Sausage risotto with parmesan and scallion

I found a great-looking sausage at The Fresh Market a few days ago and I've wondered what I should do with it.  With such a chill in the air (finally), a risotto sounded great.

Sauteed onion, butter (lots!), risotto, 3 cups vegetable stock, 1/2 cup grated parmesan, 3 large scallions and of course, the sausage ... 

It takes a while to make a risotto the traditional way - stirring and stirring and adding stock slowly while the rice soaks up all the tasty goodness - but it's a Tuesday night and I had the time.

After I cooked the rice to just a bit past al dente I added the sausage (which I'd sauteed earlier to give it a little color and flavor), cheese and scallion, pulled off the heat and let it "sit up" (as my Grandma might say).

YUM - it's a cool night outside - what better than a warm, hearty dish for supper!

A New (at least, for me) Take On the Hushpuppie

I met some people for a friend's birthday supper last night (Happy Birthday Fred!) at a seafood restaurant out on the west-side.  It was a haul for me (almost far enough I felt I might need my passport) but the promise of catfish and the celebration a friend's birthday lured me.

We met at Bay Breeze. http://www.baybreezeofatlanta.com/index2.htm

If you're in the mood for fried seafood (and some fresh-water) and aren't put out by the room temperature bottle of tartar sauce, it might be worth a drive out - but not for the reasons you might think (see more below).

It reminded me of somewhere you might find in the old section of a beach town - lots of older people (it was very inexpensive), no alcohol (yes, NONE ... nothing ... couldn't get a cocktail), families and many large parties.  Damn near everything that swims in the water and isn't too exotic (no shark or octopus) is available, pretty much fried or broiled.

Lots of "platters" -

I had fried catfish with fried popcorn shrimp (I decided to go safe and not order something that isn't made that often) and combined, they were your standard, common fried fish plate.  The one thing about Bay Breeze that piqued my interest and made me smile was the hushpuppies.

They were circular - like little doughnuts.  I'm sure the kitchen has a doughnut dropper that they use with hushpuppie batter and drop into the oil.  I've never seen hushpuppies made like this and actually, I thought I had been served three little onion rings when my plate arrived.

The hushpuppies were tasty - simple, but they had a good onion flavor and were crisp on the outside.  When I think about it, taking into account the unexpected shape, they were REALLY good.  Not worth a FREQUENT drive out, however once in a while I'd be willing to take a journey to get ahold of the little devils!

Let's Go Bistro - Supper for a Friend

My favorite thing in the world is cooking.  Cooking for myself, cooking for others ... be it a group or just one person, I rather like making people happy by serving something tasty.  Tonight, I made supper for a friend.  

I wanted something simple but still kinda elegant and ... well the only word I could really come up with is "bistro".   

A bistro is a small, moderately priced restaurant focusing on simple dishes - mostly "entree-of-the-day" type dishes.  A typical example would be the sidewalk cafe, with tables street side and a small dining room inside.  Braised meats, potato dishes, fowl, cassoulets ... these are bistro dishes. 

At home, one of the easiest bistro dishes is steak with roasted potatoes.  It's place among the classics in nearly every cuisine is secure - so that's what I chose.

I roasted the potatoes in quarter slices with salt, pepper, olive oil and a small bit of garlic.  When I removed them from the oven I cut the wedges into bite-sized pieces.  I decided on a garnish of sauteed onion and parsley.

The steak was a flat iron (my new favorite cut) and was salted, peppered and seared on the stove top for four minutes on each side.  

Served "stacked", I was able to spoon the onion/parsley garnish over both the steak and the potatoes.  My friend loved it.  *I* loved it.  

Cavatappi with sage sausage tomato sauce

Basically, it's a fancified peasant dish but OH so tasty.  Cavatappi (spiral, ridged noodles) with a tomato sauce (stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, garlic, salt & pepper) and sage sausage.

I tried a trick I picked up from a friend's mom by seasoning the pasta with a dried herb blend just after I drained it.  It smelled wonderful when the herbs hit the hot pasta but I'm not sure it added anything to the final dish.  Possibly if you're doing a butter sauce or something light like a pesto or a saute it would be a bit more pronounced but I think my sauce recipe (especially with the sausage) gave it a back seat.

I cooked the sausage just as I would have browned ground beef except I left it in larger chunks.  I didn't want it to disappear in the tomato sauce - by the time you finish the sauce, it's quite thick and rich - so I left it larger for a larger profile.

To finish the dish I added just a bit of fresh chopped parsley for a little color and a bit of fresh herbage.  It never hurts!  

A crusty Italian bread completes the meal ... 

And for the first time in Smiley Eats! history ... an "aftermath" photo!

Brown Butter Chicken

It was one of those days ... rain for nearly 24 hours ... of course I woke up late and, instead of a leisurely "work at home" day I had to rush to the office for a 10am meeting.  On the way out, I put some chicken in the fridge to defrost.

I thought all day long about that chicken.  Using my Grandma's skin-it-then-bread-it-then-fry-it method I was going to whip up some fried chicken (one of my favorite comfort foods) and watch Pushing Daisies.

The weather was still awful when I got home so I put on some flannels, took my contacts out and started putting my fried chicken together.

What???  No oil?  Of any kind?  Nothing?  Nothing but butter???!!!???

Of all the luck ... so like any good cook in a pinch I switched gears and decided on just searing it in a little butter.  I had defrosted chicken in the fridge and needed to use it.

Then I remembered a tip I picked up about the nutty, hearty flavor of browned butter. Basically, just-under-burnt butter.  The butter morphs into something warm and wintry and T-A-S-T-Y.  So that's what I did ... I browned about two tablespoons of butter and added my (non-floured since I wasn't frying it) salted, peppered chicken to the pan.

Seared, really pan-fried, for five minutes on each side and I wound up with a wonderfully crisp exterior but still quite moist chicken.  A few quick-steamed veggies and a lemon squeeze and I was happy.

Not fried chicken happy, but happy. :)

BaconLuv - for my friend Jen

These photos are dedicated to my friend Jen ... in celebration of her love (and mine!) of bacon.

They're from a breakfast-for-supper I had a few weeks ago: