Steelers Game Day Sausage Hoagies

The Steelers managed to make the Wild Card game, which we are watching right now. They are losing but hopefully that changes (doubtful). Anyway, Kenny wanted some Pittsburgh food so I did some research and found this recipe. It appeared in the January 29, 2006, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Food Section - "Pittsburgh Super Bowl Recipes" and he said it sounded authentic. Below is my spin on the Pittsburgh classic.

Note: I slightly changed it up a bit by using crushed tomatoes instead of whole plum tomatoes and yellow instead of green bell pepper, because green peppers are gross. I also used mild sausage, because we are old and our tolerance for heat is fading.

1 large onion, sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

Olive Oil

Salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic powder (all to taste)

2 big cans crushed tomatoes with added basil

1 lb mild Italian sausage

Provolone or mozzarella cheese

Hoagie buns

1. Boil sausage in a pot of water for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside to dry.

2. In large deep skillet, saute sliced onions and peppers in olive oil until transparent (approx. 6 minutes).

3. Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder to vegetables. Pour tomatoes into skillet and stir well. Allow to simmer then lower heat to low, partially cover and allow to simmer.

4. Cut sausage in half. Brown the sausage lightly in a frying pan then add to the sauce.

5. Continue to cook sauce with sausages for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

6. Cut hoagies in half length wise. Place cheese as the base then assemble with the sausage, peppers, onions and sauce.

Christmas Dinner 2020

We celebrated Christmas dinner a week early with Nana and Papa and it was delicious! No one left the table hungry.

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

Prime Rib with Au Jus Sauce

Mashed potatoes

Glazed carrots

Fig Jam & Prosciutto Crostini

 Cookbook: The Southern Entertainer's Cookbook by Courtney Dial Whitmore with Phronsie Dial

Fig Jam

2 cups figs, stems removed and sliced in half

2 cups sugar

1 lemon, thinly sliced and seeds removed

1/4 cup Grand Marnier

1. Wash figs in cold water and drain. Place in a large sauce pan and cover with sugar. Allow figs to sit overnight.

2. Add lemon slices to the fig pan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Stir often. 

3. After mixture beings to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring often. Remove from stove and allow to cool to room temperature.

4. Add fig mixture to blender and blend until pureed. Stir in Grand Marnier and pour fig jam into sterilized jars with tops. Keep refrigerated.

Crostini

24 slices baguette

2 T olive oil

Sea Salt

8 ounces soft goat cheese

Fig jam

12 slices prosciutto

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly toasted.

3. Spread each slice with goat cheese. Top each with a generous spread of fig jam. Cut each slice of prosciutto in half and fold one on top of each crostini.

Buttermilk Poblano Gravy

I made this for Thanksgiving at the Morgan's this year. It pairs nicely with Keith's smoked turkey that we have had for the past few years. I found it in the November 2019 issue of Food & Wine.

2 large poblano chilies
3 T unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 T flour
2 T whole buttermilk
Salt and Pepper

1. Roast poblano peppers under broiler on all sides until blackened. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and steam for 10 minutes.

2. Rub off skin from chiles using plastic wrap covered hands. Remove and discard stems and seed. Finely dice 1 chile. Cut remaining chile into strips and set aside.

3. Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium high. Add onion and chile strips. Cooks until soft. Combine onion mixture and 1/2 cup warm stock in a blender, and process until smooth.

4. Melt remaining butter in same skillet over medium. Whisk in flour and reduce heat to low. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add onion and chile puree and remaining 1 cup warm stock. Cook whisking constantly until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add buttermilk and diced chile. Simmer gently to allow flavors to meld. Season with salt and pepper.

Apple and Cranberry Sauce

 A little change up from my normal cranberry sauce by adding sweetness with the apples.

1 cup Apple cider

1 cup sugar

12 oz bag cranberries

1 Apple, peeled and diced

Pinch of cinnamon 

Pinch of salt

1. Bring Apple cider and sugar to a bowl, mixing steadily. 

2. Add cranberries and apples. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. 

3. With a hand blender, blend fruit in pot and smooth-ish. Let cool and transfer to container.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Fondue

New Year’s Eve dessert with the kids!

In a double broiler, combine the following until smooth:

8 oz milk chocolate chips
2 T heavy cream
2 T chunky peanut butter

Place in fondue pot or small crock pot to keep warm.

Serve with sliced bananas, strawberries, marshmallows, rice Krispy treats, cheesecake

Main Course Meat Fondue with Broth

New Year’s Eve main meal with the kids!

For the broth:
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup white wine
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
Mushrooms, sliced

Choose your meats: we did shrimp marinated in teriyaki sauce, plain shrimp, filet marinated in an Earth Fair sauce, and plain filet. But I would do chicken too.

Dipping sauces: green goddess dressing, Asian dipping sauce, mango pepper sauce, cocktail sauce

1. Combine the broth ngredients in electric fondue pot and heat until simmering.

Beer Cheese Fondue

New Year’s Eve appetizer with the kids!

1/2 lb sharp cheddar cheese (buy the block then shred)
1/2 lb gruyere cheese (buy the block then shred)
1 T cornstarch
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup Yuengling
Fresh cracked pepper
Milk to thin if needed

1. Grate cheese and add cornstarch in a bowl. Set aside.

2. In a pot, crush garlic and brown over medium low heat. Add beer. Heat to a simmer.

3. Slowly add cheese until it melts, stirring constantly.

4. Once ingredients are fully combined, pour into a heated fondue pot or small crock pot to keep warm.

Serve with sliced apples, an Earth Fair baguette, pretzels, summer sausage

Cranberry Sauce

A bag of cranberries, rinsed and picked through
1 cup sugar
2 oranges, juiced, plus the zest from one orange

Combine ingredients in a sauce pan, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to a simmer as sauce thickens. Cranberries will burst after about 5-10 minutes.

Chill in the refrigerator.

Cheesy Corn Souffle

From Foodnetwork.com

3T unsalted butter, plus more for coating
2 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 white onion, finely diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 large eggs
1 cup half and half
1/4 t ground nutmeg
3 cups frozen or fresh sweet corn kernels
3 cups shredded Gruyere (about 4 ounces)
1/4 cup all purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and arrange rack on bottom rim. Coat a 2 qt baking dish with butter and set aside. Bring a large pot of water, over low heat, to a simmer.

2. Melt 3T butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat. When it foams, add the garlic, onions, salt, and black pepper. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

3. Separate egg yolks and whites. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, half and half and nutmeg. Stir in the corn, cheese and cooled onion mixture. Finally mix in the flour and combine well.

4. Beat the egg whites until they just hold onto the whisk. Stir in about 1/3 of whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest of the whites. Transfer the batter into the prepared dish and set inside a roasting pan or baking dish. Fill the pan halfway with simmering water and put in the oven. Bake until the pudding is golden brown and set in center, about 30-45 minutes.

Zucchini Casserole

My Aunt Mary made this at her Thanksgiving dinner 2010 - I am making it at every special meal from here on out! I'm typing it up as the recipe was given to me as of today, I'll edit it once I figure it out...

Zucchini Casserole

4 small zucchinis, grated (approximately 4 cups) (Recipe actually says "4 cups small diced zucchini", my aunt said she added more, and she grated it, which we liked, so I'm guessing here)

1 cup Bisquick

1 medium onion, diced

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon of garlic salt

1.8 oz. package of mozzarella cheese (recipe doesn't say, but I'm assuming shredded? And, do they sell 1.8 packages of cheese?)

3 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix zucchini through mozzarella cheese and place in an appropriately sized casserole dish (13 x9, definitely a medium sized one).

3. Beat the eggs and add the oil. Pour over the zucchini and cheese mixture.

4. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove and let stand 5 minutes.

Spinach Soup with Gruyere and Bacon

I made this recipe for the first course of Christmas Dinner 2010 based on The Pioneer Woman's Recipe. I made a couple changes, which I note below. Otherwise, its a keeper.

Spinach Soup with Gruyere and Bacon

Olive Oil to coat the pan
4 slices of bacon
2 packages of spinach (about 20 ounces worth)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
A half stick of butter
1/2 an onion, chopped

1/4 cup flour
4 Cups Whole milk
Sea Salt
Cayenne Pepper
Ground Black Pepper
Gruyere Cheese, Grated

1. Cook bacon. Break into pieces, set aside.

2. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add spinach and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring. Add spinach to food processor and pour a 1/4 cup hot water into the cup. Pule until pureed.

3. In a large soup pot, cook onion in butter over medium heat until onions begin to soften. Stir in flour slowly. Cook for a few minuts then pour in milk. Continue stirring. Add salt, pepper, cayenne. Continue cooking stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Pour in spinach and continue cooking until thickened.

4. Serve in bowl with shredded Gruyere and chopped bacon.

Cilantro and Garlic Chicken with Tomato-Raisin Sauce

E found this tasty little number here. It fit in perfectly with the rest of the our tapas menu.

Cilantro and Garlic Chicken with Tomato-Raisin Sauce

For the chicken:

3 T cilantro, minced
1 tsp coarsely ground pepper
Salt to taste
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2 in. chunks
Olive oil

For the Tomato-Raisin Sauce:

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup tomato sauce
1 T brown sugar
1 T cider vinegar
1/2 cup raisins

To serve:

Lemon juice
Shaved parmesan

1. Mix cilantro, pepper and 4-5 cloves of garlic together and rub over chicken. Sprinkle a little olive oil over the top. Place chicken pieces on a lightly oiled baking sheet.

2. Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees. Bake chicken for about 20 minutes.

3. In a food processor, process 2 cloves of garlic, tomato sauce, sugar, vinegar and raisins, until smooth.

4. Serve chicken covered with sauce and sprinkle with lemon juice and some shaved parmesan.

A Night After Thanksgiving Tapas Party

Attendees: Mitch, E, Ray, Chay, Nana, Papa, Uncle Tim, Aunt Mary, and Grace

For a change of pace and to break in the new house, E and I decided to have family over for a tapas party. I had always wanted to throw one, and the night after Thanksgiving seemed like a perfect chance to break up the big holiday meals. The party was supposed to actually happen the night before Thanksgiving, but Ray broke her arm. Friday night worked out better, though, because Grace was able to join us!

The Menu
Salted Almonds
Spanish Marinated Olives
Goat Cheese and Sun Dried Tomato Pesto with Crackers
1905 Salad
Pancetta Wrapped Asparagus with Shaved Parmesan
Shrimp with Garlic and Chilis
Cilantro and Garlic Chicken with Tomato-Raisin Sauce
Sangria

Gingerbread and Lemon Curd Trifle with Blackberry Sauce

I make this for the holidays, and its a popular entry to all the pot lucks during that time...

Gingerbread and Lemon Curd Trifle with Blackberry Sauce
(Recipe credit: Bobby Flay, Foodnetwork.com)

For the Lemon Curd Filling
2 (11-oz) jars prepared lemon curd
2 cups heavy cream, sweetened with sugar and vanilla, beaten to soft peaks

Place lemon curd in a large bowl. Fold in half of the whipped cream until combined. Reserve remaining whipped cream for the top of the trifle.

For the Blackberry Sauce
2 pints fresh blackberries or 1 bag frozen blackberries, thawed
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons raspberry liqueur
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

Place blackberries, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan and cook until the berries are soft and the sugar has melted. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour through a strainer into a bowl. Stir in the framboise and lemon juice.

For the Gingerbread
Well, I could make my own, but I don't bake. So I just buy a premade one.

To assemble
In a trifle bowl, start with an even layer of gingerbread cubes, top with 1/3 of the lemon curd mixture, and 1/3 of the blackberry sauce. Repeat 2 more times. Top with remaining whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.

Easter Dinner 2008

Attendees: E Mom, Nana, Papa, E, Mitch, Ray and Chay

The Menu:

• Mixed Green Salad with Parmesan Pepper Dressing and Spiced Croutons
• E's Prime Rib
• E Mom's Mashed Potatoes
• Grilled Asparagus: E's Way (as Made by Mitch)
• Rolls and Butter