Cream, Sausage and cheese, What more can you ask for

This little delicacy was one of my, I am tired of the same way of making this dish lets totally change it. I usually make a hot Italian Sausage spaghetti from time to time. Usually however, it is a red sauce tomato base. I was tired of that and so I tried something and what came out of it was wonderful. So for starters I got two Hot Italian Sausages (brat size) from Sunflower Market. If you live in Denver and have never been to Sunflower you are missing out. So anyway, here is the list of things you need. 

2 Hot Italian Sausages

Chopped Fresh Basil some for the sauce (about 4 big leaves) some for the top. 

Lemon Juice

Mushrooms about a handful

Half a tomato or so

Garlic to taste, I use 3 cloves or more

Real on the block Parmesan cheese

Cream

Butter

Angel Hair Pasta

Fry the sausages making sure to get them nice and brown and get the pan good and dirty, not black but brown dirty. Once the sausages are done remove them and set them aside to cool slightly. If you have an assistant that person can cut the sausages in bite size pieces for you. Back to the pan. Deglaze the pan with enough lemon juice to leave some on the bottom. Add some butter, how much is up to you. I like butter. Then toss in the mushrooms, tomato, garlic and basil. Throw the cut sausage back in and let everything cook together until the mushrooms are soft. Then add the cream and stir in cheese to taste. Cook it all until the cream reduces and starts to thicken. Think thin gravy. While all this is happening you might want to cook your pasta as well. So once the sauce is done, toss the drained pasta with it. Spoon out on serving plates and top with cheese and more fresh basil. Enjoy. 

Apples, Shrimp and Basil, a Perfect Kabob

We make these anytime shrimp goes on sale. In Colorado, that is not very often but we make then when we can. Here is what you will need. 

• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon strawberry jam
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 2 Gala apples, cored and cut into eighths
• 16 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

Basically mix all the ingredients except the apples and Shrimp together as a marinade. Then pour it over the shrimp and apples. Marinade for at least a half hour then build your kabobs. Grill them over medium heat until done. Enjoy. Very quick. Very simple. Very Nice. 

Mrs. MC's Magic Muffins

Mrs MC has discovered a recipe for these delicious muffins. They are so good they have reduced our oldest to a life of thievery. Actually she was just really happy to eat them. They are pretty healthy and full of good ingredients. So here is how they are made. 

1 1/2 cups of White flour (we use unbleached)

3/4 cup Whole wheat flour

3/4 cup oat Bran

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Baking soda

1 teaspoon of Baking powder

2 1/2 teaspoons of Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon  Nutmeg

3 Eggs

1/2 cup Vegetable oil

1/2 cup unsweetened Applesauce

1 cup Plain yogurt

3/4 cup Sugar

3/4 cup Honey

2 teaspoons Vanilla extract

1 cup shredded Zucchini (drained after shredding)

1 cup shredded Carrots

1/2 cup Raisins

Thats quite a list of ingredients but it is worth it. 

So, oven at 400 defrees F. Muffin cups as you wish, we use a silicone muffin pan. This recipie makes quite a few dozen. 

In a bowl sift together all the dry ingredients. We like our nutmeg fresh so we grate it ourselves like this. 

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, oils, applesauce, yogurt, sugar, honey and vanilla. Combine the two bowls and mix, then gently fold in the remaining ingredients. Scoop into the muffin pans and bake for 18-20 minutes. They are done when a toothpick comes out clean. We usually dump these out over a towel and start scarfing. Enjoy. 

Don't Trifle with Peace

So Mrs. MC is preggers and was craving trifle of all things. I make my trifle in the Scottish Mormon style. That means no liquor and a spongy jelly (jello) base. Mrs MC actually made this following my guidance. I did the final decorating, hence the title. So the basic parts of a trifle are the Jello layer, the Custard layer and the cream layer. You can embellish the top however you desire. Here is how we made ours. 

First place Lady Fingers in the bottom of a bowl. These are sometimes tricky to find so I buy a big package when I find them. They are like dried sponge cake. I have used the Little Debbie strawberry cake rolls in a bind but nothing compares to the real deal. 

Mix up a package of your favorite Jello. I usually use Strawberry but I have seen all sorts of flavors even chocolate. Pour the hot Jello over your ladyfingers and place bowl into the fridge to set. 

The next layer is the Custard layer and by custard I mean custard. You can use Pudding but it is really too sweet to get the authentic Scottish taste. Trifle is typically British in that it is not deadly sweet like most American goodies. It is more rich and fattening. 

Here is our recipe for homemade custard. You can use Bird's custard powder if you like or there are other custard recipes that don't use cornstarch online. Ours seems to work good. 

5 egg yolks

1/2 cup of Sugar

2 tbls. corn starch

2 cups of Milk

1 tsp of vanilla

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together and beat until well blended. In a saucepan, dissolve the corn starch in 1/2 cup of the Milk. Add the rest of the milk and vanilla and bring to a boil slowly, stirring constantly. Once the milk has barley started to boil temper it into the egg mixture. This is done by mixing small amounts (about 1/8 cup at a time) to the egg mixture and stirring it in. This allows the eggs to come to temperature without curdling. Once about half them  milk is in you can then add the eggs into the main pot. Return to heat and boil, slowly again until the mixture thickens, about two minutes. Pour into a cool bowl and cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the custard to keep a skin from forming. Cool in refrigerator until firm. 

Once the Jello is set and the custard is cool it is time to assemble your trifle. Do yourself a favor and whip up real whip cream. I have never had cool whip on a trifle but I can imagine that it is disgusting. I only add a small amount of powdered sugar in keeping with the less sweet British theme. Carefully add the custard on top of your Jello layer, then the cream. Thats it and it is amazing. 

Cheerio the noo. 

Kafta Kabob Kills the Kompetition

I made these a few weeks back and just haven't had a chance to post about them. This is a simple and tasty Middle Eastern Treat. The ingredients are as follows:

1 LB of Ground beef or lamb or a mixture of both. I like it mixed.

4 Cloves of Garlic

1 Tbs of Kosher Salt

3 Tbs of grated onion

1 bunch of parsley

1 Tbs Coriander

1 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp cayenne, we cut this back for the kids

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 or 2 whole lemons

1 head of green leaf lettuce

1 or 2 tomatoes

1 Cucumber (English if you can, smaller seeds more meat)

Start by smashing the garlic with the back of a nice broad knife like a chefs knife or something. Then sprinkle on a pinch of salt and grind this to a pulp with the back of the knife. I then mix this with the grated onion and a couple of teaspoons of chopped parsley. Then I add this mixture to the meat and mix, by hand is the best (use rubber gloves). Then I add the spices and a few grinds of black pepper. Mix this all together and form the meat into little sausages and put these on skewers. Stick them in the fridge if you can for a while to congeal around the sticks. Grill them until they are done. Basically I like to cook these all the way to well done. They hold together better that way. 

While those are grilling, cut the lettuce into shreds. Think taco lettuce with its nice long strands. Chop up the tomato, cucumber and as much parsley as you like. Mix the salad bits together and squeeze the juice from your lemons into it with a little salt and pepper. Thats it. The nice lemony dressing brightens up the greens and make this amazing. 

The final step is to load up your pita with a piece of Kofta, some salad and humus or other Middle eastern topping of your choice. Enjoy. Alf-mabruk on your Middle Eastern meal. 

Now to the Irish Side of the Family

So we are actually only like 1/8th Irish but that 1/8 comes out pretty well in the Red Hair. Actually my Swedish Grandma is where the Red hair comes from. Weird. Anyway for St. Patrick's day Mrs. Mc wanted something different instead of Corned Beef and Cabbage. So we decided to try what I teased her about it being Breakfast for Dinner. Corned Beef Hash. I don't care if it was Breakfast it was awesome. I guess she stole the recipe from Tyler Florence. So thanks Tyler. 

Here it is.

First you make some Herbed Root Vegetables.

2 Tablespoons of EVOO (Sorry couldn't resist I think its stupid too, for anyone with a brain that Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 pound new potatoes, Scrubbed (we used fingerlings MMMMM)
1 pound baby carrots, trimmed, scrubbed
1 pound baby turnips, trimmed, scrubbed (we couldn't find baby ones so we just cubed regular ones)
1 pound baby parsnips, trimmed, scrubbed (we couldn't find baby ones so we just cubed regular ones)
Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the olive oil and butter into a large pot over medium. Once the butter is melted add the veggies and toss them to coat with the oils. Season with salt and pepper and add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer with lid and cook until the veggies are tender. About 20 minutes. (We halved this part of the recipe and it worked great)

Now to the Hash and Sauce!

Hollandaise Sauce:
2 egg yoks
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 Tablespoons of Water
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 lemon juiced
Kosher Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Again we halved this, we didn't need a cup of butter sauce. Put the egg yokes, Mustard, cayenne and water into a blender. Blend together and then slowly and I mean slowly like a drizzle pour in the warm butter. You are going for an emulsion. Once the butter is integrated use the lemon juice and salt and pepper to flavor the sauce to your liking. It will taste like lemony spicy butter when its right. Who doesn't like butter sauces?

Keep the Sauce warm. Ours was warm enough just on the counter. Just don't put it in the fridge.

Onto the Heavenly Hash

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cups chopped corned beef (please buy real corned beef and not the can stuff, is that even meat?)
2 cups of your Herbed root veggies chopped up
2 tablespoons chopped chives
Salt and pepper
4 Eggs for poaching and 2 Tablespoons vinegar for the same purpose

Heat the oil and cook the onion on medium until soft (about five minutes) in a non stick skillet. Add the rest of the ingredients except the eggs and vinegar. Stir around for a minute then leave unstirred and cook until the bottom gets brown and crisp about 5-10 minutes. 

While that cooks poach the eggs.


This is done by filling a large skillet with water, adding the vinegar and some salt and bringing it to a boil. Then you reduce the water to where it is barely bubbling and then using a small bowl carefully crack each egg into the bowl and introduce it into the water. I kinda let the water seep into the rim of the bowl and then gently kinda let the egg float off. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the egg is set to your liking. I like mine runny. Mrs Mc likes em stiff as cardboard. Remove them with a slotted spoon and dry briefly on a paper towel.

Now assemble the master piece. Put some hash down (I actually made 4 leaf clovers with some sauce first-it was an attempt to get the kids to eat it), then an egg and top with sauce. Amazing. Truly.

Some Scottish Treats for Ya

On Sunday we decided to make one of my favorite Scottish dinners. I have to confess considering my penchant for fresh ingredients, this is one meal that uses two prepared ingredients, sorry. But it is delicious and easy. The main dish is Steak Pie and I almost always serve it with Roast Tatties and cheap and easy frozen peas. This week we added Neeps (Turnips) to the mix although I found out that the Neeps I have been using are the wrong ones. I guess they use Rutabagas which are yellow in Scotland. Och well.

Here it is.

Steak Pie

3/4 - 1 lb Steak, something tender- Top sirloin is good, sliced into strips like fajitas
1 package of Brown Gravy mix, go with a good brand, if you can find Bisto (Scottish Brand) then by all means.
1 Sheet of Puff Pastry, thawed according to instructions
1 Medium Onion
Salt, Pepper, Spices (Garlic granules)

Its real simple. Cut up the onion how ever you like. I usually do thin rings. It doesn't matter. Fry that in a wee bit of olive oil until it gets soft and starts to brown. Add your meat and cook to desired doneness. Salt and pepper and add any spices you would like. Now mix up the gravy according to instructions. Its usually a cup of cold water to the packet. Pour the Gravy over and cook until it starts to thicken.

Pour the Meat and gravy mix into an 8 X 8 or similar dish and cover with puff pastry. Bake at 400 until the pastry puffs adn browns. Then its time to tuck in. This is seriously amazing.

The potatoes are pretty easy too. I put them in the oven about 15 minutes before the pie.

Cut some potatoes into nice bite size cubes. Boil in salted water until they yield but are not soft enough for mashed potatoes. Drain and empty into a mixing bowl. Pour enough oil to to coat the potatoes and mix them around to get oil all over them. Pour them onto a baking pan (I think metal is best but anything works), salt and bake at 400 until the bottoms are crispy. Yum.

The neeps are easy as well. I just boiled them until they were tender and drained them, added some salt and butter. Good Scottish comfort food. Now if I could only get some Haggis.