Flavor Explosion

A few weeks ago at our pot luck Halloween lunch at work I sampled kielbasa cooked in yellow mustard and apple jelly. It was served on toothpicks as an appetizer. And wow, was it good. So last week I took this yummy idea a step further and made a soup with kielbasa, cabbage, onions and potatoes. And cooked them in the mustard and apple jelly mixture. Flavor explosion is all I can say. And easy peasy.

Kielbasa and Cabbage Soup
serves 4

1 package kielbasa (I used the light)
1/2 head green cabbage sliced or chopped
1 large onion sliced
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp canola oil
water to cover kielbasa
2 cups chicken broth
1 Russet potato diced
9 oz apple jelly
4 oz yellow mustard
salt and pepper

Let's get cooking. Slice your kielbasa so it fits in a medium size sauce pan. Cover with water and cook on medium heat until the sausages begin to plump, about 25 minutes.

Prep your cabbage and onions and set aside. Remove kielbasa from pan and let cool. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid for broth. When kielbasa is cooled a bit slice into 1/2 inch rounds and mix together the mustard and apple jelly.

In large soup pan on medium heat, add canola oil and toast the mustard seeds for almost a minute, until they start to pop. Now add the cabbage and onions and lower heat to medium low. Cook cabbage/onions until slightly wilted.

Now add the apple jelly mixture and reserved cooking water and chicken broth. Add back the kielbasa and the chopped potatoes. Cook another ten minutes and your soup is done. Taste to see if you need to add any salt and pepper. I added a pinch or two of both.

This is one hearty meal, and the combo of the apple jelly and mustard just takes it over the top. It's a little bit sweet and has just the right amount of tang due to the mustard. Yummers, I'm going to try this again and add a little bit of bacon. And next time, you can be sure I'll have a crusty loaf of bread on hand for dipping. Oh yeah, I'm getting ready for winter.

O'Dalton's Holiday Cooking

I love a nice holiday meal. It doesn't matter if I celebrate the holiday per se, I just like to enjoy the foods that others eat to commemorate their special gatherings. I got this holiday/food sharing bug from my mom Elaine. She cooked a roast for Christmas, Lamb for Easter and of course we ordered take-in for Chinese New Year. And there was no one Irish in our family, but I could always come home to a corned beef and cabbage dinner for St Patty's day. In honor of my mom's festive spirit, I made corned beef with all the fixin' today and Fran (my gardener friend) and I will indulge tomorrow. It's very simple to put together and surprisingly budget friendly.

Linda O'Dalton's New England Boiled Dinner
Inspired by Elaine Dalton with a little help from Fannie Farmer

3 pounds flat cut corned beef brisket
3 onions peeled and quartered
3 Russet potatoes halved
6-7 carrots cleaned and halved
1 medium head green cabbage quartered and cored
2 dried bay leaves

Remove your brisket from the package and cut off some of the excess fat that you'll find on one side.

I did the best I could. Maybe you'll do better than me, but it seems that the small amount of fat I removed did the trick. There was very little scum in the pot when I started cooking. In large pot place your brisket and cover with at least a few extra inches of cold water. Bring water to a boil and lower heat to a gentle simmer. In the first 10 minutes of cooking, you will notice that some impurities release themselves from the meat and you need to skim them off (that's the scum I was just referring to). I used a slotted spoon. Now add 2 dried bay leaves, cover pot and lower heat a bit more so that your meat is just barely simmering. Set your timer for 1-1/2 hours and prep your vegetables. I keep my peeled carrots and potatoes in cold water. The onions I just let sit out. The cabbage I get to at the last minute.

After an hour and a half, add your onions. In my version, the onions are more for flavor and not really served as a vegetable. Cook an addtional 1/2 hour and add your potatoes. After 15 minutes of the potatoes cooking, add your carrots and cook 30 minutes more. By now your kitchen is smelling heavenly. We're almost there. Remove your brisket, potatoes and carrots and set aside.

 

 

To your pot of flavored broth, add the quartered cabbage and cook about 10-15 minutes. Remove and get ready to plate this O'happy meal. The cabbage is cooked to perfection, the meat has settled a bit and you're ready to do some surgery.

Slice your brisket against the grain. It's the only way to serve this piece of meat. It makes it very presentable and easy to eat. See that little stash of end pieces in the upper left corner of the picture? That's what I like to nibble on while I'm cutting the meat. It's Oh so yummy, so remember to treat yourself.

Transfer sliced meat and veggies to a large platter and serve with horseradish sour cream sauce. It's a great compliment to both veg and meat.

I have a raisin beer bread in the oven now and if it's a winner, I'll post the recipe tomorrow.

Sweet and Sour Kraut and Weiner Soup

I've been watching my wallet lately and trying to use EVERYTHING in my fridge before it spoils. It seems that so many of the recipes I'm posting lately are created with frugality in mind. Sometimes they're exciting, and sometimes, well not so much. But this little dish which I adapted from a facebook recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen is just too good to not share. Kalyn made a Leftover Corned Beef and Sauerkraut Soup and it seemed like it was something I could sub with my leftover low sodium frankfurters and half a jar of sauerkraut. Some people are not fans of sauerkraut, but I certainly am. Being a New Yorker I wouldn't think of having a hot dog without it. So with that said, let's get to the recipe.

Sweet and Sour Kraut and Weiner Soup
Inspired by Kayln's Kitchen

1 large onion chopped
1 T olive oil
1 T minced garlic
1/4 tsp celery salt
1 can low sodium, low fat chicken broth (14.5 oz)
1 can low sodium, low fat beef broth (14.5 oz)
1 can petit diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 large dried bay leaves
2 cups sauerkraut, drained but not rinsed (I used bottled, not canned)
4 or 5 frankfurters sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
2 tsp Splenda Brown Sugar Blend or 4 tsp light brown sugar
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
fresh ground pepper to taste
Grated swiss cheese for serving (I like the lower sodium Alpine Lace)
Extra balsamic vinegar for drizzling
Homemade croutons for garnish (see link below)

Heat olive oil in soup pan and add the onions. Cook on medium low for about 5 minutes. You're looking to soften them and not really brown them. Add your garlic and celery salt  and cook 2-3 minutes more.

Add your chicken stock, beef stock, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves and simmer on low for 30 minutes. I covered my pot. While soup simmers, drain the sauerkraut in a colander. Do not rinse it.

Get out your prepped frankfurters. When sauerkraut is mostly drained, squeeze out any remaining moisture with your clean hands. Lots of moisture comes out but the briny flavor remains. Chop the kraut into smaller pieces and add it, along with the franks, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar to the soup pot. Stir to combine and add a bit of water to soup if it seems thick to you. Simmer 15 minutes more.

While the soup is creating delicious aromas in your kitchen, why don't you make some homemade croutons for a garnish? They're quick and add so much flavor and texture to the final meal. Here is Ann Burrell's version of garlic croutons that I make all the time. Only now I add a T of unsalted butter to the olive oil mix, and are they ever so good! And when you're being frugal, a little bit of butter goes a long way when it comes to taste.

Top your soup with the shredded Swiss cheese and a bit more balsamic vinegar. Stir until the cheese melts and now add the yummy croutons. You should get about 4-5 servings. Hope you enjoy, I certainly did!

Asian Stir Fry Sauce

Last week I was doing a fridge clean out and had the most boring ingredients to work with. The main issue was a half a head of Savoy cabbage. Onions and cabbage go well together, so I thought a little saute with butter, salt and pepper would make a nice side dish reheated later in the week. Then I remembered the carrots, bean sprouts, scallions, slightly wilted Serano chili and that very sad piece of ginger. So I decided to stir fry the whole vegetable drawer and make a sauce that would bring these vegetables alive. I always have a full Asian pantry (everything's available in the International aisle of my grocery store) and made a simple, saucy concoction that actually mirrors the taste of moo shu. And I think it would be great with any vegetable or meat that you decide to stir fry. I'm planning on repeating this again tomorrow with ground chicken, sliced red peppers and sugar snap peas, served over perfectly cooked rice (thanks to Uncle Ben).

Stir Fry Sauce
2 T oyster sauce
1 T lite soy sauce
1 T toasted sesame oil
2 tsp sugar

Vegetable Stir Fry
1-2 T canola oil
1/2 head small Savoy cabbage
1 cup bean sprouts
3 carrots grated
4 scallions finely chopped
1 Serano chili, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
2 tsp ginger grated

Okay, lets cook. To prepare the stir fry sauce whisk together all ingredients and set aside. Prepare the vegetables.

In large skillet or wok heat oil on high to medium high heat. Add the cabbage to the skillet, coat with oil and stir. Now add all the other ingredients.

Stir to coat the other veggies with oil and cook another few minutes until cabbage begins to wilt. Now add the stir fry sauce and combine the vegetables with the liquid.

Remove from pan and serve in moo shoo pancakes if you have them lying around (who does?). I didn't, so I rolled some egg roll wrappers around the cabbage mixture, baked them at 400 degrees for 6 minutes on one side and 6 on the other. I got 6 egg rolls and the filling was super delish. I enjoyed these with store bought duck sauce and orange slices.

 

Unstuffed cabbage

I've been in the mood for stuffed cabbage lately and decided I would give this time-consuming, flavorful dish from my youth a try. I've never made stuffed cabbage, never watched my mom make it and was at a total loss and in panic mode when I got home with the ingredients. So I did what any well respected re-mixer would do- I came up with a quick, no fuss recipe that tastes as good as the original, but takes half the time and is SIMPLE. Of course I can't call it stuffed cabbage, so I've opted for Unstuffed Cabbage and Meatballs. Try this oven-baked casserole when you're in the mood for a lower east side deli flashback.

Baked Unstuffed Cabbage and Meatballs

Meatballs
1 pound ground beef
1/2 large onion grated
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 egg beaten

Sauce-Inspired by Rae Fox
2 T canola oil
1 medium onion chopped, 1 inch dice
2 cups cabbage chopped and divided- I used the plain green cabbage
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4 tsp vinegar- I used rice vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar- I used 1/4 cup Splenda Brown
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 15 oz can water

To make the meatballs, combine all ingredients except the beef. Add the beef and gently mix with your fingertips. The less you play with the meat, the more tender the meatballs will be. Form into 8 large meatballs and set aside in the refrigerator while you make the sauce.

To make the sauce, heat oil in large pot and add diced onion and 1 cup of chopped cabbage. Cook over medium/low heat until both vegetables are tender, but not brown. Add lemon juice, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato sauce and water. Bring to a boil, stir to combine, lower heat and simmer 5 minutes. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

To assemble the meal, spoon a small amount of the sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish. Arrange meatballs in casserole and cover with remaining sauce and reserved uncooked chopped cabbage. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake 2 hours. Serve with cooked rice.


I will admit this does not make the beautiful presentation of pillows of meat-stuffed cabbage my mom used to serve, but I promise you, the flavor is all there. And just like the original, it's even better the second day.