Bulgur Wheat and Italian Sausage Stuffing

Now I know the above photo does not paint the most impressive picture but holy cow this was good! I initially made this Bulgur Wheat and Sausage Stuffing as a filling for cabbage rolls, but peeling cabbage leaves off whole is far easier said than done so we tossed the rabbit food aside and just ladled this deliciousness into bowls for our meal. 

Since "Cooking Light", where this recipe is from, generally provides recipes that serve four-eight there was a small discussion within my two person abode whether or not to make the whole recipe. In the end we did and I am so glad, because we easily knocked out the additional four servings in a matter of days and neither one of us tired of it.

This recipe made me glad to have a food processor, because it requires that you cut celery, carrot, onion, mushroom and garlic into minuscule little pieces and doing that by hand can be a bit tedious. That potentially time consuming step aside this dish is straight forward to make, and well worth the effort to whip up even if you don't have a speedy cutting contraption at your disposal. 

As I mentioned earlier this dish is supposed to be wrapped in cabbage leaves, it is also normally accompanied by a tangy tomato sauce. I made the sauce and unfortunately don't have a photo of the dish with it but it was a nice complement to the earthy and savory flavors of the stuffing. I don't think that it was a vital component though, and if I were to make this as a side dish for say Thanksgiving I might eschew the sauce along with the cabbage leaves. 

I served this with the tomato sauce spooned over top and accompanied by a glass of chardonnay and it was heaven. If you're in for some excellent comfort food or searching for a new addition to your Thanksgiving menu look no further.

Whole Grain and Italian Sausage-Stuffed Cabbage Cooking Light May 2008 

Serves 6

2  cups  water

• 1/2  cup  dried porcini mushrooms, crushed (about 1/2 ounce)
• 1 1/4  cups  uncooked bulgur
• 2  teaspoons  butter
• 1  teaspoon  olive oil
• 1  cup  finely chopped onion
• 2/3  cup  finely chopped celery
• 2/3  cup  finely chopped carrot
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  pound  hot turkey Italian sausage
• 12  large Savoy cabbage leaves
• 2  cups  canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  red wine vinegar
• 2  teaspoons  brown sugar
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley

Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in mushrooms; cover, remove from heat, and let stand 10 minutes.

Uncover pan; bring mushroom mixture to a boil. Stir in bulgur; cover, remove from heat, and let stand 30 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Spoon bulgur mixture into a large bowl.

Heat butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to pan; sauté 7 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Add vegetables to bulgur mixture; cool slightly. Stir in salt and pepper. Remove casings from sausage. Crumble sausage into bulgur mixture; stir well to combine.

Add water to a large Dutch oven to a depth of 2 inches; set a large vegetable steamer in pan. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add cabbage leaves to steamer. Steam cabbage, covered, 6 minutes or until tender and pliable. Remove cabbage from steamer (do not drain water). Rinse cabbage with cold water; drain and pat dry.

Working with one cabbage leaf at a time, place 1/2 cup bulgur mixture in center of leaf. Fold in edges of leaf; roll up. Repeat procedure with the remaining cabbage leaves and bulgur mixture to form 12 cabbage rolls. Stack rolls evenly in steamer.

Return Dutch oven to medium-high heat; bring water to a boil. Steam rolls, covered, 30 minutes, adding more water if necessary.

Combine tomatoes, red wine vinegar, and sugar in saucepan; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in parsley. Serve sauce with rolls.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

How to describe these???? slices of heaven, gastronomic bliss, or perhaps the best frigging breakfast in the world; yeah that sounds right. These are to die for, or should I say hop out of bed faster than a speeding bullet for. I baked 13 of these guys Saturday morning and while I tried my hardest to limit myself to just 1/2 of one I ended up eating 1.5 as soon as they came out of the oven. I took five to work, Brian's brother ate one, and by Monday morning Brian and I had taken care of the rest, and all I could think about was making more. 

I have made cinnamon rolls using a few other recipes and I have never had a bad result, but the one thing I always found problematic about other recipes was that they took several hours to make. In order to enjoy them for breakfast you would either have to wake up before sunrise or make them the day before and reheat. I  knew there was a better way though; I envisioned a world in which you could sleep in and indulge in fresh cinnamon roll bliss. 

That's where today's recipe comes in to play. These guys go through their final rise overnight in the refrigerator, and their sweet cinnamony scent is ready to waft out of the oven towards your nostrils as you do your morning stretching. Now apart from the temporal convenience of this recipe these rolls are also quite tasty. The dough is light and subtly sweet, the filling is spicy, and incredibly alluring, and the frosting adds the final decadent touch. 

So here's the game plan; around 8 tonight gather your ingredients and put these together. In the morning pop them in the oven and then get ready for your day. Then just as your finishing your morning routine you'll detect the scent of heaven itself coming from your kitchen, and will shortly sit down to the most mouthwatering breakfast that you could ever dream up. 

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls adapted from allrecipes.com by dendes5238

Makes 11-13 depending on size of each roll

Dough:

1 cup milk

1/3 cup butter

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1/2 cup white sugar

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

Filling:

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins  (optional)

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped (optional) 

Frosting:

4 Tbl. butter

1/3-1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

a dash of milk

OR

Cream Cheese Frosting 

4 oz. (1/2 package) cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Add the butter and stir until melted; let cool until lukewarm. 

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk mixture. Add the sugar, 3 cups of flour, salt and eggs; stir well to combine. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes. (Conversely you could also toss all this stuff into a bread machine set it on the dough cycle and let it do its thing.)

Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. (If your using a bread machine allow it to work on the dough until the end of the first rise which is equivalent to the 1 hour rest period noted above.)

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 10x 14 inch rectangle. Lightly brush the far edge with water and KEEP CLEAR of filling ingredients. Brush the remaining surface of the dough with melted butter. Sprinkle a light coating of cinnamon over the dough; enough so that the whole surface is covered but not so much that there is a film. Next sprinkle with brown sugar. Then sprinkle the raisins and chopped nuts over the dough. Roll up into a log and seal the seam (the edge that you prepped with water). 

Rolls just before going into the fridge

Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces; place the pieces in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan, or 12 inch deep dish pizza pan. Cover over with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rise overnight.

After rising over night

The next morning, take the rolls out of the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature while you preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Meanwhile,make the frosting by combining the softened butter with powdered sugar (or butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar) until you reach a desired level of sweetness. Stir in the vanilla and a little milk if the resultant mixture is stiff.
 

Baked and about 3 minuet from being devoured

Remove rolls from oven and place on cooling rack. Immediately drizzle with frosting; If frosting has hardened a bit microwave for 15-30 seconds, stir, and then pour over rolls. Serve to family friends and of course yourself, and watch the food orgasms unfold.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Greetings all, sorry for my relatively sparse postings these last few weeks. My mind has been contemplating many more topics besides what is brewing in the kitchen, but a girl has to eat and I have made some real winners these last few days. 

Todays recipe for Barbecue Chicken Pizza is one of that I have cooked at least half a dozen times. Since I'm constantly looking to try new dishes I rarely make anything more than once and only have a handful of recipes I've made twice, but I can't seem to shake this recipe. The combination of savory barbecue sauce, succulent poultry, and creamy gouda cheese brings joy to my taste buds every time and even a quarter life crisis can be put on hold for such tasty fare.

So with out further ado here is the pizza recipe to end all others, enjoy!

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Serves 4-6

1 pizza crust (the recipe I use is below, but store bought works well too)

1 bottle barbecue sauce (a honey or brown sugar recipe works best)

3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cup smoked gouda cheese, thinly sliced or shredded  

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken, cubed, cooked, and chilled (prevents overcooking on pizza)

1/3 cup cilantro roughly chopped

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

Toss cold cooked chicken with barbecue sauce and return to refrigerator. Heat oven to 450 degrees. 

Roll out pizza dough to 1/4 inch thickness and place on top of greased pan or pizza stone. Spread desired amount of barbecue sauce to within 1/4 inch of crust. Top with cheese, chicken, and onion. 

Cook for 11-13 min. until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown. Immediately sprinkle with cilantro and serve. 

Quick and Easy Pizza Crust  from allrecipes.com by Chef Rider

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

2 1/2 cups bread flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

• 
  
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• 
  
• Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes
• 
  
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or baker's peel dusted with cornmeal. Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Chicken and Sausage Cacciatore with Grape Tomatoes

I debated whether or not to post this recipe owing to the absence of a lovely finished product photo, but this diner was too delicious to be ignored. When I look back on the ingredient list that included red wine, hot Italian sausage, and chicken;  I'm not sure how I could have expected anything less than sumptuous results. This was a fabulous meal; hearty and quick. Apart from a bounty of protein the dish also features a generous amount of tomatoes, and I don't know about you but I think tomatoes in the summertime are just divine. 


In addition to being DELECTABLE, I found this dish also fun to make. I know, I know, you're probably thinking that goes with out saying for someone who whips out her muffin tins at 11 p.m. because she'd rather make cupcakes than watch t.v., but I too can distinguish between tedious cooking, and jubilant culinary endeavors. This dish falls squarely into the latter category. 


When I served this I followed Bon Appetite's recommendation and accompanied the caccitore with fresh garlic bread (which my magical bread machine baked for me while I was at work, and for which a recipe will be posted soon) and a green salad making for a nicely balanced meal. If you're ready to have a ball in the kitchen and enjoy a fabulous dinner (with lots of friends) make this right away and you'll be licking your lips in no time. 


Chicken and Sausage Cacciatore with Grape Tomatoes Adapted from Bon Appétite, July 2008
Serves 4
3 tablespoons olive oil (nonstick cooking spray)
4 large chicken thighs with skin and bone (6-8chicken legs)
3/4 lb. fresh hot or mild italian sausage
3/4 lb. mushrooms, quartered
2-12 oz containers grape tomatoes, quartered (cherry tomatoes)
1/2 cup dry red wine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 tsp. fresh rosemary (.5 tsp. dried rosemary)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil


Spray pan with nonstick spray or drizzle with 2 Tbl. oil and heat over medium high. Sprinkle chicken with sat and pepper. Add chicken and sausage and saute for 5 min on each side until browned. Transfer to a bowl. Add mushrooms to skillet saute until brown, ~4 min add to same bowl. 


Add remaining 1 Tbl. spoon oil, or re-spray the pan; add the tomatoes, red wine, rosemary, and garlic. Cover reduce heat to medium and cook 5 min until tomatoes soften. Using a potato masher, crush half the tomatoes. Return chicken to skillet reduce heat to medium low, and simmer uncovered for 5 min. Add remaining contents of bowl to skillet and simmer uncovered until chicken and sausage are cooked through, turning occasionally ~15 min. 


Cut sausages on diagonal and place on platter along with chicken. Stir basil into sauce, season with salt and pepper, and spoon over dish.  Serve with crusty garlic bread.   

Soft Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gah!!!!!!!!!! these cookies are incredible and make me feel like a domestic goddess every time their scent wafts from the oven.  I have made this recipe at least 8 prior times and this particular batch was the result of competition between myself and Pepperidge Farm. It all started when I bought a bag of P. Farm's Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies and quickly devoured their entire contents with the help of two other people in less than 12 hours. Now aside from the fact that purchasing cookies is a rare event for someone who regularly bakes several different kinds of sweets per week, the fact that I killed an entire package of cookies in essentially one sitting was somewhat disconcerting. I thought "what a crock! a whole package of cookies gone in less than a day hrmpf!" and then decided to make them more scrumptious and numerous than P. Farms ever could.

These little gems were my answer; they are super soft and chewy, and this recipe makes a million of them so you won't run out before satisfying your cookie cravings (like those OTHER guys). The secret lies in the inclusion of instant pudding mix to the batter. I don't know exactly how it works but every time I include pudding in cakes, cookies, or quick breads the result is a super moist and flavorful creation. Now the original recipe calls for all butter and I regularly make it this way, but this time around I swapped out a third of the butter for yogurt. This was a bit riskier than normal because substituting yogurt or applesauce for butter will always result in a softer more cake like texture, and since the pudding mix already does this I was running the risk of baking cookies that tasted more like pancakes, but swap I did because pancake cookies are also good.

Fortunately the cookies still looked and tasted like cookies and they were ooooooh so delicious! Brian said he could have gone for a slightly denser texture but gave them a thumbs up nonetheless. The recipe calls for vanilla instant pudding but you can use any flavor of pudding you want and the same goes for the types of chips you use. I have made versions using chocolate pudding with white and semisweet chips, pistachio pudding with peanut butter chips, and of course vanilla pudding with semi sweet chips. Besides the yum factor of this recipe the versatility of this dish is really what cements it in my favorites list. Have fun with this one, and let me know what you think; especially if you come up with your own tasty flavor combinations. 

Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies Adapted from allrecipes.com

Serves 36

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup butter, softened (2/3 butter 1/3 plain fat free yogurt)
• 3/4  cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine the butter, sugars, vanilla, and eggs stirring to combine. Next add in the flour instant pudding and baking soda mixing just until the wet ingredients are incorporated with the dry. Toss in the chips and nuts if using. 

Roll into tsp. sized balls and place on cookie sheet (as you can probably tell from the photo tsp. sized balls result in mini cookies, I like mini food it makes me feel like a giant). If you prefer larger cookies you can roll them into Tbl. spoon sized balls instead; the serving size of 36 corresponds to the larger dough proportion. Whatever size dough you decide on bake these for 9-12 min until golden on the edges. 

Allow to cool on the pan for 3 min before removing to cool further on a wire rack. Serve with a tall glass of milk.  

Tomatillo-Pepita Gazpacho!

I set off the fire alarm making this. It's not as bad as it sound though, if the fire department had been summoned it might have been. You see this is not your run of the mill tomato based Gazpacho, but a tangier Tomatillo-Pepita Gazpacho and it's green! As you might have guessed the vibrant green hue is a result of the tomatillo base and the broiling of them is also what set off the fire alarm. All things considered though this was still a perfect summer dish. 

Gazpacho could not be an easier, more appropriate use of the summer vegetable boon, and it's basic ingredients list plus simple prep make it approachable to even the most apprehensive cooks. This version requires one extra step of roasting vegetables but was still ready in a flash even when you toss in an extra few minuets to throw open every door and window in your house and fan smoke from the fire alarm. 

I found this particular recipe in the July 2008 issue of Bon Appetite which always has the most gorgeous photos of their food. As with many recipes that i make I chose this one because it used alot of what I had on hand and the ingredient list was intriguing for a Gazpacho. My only prior experience working with tomatillos was using the canned version and so i wasn't sure how to go about picking them for this recipe, but I just followed my gut and chose firm, unblemished ones; a post market consultation of Wikipedia told me that this is indeed is the mark of a good tomatillo. The soup also contains pepitas, or pumpkin seeds. When I first read this all I could think about was the ire that I would incur shelling them, but luckily pepitas are sold already peeled; thank god! 

I thought the flavors of this dish really complemented one another but some got a little overwhelemed by the acidity and tang of the tomatillos. In hindsight I would have increased the volume of certain ingredients and prepped others differently and i'll make some suggestions in parentheses below. Over all this is definitely keeper and i'll be trying it again with my tweaks. Salud!

Tomatillo-Pepita Gazpacho Adapted from Bon Appetite July, 2008

Serves 4

1/2 cup unsalted shelled pepitas (toasted)

2 lbs. tomatillos, husked and rinsed

1 large fresh Poblano/Pasilla pepper (2)

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 cup vegetable broth

1/3 cup green onion, chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, minced (1/2 cup)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 small english cucumber, diced

1 avocado, pitted and diced

1 12 oz. container cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on size

Prepare barbecue over medium high heat or set broiler to high. Toast the pepitas in a dry pan over medium heat string frequently until fragrant, then grind in a food processor. 

Barbecue or broil tomatillos and poblano peppers turning half way through cooking until skin is slightly charred 12-15 min. Upon removal of the tomatillos and peppers from the grill or oven add the tomatillos to the food processor and place the peppers in a plastic bag and twist to trap air. After 5 min. peel, seed and coarsely chop the poblano, and add it to the processor. Add in the garlic and process the soup to a coarse puree. 

Transfer soup to a large bowl and stir in the vegetable broth. Season soup with salt and pepper then refrigerate for 3 hours, until cold. Mix in remaining ingredients then serve alongside tortilla chips or quesadillas.