Zuppa Toscana Soup

I've been meaning for the last week to share with you a soup that I have made a few times now. I originally had this soup at a friends house two years ago and fell in love with it then. I finally found a recipe for it that's so yummy. The recipe I used was found here. 

Ingredients: 
1 lb Italian Sausage (spicy if you prefer more heat)... I used spicy.
5-7 slices of bacon
5 medium russet potatoes
2 c kale, chopped
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 qt water
2 cans of chicken broth
1/2 large onion
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper

Instructions 

- Crumble the sausage and brown in pot you'll be cooking the soup in. Place on paper towel to drain. 

- Next cook the bacon, in same pot, and crumble into small pieces. Place on paper towel to drain.

- Slice the potatoes between 1/8″ and 1/4″. Make the slices about the same size so they cook evenly. Dice up the onion and mince the garlic. Throw the potatoes, onion, garlic, chicken broth, and water into pot on medium heat until the potatoes are cooked through.

- While waiting for potatoes to cook, prepare the kale by chopping into bite sized pieces. 

- Add the sausage, bacon, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste once potatoes are cooked. Simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. During this time the potatoes will start breaking apart into smaller bite sized pieces because they are so tender. 

- Turn the heat to low and add in the kale and heavy cream. Let the soup heat through and serve. 

Can you say yum-o! Till next time....

Tour de... South

With the visit of our friends fast approaching I've been spending all my free moments pondering what to feed our special guests. I've gone back and forth with all kind of ideas... formal or casual... salmon or chicken... wine or cocktail? Decisions, decisions, decisions.

I guess I had to stop and think about our friends. What type of people are they? Formal or casual? Definitely casual. Once we spent the weekend cooped up in a hotel room playing games and watching movies. So, after determining we should keep it casual, things just kind of snowballed after that. I was thinking southern comfort food would be perfect. When you think of a southern themed menu you immediately picture family and friends sitting around a large table. At the same time you picture an elegant setting. It's the perfect way to celebrate an anniversary while keeping things casual.

Being African American I grew up on "Soul Food," which originated in the South. But in researching for the menu I discovered there is vast array of southern food other than Soul Food. There's Cajun, Louisiana Creole, Lowcountry, and Appalachian to name a few. Something else I discovered, the dishes I grew up eating are spread out across these categories. Enter Tour de South. For the weekend we will be dining on dishes from the various categories listed above.

Still not final, but this is the way I'm leaning.

Friday - Louisiana Creole

- Bell Peppers Stuffed with Dirty Rice

- Jambalaya

- Gumbo

- Peach Cobbler

- Sweet Tea/Lemonade

Saturday - Traditional Southern

- French Toast
- BBQ Ribs

- Potato Salad

- Collard Greens

- Black Eyes Peas

- Candied Yams

Sunday - Appalachian (Breakfast Only)

- Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
- Eggs
- Sausage/Bacon
- Country Potatoes

Sounds yummy doesn't it!

Thanks for visiting - till next time.

Shrimp Southern Style

Do you love Emeril Lagasse? I love Emeril and this past week I made one of his recipes that I just have to share with you. I've made it before but that was before blogging.

I made Shrimp Creole. Oh my word, it is delicious and spicy. Yum-o-licious!!! I did link the recipe on Food Network, but it's slightly different than the original one that I used. This is the one that I made.

Shrimp Creole
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 large onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cps seafood/shrimp stock
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes, in thick puree
dash Worcestershire sauce
dash hot sauce
2 bay leaves
kosher salt/black pepper (to taste)
2 lbs large shrimp
4 Tbsp green onions

1. Season shrimp with Essence (see recipe below) and set aside.

2. Heat heavy dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil. Cook garlic, onions, celery and green peppers. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in cayenne and let caramelize.

3. Add stock, tomatoes, Worcestershire, hot sauce and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 35 minutes.

4. Add shrimp and cook about 4 minutes more, until they are bright pink and cooked through. Garnish with green onions and remove bay leaves. (Before I add the shrimp I cut up the tomatoes with kitchen shears.)

Emeril's Essence ***

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

***You can make a batch and set aside. I just seasoned the shrimp with seasoning individually.

Thanks for visiting... till next time.


I'm linking this to:
Tutorials and Tips Party - Home Stories A2Z

Chocolate Chip Goodness!

I received a recipe a few weeks ago from a friend and it's called: "The Famous Chocolate Chip and Walnut Cookie." With a name like that you know that is has to be amazing to bite into, right?! Well take a look at these ingredients...

Wet Ingredients
1 C Butter (room temp)
1 C White Sugar
1 C Brown Sugar
2 Eggs (room temp)
2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Dry Ingredients
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
2 C Flour
2 C Oatmeal (Quick 1 Minute)

But wait there's more... most important part.
1 bag  of Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips
1 1/2 C Chopped Walnuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1. Combine dry ingredients and mix in one bowl, set aside.
2  In another bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.
3. Add eggs one a time to creamed butter and mix.
4. Add vanilla to wet ingredients and mix.
5. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix well.
6. Stir in chocolate and walnut.

Side note: When I first went shopping for the chocolate chips I couldn't find Ghirardelli so I settled for another popular brand. Then a few days later I went to another store and the Ghirardelli. And let me just tell you there is a difference. A difference in size and more importantly in taste.

7. Form golf ball size balls and gently press down.

This is what happens when you press down to hard... oops.

Bake 9-11 minutes. And finally enjoy! They make a perfect late night snack. As you can tell my kitchen is dark, I was sneaking a few before bedtime... shhh don't tell Mr. Uncluttered.

This recipe makes a whole lotta cookies... 36 to be exact.

Thanks for visiting... till next time.

I'm linking this to:

Not Your Ordinary Grilled Cheese.

Today, after finishing up at a client's house I had a hankering for a grilled cheese sandwich. But not just any grilled cheese, grilled cheese like a dear friend turned me on to. Its a Pepperjack Grilled Cheese Plus. Yum-o-licious! Is your tummy rumbling???

Pepperjack Grilled Cheese with Tomatoes and Caramelized Onions (makes 3 sandwiches)
- Butter/Margarine
- 1/2 Large Yellow Onion
- 6 slices Sourdough Bread
- 9 slices Pepperjack Cheese (or more if you want)
- 2 thinly sliced Tomatoes
- Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder (to taste)
- Sliced Turkey Breast (Optional)

1. Gather all ingredients. It goes pretty fast once you get started.

2. Melt a dab of butter in a heavy skillet over med-high heat. I used a cast iron skillet, great heat conductor.

3. Add onions and cook until caramelized. Do not over cook, you want a golden brown color.

4. While waiting for onions, butter one side of each slice of bread.

5. Once onions are caramelized, remove to a plate and return skillet to stove. Add bread butter side down and grill until lightly golden. Add cheese, sandwich together and continue to grill, flipping occasionally not to burn.

6. Once cheese has started to melt add in caramelized onions. Continue grilling until cheese is completely melted.

7. Remove sandwich to a plate and add tomatoes. Lightly season tomatoes with salt, pepper and garlic powder (the garlic powder makes a world of difference in the flavor).

8. Close it up and enjoy!

Optional - You can also add meat if you like. Its a must for Mr. Uncluttered.

Thanks for visiting - till next time

I'm linking this to:
Delightfully Inspiring Thursday - Delightful Order
Inspiration Friday - At The Picket Fence

Pancake Mix Can Make Biscuits Too

Today for dinner I wanted Raspberry & Blueberry Shortcake for dessert, not with angel food cake or pound cake but with biscuits. Truly the best way to eat shortcake is with biscuits. Sounds yummy right?! Soooo.... I set about getting everything prepared. 

Raspberries and blueberries sprinkled with sugar and set in the frig to do their thing... Check.

Pulled the Bisquick out the pantry... Check.

But wait a minute, this box feels kinda light. Yup, you guessed it. Not even a full cup of mix in there. So on to plan B... Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix? (I didn't drop everything and run to the store because it's about 20 from my house.)

Looking all over the box, there was not a biscuit recipe anywhere in sight. Google here I come. Reading site after site it appeared that most were not sure if pancake mix could be used for biscuits. Searching and searching finally produced only one recipe original meant as a topper for pot pies. It was taken from an old Aunt Jemima recipe booklet.

Aunt Jemima Biscuit Topper Recipe
2 cups pancake mix
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons shortening
2/3 cup milk

1. Mix together Pancake mix and sugar; cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Add milk; stirring lightly only until mixture is dampened.
3. Turn out on floured board and knead gently a few seconds; roll out 1/2 inch thick, cut into a large circle to fit top of baking dish.
4. Place on top of meat or chicken pic and bake in a hot oven (425° F.) 20 minutes, or bake as biscuits in a  very hot oven (475° F.) 10 to 12 minutes.

I was skeptical when I began, but it looked ok before I started to roll it out.

I didn't take a picture during the roll-out process. I will tell you that its very sticky, have your flour at the ready. But I did get them into the oven finally.

The finished product... not to shabby. They didn't rise as much as I'd hoped. If I make them again I will roll-out the dough slightly thicker than 1/2 inch.

They were yummy with butter. But that is definitely not why I made them... on to the main attraction.

Presenting Ms. Raspberry & Blueberry Shortcake.

Yes it was yum-o-licious! Till next time.

I'm linking this to:
On the Menu Monday - StoneGable
Just Something I Whipped Up - The Girl Creative
Recipe Swap Sunday - Remodelaholic

Week 3 - Recipe Binder

This week Toni has challenged us to create a Recipe Binder. Good challenge for those that like to cook. Personally, I love to experiment in the kitchen. For instance today, while in the grocery shopping I looked for a new recipe to try on my Droid... found one. How does Beef and Cheese Manicotti sound??? It looked like it would taste good. Got home and tried it out (I made Ground Turkey and Cheese Manicotti)...DELISH! Is there anything better than pasta, cheese and more cheese? Anywho... I digress... back to the issue at hand.

I have a lot of odd-ball recipes that I need to corral. Some that I have ripped out of magazines, some that I have printed from the internet and some that were given to me. Previously there were just sitting in a pile on top of my cookbooks, so whenever I moved my cookbooks they would fall all over the place. To rectify that problem this is what I did.

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