Tim Cooks: Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Mustard

Inspiration:
Whenever I have something in my freezer or pantry that I would like to use, but I don't have a recipe in mind, I head to the Food & Wine website. They have a search function where you can find recipes that utilize any ingredient. I always check the boxes for "staff favorite" and "fast" first. I have never made a bad "staff favorite" recipe-- they are always awesome!

Adapted from this recipe by Nigel Slater.

I had a work presentation the next morning, so Tim took over the cooking duties. He says it was really simple to make.


Ingredients:

• 12 ounces short tubular pasta
  
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1.5 pounds bulk Italian sausage
  
• 3/4 cup dry white wine (use stock if you do not consume alcohol)
  
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons grainy mustard
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• 1 cup thinly sliced basil
• Parmesan for garnish, if desired
  

Instructions:

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente; drain. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the sausage meat and brown over moderately high heat, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and simmer, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, mustard and crushed red pepper and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the pasta and basil and toss to coat. Serve at once.

Notes:
This tastes vastly better than it looks. We had spicy bulk sausage, and this dish was SPICY. In a good way. I loved the combination of the spicy sausage, the strong mustard flavor, and the different textures. Do not use dried basil. I would not substitute turkey or chicken sausage in this dish; I think the rich pork flavor makes it special. I do not usually like leftovers, but I happily ate these leftovers 3 times. Loved it.


Liz's Rating: 10/10
Tim's Rating: 9/10

Tim Cooks: Sloppy Buffalo Joes

Inspiration:
Rachael Ray

me: I think I have a recipe you might want to make for lunch.
Tim: Frozen pizza?
me: No, Sloppy Joes.
Tim: I LOVE SLOPPY JOES.
me: I know. These are a bit different. They are a buffalo chicken Sloppy Joe, from Rachael Ray.
Tim: Sigh. Do I have to listen to her yammering?
me: No, I printed out the recipe. I'll even chop the veggies.
Tim: Good.
me: :)


Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds ground chicken
  
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped or grated
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup hot sauce (recommended: Frank's Red Hot)
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 8 good quality burger rolls, split and toasted
• 1 cup blue cheese crumbles
• 2 large dill pickles, chopped

Instructions:

1. Heat a large skillet with extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Add meat and break it up with wooden spoon, cook 5 to 6 minutes. Add in carrots, celery, onions and garlic, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, cook 7 to 8 minutes more. In a bowl combine the vinegar, sugar, Worcestershire, hot sauce, tomato sauce and stock. Pour into the pan and stir to combine. Simmer a few minutes more. Pile sloppy Buffalo filling onto buns and top with blue cheese and chopped pickles.

Liz's Notes: We made a half recipe.
Tim's Notes: Add some Tabasco if you like spicy food.

Liz's Rating: 8.5/10
Tim's Rating: 9.5/10

And here's Tim's artistic shot:

Tim Cooks: Tangy Lemon-Caper Dip

Inspiration:
A desire for a dip for our CSA veggies, and a recipe found in Better Homes and Gardens.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces light sour cream
• 1/2 cup yogurt, low-fat plain
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained and finely-chopped
• 2 teaspoons snipped fresh dill (or 1/2 teaspoon dried dill)
• 1/2 teaspoon finely-shredded lemon peel
• lemon peel and dill for garnish
  
• Assorted vegetable dippers (such as peeled baby carrots, zucchini slices, pea pods, yellow summer squash sticks, and/or red sweet pepper strips)

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, stir together sour cream, yogurt, capers, the 2 teaspoons snipped dill, and the 1/2 teaspoon lemon peel.
2. To serve, garnish with additional lemon peel and additional fresh dill or thyme. Serve with dippers.

Recipe Notes:
Nutritional Info (Per serving): Calories: 32, Saturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 36mg, Dietary Fiber: 0g, Total Fat: 2g, Carbs: 2g, Cholesterol: 8mg, Protein: 1g. Exchanges: Fat: 0.5

Tim's Rating: 8/10
Liz's Rating: 8/10

Tim Cooks: Pepperoni Rolls

Inspiration:
Modified from this recipe on the blog Sweet Tea in Texas, which came from Michelle's blog, Sugar and Spice.

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf refrigerated bread dough
• turkey pepperoni
• shredded mozzarella
• butter
• Italian seasoning
• garlic salt
• olive oil
• dried parsley (optional)
  
• pizza sauce
  

Instructions:

1. Preheat over to 350F.
2. Take the dough out of the container & lay it flat. Cut it in half & roll out two rectangles. Spread a little butter over the dough. Sprinkle that with some Italian seasoning & garlic salt. Layer the pepperoni on the dough, and cover with mozzarella cheese.
3. Roll up lengthwise and seal the ends and seam. Place seam-side down in a baking pan.
4. Brush a small amount of olive oil over the top; sprinkle with dried parsley.
   
5. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. Serve with pizza sauce for dipping.
   

Suggested Beverage: Red Wine

Tim's Rating: 9/10
Liz's Rating: 8.5/10

Tim's T-bone Steaks

Inspiration:
Finally, warm enough weather to use our grill!
And, t-bone steaks purchased as part of a larger order from Batalden Farms.

Ingredients:

• t-bone steaks
• olive oil
• Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• freshly-cracked black pepper

Instructions:

1. Let steak come to room temperature.
2. Rub both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoned salt and pepper.
   
3. Grill for roughly 8 minutes on one side, flip, and 6 minutes on the other side (for medium-medium rare).

Notes: We served the steak with roasted asparagus and a green salad with balsamic-Dijon vinaigrette.

Tim's Rating: 9/10 ("This is so good, I feel sorry for vegetarians.")
Liz's Rating: 9/10

Tim's Queso

Inspiration: March Madness

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Velveeta, cut into chunks
• 1 can cheddar cheese soup
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/3 cup salsa
• 1/4 pound browned ground beef (optional)
• Tortilla chips
  

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients in 2-quart saucepan.
2. Stir until melted.
3. Serve with chips.
   

Tim's Rating: 10/10
Liz's Rating: 6/10