Before Laura’s dish, here is a final description of the last recipe not yet included in the “four days of  le brunch”.  It’s all about Tram’s Banana Crunch Muffins.  You see, long story short, Tram got crunched for time and her hubby, Steve, couldn’t make it, so she brought her friend (and my friend too!) Matt. Matt is not only our friend, but also the producer of Tram’s afternoon show EVB Live, and the former producer of the old Valley Dish. Matt made the muffins, but since he doesn’t really like full-on banana flavor in his muffins, he made banana-pineapple muffins… yes that’s the short version! Matt’s muffins were a huge hit. But since I don’t have Matt’s recipe to share, I will share my “Crunch” recipe tomorrow.

Laura’s Overnight Breakfast Sausage Casserole

2 pounds ground sage pork sausage
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped green chilies
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 eggs, beaten
3 cups half-and-half
12 slices white bread, toasted and cut into cubes
1 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

Crumble sausage into a medium skillet. Cook over medium heat until evenly brown; drain.

In a medium bowl, mix together green onions, green chilies, mustard, salt, pepper, eggs, and half-and-half.  Add the sausage, bread cubes, and cheese, and stir to coat evenly.  Pour into two greased 11x7x2-inch baking dishes. Cover with foil and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours, or overnight.

Remove the dish from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking to come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake, covered, for 30 to 45 minutes. Uncover, and reduce temperature to 325 degrees. Bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, or until set.

Serves 16

Here is the first of four brunch dishes that I’d like to share with you from our New Year’s Eve Brunch. Since I wasn’t the one cooking any of these, there will only be the one picture… no preparation photos. And in some cases, as with this one, I even forgot to take the picture myself and had to ask the creator of the dish to email me the photo taken from the leftovers they brought back home – thanks for this one, Mary!  Oh, one more thing – This is my 800th Post! Wow 800!

Mary’s Sausage and Egg Casserole with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Mozzarella

1 pound Italian sweet sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
5 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 cup half and half
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.

Sauté sausage in a medium skillet over medium heat until brown and cooked through, breaking up with a spatula into small pieces, about 10 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and sauté 3 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of the parsley; stir 1 minute. Spread sausage mixture in prepared dish. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Whisk eggs, egg yolks, half and half, whipping cream, 1  1/2 cups of the cheese, and salt in a large bowl to blend well. Pour egg mixture over sausage mixture in dish.

Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese and 2 tablespoons parsley over. Bake until top of casserole is golden brown and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 8

bouquets garnis

A cassoulet, which originated in the south of France, is a hearty cold-weather meal filled with meats and baked in a thick stew of beans and vegetables.  So why am I making a cassoulet when it is 109 degrees outside?  Answer – because I’m crazy, that’s why! Actually along with the craziness there is a practical reason.  I had just less then a pound of leftover lamb cut from a shank that I used for THIS RECIPE.  And I know, without a doubt, that if I tucked it into the freezer and waited till fall to make the cassoulet, it would be lost forever in the depths of my freezer and eventually thrown away.

Cassoulets generally take between 6  – 8 hours to prepare… plus the overnight soaking of the beans.  I’ve pared this down to about 3 hours and with only 1 hour of bean soaking time.  For that reason I am calling this a quick cassoulet, although 3 + 1 hours isn’t exactly quick, I know!  Bookmark this for winter and you’ll enjoy having the kitchen all warm and aromatic for that length of time, I promise. This recipe can be easily doubled or even tripled to serve a crowd.

Quick Cassoulet

5 cups chicken broth
1 cup dry navy beans, presoaked * see note below
3 slices thick bacon
5 ounces sausage links of your choice (I used a chicken sausage from Trader Joe’s)
1 small onion, unpeeled, cut in half
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 bouquets garnis ** see note below
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound boneless pork loin, cut into large cubes
1/2 pound  boneless lamb shoulder or leg, cut into large cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup diced onion
1/3 cup peeled and diced carrots
1/3 cup cubed sweet potatoes or parsnips
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons dry white wine
2 cups beef broth
1/3 cup chopped Roma tomatoes
1 cup bread crumbs from a good crusty loaf
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley

Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a large saucepan and add the beans and bacon. Return the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are nearly tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile; season the lamb with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in another large saucepan or skillet. Sear the lamb in the oil on all sides, turning as necessary, until deep brown. Transfer the meat to a plate and set aside.

To the pot of beans; add the sausage, onion, garlic, and bouquet garni. Return the mixture to a simmer and cook until the bacon is fork tender, about 20 minutes. Remove and discard the onion, garlic, and bouquet garni. Remove and reserve the sausage and bacon and slice the sausage into 1/4-inch slices and chop the bacon, set aside.

Season the beans with salt and pepper to taste continue to simmer until the beans are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.  Lift out the beans with a slotted spoon and reserve.  Continue to simmer until the liquid reduces by half (to about 1 cup) and is beginning to thicken, about 20 minutes. Reserve the sauce.

To the pan the lamb was cooked in; add the leeks, carrots, and potatoes to the pot and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring frequently, until the flour is cooked, about 3 minutes.

Add the wine and 1 cup of beef broth to vegetable/flour mixture, stirring until smooth. Stir in the tomatoes and the second bouquet garni. Return the seared lamb to the pot, along with any juices they may have collected on the plate. Add more beef broth if necessary to keep the meat completely moistened. Bring to a slow simmer over medium-low heat and cook for 5 minutes.  Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover the casserole and braise the lamb in the oven, skimming the surface as necessary, until the meat is fork tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove casserole from oven and add the reserved sausage and bacon to the casserole. Cover the meat with the reserved beans. 

Pour the sauce from the beans over the cassoulet. Toss together the bread crumbs and parsley and sprinkle in an even layer over the top.

Turn the oven down to 300 degrees and bake, uncovered, periodically basting the crust with the juices that bubble up at the sides of the casserole, until a good crust has formed, about 30 to 45 minutes. 

Let the cassoulet rest for 15 minutes before serving.  Serve in heated bowls with warm crusty bread. (Discard the bouquet garni when you stumble upon it)

Serves 4

* Note:  Rinse beans in cold water. Put them in a large pot and cover with about 3-inches of cold water. Bring almost to a boil; cover, and remove from heat. Let sit 1 hour. Drain. The beans will be “soaked” and ready to cook.

** Note: (pictured at top of page)  For bouquet garni: Take two sprigs of each – parsley, rosemary, thyme, and oregano; bunch together and wrap a fresh bay leaf around. Use kitchen string to tie together into a little bundle. (if using a dry bay leaf, tuck it in the center of the fresh herbs instead of wrapping around, it will not wrap and would just break apart)

I’ve taken four of my favorite Spanish ingredients and stuffed them into a pork loin, creating a perfect Sunday supper. I believe you could take Spanish dry-cured chorizo, piquillo pepper, Marcona almonds, and smoked paprika and make just about anything more wonderful than it was before!

Spanish Stuffed Pork Loin

1/2 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon salt
4 ounces Spanish (not Mexican) dry-cured chorizo, diced
5 jarred roasted piquillo peppers, diced
1/3 cup Marcona almonds, coarsely ground in a food processor
1 tablespoon smoked paprika, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 pound boneless pork loin

Stuffing: Place the potato cubes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Add salt and boil until potatoes are just tender and able to be pierced easily with a paring knife. Drain and place in a medium bowl.  Add chorizo, peppers, ground almonds, and 1/2 of the smoked paprika.  Toss until well combined. Season to taste with black pepper.

Place the remaining 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika in a small bowl, add olive oil; stir and set aside.

Place pork loin on a work surface. Starting at top, make a lengthwise incision down center of the loin, cutting two thirds of the way through thickness of meat (be careful not to cut all the way through). Open loin like you would open a book. Turning knife horizontally, cut tenderloin open on either side like the flaps of a book jacket, being careful not to cut all the way through.

Pour 2 tablespoons of the liquid that the piquillo peppers are packed in and pour onto the cut side of the pork, spread with a brush. Mound the stuffing evenly over meat from the center cut to the edge closest to you, leaving a 1-inch border.

Fold over the top half and press to seal. (You will have about a third of the filling leftover. It is delicious mixed into scrambled eggs for breakfast, or as a pizza topping for another meal.)

Using kitchen string, tie at 1- to 1 1/2-inch intervals. Transfer pork to a rack on a foil lined baking sheet.  Brush with the reserved paprika oil.

Let pork stand at room temperature 20 minutes before roasting. While pork comes to room temperature, put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Roast pork 25 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. and continue to roast until thermometer inserted diagonally  into center of meat registers 135 degrees, about 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil and let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Serves 8

After boiling the lobster tails and removing the meat for our pasta dish, I returned the shells to the cooking water and boiled them along with carrots, onion, celery, and whole peppercorns to make a lobster stock. The stock was turned into a sauce that I then used the next evening to make seafood crepes with lobster-champagne sauce.  That recipe shall be posted tomorrow.

Another thing I need to let you know, the year ended with 1097 comments on this bog. I want to sincerely thank each and every one of you for following the blog and for taking the time to leave me all those wonderful words of encouragement. And in doing so, helping exceed my goal of 1027 comments by midnight on the 31st.  You’re the best!

So take a break from figuring out what to make for dinner and use up all the bits and pieces of leftover holiday food (all those little ends of cheese and meats) to make an antipasto platter for your family tonight!

Goat Cheese-Chorizo Stuffed Peppers

6 ounce Spanish (not Mexican) dry-cured chorizo
11 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
25 jarred roasted piquillo, peri-peri, or other small peppers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with foil.

These little pigs-in-a-blanket, dressed up as Halloween mummies, will disappear before you eyes!

Mummy Weenies

From Pillsbury Halloween Fun

1 can (8-ounces) Pillsbury flaky dough sheet with no seams
1 pound package cocktail-size smoked link sausages (Lit’l Smokies)
1/2 cup Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with foil or parchment.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough sheet out into a 14×11-inch rectangle.  Cut vertically to make two 11×7-inch rectangles.  Cut each crosswise into 22 strips for a total of 44 (7 x 1/2-inch) strips.

Pat sausages dry with paper towels.

Wrap 1 strip of dough around each sausage to look like a little mummy, leaving a little space in between each wrap and press firmly at each end to secure.  Lace on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart for even browning.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Place two small dots of mustard on each sausage for eyes and serve warm with extra mustard for dipping.

Makes 44

Finally! For two nights now we have had our windows open. The first evening we could hear the falling rain, all night long. Joy! Although the word from the weatherman is that it’ll be back up in the mid to high 80′s next week, we’re just enjoying it while we can. On that note, the winter squash dish yesterday made me crave more of the same. Today, instead of the exotic Red kuri squash, we’ll go a little more traditional and work with the super fun spaghetti squash. Although the spaghetti-like strands of squash taste nothing like pasta, it’s a tasty and healthier way to “feel” like you’re eating pasta…

Spaghetti Squash with Baked Italian-Turkey Meatballs

1 large spaghetti squash (3 to 4 pounds)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1  1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 cup chicken broth
3 ounces baby spinach
8 ounces sliced white mushrooms

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with foil, spray foil with Pam and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Sauté onion until soft and translucent, add garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano, plus a pinch of salt and pepper and cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove half of the onion mixture to a large bowl and set aside to come to room temperature. Set aside the skillet with the remaining onion mixture.

While onion is cooling, prepare the squash. Cut in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds, discard seeds.

Rub cut side of squash with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake, cut sides down, on one of the baking sheets until tender, about 50 minutes.

Let squash cool enough to handle, use the tines of a fork to scrape flesh into a bowl, toss with the remaining tablespoon olive oil.

Once squash is in the oven, return your attention to the cooled onion mixture in the bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, Panko breadcrumbs, red pepper flakes, ground turkey, sausage, and season with salt and pepper.

Using hands, blend well.  Wet hands with cold water to prevent meat from sticking, form meat into 2-inch balls.  As they are formed, place the balls on prepared baking sheet.

Bake in the same oven with the squash until meatballs are browned and cooked through, about 40 minutes, turning over halfway through the cooking time to brown evenly.

(If the strands of spaghetti squash has cooled down too much, cover the bowl with foil and warm up in the off, but still warm, oven.)

Add chicken stock and the browned meatballs to the skillet with the other half of the onion mixture. Bring to a gentle simmer, then add spinach and mushrooms and cook until spinach is just wilted, 1 minute. Mound a bed of spaghetti squash on a plate, top with the meatball-vegetable mixture and sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese.

Serves 6

It’s been a strange week. Dave was out of town on business Friday – Friday. I was in California that first weekend for a wedding (gorgeous wedding). Then Marissa went down to Tucson for her boyfriend’s birthday (Happy birthday, Alberto!).  And on Thursday, I took Connor up to Flagstaff to begin his sophomore year at NAU (Have a great first day today, Con! Missing you!).

The four of us were never home at the same time, and now we won’t be again until … Thanksgiving, probably (insert sad face here). After all that disruption, what we need is breakfast for dinner. There aren’t too many things that feel more cozy than having traditional morning food in the evening.

These sandwiches are delicious with or without the addition of a poached egg. I did four with and four without. Use any cheese you like, but I’m using pepper Jack to go with the jalapeno sausage I purchased at The Pork Shop… so darn good!

Sausage and Basil-Parmesan Biscuit Sandwiches

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup minced fresh basil
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup milk
1 egg

3/4 pound bulk fresh pork sausage
16 thin slices pepper Jack cheese
Poached eggs, optional

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat mat or parchment paper.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, whisk to combine. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two forks, until mixture resembles a coarse meal.  Stir in basil and cheese. In a small bowl, whisk together milk and egg.  Add milk mixture to flour mixture, stir with a wooden spoon until just moistened.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface; pat into a 1-inch-thick circle. Cut with a 3-inch biscuit cutter into 8 biscuits. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove form oven and cool slightly on a rack before slicing. Reduce oven to 350 degrees.

While biscuits bake; cut sausage crosswise into 8 equal pieces and flatten each into 3-inch rounds. Cook sausage patties in a large nonstick skillet over moderate heat, turning, until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Split biscuits, then make sandwiches; layering with bottom half biscuit, 1 slice cheese, 1 sausage patty, (add poached egg here, if using) another slice of cheese, and biscuit top.

Place sandwiches on baking sheet and bake in middle of oven until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

Makes 8 sandwiches

On Saturday, I’ll be serving a pre-Easter brunch to the hardworking people in my husband, Dave’s, office.  It’s a CPA firm and Easter usually falls during the crunch time of tax season, so these people need a break! This recipe is on the menu. I confess, I totally ripped it off out of the Williams-Sonoma catalog. They sell these cute little “breakfast pigs in a blanket”.  The Williams-Sonoma version uses Aidell’s chicken-apple sausages. While I did fine Aidells sausages at Costco and was planning to use them, I spotted some mango-chicken sausages and decided to go that route… happy I did because – Yum!

So here are your choices… purchase from the catalog and pay $48.50 (that’s with shipping) for 24 “pigs”…  or… make mine, and pay less than $25 for the pastry and sausages and you will wind up with 60 – as in “six- zero”  little pigs!!!

I know what you’re saying to yourself right now…. “I do not need Sixty Pigs, even if they do cost $1.58 less per piece.”  Oh yes – You do!!!  These are delicious, easy, and so great to have on hand in your freezer.  That’s right, you can bake and serve some now and freeze the rest for later. Of course, you can always cut the recipe in half, and use just one package of puff pastry and find another and smaller (meaning a smaller quantity then sold at Costco) package of sausages. But once you get into the roll of putting these together, it takes no time at all and you’ll feel rich and wise with the knowledge that you have these little gems stocked away. They can go directly from the freezer to the oven -at the ready for a quick cocktail appetizer or as a fun breakfast, any day of the week. Finally, I call for whole-grain mustard, because I like it, but if you only have regular Dijon, that works too.

Piglets in a Warm Puffy Blanket

2 packages (17.2-ounces each) Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets (for a total of 4 sheets)
1 package (3 pounds) Amylu mango-chicken sausages or other fully cooked sausage of your choice
1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon regular Dijon mustard
3/4 cup pure maple syrup, divided
2 eggs beaten with 2 tablespoons water, for egg wash
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh rosemary
Rosemary sprigs for garnish

Remove the pastry sheets from box and paper wrapping and place unfolded frozen sheets on a counter to thaw at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes.

While the pastry is thawing, remove sausages from packaging. There will be 21 sausages in the 2 pound package (7 in each of the 3 individual packages) You will be using 20 of the 21 sausages for this recipe, reserve the remaining 1 sausage for another use, such as … your lunch! Cut each sausage into equal thirds, for a total of 60 mini-sausages.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the both of  the Dijons and 1/2 cup of the maple syrup.

Unfold each pastry sheet, one at a time. Do not roll out with a rolling pin, leave as is. Brush evenly with the mustard-maple glaze. Using a sharp knife, cut the glazed sheet of pastry lengthwise into thirds along the fold lines. Make 5 cuts crosswise to create a total of 15 rectangles out of the one sheet. Place a mini-sausage diagonally in the center of one pastry rectangle. Roll pastry around sausage and press overlapping corner in the center together. Brush with egg wash and place on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet, about 1/2-inch apart.  Repeat with remaining 14 pastry rectangles.

One sheet at a time, repeat with the remaining 3 sheets of pastry, the mustard-maple glaze, the remaining 45 mini-sausages, and egg wash for a total of 60 pigs in a blanket.  There will be a little bit of the glaze left in the bowl, add the remaining 1/4 cup maple syrup and the minced rosemary and place in a serving bowl- this will be the dipping sauce.

At this point, the pigs may be baked or individually quick frozen.

To freeze: Place the baking sheets in the freezer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and quickly transfer the pigs in a labeled and dated 1-gallon freezer-quality ziplock bag or another freezer-safe container.

To bake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 18 minutes, turn over and bake another 15 minutes or until golden all over. Serve hot from the oven or at room temperature on a platter with dipping sauce and garnished with rosemary sprigs.

Makes 60 pieces

Today is the last day of spring break… I am sad. Connor has been home all week and that has been wonderful. And after five days in Mexico, Marissa arrived home on Friday to spend the weekend with us, which always puts a smile on my face. But today, that is over… Marissa is getting ready to pack up her car and drive back down to Tucson for her last semester at UA and then I’ll drive Connor up to Flagstaff to finish off his freshman year. For the sendoff we invited my dad over for Sunday Brunch. Nothing like eating outside in March on a gorgeous sunny but mild Arizona day! Today I’m sharing our frittata recipe… tomorrow the breakfast potatoes that accompanied it.

Grandpa’s Frittata

1 pound pork sausage
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 large red bell pepper; cored, seeded and chopped
1 long green (Anaheim or Hatch) chili; cored, seeded and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 dozen large eggs
1/3 cup low-fat milk or fat-free half and half
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup shredded Fontina cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté sausage, onion, and pepper and chili, breaking up the sausage and cooking until the meat is no longer pink. Drain the sausage mixture.

In a large bowl whisk together eggs and milk until well combined, add the drained sausage mixture.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in same skillet, add eggs. Let eggs cook, lifting edges to let uncooked eggs run underneath. When eggs are firm and nearly set, top with cheese and place in oven until cheese is melted and center is done, about 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and cut into wedges to serve.

Serves 6 to 8

My husband, Dave, made me dinner last night. And it was not one of the two things he knows how to make well -which would be; grilled filet mignon, garlic bread, along with his mom’s caesar salad recipe… or the Male Chauvinist Pig Chili recipe that he cut out of our local newspaper’s food section some 26 years ago! No, he made jambalaya! I’m sure there are many of you reading this right now, who have never made jambalaya… so as you might imagine, this was really something. I believe it was the New Orleans’ Saints victory over our Arizona Cardinals on Saturday, that inspired him. Although we are both sad that the Cards didn’t go all they way, we are proud they took the NFC West title for the second year in a row and congratulate them on their great season. Now we’re going to put our hopes on the Saints to get to the Super Bowl. Dave, thank you for the night off and for the truly delicious dinner! xoxo

To make jambalaya, you begin with the Cajun/Creole “trinity”; a mixture of onion, bell pepper and celery. Most cuisines have their own “trinity”, here are a few: French= carrots, celery, onion; Italian = tomato, garlic, basil; Chinese = garlic, ginger, scallions; Greek = lemon juice, olive oil, oregano; and Mexican = corn, chilies, beans.

I do not care for the flavor of green bell peppers (too much of a “green vegetable” taste for me), you may have noticed that the majority of my recipes use red, yellow or orange bells (sweeter and not green tasting). You, of course, can use green bells instead. There are a wide variety of proteins used in jambalaya; from chicken and sausage, to shrimp and ham, to duck or even alligator. The roots of Creole jambalaya are in the French Quarter of New Orleans, it is a close relative to Spanish paella. It began as an attempt by the Spanish to make their beloved paella in the New World, but the key ingredient, saffron, was not available, so tomatoes were used instead. Next came the French influence on the dish and the spices from the Caribbean changed it into the dish it is today.

Dave’s Creole Jambalaya

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup peeled and chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
3 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 cup long- grain white rice
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 pound sliced Andouille sausage
1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 pound boneless and skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Emeril’s Essence Creole seasoning

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat, add oil and sauté onion, pepper, and celery for about 4 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in green onions, parsley, garlic, tomatoes, Worcestershire, Tabasco, bay leaf, oregano and thyme, cook for 2 minutes. Stir in rice and add broth. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until rice is tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Once rice is tender add the sausage and chicken. Cook for 10 minutes or until chicken is just about cooked through. Stir in the shrimp and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes, or until the shrimp is pink on the outside and opaque when cut through the middle. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning.

Serve with hot crusty bread or cornbread.

Serves 4

Happy New Year, wishing you and yours a happy, healthy, prosperous 2010! To start the year out on a yummy note, why not combine two Italian favorites? This is a quick and easy lasagna, no boiling of noodles or making of a time-consuming homemade sauce. Just purchase the various items for the layers and go to town assembling a big old pan of goodness. To change to a vegetarian dish, substitute diced or sliced zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, and/or bell peppers for the sausage. Sauté the veggies in an additional tablespoon olive oil and proceed as directed.

When it comes to nutmeg, there is no comparison between freshly ground and the already ground stuff you’ll find in the spice aisle. Purchase the whole nutmegs and use any of the tools above to grind it fresh whenever you need it.

Ravioli Lasagna

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 pound ground Italian sausage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
28-ounce can crushed roma tomatoes
1 cup prepared pesto sauce, divided
4 ounces fresh baby spinach, stack the leaves and thinly slice (about 2 cups)
15-ounce container ricotta cheese
1 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Two 16 to 18-ounce packages frozen cheese-filled raviloli
3 cups grated Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add onion and saute until soft, add garlic and cook about 4 minutes longer, transfer to a small plate.  Add the sausage to the same skillet and cook, stirring often to break up for about 12 minutes or until sausage is browned. Drain off any grease, then add the onion-garlic mixture back to the pan and season with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, stir together the crushed tomatoes and 1/2 cup of the pesto sauce. In a separate medium bowl, mix together the sliced spinach and the remaining 1/2 cup pesto sauce. In a third medium bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese and 3/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese (reserve remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan for sprinkling on at the end), stir in the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.

In a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, spread 1/2 cup of the tomato-pesto sauce on the bottom and the pan and lightly coat the sides of the pan with the sauce as well, to prevent the lasagna from sticking after baking. Top with 1/2 of the sausage-onion mixture, then 1/2 of the spinach mixture. Top with 1 package of the ravioli, laying out evenly in a single layer. Dollop 1/2 of the ricotta mixture over ravioli, then top with 1/3 of the mozzarella.

Spread with 1/2 of the remaining tomato sauce, top with remaining sausage, then with remaining spinach. Top with second package of ravioli, dollop with remaining ricotta and 1/3 of the mozzarella.  Spread on the rest of the sauce.

Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, discard foil and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and the reserved 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Return to oven and bake another 12 minutes.

Serves 10 to 12

(Lasagna may be baked 1 day ahead up to point of adding last layer of mozzarella and Parmesan. Cool completely, then chill, covered. Bring to room temperature before topping and reheating with final layer of cheeses, in a 375 oven until hot, 20 to 30 minutes)