Sausage and Lentils

Lentils are making a resurgence not only in the blogsphere, but also in the Klis family kitchen. The very first time I ever cooked with lentils, I opened a can of them and dumped them right into some soup. Not very rustic-romantic-lentily. This time around, I gave it a better go. Lentils are healthy and filling, and relatively affordable, however the Mr. will be the first to tell you they are "bland". So when making lentils, don't be afraid of giving them pizazz. For something new, lentils are excellent when mixed with a bit rice, seasoned up with smoked paprika, and tossed with roasted sweet potatoes, but the old standby sausage and lentil combination never goes out of style. If you're a lentil first-timer, it might be a good place to start.

Sausage and Lentils

Ingredients:
1 lb lentils
1 small onion, peeled and halved
2 bay leaves
5 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 beef bullion cubes
1 package smoked kielbasa
1 zucchini
olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt
pepper

Method:

Rinse and sort through the lentils to remove any strange-looking ones. Cover the lentils with 1-2 inches of water. Drop in the onion halves, bay leaves, and bullion cubes. Bring to boil, and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the kielbasa into bite size, or whole-mouth size, pieces. Place them in a hot pan over medium-high heat, drop in a 1/3 C water, and let the water cook away and the skins crisp. Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise, then slice into pieces. Toss with olive oil, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and throw them in the pan with the sausages.

Drain the lentils, if necessary, and discard the bay leaves and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with crisped sausages and zucchini.



May I also mention that using kielbasa in this makes me really appreciate my Polish friends and their wonderful heritage of food? Oh, and my heritage by marriage (I wanted to say "marritage" here, but no one would probably think it's as funny as I do...). Yes folks that's right. Klis is the easiest, shortest, Polish name you will ever see; somehow, people still mispronounce it. I'm still working on getting the Mr. to take my name. He's held off for a good year and a half now, but a girl can still hope :)

Roasted Garlic

We are garlic lovers. And thankfully the Mr. and I are also lovers so we have no fear of offending each other with garlic breath, it's just one of those things that goes along with moppy bed hair, sharing a bathroom, and exposing each other to other fragrant bodily smells. Ah, love.

Anyway, back to the garlic. Roasted garlic is delicious-it's a treat-it's almost like candy. Even if you don't adore garlic usually, roasted garlic is worth a try because roasting it softens the flavor and makes it more subtle.

You can spread roasted garlic over bread like butter, mix it on with your veg, or toss it into a pasta like the Roasted Garlic and Shrimp Pasta below. But first, in 50 words or less, here's how to roast those little bulbs.

Roasted Garlic

Ingredients:
Garlic bulb
Olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
cut off top

peel away the papery skins, leaving only a thin covering to keep all the bulbs together

drizzle with olive oil

cover with foil

Roast 30-35 min

And now, for what to make with the scrumptious garlic:



Roasted Garlic and Shrimp Pasta

Ingredients:
1 bulb of roasted garlic
1/2 C chicken stock
1 lb uncooked, peeled and deveined shrimp
1 fresh tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 lb thick spaghetti noodles
olive oil
sea salt
lots of pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions.

Toss shrimp with tomatoes and olive oil, season with sea salt and lots of pepper. Roast in the oven 10-15 minutes, until shrimp are pink and firm.

Meanwhile, mash the roasted garlic into a nice paste.

Drain noodles, reserving 2 Tbsp of the pasta water. In the same pot, put the pasta water, chicken stock, and mashed garlic into the pot and heat. Season with salt. Toss the sauce with noodles, shrimp, and tomatoes, and serve.

Eat it all gone. We did. But we don't care about garlic breath.

Stuffed Pork Chops

Our apartment was built in 1964 and I'm pretty sure not much has changed in it since that time. Our oven, and our sink, are avocado green. So.... not really chic and modern, and not quite antique cute. Consequently dinners and desserts times are always a variable-some things cook normally, some really slowly, and some things are not good to cook in our oven at all. So if you decide to roast you and some of your loved ones some stuffed pork chops, it might take you less time and less jabs at the meat with a thermometer than it did me, which is a good thing, because this dinner could be so quick and easy-and perhaps impressive?-just keep your eye on the oven.


Stuffed Pork Chops

Ingredients:
2 Pork Loin Chops

4 Tbsp cream cheese-room temp, divided

4 slices deli ham, divided

salt

pepper

garlic powder

olive oil
optional: 1/4 C creme freche or sour cream and 1/4 tsp chopped tarragon

toothpicks

Method:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Also, prepare a heavy skillet, oven-proof if you have one, for searing by placing it over high heat.

Prepare the loin shops for stuffing by making a pocket in the chop. Starting at 1/4 in in from the side, begin cutting the pork chop in half along its side. Gradually work the knife in deeper and make the pocket larger, keeping 1/4 in between the pocket and the edges of the meat.

Once you've got your pocket, line it with two slices of deli ham, then stuff with the cream cheese. Make sure the cream cheese is evenly spread throughout the pocket. Seal the pocket by pressing 2-3 toothpicks at a slant along the opening of the pocket. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Repeat for other loin chop.

Coat the skillet with olive oil, then place the loin chops into it for about 3 minutes on each side, until crisp, golden brown.

If your skillet is oven-proof, put it right in the preheated oven. If not, or if the skillet isn't ovenproof to high temperatures, transfer the loin chops to a glass baking dish and put them in the oven. Roast for 20-30 minutes, depending on your oven. Check the internal temperature. It's tasty at about 145 degrees F, but if you're a food safety fanatic, you can cook it up to 160 degrees F. We like ours juicy, not dry and chewy, so we usually go for 145 degrees.

If you'd like, mix together the creme freche or the sour cream with chopped tarragon while the pork cooks. Warm it up , then top the pork loin chops with it before serving.

Scrumdiddily-umptious Cornbread

In following the down home theme we've had going on lately around our place, I made this cornbread as an accompaniment to chili, but since this soft, moist tasty delight is so good, I'm looking for other ways I can get more of it back to our table. I mean, corn bread tastes good with anything, right?



You can sop with it.
You can smother it in honey.
You can smother it in jam.
You can slap some ham, or eggs, or cheese, or all three on it.
You can serve it with chicken.
You can serve it with beef.
Everyone knows you can serve it with pork.

Basically, you can make cornbread anytime you want it. And all this chatter about cornbread makes me think it will show up on my table again soon.


Sweet Cornbread

recipe from Sabrina A.


Ingredients:

1/2 C melted butter
2/3 C sugar (you can reduce this to 1/2 C if all that sugar makes you squeamish)
2 eggs
1 C buttermilk (or 1 C milk plus 1 Tbsp lemon juice or vinegar, let it sit for 5 minutes before using)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C cornmeal
1 C flour


Method:
Preheat oven for 375 degrees F. Mix all ingredients together until moistened. The batter will be slightly lumpy. Pour into a 9x9 glass dish. Bake for 30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

{can you see how moist this is?! I'm salivating}

Butternut Squash and Rosemary Pizza

This pizza would be a great weekend dinner. It's simple and savory but something about just feels (and tastes!) really special. Roasting the squash takes a bit of time, but this can be done ahead of time and trust me, the time is worth it. The bit of time it takes to make this pizza is forgotten once you see how fast your hands will travel back and forth from the pan to your mouth, slice after slice.

Now venture out and get yourself some butternut squash! Winter's best pizza is coming to your house.

Butternut Squash and Rosemary Pizza

Ingredients:
1 small butternut squash, roasted and cubed
pizza dough 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
1 1/2 C. grated Parmesan
1/4 C. blue cheese
2 sweet onions, sliced
1 clove finely chopped garlic
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
sea salt
pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice butternut squash crosswise above the bulb. Scoop out the innards, then slicing veritically and downward, cut off the outer shell (similar to cutting the rind off a watermelon) of each piece. Section butternut squash and cube so pieces are all relatively small and the same size. Toss the cubes with a bit of olive oil and sea salt. Roast for 25-35 minutes, or until soft. (This can be done a day or two in advance to save time.)

Now, preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place a pizza stone or a pizza pan in the oven while it heats. Meanwhile, melt the butter on medium heat in a heavy bottomed skillet, add the onions and garlic and a bit of salt, and caramelize. This can take a while, so while the onions caramelize, grate the Parmesan, chop the rosemary, and roll out the pizza dough. Pull the hot pan out of the oven (be careful!!) place the rolled out dough on it, and brush with olive oil. Spread the caramelized onions all over it, the roasted squash, the blue cheese, the chopped rosemary, and finally the Parmesan cheese.

Pop it in the oven for 12-15 minutes.

Then, devour.

Lemon Ricotta Cake

I first made this cake for Christmas 2 years ago....and I loved it so much I sent pieces of it to our most beloved ones (our parents) for Christmas. Its so simple to make and the simplicity comes out in the flavor as well. But don't be fooled, this cake is sooo good!

It's thick and slightly crumb-y like a bundt should be, and it's not too sweet.

If you'd more depth of flavor, plunk some blueberries in this, serve berries on the side, or make a fresh berry syrup to top it off.



Lemon Ricotta Cake
from goodlifeeats.com

Ingredients:
3 C flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 C sugar
3/4 C butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/2 C ricotta cheese
juice of 3 lemons
zest of 3 lemons

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour bottom and sides of a bundt cake pan with unsalted butter or vegetable shortening. Be sure the flour is evenly distributed and not heavy or clumped.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. In a larger bowl, beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs, beat on medium for 2 minutes, scraping bowl periodically. Stir in the lemon juice. Beat 1/4 of the flour mixture and ricotta cheese alternately into sugar mixture until blended. Spoon into bundt pan, pushing more of the batter to the outside, so you make a sort of high-low gradient from the outside to the inside because the inside will rise more when baking.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes-very important! don't try to dislodge a bundt cake before it's cooled for some time. Flip the pan over, let rest a few minutes, and check to see if cake has come out. If not, gently smack the top of the pan.




Enjoy this sucker, cuz it is soooo good!!