Orange Lies Matter Inauguration Casserole

A peaceful transfer of power is at the core of our American democracy, and everyone should respect it.  But that doesn't mean we can't have just a bit of fun appreciating some of the protester's signs at the post inauguration rally in Philadelphia.  I designed this casserole inspired by one good sign "Orange Lies Matter" and offer a sarcastic crunch of a Cheetos crust to chew on.

Something different, maybe slightly unhealthy - but in certain ways alluring.  Possibly dangerous in regular quantities, perhaps.  The new administration?
1/2 lb penne pasta
1 lb broccoli flowerets
1 lb bulk Italian sausage

Cheese sauce:
1 Tbsp canola oil plus 2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 lb orange sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 lb Monterrey Jack cheese

10 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cups crispy Cheetos

Preheat oven to 375F. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil for the pasta in a medium pot. Salt generously. When pasta is just becoming al dente, add the broccoli and cook 2 more minutes. Drain well and return to pot.

Meanwhile, brown the sausage well in a large skillet.

While the sausage browns make the cheese sauce by melting the butter in the oil in a sauce pan. Add the flour and whisk together, cooking about 3-5 minutes. Whisk in the milk and mustard and bring to a gentle boil to thicken. Grate half the cheddar and half the Monterrey Jack cheese and whisk into the cheese sauce until melted. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.

When the sausage is browned, tip it into a large oiled 9x13-inch (or two smaller) casserole. Add the mushrooms to the skillet and let them brown up nicely, about 5-8 minutes.

Add two thirds of the sauce to the pasta and broccoli, and layer the pasta over the sausage.

Cube the remaining cheese and mix with the mushrooms in a bowl.

Layer the mushroom mixture over the pasta and cover with the remaining one third of sauce. Top the casserole with Cheetos.

Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly.  Makes 1 large or 2 medium casseroles.  Serves 6.

Protestors exercising their freedom in Philadelphia the day after Inauguration day, 2017

Beef and Chorizo Soup

Here's a soup with the richness of beef and whole grain of wheat and rice. Like a good beef and barley soup, this one is very much balanced with veggie and grain.  A weekend soup to last the whole week.
2 lb chuck roast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tsp crushed dried red chili flakes

4 carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch lengths (about 4 cups)
2 medium onions, peeled and diced, about 2 cups
4 stalks celery, sliced, about 2 cups

3 links fresh chorizo, about 2/3 lb, cut up into 1/2-inch pieces
1 Tbsp rosemary, crushed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
2 quarts water
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup whole wheat (soft)
1/2 cup sweet black rice
2 Russet potatoes, peeled and diced 3/4-inch
1 5-oz bag collard greens, or baby kale

Heat a dash of canola oil in a large soup pot until just about smoking. Add half the beef cubes and brown the first batch on all sides, about 5-8 minutes.

Season lightly with salt and pepper. Set first batch aside and repeat for the second batch. Set beef aside.

Add the carrots, onions and celery to the pot with a dash olive oil. Sauté the veggies for about 8-10 minutes, until slightly softened and caramelized.

Add the red pepper flakes and cook another 1-2 minutes. Remove veggies to bowl with beef.

Add the chorizo to the pot with a dash of olive oil, if necessary. Brown the chorizo on all sides.

Add the rosemary and garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes. Add the drained tomatoes and increase the heat to high.

Bring the mixture to an active sizzle and let the tomatoes darken and caramelize a bit - this really adds flavor. Cook about 3-5 minutes.

Return the beef and veggies to the pot along with the water and Worcestershire, reserved tomato liquid and any bits of reserved beef pan drippings you might have frozen for soups. Bring to a gentle boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook about 45 minutes, stirring every once in a while.

Now add the wheat and the rice and return to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook about 30 minutes.

Finally, add the potatoes and the greens and cook another 15-20 minutes.

Check for seasoning and doneness.

Serves 8.

Cook's Note:  I used soft whole wheat, which cooks faster than darker brown hard whole wheat by about 2X.  I am sure you could use the latter, just extend the cooking times.

Chicken Sausage and Shiitake Risotto

Cool weather rolling in - warm up with a steaming bowl of creamy risotto.  Risotto is an opened book - write your own words.  Here I'm using chicken and artisanal chicken sausage coupled to the deep umami of shiitake mushrooms.   And peas at the very end for pizzaz.

The result depends so much on the chicken broth you use, since a risotto uses 2-3 times the amount of liquid than a regular rice dish.  Buy the best, or better yet make your own.  Just watch the salt content as it all cooks down and concentrates.
1 quart chicken broth

3 Tbsp butter
1 dozen shiitake mushrooms, finely diced
1 artisan chicken sausage, diced (I used Aidell’s chicken and apple sausage)

1 cup short grain Arborio risotto rice
2 cups cooked chicken, diced
1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Heat the chicken broth just under boiling and keep warm on the stove, covered. Melt the butter in a 4 quart pot. Add the mushrooms and sausage brown them well, about 5 minutes. Add the rice to the mushroom mixture and toast the rice for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously.

Now start ladling broth into the rice, one ladle at a time. Stir after each ladle continuously, until the broth is absorbed enough so that the spoon just leaves a trail behind it. Then add another ladle and repeat. After about half the broth has been incorporated, add the chicken to the rice, and continue with the broth additions.

The risotto should be becoming nice and creamy at this point. Add the peas. Test the doneness every once in a while. The rice grains should be al dente but cooked through. Keep adding broth until you achieve this creamy, but al dente consistency. If you run out of broth, add a bit of water if you need more liquid still to assure a creamy consistency.

When the rice is al dente and creamy, add the parmesan cheese and only then adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Serves 4.

Pasta Primavera with Fresh Mozzarella

There are so many great sausages out there these days, and even a small amount can flavor up a nice veggie-filled pasta primavera dish.  Here, now as always, I am combining a smaller amount of pasta with a bigger amount of veggies.  Add those veggies you really like and use your favorite sausage, but only as a flavoring agent - not the source of protein.

Here I used Adelle's chicken and apple sausage.  And I am using the technique my sister-in-law Julie, taught me, to toss the primavera at the last minute with fresh mozzarella.  Stringy and yum.
8 oz favorite pasta
4 cups broccoli floweretts
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
2 links favorite sausage, sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1-2 fresh ripe tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 lb fresh mozzarella, diced
8-10 fresh basil leaves, julienned
palmful fresh parsley, minced

Brown sausage in a large skillet in a dash of olive oil, about 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Salt generously and add the pasta. Cook until just al dente.

Add broccoli and pepper slices to sausage and continue cooking another 5 minutes, until the broccoli is only just crisp tender. Add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes. Lower to simmer.

When pasta is cooked, drain. Add broth to sausage/veggie mixture and bring to a boil. Fold in the pasta and tomatoes and mix well.

Fold in the fresh mozzarella and basil leaves.

Garnish with fresh parsley.

Serves 4.

Cajun Fried Rice

I always feel there is something asian about fried rice - I was brought up chowing down on roast pork fried rice from our local Chinese take-out, and never looked back.  I make it all the time - one of my staples.  But I vary it a lot as I have traveled, and found variations like those native to New Orleans.

The cajun trinity of celery, onion and green pepper are complemented here with a good dose of cabbage, because I like LOTS of veggies in my fried rice (and anyway, asians would approve, I think).  And Worcestershire sauce - so characteristic of Cajun cuisine - understudies for soy sauce.  Cajun andouille sausage of course takes center stage, allowing pork a night off.

Don't ask what pork and soy sauce are doing together tonight...  But in my opinion, the chop sticks still should usher in the show.
1 onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 orange pepper, diced
1/2 small cabbage, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ground cumin
dash red pepper flakes
8-inches (2 links) smoked cajun andouille sausage, diced
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
favorite hot sauce
2 green onions, sliced

1 cup white or brown rice

Cook rice according to package directions. When done, fluff gently with a fork. Turn rice out into a sheet pan and allow rice to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, sauté the veggies together in a late skillet in a dash of canola oil. Add garlic, cumin and red pepper flakes and allow to cook another few minutes until garlic is fragrant.

Allow the veggies to brown up a bit to caramelize, but maintain a crisp-tender structure. While the veggie brown, add the sausage to another skillet with a dash canola oil and brown sausage up nicely.

Add sausage to veggies. Then add rice to veggie mixture and toss gently.

Add the worcestershire sauce and dashes of hot sauce to taste.

Serve on plates garnished with green onion and black toasted sesame seeds if desired.

Serves 4.

Pacific Heights Swiss Chard Sausage and Bean Soup

During a recent visit to San Francisco, we were fortunate to have two outstanding (and famous) Boulangeries and Patisseries on either side of our BNB apartment. Combined with the superb groceries at Mollie Stone's on California Street, we had a fast, superb welcome dinner "In" at the apartment.

Welcome to San Francisco.  One of the most cosmopolitain cities I know.
1 lb uncased Italian sausage (I used hot)
1 can Navy or small white beans, rinsed and drained
1 bunch swiss chard (I found rainbow, nice), rinsed
1 large or 2 small leeks, trimmed, clewed and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
dash red pepper flakes to taste
1 quart chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine

Crumble and sauté the sausage in a soup pot until nicely browned.

Separate the leaves from the stalks of the swiss chard.

Set the leaves aside.

Dice the stalks. Add the chard stalks and the leeks to the pot with the sausage and cook for about 5 minutes, until beginning to soften.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook about 2-3 more minutes, stirring often.

Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the stock and the chard leaves, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook another 10-15 minutes over a simmer. Adjust seasoning with salt and freely ground black pepper to taste.

Serves 4.

Cook’s Note: We had the most fantastic pair of San Francisco Boulangeriers/Patisseries on either side of us in Pacific Heights, so we had our choice of wonderful breads. Serve with your favorite bread.

I found some of the best bread at La Boulange on Pine just west of Fillmore.  Every bit as good as bread and pastries I know from France.  And the proprietor of course speaks French.  How nice to speak French with someone in the good old US of A :-))

Creamy White Bean Sausage and Escarole Soup

Escarole is a great way to get your greens.  It's been used in soup in France for ages, and is a great accompaniment cooked with fresh peas and spring onions - a favorite dish of my Mother's.  But with the heyday of baby spinach and all the other great baby greens you can get at the market these days, it seems we might have forgotten this great leafy green.  I cook it up here with a big pot of Great Northern beans, from the dried bean.  This makes a nice creamy soup, cooked up very quickly in a pressure cooker.

I used a flavorful Italian sausage prepared by Zingo's, a very nice small local market I especially like.  But you could use whatever your favorite sausage, kielbasa or ham.
1 lb dried Great Norther Beans
1 tsp salt
1 lb Italian sausage, uncased
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or to taste
1 heat escarole, chopped, cleaned and drained

Soak beans overnight. Drain them and place in a pressure cooker. Cover with cold water to 1/2-inch above the beans. Add salt and a dash of canola oil. Cover and bring to high pressure. Time cooking at 6 minutes. Remove from heat and allow cooker to depressurize naturally.

Alternatively Cook beans in water just to cover in a Dutch oven for about an hour and a half, until beans are cooked through.

Sauté onion in a Dutch oven or large pot. Cook for about 8-10 minutes until softened and beginning to sweeten. Remove to a bowl. Add sausage and brown well, about 10 minutes.

Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Return onion to pot with sausage and add the cooked beans and their cooking liquid. Bring to a gentle boil and stir in the escarole.

Simmer for about 30 minutes, until the escarole has cooked down and the flavors in the soup have blended well.

I like it served with plenty of red pepper flakes.

Serve 6-8.

To Die For, End of the World Spaghetti Bolognese, and I Feel Fine

I heard an expert on the radio yesterday tell us that the Mayans actually didn't ever predict that today was to be the end of the world.

Oh well.

And I was all prepared with my last supper which would be spaghetti and sauce.  Putanesca, Marinara, Fra Diavolo; name your favorite.  Here is one of mine: Bolognese - tomato, beef and sausage.  Our son came home for the holidays and his favorite is mine - so here is something worth living for - sorry Mayan hysterics.

Since the world didn't end today, go ahead and enjoy this wonderful, warming winter meal knowing that today, Winter Solstice, actually marks the day after which daylight is only getting longer - Wahoo!

10-oz fresh mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 large onion, diced
1 lb. Italian sausage, cut up
1 lb ground beef (preferably grass-fed)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp herbes de Provence (or Italian herbs)
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 32-oz can crushed tomatoes
2 14.5-oz cans petite diced tomatoes
1/3 cup red wine
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup cream sherry

Heat a tablespoon olive oil in a 4 qt soup pot.  Add the mushrooms and turn heat to high.  Cook the mushrooms, stirring often, until they release their water, dry up and begin to brown nicely.  Once browned, set aside in a large bowl. 

In the same pot, sauté the onions over medium heat in a bit of olive oil, until they begin to caramelize, about 10 minutes.  Add the sausage and beef and cook about another 10 minutes, until the meats are browned.  Add the garlic, pepper and herbs and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Stir the tomato paste into the pot and cook to slightly caramelize the tomato paste, about 3-5 minutes. 

Add the crushed and diced tomatoes along with the wine.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well while bringing to a boil.  Turn heat to low, stir, and cook uncovered for 15 minutes and then covered for at least 30-45 minutes.  Stir every 10 minutes or so.

Frankly Great Paella

Everywhere you travel in Europe, you see sausage.  And many sausages - whether in Paella, Cassoulet, Choucroutte, or at breakfast look just like frankfurters.  That's because basically, they are.  Classically the 'Frankfurter Wurstchen' from Frankfurt, Germany, is a smoked pork sausage prized for its simple, homogeneous form and deep smoked flavor.  Served and accepted for centuries in Germany and throughput Europe, they are a common sausage, still today.

Unfortunately, here in the USA, they have been denigrated, and segregated from other sausages as inferior.  That's probably only because of some unfortunate manufacturers, but actually, there are many great frankfurters (hot dogs!) around.  Don't just use them in a bun - think sausage, and use them in dishes, but only good ones.  If you are concerned about sodium or fat, use them only as an accent, as I do here in Paella.

I love them.  OK there - I said it.

3/4 cup short grain rice (I used brown)
1/4 cup pearl barley
1 lb best franks you can find
1 leek, cleaned and diced
1 carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds (or powder)
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup green olives
1/4 cup black olives
1 dozen whole peeled shrimp
palmful fresh parsley or cilantro, minced

In a large oven-goin skillet or paella pan, saute the rice, barley, franks, leek and carrot in about 2 tablespoons canola oil.  Stir very often to make sure the rice does not burn, cooking for about 5 minutes or until the rice transitions from transparent to translucent.  Add the garlic and cumin and cook another 2-3 minutes, stirring almost constantly.

Carefully add the broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a gentle simmer, stir, cover, and cook about 20 minutes, until the broth is absorbed.  Toss in the shrimp and olives, cover and cook another 5 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the shrimp are cooked through.  Sprinkle with parsley or cilantro and serve.  Serves 4.

A Choucroutte of Chicken and Golden Acorn Squash

Dear Choucroutte, How I love thee.   Let me count the ways.

I love crunchy, fresh sauerkraut (not canned!), but I rinse it and often cook with a bit of white wine to mellow it, as they do in France. I love green Cerignola olives, which are mild whole green olives (normally sold with pits).  Unlike the bottled green stuffed olive, which is generally too briney, this is a mild, firm olive - so satisfying and light. Now is the season for winter squash and I love every kind I can get my hands on.  I do not peel the acorn squash as you can eat the skin, but many still pull off the skin on the plate.  I love thinly-slice Yukon gold and sweet potatoes simmered in a briney, winey chickeny broth - so soft and tender.

Oh and I love sausage.  So there.


1 large sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced
2 large Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 large leek, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 lb package fresh sauerkraut, rinsed well and drained
8 pieces chicken on the bone, your choice of cuts
1 lb chicken and apple sausage, or sausage of your choice
1 golden (or green) acorn squash, cleaned and sliced
1/4 cup good green olives
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tsp Herbes de Provence

Preheat oven to 375F.  Oil a large baking dish.  Layer the potato slices on the bottom.  Salt and pepper generously.  Scatter the leaks and then the sauerkraut on top.  Place chicken pieces  on top of kraut.  Top with acorn squash and scatter with sausages and olives. Pour wine about the dish.  Season with herbs, salt and pepper.  Bake 1 1/2-2 hours.

Rigatoni with Fresh Tomato, Sausage & Peppers with Navy Beans over Greens

1/2 lb pasta (short rigatoni used here)
2-3 chicken and apple (or other favorite) sausages, thinly sliced
About 2 cups yellow, orange and red peppers, diced
2 fresh, ripe tomatoes, diced
1 clove garlic, minced through press
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6-8 fresh basil leaves, julienned
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Juice of 1/4 lemon, about 1 Tbsp
1 Tbsp white Balsamic vinegar or cider vinegar
1 can navy beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup dry white wine
About 6 cups mixed fresh greens

Bring 6 cups of water in a pot for the pasta to a boil. 

Heat a skillet and sauté the sausage and peppers in a bit of olive oil for about 8-10 minutes.  Allow the sausage and peppers to brown and and caramelize a bit.  Add the navy beans and the wine, and cook through about 6-8 minutes, until the alcohol in the wine evaporates and the sauce thickens a bit.

Meanwhile, salt the pasta water generously, and cook the pasta until al dente, stirring often.  While the pasta cooks, toss the tomatoes with the olive oil, garlic, basil, red pepper flakes, lemon juice and vinegar.   When the pasta is cooked, drain and gently fold together with the tomatoes, sausage, peppers and beans.  Lay greens out on a serving platter.  Top with the warm pasta and bean mixture.

Serves 4.

Pasta with Fresh Tomato, Chicken Sausage and Summer Squash

 Another fine pasta dish with fresh summer tomatoes.














1/2 lb pasta (ziti used here)
2-3 chicken and apple (or other favorite) sausages, thinly sliced
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 medium yellow squash, sliced
2 fresh, ripe tomatoes, diced
1 clove garlic, minced through press
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6-8 fresh basil leaves, julienned
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Juice of 1/4 lemon, about 1 Tbsp
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup black olives

Bring 6 cups of water in a pot for the pasta to a boil. 

Heat a skillet and sauté the sausage and squash in a bit of olive oil for about 8-10 minutes.  Allow the sausages and squash to brown and and caramelize a bit.

Meanwhile, salt the pasta water generously, and cook the pasta until al dente, stirring often.  While the pasta cooks, toss the tomatoes with the olive oil, garlic, basil, red pepper flakes and lemon juice.  When the pasta is cooked, drain and gently fold together with the tomatoes, sausage and squash.  Pour into a serving dish and top with the Parmesan cheese and olives.
Serves 4.

Swiss Chard with Sausage and White Beans

1 purple Bermuda onion, diced
1 cup julienned, or grated carrot
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 links Linguica (or Chorizo) sausage, ½ lb, cut into ½ inch pieces
½ cup dry white wine
1 bunch Swiss Chard, stems removed, chopped, cleaned and drained
1 cup cooked Navy or Cannellini beans

You can use any color chard for this dish. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and sauté the onion and carrot for about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and continue cooking another 5 minutes or so, until sausage browns. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another 2 minutes or until very fragrant.

Add the wine to the skillet and scrape up any brown bits. In 2 to 3 batches, add the chard to the skillet, folding gently to combine. Allow each batch to soften and cook down, about 2-3 minutes - then fold the mixture together and add the next batch. Sprinkle the beans over the top, salt and pepper to taste, cover, and heat through. Gently toss together and serve.