Fruits/Vegetables

Garlicky Spinach-Sausage Gratin

I can’t seem to get enough spinach lately, I’m not sure why.  I’m not complaining though, there are worse things that I could be wanting to put in my body.  This Garlicky Spinach-Sausage Gratin has tons of spinach and tons of garlic and satisfies that crazy spinach craving.  Sausage is sautéed with onion and garlic, mixed with a combination of milk and egg, and stirred with gobs of fresh spinach to make a thick and creamy spinachy-custard.  The topping of parmesan cheese and bread crumbs, once baked, provides a slight saltiness and subtle crunch to this hearty and comforting dish.  I didn’t follow this recipe exactly and used precooked spinach-garlic chicken sausage (ironically, it’s what I had in the fridge) in place of the pork sausage, 1% milk instead of 2%, and store-bought bread crumbs instead of a fresh baguette.  Leaving the sausage out and reducing the milk slightly might make this a good vegetarian dish or even a side to a meal.  I liked this straight out of the oven as a meal in itself so next time you are craving spinach and want something other than salad, keep this in mind.  With so much garlic though, you might want to keep a stick of gum nearby.

The ingredients:

In a large pan, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until soft.  Add in sausage, salt, and red pepper, cooking thoroughly.

Add flour to the pan and cook for 30 seconds.  In a bowl, combine milk and egg, stirring well.  Add to the sausage mixture and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Remove pan from heat and add in two bags of spinach, one at a time.  Stir together until spinach is wilted.

Pour mixture into a baking pan and top with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. 

Bake at 450° for 12 minutes.

Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:

  • Garlic-spinach chicken sausage
  • 1% milk
  • Store-bought bread crumbs

Overall Rating:  Like It

Source:  Cooking Light Magazine

Potato-Apple Latkes

I’ve spent several of the last Christmases in Evanston, Illinois with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. When it comes to Christmas dinner, we don’t really have anything traditional, usually lasagna or sandwiches, whatever we feel like. But, when it comes to Christmas breakfast, my uncle is always in the kitchen scrambling up eggs, baking biscuits, and whipping up a warm batch of latkes. This Christmas I stayed home and didn’t care about what I did or ate on Christmas day except for what I ate for breakfast. So, I decided to make the latkes myself and ended up making Potato-Apple Latkes. I don’t know what my uncle puts in his latkes but these are nothing more than potato, apple, flour, salt, and pepper. I used Granny Smith apples because I already had some on hand and they added the slightest hint of sweetness without taking away from the traditional latke taste. Latkes are a great alternative to regular breakfast potatoes or hashbrowns and although I think my uncle’s latkes are better, these were still pretty darn good.

The ingredients:

Peel the potatoes and shred them with a kitchen grater. Repeat the same procedure with the apples and place in a strainer or colander over a bowl to drain for 20 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to press down the potatoes and apples to get as much liquid out as possible. With clean hands, squeeze excess water by hand if necessary.

Place dried potato-apple mixture in a bowl and add flour, salt, and pepper and mix.

Add oil to a pan over medium-high heat. Using a 1/3 measuring cup, place mixture into the pan, flattening with your hands or the back of the measuring cup. Cook on both sides until brown.

Serve with sour cream, crème fraîche, or applesauce.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Harvest Pear Crisp

Apple crisp was a common dessert made in my house growing up but it’s not something I think to make now. When I came across this recipe for Harvest Pear Crisp, I knew immediately I had to make it. Pears don’t get much better than they do in the fall and this dish celebrates their sweetness. Sliced pears are mixed with lemon juice to keep from browning and topped with a crumble of brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, butter, and oats. My food processor isn’t working so I made the crumble using a fork and it turned out just fine. But I must tell you a secret: I messed this up. I didn’t realize until after I put the crisp in the oven that I left out two ingredients entirely. A mixture of granulated sugar and cornstarch that was supposed to be added to the sliced pears and lemon juice never made it into the dish. After assuming I’d have to make the dish again, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. The brown sugar in the crumble, plus the pears, added enough sweetness to this dessert that it didn’t really need to be sweeter. In fact, if I make this again (which I probably will!), I’ll make it the exact same way.

The ingredients:

Slice the pears and mix them in a bowl with lemon juice (and sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch if you choose to follow the recipe like I didn’t). Pour pear mixture into a baking dish.

In a separate bowl or food processor, combine flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, and salt.

Cut in cold butter with a fork (or food processor). Mix in oats and chopped walnuts.

Pour crumble over pears in baking dish. Bake at 375°F until pears are tender (mine took 45 minutes).

Serve warm (with vanilla ice cream if you so desire).

Additions: None

Omissions:

  • Granulated sugar
  • Cornstarch

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

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