Italian Sausage, Peppers and Onion

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Sausage, bell peppers and onions is a quick and easy meal that pays dividends in smiles.  

2 Large Red Bell Peppers
2 Large Green Bell Peppers
1 Large Spanish Onion
24 Ounces Mild Italian Sausage (six 4 oz links)
4 Tbsp Ounces Olive oil
1 Tbsp Dried Basil
1 Tbsp Dried Oregano
1 can Tomato Paste (my preference but optional)
4 Large Garlic Cloves 
Salt
Pepper
1 1/2 Tsp Hot Pepper Flakes
1/2 cup Red Wine

Slice the peppers and onions in 1/4 inch strips, slice the garlic.

In a large tall sided pan heat the oil to medium heat and fry the sausage until brown.  Then remove to a plate.  At this point the sausage should not be cooked through. Do not drain pan. 
Note: I do not slice the sausages but feel free if you want to. 

Into the hot pan add the onions, garlic and a few sprinkles of salt and after 30 seconds add the wine. Simmer for about 5 minutes until the onions soften and then add the peppers, basil and oregano and combine thoroughly. 

Reduce the heat if necessary, and saute the veggies and additional spices until the peppers are beginning to soften and then add the hot pepper flakes and tomato paste (if using) and stir to combine. 

After 3 minutes mix the sausage with  the veggie mixture.  Cover the pan and saute over low – medium heat until the sausage is cooked through and the veggies are tender. 

Adjust for personal taste using salt, pepper, hot pepper flakes, basil or oregano. 

Serve in a nice Italian roll sliced lengthwise until almost cut through.  

Enjoy!  




Fried Rice


1 tablespoons butter
2 Tbsp Veggie Oil
3 eggs, scrambled 
12 ounce pack of frozen carrots and peas thawed
1/2 small onion, small dice
2 cloves garlic minced
4 cups cooked and chilled white rice
2 1/2 tsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp Hoisin Sauce
pinch of red pepper flakes…optional
Chopped green onions for garnish…optional

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter into a large skillet

Add the eggs and scramble until fully cooked, and set aside in a bowl or on a plate.

Add the oil to the pan.

Add carrots, onion and peas and cook until tender, 3-4 minutes

Add garlic and pepper flakes cook for 1 min

Add the cold rice and fry at med-high heat for 3-4 minutes.

Add the cooked eggs into the pan and stir in soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin and sesame oil

Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until hot

Adjust for flavor

Garnish with green onions 

NOTE: Add in cooked meat or seafood at the same time as the garlic and pepper flakes if using.  

Roadhouse Baby Back Rib Glaze

If you are tired of the same BBQ sauce for pork ribs then you may find the Roadhouse Baby Back Rib glaze/sauce absolutely extraordinary. I surely did. 


The sauce is simple to make and you can use it on just about any pork product or possibly even on beef ribs or chicken for that Asian touch. 

Glaze/sauce for about 3 lbs of ribs:

1/2 Cup Hoisin Sauce
1/2 Cup Grape Jelly
1 Tbs Soy or Worchestire Sauce
2 tsp Brown Sugar
1 Tbs Dry Mustard
2 Cloves Garlic, finely minced
1/2 tsp Hot Sauce
Juice of 1 lime or 3 Tbs of juice

Heat and stir until the jelly has dissolved. 

 If you want to cook your ribs in an Instant Pot or crockpot follow the link below for cooking instructions. 

Roadhouse Ribs










Italian Meatballs

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1/3 plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk (can substitute water or beef broth)
1 diced onion
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves crushed garlic
2 eggs
1/4 bunch fresh parsley
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp red cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried Italian herb mix (basil, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, etc.)

* Once shaped, bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes, then simmer slowly in a rich tomato sauce for 1-2 hrs.

In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients except for the meats and oil into a paste. Then add in the meats and mix with a large spoon until well combined and let rest in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Roll into 1.75″ balls and place on an oiled aluminum foil baking sheet and bake in a preheated 400 degrees oven for 20 minutes.

Serve with your favorite pasta sauce.

 Note: The Norpro stainless steel meat baller for $6.99 at Amazon is great for making perfectly sized meatballs without fuss or mess.

Norco Meat Baller 1.75″

Chef John’s Preparation Video

Green Peppers Stuffed with Beef and Rice



Ingredients:

For the sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 clove s garlic
1 cup beef broth
2 cups prepared marinara sauce, or other tomato sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, optional

For the peppers:

1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 pound Italian bulk pork sausage (optional)
2 cups cooked rice
1 cup finely grated “real” Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano)
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley or (2 Tbsp Dried Parsley)
4 cloves garlic, minced very fine
1 can 10-oz diced tomatoes
2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne
4 large green bell peppers 

Brown the onions with the olive oil and reserve 1/2 of them. Add in beef broth, marinara sauce, vinegar and hot pepper flakes if using. Stir to combine and pour into a deep baking dish. 

In a large mixing bowl, add the meat cheese, garlic diced tomatoes, parsley and the reserved onion. Stir to combine with a large spoon or mix by hand. Now mix in the cooked rice and cheese.

Cut the peppers in half lengthwise, clean each half of seeds and pith and pack tightly with the  
meat and rice mixture.

Place the peppers in the baking dish on top of the sauce, sprinkle some additional parmesan on the tops of each pepper and cover with aluminum foil. 

In a preheated 375 degree oven bake for 45 minutes. Then remove the cover and cook for an additional 20 minutes. 

Remove the peppers to serving plates. Spoon the sauce from the baking dish over the peppers and..Enjoy!  

* Note that on the top pepper there is a gap where there is no meat. This is as a result of not using lean meat. 

Preparation Video

The TUO Cutlery Black Vegetable Cleaver Knife 7" – Chinese Chef’s Knife

There is a cooking site named AlmazanKitchen where most of the cooking is done over a campfire but sometimes on the coals inside a wood burning fireplace. You remember those, they are the ones in your living room that is hardly, if ever used and has a mantle above it to display your family photos. Damn, you mean they don’t come with wood logs installed?

The AlmazanKitchen YouTube channel is amazing to watch and is food porn at its best. What I find most attractive is that no one says a single whiney word nor is there a note of irritating instrumental music played or the lyrics of some freaking anti-cop rapper.

All you hear is the preparation of the foods, the fire and nature and you hardly get a glimpse of the hoodie dressed chef  or anyone else for that matter.

But one of the stars of the show is the chef’s knife that seems to have the leading role in almost every recipe. They call it a Serbian chef’s knife. I guess that if a Serbian chef uses it then the name would be accurate but I suppose that the basic design could be found in other cultures as well.

They sell copies of the knife but you can only order one by sending them a FB private message. The knife is reportedly made from carbon steel and is huge and costs about $350.00 (they don’t advertise the price), but hey, it also comes with a sheath don’t ‘ya know. I admit that the knife has a certain “cool” factor going on but for the modern home cook it’s not very practical, not in any respect.

This finally brings us to the 7 inch TUO Cutlery Vegetable Cleaver/Chinese Chefs knife.

The knife arrived in a nice box (with writing that I could not understand because I don’t read Chinese) encased in a foam cutout. Thank God they did not pack it in that plastic crap that requires 2 men and a strong boy to rip apart. Nothing pisses me off more than having to use my scissors to shear through the packing of a new pair of scissors.

The knife is very close in design to the “Serbian” but is smaller and more practical. It is made in China with Japanese Ultra Stainless Steel, whatever the hell that is.

The knife weighs 11.2 ounces and the blade measures 7 inches, imagine that. At its broadest point, the knife is almost 3 inches wide and has an overall length of about 13 inches. Cool down ladies, it’s just a knife!

I opine that the handle scales are made from some sort of synthetic material and the handle is not straight like those found on most kitchen knives. Rather the full tang handle is shaped in an arc. The fit and finish is remarkable for a knife at this price point and the blade arrived sharp enough to easily slice through a peanut butter sandwich. I was impressed.

Seriously, the blade is is very sharp so please be careful. As of this writing I have only used it to chop carrots, onions and celery. If you regularly chop veggies you will adore the wide blade to gather and take them to the pot or pan without dropping 1/2 of them on the floor like I usually do. But WTF, Darwin the Wonder Dog always seemed to enjoy those tasty morsels. After more than 40 years as a home cook I feel comfortable in saying that this knife can be used for breaking down whole chickens and cutting through small chicken rib bone.

That said, if you don’t own a meat cleaver, know what one is or even know how to use one, this would be a good choice because if you try some freestyle chopping it is less likely to cut off your hand. This doesn’t mean that you are not going to end up in the ER but at least most of your digits should remain attached. Tendons and nerves, I’m not so sure.

If you think you’ll get a legitimate warrantee beyond the, oh heck, what is Amazon’s Prime return – 30 days with this knife you really need to get a quick dose of reality so here it is, you’re not gonna get one. Got it?

But for a mere $40.00 you can buy your very own on Amazon. No, not Almazan. They come in both black and white so you have to choose to be either a racist or a hypocrite. Choose wisely ’cause your reputation in the internet community where everything is the gospel truth.

And never, never dare not offer an opinion on the internet as there certainly will be some know-it-all moron who professes to know more than you. This is the guy/gal who feels inclined to point out that you are an idiot because you don’t believe in what the idiots are saying.

In closing, I’ll say that this knife is a fantastic bargain and is highly recommended.

 P.s. Maybe, just maybe this Chinese made knife with Japanese steel will  ease the strain between China and Japan. Probably not.

  

Chicken Marsala

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2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts or 4 Thighs
1 Shallots Minced
2 Tbsp Fresh Parsley or 1 TBS dried parsley
5 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Flour
8 oz  Mushrooms
2 cups Chicken Stock or Base
1 cups Sweet Marsala Wine
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken pieces
At medium heat, brown the chicken in the oil and 2 Tbsp of butter until browned (not cooked through), about 5 minutes and set aside.
Add an additional 2 Tbsp of butter and when melted add in the  mushrooms and saute for about 5 minutes. 
Create a well in the center of the mushrooms and add the shallots and simmer for an additional 3 minutes. 
Sprinkle the flour and stir constantly for a couple of minutes. 

Add the wine and reduce for about 5 minutes
Add in the chicken broth and simmer for another 5 minutes
Turn the temp down to the lowest possible setting and add back the chicken and accumulated juices.   
Cook for an additional 5 minutes per side. Or until cooked through. 

Then add in the remaining Tbsp of butter and parsley. 
Food Wishes procedural video by Chef John