Las Vegas Pub Grub

After all the late nights and bad behavior, Pub food cures all!

My favorite Las Vegas cure is the Corn Dog Puppies.  The batter is light and a bit sweet AND the hot dogs are chicken...kinda feelin' healthy.
My fancy food pick would have to be the oysters, of course.
OK, and there is LOBSTER. Not to be missed.

FMP: Whole Cauliflower with sausage

I spent all last week behaving badly in Las Vegas, so I was happy to get back and on track with this great recipe!

OK, this is what you will need for this week's recipe, WHOLE CAULIFLOWER WITH SAUSAGE

1 cauliflower (about 1 1/2 pounds) cored

Salt

8 oz. sweet or hot pork sausage, casing removed

(I made my own chicken sausage)

2 T olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 or 2 fresh hot chilies (like jalapeno or Thai), seeded and chopped

Black Pepper

1 cup bread crumbs, preferably whole grain and homemade (fortunately, I baked whole wheat bread last week)

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1.  Put the cauliflower in a steamer above 1 to 2 inches of salted water.  Bring the water to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat so it bubbles steadily.  (I used my rice cooker, which is also a steamer, and set it on 20 minutes)  Cook until the cauliflower is just tender enough to be pierced to the core with a thin-bladed knife (no longer).  Because it's large, the cauliflower will retain quite a bit of heat after cooking, so it should still be ever-so-slightly crunchy when you remove it from the steamer.  Total cooking time will be 12 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the head.  Drain the cooked cauliflower well.




Homemade Chicken Italian Sausage

  2.  Meanwhile, put the sausage and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring to break the meat into small pieces, until no longer pink, 5 to 10 minutes.  Pour off all but 2 to 3 tablespoons of fat.  Add the onion, chili, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper and cook until the onion is softened, 3 to 5 minutes.  Remove the mixture from the pan with a slotted spoon.

3. Add the bread crumbs and parsley to the skillet and cook, stirring until the bread crumbs are crisp and golden brown, about 5 minutes.  Return the meat to the pan, stir, and taste and adjust the seasoning.

4.  Break up the cauliflower head a bit with 2 forks, scatter the sausage mixture over all and serve.

WHOLE CAULIFLOWER WITH SAUSAGE AND TOMATOES
What you lose in bread crumb crunchiness, you make up for with bright flavor.  In Step 2, after you cook the sausage mixture, add 2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned are fine; drain them first).  Cook and stir for another 5 minutes or so, until they become slightly thickened and saucy.  Proceed with recipe.


OK, so I did a little combination of the 2 versions and I added 1/2 of an oven dried tomato I had jarred in olive oil.  My version is close to the original.

I served the Whole Cauliflower with "homemade" Sausage with a grilled plum, goat cheese and pea shoot salad, baguette, butter and a glass of pinot noir.

To see other versions of this recipe go to http://thefoodmattersproject.com/2012/09/24/whole-cauliflower-with-sausage/

TWD: Baking with Julia - Whole Wheat Bread

So simple and so good!  Since my yeast fears are but a memory, I love baking bread.  I've been trying to eat less carbs the last couple weeks, but the smell of fresh baking bread is irresistible.  I tell you, the recipe for whole wheat bread in Dorie Greenspan's Baking with Julia is a great go to bread.  The next time I make this, flax or cinnamon-raisin would be perfect additions.

This bread is a perfect lazy Saturday project.  The recipe makes 2 loaves, freezes well!
For the recipe go to http://www.veggienumnums.com/2012/09/twd-baking-with-julia-whole-wheat-loaves.html or http://thefamilythatbakestogether.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/whole-wheat-loaves/

FFWD: Spiced-Poached Apples

You start with ingredients that are probably already in your kitchen...Love that!!!

Poach everything.  I may have added too little water.  I halved the recipe.

Putting mine aside to enjoy later.

The recipe is in Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table.  Check out other versions at http://www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com/?p=1204

food matters project: Edamame Cakes with Soy Drizzling Sauce

Whoops, I bought the shelled edamame. Well I took the time to read the recipe again while I shelled the edamame. OK,I was a little hesitant to make the recipe for this week because it reminded me of the FAILED chickpea cakes that disintegrated when they hit the oil.

So I was glad to see egg and flour are added, this should keep the cake from breaking up when it hits the oil.

My husband was planning on steaming Ling Cod in his ginger-garlic-soy steaming broth. Perfect for the edamame cakes.  He also steamed a few pork-corn dumplings...mmm!

A nice cold Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc made a nice accompaniment with our dinner.

This recipe was great and I had everything I needed without going to the store.  Yay!!!

To see other versions check out The Food Matters Project for the recipe go to Kathleen and Tom's blog!