Fagioli Con Salsicce All 'Uccelletto + Spinaci Saltati

Oh yes, friends, experimental cooking night is ON!  Tonight's fare is from Trattoria Grappolo's cookbook and it's basically roasted italian sausage with cannellini beans and sauteed spinach.  Sounds so much fancier-schmancier in Italian, though!

First, the ingredients:

The main course recipe is as follows:

4 mild italian sausages

1.5 T unsalted butter

6 fresh sage leaves ( I'm using dried as a substitute...

one tsp dried - one T fresh...why is Sage so hard to

find in the grocery store?)

Pinch of crushed red pepper

2 cloves garlic

1 can cannelini beans, with liquid

Salt & pepper to taste

Poke holes in the sausages and roast for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

While roasting, melt butter in pan, then add sage, red pepper, garlic, beans, salt, and pepper; cook until creamy.

Remove sausage from oven & serve with beans.

The Sauteed Spinach:

1/8 c EVOO

2 cl garlic

pinch of crushed red pepper

1 # cleaned spinach

salt and pepper, to taste

lemon wedges (to serve with)

Add EVOO & garlic. Add pepper, spinach, salt, pepper, stirring well

until spinach is wilted. Drain and serve with lemon wedges.

So the sausage was delicious. I enjoyed the beans, but they were a bit colorless; I think I should have added more red pepper. Their pinch may not be my pinch. Spinach was good, but I'm just not sure I like the texture of spinach.  It's good within other things, but on its own, I'm not a huge fan.  I just used up the rest of it, though, so it didn't go to waste.  This was a nice treat and something different than what I'm used to cooking as we've been in a sort of pasta or chicken rut lately. 

Europe Night at the Trebs'

Chicken Kiev with steamed spinach and Greek Fest Lemon Rice Pilaf

My son enjoyed the fact that we got to 'beat' the chicken, roll it up and 'stab' it with toothpicks.  This was a success.

Shrimp Scampi with Pasta Alfredo

Shrimp Scampi is so easy to make, and I rarely get to do so because my husband doesn't eat seafood. He was away at the CES show in Las Vegas for work, so my son and I had shrimp night.

Soul Rolls

So we've been watching the Rachel vs. Guy Celebrity Chef Cookoff on Food Network every Sunday. The most surprising cooks to me have been Lou Diamond Phillips and Coolio, the self-proclaimed ghetto gourmet.  Today I decided to attempt his recipe for "soul rolls". These are described as 'fried, but healthy'. 

They were quite yummy! (photos below)

Soul Rolls

Ingredients

1 package spring roll wrappers
1 lb. ground turkey, chicken, or beef
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 medium white onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
Small pile shredded cheddar or jack cheese
1 head shredded green cabbage
Sunflower oil in a wok for frying (heated high enough that a sprinkle of water pings when dropped in)
1 dollop or so chili sauce and salsa

Directions

1. Remove spring roll wrappers from the package and cover with a damp towel to keep from drying out.
2. Put ground meat in a bowl and add salt, pepper, onion, and garlic.
3. Combine well with chili sauce and salsa.
4. Sautee meat, breaking it up as it cooks.
5. Assemble rolls (don't over stuff!): Spread out one wrapper. Sprinkle cabbage on wrapper. Add a small amount of beef. Sprinkle on some cheese. Roll wrapper nice and tight and seal with a bit of water.
6. Slide rolls into fryer, making sure not to overcrowd the wok.
7. Keep rolls turning in the oil and cook for about 3-4 minutes.
8. Remove, drain, and enjoy

Healthy Ingredients!

Ground Turkey 1#, just seasoned with
salt, pepper, and a little garlic
and onion powder.

About a 1/4 C of turkey

A little cheese, maybe 1/8 C.

For ease, I used package cole slaw mix with cabbage and carrots;
Then I didn't have to chop it. Also, rinsed & packaged spinach.

On the side, a little sweet chili sauce.

Voila!  Reminds me a bit of the Filipino egg rolls
my friend Grace makes (Lumpia)

Crockpot Pork Loin Roast

F&E had pork loin roasts on special today. Thus, today's experimental cooking choice is "Brown Sugar Pork Loin Roast for the Slow Cooker".

Ingredients:
1 boneless pork loin roast, 4-6 pounds
1 clove garlic, halved
salt & pepper
1 1/3 c. brown sugar, divided (1 c. + 1/3 c.)
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1/3 tsp. cinnamon

Preparation:
Wash roast, trimming excess fat. Pat dry, then rub with the garlic halves. Season with salt, pepper, then prick all over with a fork or skewer.

In a small bowl, combine 1 c brown sugar, mustard, and vinegar. Rub all over roast.

Cook and cover on low 6-8 hrs. Pour off excess juices.

Combine remaining 1/3 c. brown sugar with cinnamon, and spread over top of roast. Cover and continue cooking on low for one hour longer.

Serves 6-8.

Here's a prep photo:

Final product photos later tonight!

Panda Express Copycat: Honey Walnut Shrimp

Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp Ingredients 

1lb large shrimp (peeled and deveined, with tails removed)

1 cup water

2/3 cup white sugar

½ cup walnuts

4 egg whites

2/3 cup cornstarch

¼ cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon canned sweetened condensed milk

1 cup oil (for frying)

This is the recipe for 1 lb. of shrimp; I cut it all and made 1/2 recipe.

How to: In a small sauce pan mix water and sugar. Bring to a boil and add the walnuts. Boil for 2 minutes, drain and place on a baking sheet to dry.

 Meanwhile, beat egg whites in a medium bowl until foamy. Stir in cornstarch until it becomes somewhat thick.Dip shrimp into the batter. Heat oil in a deep fryer and fry shrimp in batches in oil until golden brown (about 5 minutes). Drain on paper towels. 


 In a serving bowl, mix mayonnaise, honey and sweetened condensed milk. Add shrimp and toss to coat with the sauce. Add walnuts and serve.

Here's the finished product.

My small home fryer didn't crisp the batter. I think I'd pan fry them at home to get the crisp battering first. The batter stuck to the basket in my fryer and made a mess. The taste was good though.