Cooking in the Mountains

The other night, my best friend from home, Emmie, and I drove up to her family's mountain house for an evening of cooking and movie-watching (and wine drinking, of course). For dinner, we whipped up this dish, adapted from a recipe by David Rocco—it was loaded with eggplant, spicy Italian sausage, mozzarella, and plum tomatoes. After finishing our meal (and polishing off a bottle...or more...of red wine :D), we sat down with a plateful of Emmie's homemade tiramisu and had ourselves a little movie marathon. It was a fantastic evening and I'm looking forward to more this winter. I'm also pumped to try out some more recipes from Rocco's cookbook, Made in Italy.

Recipe: Sweet Italian Sausage and Farfalle in a Creamy Fennel and Onion Sauce

On my way back from the airport on Tuesday, I stopped by Trader Joe's (a rare treat for me, as I live 45 minutes away) and enjoyed the joy that is really cheap, really good food. While browsing through the fresh produce section, a container of fresh fennel bulbs caught my eye. Both its thin, green fronds and pale, white bulb-like stem base have a soft, anise-like taste that works in both savory and sweet dishes, and I wanted to try it out for dinner tonight. While I normally wouldn't make two dishes with heavy cream back to back (last night's blue cheese sauce was so tasty though!), this fennel was just begging to be cooked down and blended into cream. Paired with tender pasta and sweet Italian sausage, which typically contains fennel seeds in it, this sauce is perfect and pulls the whole dish together. Oh, and on an unrelated note, for once in my life, I actually took a few pictures along the way, so enjoy.

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: Approx. 45 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Food processor or blender

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. butter
• Olive oil, enough to lightly coat the bottom of a medium pan (you'll need to do this twice)
• 2-3 sweet Italian sausage links, casings removed, pulled/crumbled into small pieces
• 1 bulb fennel, quartered, cored, and roughly chopped (remove the top but keep the green fronds for garnish)
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. dry white wine
• 1/2 pint heavy cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• A pinch of dried sage
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds
• Cornstarch-and-water mixture, as needed
• 8 oz. small pasta (farfalle, medium shells, rotini, etc.)

Directions

Heat 1 tbsp. butter and a splash of olive oil in a medium pan over medium high heat, then add the crumbled sausage and cook until lightly browned on the outside and cooked through (approx. 10 minutes). Remove the sausage from the pan and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate (leave the leftover oil and butter in the pan). 

Return the pan to the stove over medium high heat, add 1 tbsp. butter and a little olive oil, then add the onion, fennel, and garlic. Cook for 15-20 minutes until golden brown, tender, and fragrant, then add the white wine and let it reduce a bit. 

Fennel: The top left corner is the core, below that is a quarter of the bulb, and the right is the sliced up bulb

Onions, fennel, and garlic early in the cooking process

The onions, fennel, and garlic, now soft, golden-brown, and ready for the food processor

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add the pasta, then cook according to package instructions (approx. 11-13 min.). While the pasta is cooking, pour the onion and fennel mixture into the "bowl" of a food processor and pulse to blend. Add heavy cream and blend until fairly smooth. Pour the mixture into a small pot and heat over medium heat. Add the listed spices and herbs and the milk. Thicken with cornstarch-and-water as needed, then reduce to medium low heat. Reheat the sausage in the microwave for 30 seconds. Drain the finished pasta and return to the pot, then add the sausage and sauce and toss to combine. Serve with a garnish of the thin fronds from the fennel bulb. 

Fennel fronds

This sauce is really something different—the fennel taste is sweet and subtle and, combined with onions, the resulting flavor is a blend of sweet and savory; there's a buttery quality to it, with a richness that creates depth. The fennel flavor in the sauce mirrors the fennel seeds that help to flavor the sausage, and pasta creates the perfect base for the two. 

Recipe: Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with a Blue Cheese Cream Sauce

I spent this past weekend with John in Memphis, a place I enjoy more and more each time I visit. The city has a great food scene and there are so many restaurants to try. Memphis is about more than just BBQ and Southern cooking—there are restaurants offering up fantastic pizzas, tantalizing ethnic foods, delectable desserts, and more. We stocked up on cupcakes from Muddy's (their mint icing is absolutely amazing), ate a homemade hot dog and pizza with Benton bacon at Hogs & Hominy, enjoyed cheesy bread at Houston's, and got to taste an assortment of dishes from a variety of restaurants at The Dixon's Art on Fire event. On Sunday night, we went to Boscos and I had a very tasty pasta dish with grilled chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and a gorgonzola sauce. Tonight, I was thinking back on that dish when I peered in the fridge and saw a container of blue cheese crumbles left over from some salads I'd been making last week. I'm a big blue cheese lover—I love the salad dressing, I love it crumbled on a steak or burger, and I really wanted to use that box of cheese to make a blue cheese cream sauce. That sauce, tossed with chicken, broccoli, and pasta, created a flavorful, filling dish that was perfect for this rainy day that Sandy sent our way today.

Serves: 4

Prep. time: 10-15 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes total (approx. 2 min. for broccoli, 5-10 min. for sauce and chicken, 11-13 min. for pasta)

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 1-2 heads broccoli, cut into florets (or approx. 2-4 cups broccoli florets)
• 8 oz. farfalle, or other small pasta (penne, medium shells, etc.)
• A pat of butter
• Olive oil, enough to lightly coat the bottom of a large pan
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1-2 inch cubes
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 pint heavy cream
• 1/2-1 cup blue cheese (more or less, as desired)
• 1-2 tbsp. dried chives, or more as desired
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Cornstarch and water mixture, as needed

Directions
In a medium pot, bring salted water to a boil, then blanch the broccoli florets (i.e. cook them for about 2-3 minutes in the boiling water). Drain them, then return them to the pot with cold water and some ice cubes (this will help stop them from cooking any further—the last thing you want is mushy broccoli). Add salted water to another medium to large pot, and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions (about 11-13 minutes). While the pasta is cooking, heat the butter and olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat and add the chicken. Season with salt and pepper and cook gently until tender and no longer pink in the middle (about 5-10 min.)—toss the garlic in near the end of cooking. While the chicken is cooking, heat the heavy cream over medium high heat in a small pot. Once bubbling, add blue cheese crumbles and stir to combine. If desired, add a little cornstarch-and-water to thicken the sauce. Reduce the heat to medium low. Once the pasta is finished cooking, drain it and return it to the pot, then drain the broccoli and add it to the pasta. Add the chicken and sauce to the mixture, season with salt and pepper, add chives, and toss in an extra handful or two of blue cheese crumbles. Serve hot, with added blue cheese crumbles, as desired.

This dish, though packed with blue cheese, is not overpowering, but rather quite light and flavorful. Broccoli is always delicious in a creamy sauce, especially one with cheese, and chicken adds some much-needed protein. A dash of chives and an extra spoonful of blue cheese crumbles completes the dish. 

Goat-Petting, Beer-Drinking, and Hurricane-Avoidance, or What I Did This October

So, October flew by so fast! As you can tell from the stunning lack of posts, I was pretty busy this month, and for once, it wasn't just because of work. Little ol' Sarah finally got her social life back! My best friend from high school is back in town, and we've been catching up after spending months and months apart. A visit to a local petting zoo, movie nights at her family's mountain house, and a couple delicious meals kept me occupied earlier this month, and we have more plans in the making.

Feeding the goats

Two weekends ago, I drove down to Greenville, SC for my second college Homecoming (sadly, without the boyfriend, as law school work kept him away). While definitely less exciting than last year's event, I got to see pretty much all of my closest friends, and that's what really matters. Our friend, Johnny, invited the whole group to his family's tailgate, smack dab in front of the stadium, so I spent the afternoon gorging on kebabs, cupcakes, and hard cider, while catching glimpses of the game. A short bar crawl, complete with the obligatory visit to Tassie's for a Tiger in the Tank (along with a variety of other boozy frozen drinks) and a trip to The Trappe Door for plates full of fancy fries and glasses of delicious Belgian ales, completed the day. I ended my lovely weekend at Soby's the following morning, enjoying their fantastic Sunday brunch with my best friend from college. This smorgasbord satisfied my craving for cheesy grits and I had the joy of eating chocolate fondue-dunked cookies for breakfast—what more could you ask for?

Furman's Belltower

This past weekend, I flew down to Memphis (and somehow missed the memo about Hurricane Sandy arriving the day I was due to fly home...oops), and spent a long weekend with John (a little longer than planned because of said hurricane, but I'm not complaining ;D). Having not seen him since July and thinking I wasn't going to see him again until December, this quickly-planned trip was a godsend. He greeted me with chilled white wine and chocolates, got me my very own Memphis Law tee shirt, surprised me with Chick-fil-a chicken biscuits a.k.a. breakfast in bed on my first morning there, and was his usual amazing self. We enjoyed a food-tasting/fire dancer/spark artist/auction/live music event at The Dixon, took a trip to the zoo, saw Argo (fantastic movie, by the way), and stuffed our faces with cupcakes from Muddy's and the most delicious hot dog I've ever eaten at Hogs & Hominy (along with other delicious dishes throughout the weekend). This weekend with the boyfriend was definitely a success and I'm already counting down the days until our trip to Greenville in December.

Om nom nom

Beautiful

So many colors!

So, October was all about having fun (I definitely sold my fair share of shoes this past month too though!), but now it's time to get back on track. Up this month: 1) Me, working on my diet and exercise routine, 2) Intensifying the job search, 3) So many more recipes!, 4) Working on my online presence (a.k.a. actually using my Twitter account and working on the blog, 5) Thanksgiving—definitely helping out more this year (and inevitably dying at work on Black Friday). So, stay tuned, because I'm back and ready to step it up.