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Breakfast sausage recipe

About 2 weeks ago my local grocery store had for sale pre-made chicken sausage patties. I have gotten into the habit of making my own little breakfast sandwich in the mornings because it is A) Cheaper and B) Healthier. These little guys were actually really, really good. And supposedly all natural. So I went to buy more last night and, well, they are gone. Never to be carried again. Of course. So after wandering around the meat department for about 20 minutes (I shouldn't be allowed in a grocery store alone) I found NOTHING that was even remotely comparable to the chicken sausage patties. So now what....

I'll make my own. Here is how it went...

Ingredients:

1.3 lbs of 99% Fat Free Turkey

2 tbsp dried sage

2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp marjoram

1 tbsp ground white pepper

red pepper flakes to taste (I like heat)

a pinch of ground clove

Mix all the spices together, add meat, make patties, cook on stove. 

Outcome:

Actually really good. I made 5 patties and one taste tester. I could (and next time will) make 6 or 7. The clove, while I believe is necessary, is WICKED powerful. When I say pinch, I should have said simdge. It'll definitely do the trick for the next 5 days at least. I cook them in advance and leave them in the refrigerator so I can quickly microwave them in the AM before the hour commute I have to work. Pictures to come...

Times they are a changing....

Needless to say, I have been slacking on this in a serious way. I have about 5 posts that are mostly done, however they're are a few things that have kept me from throwing them up here:
1. I hate blogger. The template is clunky and annoying to work with. Uploading photos of high quality is an issue unless I want to actually go through the process of doing HTML coding (which I don't BTW).
2. Direction. I want to take TfT to the streets and do some new things however am having trouble gaining access to chefs. I want to turn this into a interview style forum to discuss food with those who craft it. I am overwhelmed with concepts but am lacking funds, access, and time.
3. Go big or go home. I have this need to be all gas and no brakes the majority of the time. Not that you would know by reading the posts here, but it takes me 2 hours to write them because I waffle back and forth between pictures, wording, blah blah blah.

Anyway, this is not the end of TfT, but it needs to be reinvented YET AGAIN! I will keep this one up this time as a point of reference for myself and in the meantime will use it as a portal for updates.

More to come....

It's been too long/A West Coast send off

Once again adulthood has gotten in the way of me writing about something that happened AGES ago. Meet Leeana and Dave...

The original plan was to head to a restaurant named "Taste" in Downtown Albany, NY. The young chef is married to a woman who has a gluten intolerance, meaning his menu has a great selection of gluten-free fare. Leeana has been a very close friend (more like sister) of mine for the better of 12 years, however has only recently discovered that oppose to an extremely sensitive stomach she actually has a gluten intolerance. Coming from a family of Italians (and I mean Italians, like two kitchens in the house, grandmother who doesn't speak the language, more vowels than consonants Italians), you can imagine how hard this news could be. After some last minute conversation between Leea and I, we decide I should instead cook us dinner at their house. Now Dave spent quite some time in SoCal, and the two of them were heading to  Cali in a few short weeks (they are, in fact, their as I write this). So not knowing a  ton about gluten free, I decide to go for a San Francisco classic, Cioppino. I feel as though a Cioppino is the perfect choice for the meal. Not only is it Gluten free, but both Leeana and Dave are avid seafood lovers, and so is Kay.

So a traditional Cioppino is  dungeness crab, clams, shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels and fish. I opt to ditch the crab and the white fish and add 1 1/2 pounds of cold water Maine Lobster instead. When being completely over the top, I find it best to go big or go home. And let's be frank, Lobster makes EVERYTHING taste better. I was a but concerned it could get lost in everything else...

Now the BEST part of Cioppino is that it is VERY impressive to eat and incredibly easy to make. Shallots and fennel heated to translucency with olive oil. Followed by garlic and VERY thinly minced red peppers. Add in a dry white wine, tomato paste, diced tomatos with the natural juices, fish stock, and bay leaf (or leaves, depending upon your taste). Let it sit and reduce for roughly a half hour (or until all the tastes begin to blend). Now the fun part. Through in the mussels and clams and cover.  

 Within 5 minutes the mussels and clams will open. Now add the uncooked, peeled and devained shrimp. The shrimp, much like the mussels, will take little to no time. Simply watch the color. As they JUST begin to turn pink, throw in the lobster. The lobster will take less time then the shrimp to cook through, and the result of overcooked lobster is, in my opinion, significantly more upsetting than overcooked shrimp. 

The finished product. Like I said, looks cools, awesome thing to tell your friends you made, and beyond delicious. It is like drinking the ocean. It was beyond delicious, it was superb. I would have slept in it if it was an option. The fennel (even though it does smell like Jaeger while cooking) is the perfect bitter to the sweet and salty of, well, everything else in the pot. Garlic of course plays a major role. The small hint of heat from the red pepper, not a ton of salt given the amount of natural salt in the proteins themselves. It truly is a dish that makes itself. And if you like seafood, it's the home run of home runs. I could (and would) eat this 3 to 4 times a week. Its light but robust in flavor. It fills AND warms you up without carb loading. It is, well, Cioppino.  And after not so long, it was gone...

The Sad part, of course, is that as I write this Leeana may very well be enjoying the west coast sun with her husband, eating a cioppino somewhere on some deck overlooking the north pacific. I fear that as good as this was, it took SO long to post that the joy is now gone, the flavor forgotten, the wine has been replaced with many others, and the conversation has floated into the realm of the lost, which means only two things: 1. I need to make it again, with the Tetas, and Joseph Carr, and soon. 2. Off to look for something else to eat...

When Success outweighs Failure

This post comes late. Very, very late. Work has become overbearing to say the very least. It is seriously getting in the way of me being a productive blogger. All the same, to the food!!

So, first things first. Failure....

So my brilliant idea was to make a play on potato pancakes. I cleaned and washed some small yukon golds, cubed them, and threw them into the food processor. A hash brown of sorts. Seasoned well with parsley, salt, pepper, a small amount of oregano, and of course, a extra sharp cheddar cheese. Concept was simple enough. A hash brown/potato pancake type thing in small happy little lump. Pan fry them first and then bake them off. Too easy to mess up, right????

WRONG. 

Here was the lesson of the week. I tried to get this done a day in advance. I know oxygen has a negative effect on potatoes. What I DIDN'T know was HOW negative. I was convinced that covered and sealed in the fridge the potatoes would be fine. What happened instead was a brown, lumpy, ugly, fowl smelling potato concoction I would not have served to the homeless. Thank goodness, as I have a tendency to do, I overcooked. 

So we've covered the hash browns are done. Next was on to the Quiche. Quiche is probably one of, if not my favorite, breakfast dishes. Crust, egg, cheese, some sort of protein. It's everything breakfast is supposed to be in a simple, bite size form. And, when cooking for a large group, to easy not to make. I went with what I call a "cheat quiche". "Cheat" referring to the use of a pre-made pie crust. 

Being that we had around 10 people coming for this Easter brunch, I decided less was more. I went with one pound of bacon, 3 and 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese, and one large white onion. I sautéed the onions in the bacon fat (after cubing and cooking the bacon obviously), let it cool for around an hour as to not cook the eggs upon contact. Then used 8 eggs. I use about 1 part milk to every 2 parts eggs before beating. It softens the eggs while cooking and keeps the eggs nice and fluffy. Usually this would be cooked at 350 for about 45 minutes, but given that the oven was filled with others, this was aout 1 1/2 hours at about 275




So when all was said in done, this might have been the true hit of the brunch. I would have preferred to have more bacon and perhaps even more cheese. Let me rephrase, I would ALWAYS like more cheese, and this particular dish was no different. The crust was good (cheat or no cheat) and I got to watch my little brother eat more than I think I have ever seen him eat. It was not the best I have ever made, however I got more people to indulge in quiche than normal, so I will take it as a win.



Next was the Ham. As is the usual for me, This was more of a purchase than it was an event. It came, spiraled, with glaze. I put it in the oven (very carefully I might add). I cooked it. My quasi father-in-law cut it. And that was the ham...

Next was on for the french toast. French toast is one of my better breakfast dishes. This particular time was a huge pain. The goal was Brioche. I wanted to get some brioche bread and use my regular blend of vanilla and almond extract. The issue. No Brioche anywhere. So instead, I decide I could use a cuban bread. Figuring I could easily cut the bottom crust off the cuban bread would have a similar sweetness and density so that it could hold up to both the vanilla and almond. But alas, no cuban bread either. For those of you who lives in a large metropolis and has access to great markets, consider yourself lucky. Instead, I found a nice sourdough. Although it is NOTHING like the original plan was, I thought the sweet and sour combo could actually compliment each other. And, as I sometimes do, it was a good idea. The sourdough was sour (as advertised), however the almond and vanilla extract additions really did serve a nice contrast, especially when you included some fresh from Vermont maple syrup.

So the best part of all of it, we had NO left overs. Almost the whole immediate family was there, the food was good, the conversation was spirited, and everyone left full and happy. My parents were in Hawaii which was the only missing piece, but otherwise is was a perfect Sunday afternoon. 

Now, off to look for something else to eat....

A BOLD move

So as any home cook can tell you, making food for friends can be stressful. Out of my group of friends, there are not a huge group of cooks. For the most part, its myself, and Kate.

Meet Kate.  Kate has been a dear friend of mine for over 7 years. Not only is she a friend, she married one of my great friends of over 12 years. Kate and I share a few core values:

1. Sarcasm above all else

2. Food is the closest thing to heaven on earth

3. Sometimes you have to hurt feelings to get shit done.

A BOLD MOVE

So the reason for the name of the blog. Kate and Kayla had talked about doing a friends dinner this past Saturday. When Kate agreed to host, she said she was going to make her lasagna. It just so happens, that is one of my more popular dishes with friends/family. It's also one of my personal favorites. Seven layers, so decadent that it actually induces a coma, and a full two days to cook. So needless to say, when I heard that Kate was making lasagna, the gloves were off. She was given full disclosure that I would ABSOLUTELY be critical in this post and not pull any punches. But before the main course...

Presentation was excellent. Olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, with two dressings offered. A light ranch and a light italian. I had very little of the salad given that the lasagna was on the way, so I can't speak to the salad other than how pretty it was. But as pretty as it was, I was NOT about to waste space for rabbit food after I saw what Kate went through to make the main course...

Home made sauce. Not anything like my own, but delicious. I'm a huge oregano guy when it comes to my sauce, Kate's was significantly more subtle. Bay leave was prominent, could definitely taste the garlic (theres no such thing as to much garlic), and a nice amount of salt. My sauce tends to pack more of a punch. It isn't my style, but it was damn good.

                        

Ricotta cheese with Mozz. Whipped well. Creamy, delicious. Don't think much was done to it prior to being lathered on the lasagna. 

And the finished product. Is there ANYTHING better looking than melted cheese. No, no there is not. For this shindig, Kate and fam pulled out all the stops. 

You see that. That's fresh made (from scratch) Italian bread. HUGE win. First time Kate said it had gone the way she intended. Super crispy on the outside, warm and soft on the inside. It was incredibly well done. 

And plated. A HUGE slab of cheese, meat, sauce, and pasta. Bread to pick up what ever gets left behind. Heaven. The cheese on top was thick. Sweet italian sausage with ground beef. A nice balance of the two. The sauce was generous however not over powering. I use hot and sweet italian sausage and generally veal. Not to mention the heat my sauce usually has (red peppers, yellow peppers). There was no heat in this. The flavor profile was not complex. It was simple, but executed extremely well. And Kate wasn't done. 

Turtle dove cheese cake. Caramel, chocolate, pecans, and more cheese. One of the only desserts I could generally be bothered with. After TWO portions of lasagna, I barely found room for a small piece of this,  but of course, I did. It was awesome. I don't bake. I don't know anything about baking. I rarely do dessert. I don't eat enough cake/cheese cake/dessert in general to say anything about this other than, well, yum...

It almost pains me to be so gushy in this. I really almost wanted this to be an epic failure so I could prove how objective I was, prove that just because I know people I won't play nice. It was my shot at integrity in journalism. Instead, Kate nailed it. It was not the lasagna I would make. It is not the way that I make my sauce. And yet, it was all very homey, very delicious and made with the kind of care only a friend who knew some jerk behind a keyboard would judge it could do. Hats off dear friend, it was a raving success. 

Off to look for something else to eat....

Anniversary Dinner

So on Friday Kay and I celebrated our anniversary. As per usual, within minutes of sitting down and before we had ordered drinks, I have a story.












Meet Dottie and Jane. Dottie and Jane were sitting at the table directly across from us as I sat and took pictures for the blog. They noticed we were sitting together and promptly came over to see if we needed to have them take a picture of us. "Of course"! After struggling with the SLR for a few takes, Dottie snagged the picture you see above. Cheers Dottie, the picture is great, the spirited conversation we held for the short while we got to talk was even better. You guys rocked!








I digress. So we decided to head to a newly opened restaurant in Albany called "The Point". Chef Jennifer Hewes is responsible for a mix of what I would say is classic american eats with a sophisticated asian flair.

Meet Steve. Steve will be hanging out this evening with Kay and I. Steve has just recently returned to Upstate NY after living in Canada for a while. The accent stuck with him from those parts and I rather enjoy it, eh. 

I had a light lunch with the anticipation of trying somewhere new and Kay, well, eat's like the birds. I decide we need an appetizer. The choice wasn't easy. "Bang Bang Lobster and Shrimp". Lobster marinated with sesame oil, flash-fried and served with shrimp and spicy sriracha aioli. They had me at "Bang Bang". The promise of anything with heat is always a winner for me. However, as mentioned in my first post, Kay does not share this affinity for food-sweats. The "Trio Sampler". Taste-size eggplant napoleon with spicy red sauce, crab cake with lemongrass-ancho chili remoulade and green bean fries. Nothing says good idea like a "sampler" of anything. More to taste always wins out in my head.

Eggplant Napoleon - Now I must first admit that eggplant and I are close friends, especially battered and fried. So walking into this particular part of the "trio" it was destined to be a winner of sorts. It was as advertised. Eggplant was fried well, not too greasy but still with a nice crisp to it. the red sauce was pretty standard. I would trade the word "spicy" in the description for "peppered". Not too strong of a pepper flavor, but I wouldn't classify it as spicy by any stretch.
Green Bean Fries - Served on top of a wasabi style aioli (creamy, smooth, and actually quite delicate considering). Again, fried well, not overly greasy, not soggy. Not a thrilling dish by any stretch, but I don't assume it was intended to be. Tasty, not to heavy, and the wasabi aioli was great.
Crab cake - Winner! Really nice crunch on the outside, soft and flaky on the inside. Well seasoned, the bread did not dominate the taste. The real star was the lemongrass-ancho chili remoulade. It was superb. The citrus was the first taste, immediately followed by the chili. It was the perfect consistency, well distributed across the bottom of the crab cake. This was really a very nice treat.

After a few drink orders, it was time for dinner

 Seafood cakes- Sweet lump crab meat, shrimp, scallops and langostino’s house-made bread crumbs and herbs lightly fried, served with
vegetable rice pilaf accented with a Dijon-dill remoulade. This place get's cakes! Again, fluffy, crispy, great remoulade. Just a great dish.

French Kiss - Grilled filet mignon atop scalloped sweet potatoes, with a vanilla bean, cherry butter kiss and drizzled with a Bordeaux port wine glaze.
A few things stuck out on this. First of all, the steak was cooked perfectly! Wonderfully medium rare, and it was a very nice piece of meat. The vanilla on the plate was a home run! As a fan of vanilla, it was easy for me to get behind the idea of adding a Bordeaux to it and running every single cut of the steak through it as heavily as possible. There was, however, a downside. The sweet potatoes were buttered to DEATH! Like Paula Dean buttered. The result, a little river of butter at the bottom of the plate. That butter, when interacting with the steak glaze, acted as quite the diluter of what was some fantastic flavors. Only on the furthest edge of the plate was the butter not running interference with the glaze. Generally speaking, there is no such thing as to much butter, however a beautiful cut of beef with a well executed glaze suffered because of it.

Overall, a very satisfying meal in a nice place. I will definitely head back to The Point. The tables are nicely broken up so you're not sharing your meal with others. The food was great, the company (as always) was wonderful, service was fantastic, and we immediately followed the meal by wandering into my favorite TRUE dive in Albany, Mahar's. We'll chalk that up as a tease for a later post. Off to look for something else to eat....