Tag Archives: potato

Turkey Sausage, Mushroom, and Potato Gratin

We’ve been so lucky in the Philadelphia area lately because the weather has been nice and warm, averaging in the 70s. But this past weekend, the temperate dropped to the 50s, the skies turned gray and down came the rain. Despite the fact that it brought a rainbow on Saturday afternoon and blue skies had returned by Sunday afternoon, it sent me right back into hybernation mode and all I wanted was comfort food. I initially thought that this recipe for Turkey Sausage, Mushroom, and Potato Gratin would be good for Easter but in my comfort food rage, I couldn’t stop myself from making it a little bit early.

I have to tell you that I looooooove turkey sausage. Pretty much any recipe I’ve made for this blog with turkey sausage has gotten my highest rating. I loved sausage as a kid, especially when smothered in maple syrup, and I regularly snacked on veggie sausage links when I was a vegetarian (and still do!). So, it shouldn’t surprise you when I tell you – I. Love. This. Dish! In fact, this is probably one of my favorite dishes I’ve made recently. Filled with creamy potatoes, spicy sausage, earthy mushrooms and topped with Swiss cheese and fresh thyme, this is a comforting dish that would be great for either brunch or dinner. I hunkered down with a bowl of this on Sunday afternoon while I watched The Shining for the 600th time. Comforting indeed!

The ingredients:

Heat sausage in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté for 5 minutes or until browned, breaking up the sausage into crumbles. Remove the sausage from pan and wipe the pan with paper towels.

Melt the butter in the pan and add onion, sautéing for 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 6 minutes. Add the potatoes and salt and sauté for 5 minutes or until browned.

Stir in the cooked sausage and broth and remove from heat.

Spoon the mixture into a baking dish coated with cooking spray and top with cheese. Cover and bake in a 400°F for 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle with thyme before serving.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

White mushrooms

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Colcannon

What in the world is Colcannon, you ask? It’s really nothing more than mashed potatoes mixed with kale or cabbage, scallions, butter and cream and is usually served with ham. Irish food isn’t traditionally known for being “light fare” so in trying to lighten this up, I used kale, light butter, and skim milk. I don’t often make potatoes at home, not even baked potatoes. In fact, I think I usually only eat potatoes at Thanksgiving. I never considered adding in a leafy green with potatoes but I like the idea of it! Kale works perfectly because it is hearty and can stand up to the heat of the potatoes without disappearing. It also provides a complementary texture to the potatoes and makes the dish visually interesting.

By the time you read this, I will either be laying on a Florida beach, at a preseason baseball game, or somewhere watching NCAA basketball. On St. Patrick’s Day, I’m sure I’ll be knee deep in Guiness celebrating life with my friends. Since I’m taking a few days off, I won’t be able to post anything again until next Tuesday so I hope you have a happy, fun and safe St. Patty’s Day! Sláinte!

Also check out: Irish Cream Brownies

The ingredients:

Cook the potatoes in a medium pot covered in cold water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain in a colander.

In the same pot, add in the butter and allow to melt.

Add in the kale and allow to wilt. Toss in the green onions.

Pour in the milk and mix well.

Add in the potatoes and mix, using a potato masher to mash the potatoes.

Season with salt and pepper and serve warm with additional butter if you like.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

Light butter
Skim milk

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: SimplyRecipes.com

Orange Pepper Soup with Cilantro Purée

December 27, 2011
Shannon
2 comments
apple, food, ginger, peas, peppers, potato, soup

The last time I was at the produce market, I picked up a big bag of orange peppers for no reason other than to have something colorful and different in my refrigerator. I cut some up for stir-fry, threw in some with chicken in curry sauce, and chopped some up for salad. But since produce markets give you more than you need, I was still left with several that I didn’t know what to do with. That’s when I came across this recipe for Orange Pepper Soup with Cilantro Purée. The recipe calls for yellow peppers but the orange peppers are just as sweet and worked just as perfectly in this chilled soup. Although this is loaded with other flavors like garlic, onion, potato, apple, ginger, and fennel, the orange peppers are the star and are beautifully complemented by the other ingredients. The other highlight to this soup is the addition of curry powder which lays low in the background and provides a subtle warmth. The cilantro purée adds another layer of fresh flavor that works deliciously with the peppers. To easily make this soup vegetarian, use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth. This soup would be perfect for a warm summer evening but it was still just as a good on a cold December day.

The soup ingredients:

Chop all of the produce (all of it will go into the blender so a coarse chop is fine).

Heat a skillet with butter and sauté the onion and fennel until soft.

Add in the curry powder, ginger, and garlic and sauté 1 minute.

Stir in the white wine and cook until evaporated before adding in the chopped peppers, apple, potato, chicken broth, and salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer 20 minutes.