Almost Chuck's Sausage with Mushrooms & Peppers

Almost Chuck's Sausage with Mushrooms & Peppers

You ever have people tell you how much better their version is of one of your dishes? I live with one of them. He who shall not be named, nearly always has something to say about how much better his Sausage and Peppers with Mushrooms is compared to mine, but has yet to prove it. We've been married nearly 8 years and except for a few batches of Italian meat sauce and a few steaks, my retired husband has never put his money where his mouth is. Granted, he is a wonderful baker and is responsible for much of the extra 10 pounds I can't seem to budge,  but its all big talk.

He's told me so many times that in his dish, he uses sweet Italian pork sausage, and canned stewed tomatoes. My original version of this dish uses pork sausage, too, but never stewed tomatoes because I think they're much too sweet with the added sugar. But since I'm trying to cut a few calories here and there, this one uses chicken or turkey sausage. And in an effort to appease him, half of the tomatoes added are stewed. To play up the sweetness, I added basil and a bit of ground fennel. And it's delicious. Really delicious. Beat that, buddy.

Note: Different brands of diced and stewed tomatoes tend to have more or less juice in them. You may need to simmer a few minutes longer if yours are very juicy. This dish is gluten free, and dairy free as prepared; if you want to serve it with a starchy food, like a bread or grain, choose according to your dietary needs.

Almost Chuck's Sausage with Mushrooms & Peppers

Serves 4

1-1/2 pounds of sweet (or hot) Italian chicken or turkey sausage links
2T extra virgin olive oil
1 med. yellow onion, 1/2" dice
10 oz. sliced cremini mushrooms
1 red bell pepper, 1" dice
1 green bell pepper, 1" dice
Kosher salt
2 large garlic cloves minced
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes
1 14 oz. can stewed tomatoes
1/2 cup red or white wine
1T dried basil
1/2 tsp. ground fennel
Fresh ground black pepper

In a large, 12" frypan, heat the oil over medium heat, and then brown the sausage links about 5 minutes per side. Remove the browned sausages to a plate to cool slightly, and into the pan add the onion. paper, mushrooms and garlic, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and sauté until the onions and peppers soften.

Slice the slightly cooled sausage links into approx. 1" chunks and add to the pepper and mushroom mixture. Add the stewed tomatoes, the diced tomatoes, the wine and the basil and fennel and stir well.

Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and continue to simmer about 10 minutes longer until the tomato juices no longer look watery.

Serve over pasta, artisan bread or rice.    

Canning is Cool Again: Peach Jalapeno Bourbon Jam

Canning is cool again. At work, we have just about run out of canning supplies. I think there are just two jar lifters lurking on the shelf, and most of the jars are gone. Canning is cool again, really. Not just because Marisa McClellan's new book Food in Jars is out, but even Rachael Ray has given over a two-page spread in her July - August 2012 issue of her magazine to canning. I hate to admit it, but I think my canning pot and rack are older than either of them are. They came used, from a yard sale in about 1982, and have been dragged out each spring with the first good berries ever since. I even have gone so far as to need and use a pressure canner, too. Seems like everything comes in cycles, and canning is back.

If you garden, you'll likely have to start canning once the freezer is full. That's how I started. We bought our first home with enough room for a decent garden at the side, and suddenly there were beans and tomatoes. Lots of beans and tomatoes. No one on either Hub's side of the family or mine ever canned anything, so armed with a copy of a Ball Blue Book, and another book called "Putting Food By", I dove in. Made plenty of messes, got a few splatter burns, but turned out lots of good food in jars. I wrote copy in an ad agency in those days, and the owner's wife, Josie Renner, shared her bread and butter pickle recipe and a lot of old-fashioned canning tips with me back then. While Josie Renner is long gone, I like to think that she knows how much her pickles are still loved 30 years later. I was lucky to find a good canning mentor. Now you can Google excellent canning instructions, though it isn't the same as having a real person to help you.

This year, everyone seems to be making strawberry jam, a worthy endeavor indeed, but around here, strawberries are just about kaput for the local season. The peach season is coming up fast, though, and if your garden is at all like mine, just about the only crop with NO insect or animal munching on it is hot peppers. This jam is a triple delight; sweet, spicy and just a bit boozy. It's also quick to make, and if you are just starting out as a home-canner, it'll make you look like a real pro. The only down side is that everyone will love it so much, they'll expect it every year, so be sure to stash a jar or two for yourself.

Peach Jalapeno Bourbon Jam

Peach Jalapeno Bourbon Jam

Notes: Leave out the pepper seeds for a less hot end result, for even less heat cut back to two peppers without seeds. Some of the technique and most the proportions here are straight off the pectin package; don’t fool around with that or your jam won’t set up properly. Fiddle with it and you’ll end up with Peach Jalapeno Bourbon Syrup, not Jam. Ask me how I’ve learned this. Ahem.

If you don’t have a food processor, coarsely hand-chop your peaches and peppers, cook with everything except the pectin until soft, and run through a food mill fitted with the medium disc. Then bring back to a hard boil and add the pectin and proceed as in step 4. Won’t be as “purty” but it’ll taste swell.

Two canning tools that will make your life easier: A water bath canning pot and a set of canning tools.

Ingredients

Makes 8 half-pints and a taster jar. Nice with creamy cheese on a slab of homemade bread, or on a bland turkey sandwich, lol.

• 3 1/2 pounds ripe peaches, blanched and skinned
• 7 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup good quality bourbon
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 whole cloves
• 3 whole red jalapeno peppers
• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
• One half (6-ounce) package liquid pectin (one foil packet)

Procedures

1. Place six half-pint jars on a rack in a large pot. Add enough water to cover the jars, and boil over high heat. Boil for 10 minutes, then turn off heat and allow the jars to rest in the hot water. Bring a small pot of water to a boil, and slide in the bands and flat tops. Turn off the heat and let stand until ready to use. Bring an extra medium pot to a low boil and keep simmering.
2. Pit and coarsely chop the peaches. Place in a food processor and pulse just until just short of a puree.
3.  Cut the stems off the jalapenos, remove the seeds if you want milder jam, and then chop roughly in the food processor. You want 1/8” pieces.
4. Tie the cinnamon stick and the cloves together in a single layer of cheesecloth. Add everything except the pectin to a big, heavy pot, and cook the mixture until the peaches are soft. Bring the peach mixture to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring. Add the pectin, and return the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for one minute. Remove the pot from the heat and skim any foam from the surface with a metal spoon. Discard the cinnamon and cloves in their cheesecloth wrap.
5. Ladle hot jam into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rims of the jars with a damp paper towel, cover with the lids and screw bands, and gently tighten by hand. Place the jars on the rack in the large pot and cover completely with water from the medium pot you’ve had on simmer. Cover pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Start timing when the water boils hard. Boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the jars rest in the hot water for 5 minutes. Remove the jars from pot with a jar lifter or canning tongs and allow them to rest undisturbed on countertop for 6 to 8 hours or overnight. Processed jam will keep for about one year in a cool, dark place. Unprocessed jam will keep in the refrigerator for about six months.

Missing You: Frito Pie & Comfort Food

A good friend of mine, who spent his formative years in Paris, Texas, always resorted to making Frito Pie when he was sad or the chips were down. He isn't around any more, or I know he'd make it for us tonight. A basic chili was one of the few foods he could actually cook, and cook well, and he would make Frito Pie for as many people as were hanging around his kitchen on a bad day. That, and beer always cheered us up. It is very, very good. I miss him.

This morning, my sister-in-law and friend, Cammi, a funny, kind and feisty woman, lost her very short fight with cancer. She had so much life to live yet, that it makes me angry. We were planning to be cranky old women together. Loss. Another 4-letter word. Miss. Another one. My husband never thought he'd outlive his baby sister. Cancer is a bitch. We miss you.

I am in no mood to cook tonight; the day has been all phone calls and Chuck looks worn out. Comfort, though, is in the form of a dish of leftover chili from Friday's blog post "Some Like it Not Hot Chili" made into Frito Pie. To us Yankees, this isn't a "pie", it's more like a nacho eaten with a fork. But this isn't about us, it's about those who've gone before us and comforting ourselves as best we can.

I've just made a market run for a bag of Fritos. Frito Pie isn't really a recipe, although you'll often see it in recipe form, starting the chili from scratch. Just be sure to use Fritos. Nothing else will do.

While the Fritos are NOT optional, you can vary the toppings at will or whim. The bacon topping was the Texan's personal claim to fame.

Comfort food. Frito Pie...and beer.

The Guy from Paris, Texas's Frito Pie
Serves 4

6 cups Homemade chili (See last Friday's Post)
1 big bag Fritos Corn Chips

Toppings:
1/2 cup chopped onion or scallion
1/2 cup chopped pickled jalapeno peppers
1-1/2 shredded cheddar or jack cheese
1 cup crisp-cooked crumbled bacon
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro or parsley

Heat the chili until piping hot. Place a handful of Fritos on each dish, and ladle or spoon the chili on top. Add as many of the toppings as you want, although in our house, cheese is NEVER optional. If there are Fritos leftover, toss some on top of the toppings. Goes best with beer, iced tea and a heart that needs cheering.
6/12/12