Barefoot Contessa's Sausage and Lentil Soup

Winter is here, so it is time to eat warm soupy goodness. I have always loved soups, but since getting interested in cooking, i have really grown a new appreciation for them. It is hard to think I used to think all soups came from a red and white striped can or from a box!  The Barefoot Contessa's Sausage Lentil soup is one of my favorite hearty soups out there.  This is the Missenda-ification of it to make it edible in our house (and not have soup for days)

Ingredients

1 cup green lentils

1 tsp olive oil

3/4 head roasted garlic

1 1/2 cup chopped carrots

1 1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 tbl salt

3/4 tsp groutnd black pepper

1 tsp thyme leaves

1/2 tsp ground cumin

6 cups stock

2 tbl tomato paste

14 oz turkey kielbasa

2 tbl red wine vinegar

1.  Place lentils in a bowl and cover with boiling water, allowing to sit for 15+minutes.  Drain.

2. Chop up the carrots and celery.  I chop them coarsely, sto allow the veggie haters to identify them.  In a stock pot, heat the olive oil up with the carrots, celery, salt, peper, theme, and cumin.  Saute for about10 minutes.  

3.  Add tomatoe paste, stock, roasted garlic, and lentils.  Stir well.   Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about an hour until the lentils are tender.  Add the kielbasa and vinegar and simmer until cooked.

As I said before, this is one of my favorite soups.  My cousin Abby itroduced me to it 5 years ago, and it comes out every winter at least once.  She also introduced me to the idea of using roasted garlic in lieu of onions.  I have to say, I loved the sweet garlicy taste that was imparted with this switch.  This was the first time I actually roasted garlic, and wow was it easy.  I see this substitution coming up in my future.  

We enjoyed this with some delicious sourdough bread from the bakery.  I love that this is hearty and filling and so healthy.  I *think* David liked it; he wasn't totally turned off by the lentils this time around.  We easily made 5 filling servings from this soup, so I have some for lunch and some frozen for a treat later in the winter.  A little more vegetabe would extend it evenfurther.  Plus, I will admit, I enjoy having oppertunitites to bring out "Big Red".  I have never had something made using Big Red come out anything short of successful.  

Here is to some more warm soup this frigid winter!

Ginger Pumpkin Tart

I am going to admit, I am a cookbook addict. I have a few. Then people discovered I like to cook, so now I have a LOT of cook books. One of these days I need to do another purge, that is how bad they are getting. I have overtaken a corner in the kitchen....  

So knowing my kitchen love, my brother usually gets me a cookbook at Christmas. My first Christmas in Pittsburgh he have me Claire Tobinson's 5 Ingredient Fix. I admit, I haven't made much from there, but everything I have made has been great. I love her philosophy of using fewer ingredients but using good quality ingredients for those that you do use. One thing I have always wanted to make was her pumpkin Ginger Tart. No tart pan?  Solution:  buy one while in Paris on your honeymoon! So this Christmas I made everyone deal with a twist on the norm, giving them the Ginger Pumpkin Tart. 

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups crushed ginger snaps

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1-15 oz can pumpkin purée

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

2 large egg yolks

Pinch of salt 

Methods

1.  Preheat oven to 350. Place tart pan on a baking sheet (this IS actually important!)

2. Mix the cookie crumbs and butter. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and sides of the tart pan. So exciting to use our fancy French tart pan and the awesome rolling pin that came home with us from our honeymoon!

3. Bake for 10-12 minutes until set and starting to brown slightly. Remove and cool. 

4. Mix remaining ingredients (pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, and salt). Pour the filling into the crust. 

5. Bake until set, cool and refrigerate until ready to serve. Robinson's instructions were for 30 minutes of baking, but my oven took much longer. Based on problems I've had this year, I have decided my ovens temperature is off/not getting a good seal and I probably need to do a slight altitude adjustment. 

6.  Remove the sides of the pan, cut and enjoy!

Ok, I have to admit, I was super proud to have made a tart!  They seem so fancy. Thurs out, this wasn't so difficult once I had the right equipment. 

My sister enjoyed, David felt ambiguous, and I don't think my in laws liked the change from regular pie. I liked it, but meant to add some cinnamon to the pumpkin mix too. I probably won't repeat this tart, but see another in my future!!

Lemon Dill Carrots

This was my other side dish contribution to thanksgiving -lemon dilled carrots. This recipe came from a little Barnes and Noble cookbook I bought for $2.98 on the clearance rack years ago. It is small and basic but this book has earned it's keep -I have several recipes I have lifted from it. I had some multicolor carrots that I bought a while back that needed to be used, so this recipe I had always wondered about seemed perfect. 

Adapted from: Barnes & Noble Basics in the Kitchen by Pamela Richards 

Ingredients

6 carrots, sliced on the diagonal

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 1/2 table lemon juice

1/2 cup water 

1/2 tbl butter

1tsp dill

Coarse sea salt and pepper to taste

2tsp honey

Recipe

Steam the carrots until tender but firm/crisp. Set aside and keep warm. 

Meanwhile combine the cornstarch and lemon juice in a small pan. Mix until combined and add water. Heat over medium. Keep stirring until mixture thickens slightly. 

Add the remaining ingredients, stirring until he butter is melted. Pour over the carrots, toss to coat, and enjoy. 

These were quick, easy, and delicious. My critic called them A+ :).  Definitely repeatable and I loved using the tricolor carrots  they made it feel fancy!

Bacon and Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts. I remember thinking they were ok when we had them when I was younger, not really liking them, not really disliking them. They were a huge treat for my mom - not exactly something you could force on a meat lover and three kids. She delighted in getting the steam in a bag kind with a butter sauce on special occasions. 

Last year I really discovered how much I love Brussels sprouts. My go to became shredded Brussels sprouts sautéed with a little garlic and pancetta. Launched it was thanksgiving I decided to raise the taste bar and drop the health bar :). 

Ingredients

4 slices of bacon, coarsely chopped

1/2 -1 lb of Brussels sprouts

Balsamic vinegar 

Methods

1. Start cooking the bacon in an oven proof pan. More surface area is better here

2. While the bacon is cooking, prep the sprouts - wash them, rtmove anything undesirable, and cut in half lengthwise. 

3. When the bacon is mostly cooked remove most of the bacon grease from your pan, leaving some drippings for roasting. Add the bacon and Brussels sprouts to the pan, cooking on medium for about 5 minutes. 

4. Here is where it gets fun. Add a splash or three of balsamic vinegar - probably a couple of tablespoons worth - enough to really get the good bits off of the pan  toss to coat and roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 400F. I like to use the big pan because it allows me to place the sprouts cut side down for maximum roasting at this point. 

Time to get done delicious roasting going on. 

Final product:

Verdict - Seriously amazing. 3 simple ingredients - who would have thought they could taste so good?  I actually followed slightly different directions, starting out bacon and sprouts together. Because of that I wound up roasting way too long. Even mushy these were amazing. I can't imagine how tasty they will be when they are firm and crunchy with that balsamic carnelization!  Even mushy they got an A rating from my FIL at dinner. Add in a good excuse to use the fancy wedding pans -  what more could a girl want? 

Pumpkin Sones

I remember the first time I even heard of a scone. I was in high school, on a plane to Europe. I had my scone, thought it seemed such a fancy treat, and didn't think about them again for a decade until I discovered owners pasterirs. They always have seemed so exotic - something a regular girl like me could never make on her own. Most of my baking history has been cookies and cakes. However, I'm a sucker for what I believe to be a challenge.   So when I saw one of my favorite food blogs, Our Best Bites, published a pumpkin scone recipe I marked it for Thanksgiving. So Wednesday night since everyone else was traveling rather than going to the Saloon I started my baking!

Ingredients

~Scones~

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tbl baking powder

3 tbl brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp pumpkn pie spice

1-2 tsp cinnamon

4 tbl COLD butter

1/4 cup milk

1 tbl vanilla extract

1 egg

2/3 cup canned pumpkin

~Glaze~

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp maple extract or pure maple sugar

2 tbl milk

Methods

Start with combining the flour, baking powder, brown sugar, salt, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamonin a bowl, mixing well.  

Cut the butter into the bowl and break the butter up into small pieces (I did this by hand), making sure not to over mix the butter.  Chunks are good!

Meanwhile, in another bowl, mix the milk, vanilla, egg, and pumpkin.  

Add the wet to the dry and mix to combine.  I had to add a little extra flour to mine.  Next, dust your work surface with a little extra flour.  Pat the dough into a round, approximately 1 in. thick.  Cut (i used a pizza cutter) into 6-8 pieces.  Seperate them brush with milk and bake for 12-15 minutes at 350F until the scones pass the toothpick test.

Meanwhile, mix glaze and drizzle over the scones as they cool.

So i'm going to admit -- the original recipe called for cream.  But let's be honest, I barely keep milk in the house. Cream is beyond pushing it.  Even without the cream these were awesome.  I ate them for several days, warming them up for a few minutes in the oven and adding butter for consumption of the yum.  David wasn't too impressed, but he had just brushed his teeth.  The only thing I would do differently is I would use the entire glaze rather than only using some.  The glaze did get into the crannies, just like OBB suggested it would.  It gave the exta little bit of sweetness that made these shine.  Now that the guantlet is thrown, I have big plans for more scones this Christmas!  I know my sister is excited.

Daisy was really excited by my cooking, hoping I would drop some pumpkin her way.  I plead the 5th.  

Meaty muffins

Sunday dinner means home cooking. It is cold, windy, and a little snowy so after a long day we went with meatloaf for family dinner. David made a smokey cheeseburger meatloaf and I made Italian meaty produce-filled muffins for myself. 

6 oz beef-pork 50-50 mix

1/2 green onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 small medium onion, coarsely chopped 

1 egg white

1/8 cup breadcrumbs

Spaghetti sauce 

Italian seasoning to taste

Pretty easy stuff - I mixed up all of the ingredients in my melamine bowl. I didn't measure the sauce out, but probably between 1/4 and 1/2 cup. I actually used a little too much - or I just needed a little more breadcrumb binder. I split this up into three spots in my muffin tin and spooned some additional sauce on top. I baked these for about 25 minutes. 

David's meatloaf was good, mine was better. It hit the spot with a salad, peas, and some mashed potatoes. I split the three muffins into two hearty servings and am looking forward to leftovers for lunch. Only thing missing was a little cheese in the mix. 

 

Brussels Sprouts with Garlic and Bacon

Everything food cooked with garlic and bacon should be.