fire!)

Whisk the glaze ingredients together well.

Place veggie skewers on a hot grill, baste with glaze several times while grilling and remove when veggies are tender crisp.

NOTE:  Although the skewers are prettiest when you alternate the bok choy, peppers and onions, cooking time for individuals veggies is more accurate if you put like veggies on separate skewers.  i.e. all bok choy on one, all onion on another, etc.