Tag: pepper

Autumn Penne Pasta with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts In A Light Ragu

I’m busy working on my cookbook, so I thought since I’m making this tonight, I would revive it from the archives. Trust me it’s good, and if you don’t believe me read the comments!

A hearty pasta dish for a crisp Autumn day. Pasta is tossed with sauteed brussels sprouts and a quick meat ragu made light by using lean ground turkey and just enough hot Italian pork sausage to enhance the flavor of the sauce.

I know what some of you are thinking, brussels sprouts???

Trust me on this, prepared right, they are delicious!

My husband almost didn’t allow me to add them to his portion claiming how much he dislikes them. He put his fork in my bowl of sauteed brussels sprouts and quickly changed his mind. He claimed I cheated by adding all that garlic to them. Well whatever works : )

In fact, all throughout the meal, he raved about what a great dish this turned out to be. Serve this with Pecorino Romano sprinkled on top and spoonful of part-skim ricotta on top, yum!!

Autumn Penne Pasta with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts in a Light Ragu
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: about 1 3/4 cup • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 8 pts
Calories: 326.1 • Fat: 6.9 g • Protein: 15.7 g • Carb: 54.8 g • Fiber: 8.8 g • Sugar: 5.4 g
Sodium: 343.6 mg (without salt)

Ingredients:

1 sweet or hot pork sausage link, casing removed, crumbled
3/4 lb 93% lean ground turkey
4 tsp olive oil, divided
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
10 oz brussels sprouts, weight after outer leaves and stems removed
1 small onion, diced small
1 carrot, peeled and diced small
1 celery stalk, diced small
28 oz crushed tomatoes (I use Tuttoroso)
1 bay leaf
pinch crushed red pepper
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 lb high fiber, low carb or whole wheat pasta (brown rice pasta for gluten free)

Directions:
In a large, wide skillet, add sausage and turkey over medium-high heat, breaking up the sausage and turkey as it cooks into small pieces. When completely cooked through; set aside in a bowl.

With a sharp knife, cut the brussels sprouts into thin shreds.

To the skillet, add 2 tsp of oil over medium heat. When hot, add the garlic and cook until golden (do not burn). Add shredded brussels sprouts, salt and pepper and sauté until tender crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes; set aside in another bowl.

To the same skillet, add remaining 2 tsp of oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery, stirring well to coat with oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables turn golden brown, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Add crushed tomatoes, sausage and turkey, bay leaf, crushed red pepper, salt and fresh pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 30 – 40 minutes, or until sauce thickens.

Meanwhile, while sauce is simmering, put a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. Add the pasta to the water 10 minutes before the sauce is done and cook pasta al dente.

Drain and add the pasta to the skillet and toss with the sauce.

Add cooked brussel sprouts, toss and place in a large pasta bowl.

Incoming search terms:

Swedish Meatballs and the Most Under Appreciated Celebrity Chef Ever

Whenever there’s a discussion about the history of celebrity
chef pop culture, one name is invariably left out, and this Swedish Meatballs
recipe served as a reminder of that sad fact. How anyone can talk about the
pioneers of food television without including the Swedish Chef from the Muppets
is beyond me.

His frenetic energy and charisma makes Gordon Ramsey seem
like a shrinking violet by comparison. His technique surpasses Emeril’s on
every level, and if we’re just talking catch phrases, how can you even begin to
compare “Yummo” to “Bork, Bork, Bork?”

Some use the excuse that he wasn’t actually real, that he
was just a bunch of stained, smelly fabric, wrapped around some dude’s hairy
forearm. Well, that may be true, but it goes beyond that. I believe there’s
been a systematic discrimination against Swedish chefs, which has made
advancing upward impossible. I call it the ice ceiling.

Do NOT forget the Lingonberry jam!

Anyway, in related news, these Swedish meatballs rocked!
Unlike most of the recipes I post here, I’ve had little experience with the
recipe, but was very happy with the results, except for one major issue, which
I mention in the video. I broke the cardinal rule of meatball making, and used
lean meat.

Not paying attention, I picked up a package of ground pork
that turned out to be 95% lean. The horror. I might as well have used tofu.
Nonetheless, I loved the flavor, but implore you to use regular ground beef,
and ground pork with a 75/25 lean-to-fat ratio. Do that, and you’ll be enjoying
a plate of meatballs even the world’s most under appreciated celebrity chef
would love. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 large portions:

For the meatballs:

2 tbsp butter

1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup milk

2 large eggs

1/3 cup plain bread crumbs

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

pinch of cayenne

1 pound ground chuck

1 pound ground pork

*Note: you can always cook a little piece to taste for salt,
and adjust from there.

Brown meatballs in 425 degrees F. oven for about 20-25
minutes.

For the sauce:

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp
all-purpose flour

3 1/4 cups beef broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

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Duck Leg Adobo – A Real Family Meal

If you’ve worked in restaurants before, you know that every
night before service the staff sits down to what’s called the “family meal.”
One of the younger cooks is usually charged with scraping together something
filling and, more importantly, not expensive. It was during one of these
meals that I first had adobo.

When I worked at the Carnelian Room in the late 80’s, much
of the kitchen crew was Filipino, so chicken and pork adobo was a very
common dinner. One of the dishwashers made a particularly great version, and I fell in
love with the bold, simple flavors. I also remember being pretty annoyed that
the dishwashers there were better cooks than I was at the time,
but that’s another story.

Anyway, I happened to have some duck legs around last week, and all it
took was a well-timed email wishing for adobo to inspire this video. I
understand that most of you will not use duck for this, but if you do, be sure
to save the fat.

Duck fat is prized by chefs, and more heart-healthy than
people realize. It can be used for just about anything you’d normally fry
in butter or vegetable oil. I roasted some Brussels spouts with mine, but it
also will make just about the best homefries you’ve ever tasted.

Like I said in the video, no duck, no problem. If you can simmer it
in a sauce, it will work in this recipe. Because of the high soy sauce content,
be careful about over reducing, but other than that, not much can go wrong.
This is cheap, easy, and very flavorful, which is why it makes for such a
great “family meal.” Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 duck legs:

6 duck legs (or about same amount of chicken or pork)

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp reserved duck fat

1 large onion, sliced

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup seasoned rice vinegar (if not seasoned, use a little
sugar to taste)

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 tsp samal chili sauce, or other hot pepper sauce to taste

2-4 bay leaves