Category Archives: Entree

The Main Event, the Big Cahuna

Sausage with Bell Peppers and Onions, Confit

by

sausage with bell peppers and onions, confitI love Sausage with Bell peppers and Onions.  The slightly spicy Italian Sausage mixes well with the crispness and mild flavor of the bell peppers, and the onion just brings it all home.

I think I first tried it at Disney World some decades back when we lived in Florida.  We were 90 minutes from our doorstep to entering one of the parks, and back then was several years BC (Before Children), so we had a lot more time to play.  I would get off work, my sweetheart would pick me up, and off we would go to visit a theme park.  Our favorite was Epcot.  I know, Magic Kingdom is fun, and the MGM park had some very interesting attractions, but for us the Nations Lake around Epcot had the most variety.  You could get very small (and yes, slightly sanitized) versions of a handful of different cultures, along with some of their traditions, beliefs, and yes, food.  And being who we are, the food was the key.

Swedish pastries, Japanese bowls, Mexican plates, and German Bratwurst.  And of course, the Sausage with Bell Peppers and Onions.  i don’t even remember where it was, just that I loved it.  (Of course, I loved a lot of the other foods as well, but those are for another day.)

I finally got around to making it myself.  And it was good.  Then we made it confit, and it was great!  For those of you new to the term, “confit” simply means to cook food, usually meat, and then to marinade it in it’s own fats and juices.  This has the effect of blending and concentrating flavors in a way that other cooking methods don’t.  In the case of Sausage with bell peppers and Onions, it elevates it to the next level.

 

I start by browning the Italian Sausage.  I am particular to the Torino brand Italian Sausages, sold at Costco, but feel free to use whatever quality Sausages you can find.  Oh, and the legalese and Food Handlers warning: these things have raw pork in them, please be careful to not cross contaminate anything you aren’t going to cook well, and don’t taste test until it is all cooked thoroughly.

sausage with bell peppers and onions, confit sausage with bell peppers and onions, confit

While the sausages are browning, you can slice the Bell Peppers and Onions.  I like yellow, red, and orange bell peppers, but the green taste almost the same and are a half to a third the price of the more colorful ones.  If I am serving to guests and want the wow factor, I’ll spend the extra; if it is just for me and the family, it will be the green ones.  Also, I like the sweet yellow onions.  less bite, more onioniness…  err, onionier..  onion-esk.  Whatever.

And long quarter inch strips are good in this, as it’s good to see what you are eating.

sausage with bell peppers and onions, confit sausage with bell peppers and onions, confit

Once the vegetables are sliced and the sausage is browned on the outside, remove the sausage from the pan and toss in the peppers and onions.  And yes, the fats from the sausages are to be left in there, as they are flavor and will saute the vegetables.  personally, I add another tablespoon or two of vegetable oil, to make sure all of them get a good coating.  And yes, this makes a lot, so scale it down if you need to.  And whatever you do, don’t scrape out those wonderful brown bits stuck to the pan from the sausage!  That’s flavor!

sausage with bell peppers and onions, confit sausage with bell peppers and onions, confit

Slice the sausages on the bias and add them back into the pan with the vegetables.  And by bias I mean “an oblique or diagonal line of direction” (Dictionary.com).  It makes the pieces a little larger and more interesting than just little circles.  Add the salt, black pepper, and garlic powder or granules.

sausage with bell peppers and onions, confit sausage with bell peppers and onions, confit

Now stir, toss, or mix it all together and let it simmer.  Mix it around every few minutes until the sausage is fully cooked (no pink, etc) and the vegetables are softened, but still have a little texture in them (we don’t want mushy vegetables).

sausage with bell peppers and onions, confitAt this point, once it is all cooked through, you can put it on bread and have a sandwich.  It’s pretty good.  And even at this point it is worth making, but we can do better.

Pack it into a bowl, ziplock bag, or some kind of airtight container, including all the liquid from the pan.  You want a container that will allow you to pack it all in and have the fats and liquid fill all in between, and let you make an airtight seal.  Fats will pickup whatever flavors you have wandering around in your fridge, so please make sure this gets sealed.

sausage with bell peppers and onions, confitsausage with bell peppers and onions, confit

Put it into your fridge over night.  Yes, patience is called for.  That’s why I often have a sandwich as soon as it’s done, but I know better is coming.  Your patience will be rewarded.

When tomorrow comes around, heat up the Sausage with Bell Peppers and Onions, Confit.  And put it on bread.  And eat it.  And eat some more.  And show off to your friends how good it is, but never tell them how easy it is.  Unless they ask, since recipes should be shared.

sausage with bell peppers and onions, confit

Print
Sausage with Bell Peppers and Onions, Confit
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Italian Sausage with bell peppers and onions is elevated to a new level by making it a confit
Ingredients
  • 3 medium onions, sliced
  • 3 bell peppers, seeded and sliced
  • 10 Italian Sausages

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¾ teaspoon garlic powder (or granulated garlic)
Instructions
  1. Brown Italian sausages on medium heat. Remove from heat and slice.
  2. Add bell peppers and onions to pan and stir in vegetable oil to coat. Add sliced sausage, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Stir to combine.
  3. Continue cooking on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sausage is fully cooked and vegetables are softened, but not mushy.
  4. Pour entire batch of sausage, peppers, and onions, plus all liquid, into an airtight container, making sure the liquid covers as much as possible.
  5. Refrigerate overnight. Heat through and serve on buns, hoagie rolls, or garlic bread.

 

Enchiladas de Carne

by

pork carne enchiladaSo we made the Mexican Carne yesterday for my wife’s sister’s family, who is in town visiting.  But we made way too much.  Like, several pounds too much.  And I love the stuff, so it is not a problem to eat it all week, except they have plans for the rest of the meals for the week.  And I do not dare upset the plans of the sisters, lest I not get to eat what they come up with.

So a new plan was needed.  And my beautiful wife came up with the idea of a freezer meal.  That’s where you make the entire dish, put it in a disposable oven container, and put it in the deep freeze.  Sometime in the next couple of months, you then pull it out, put it in the oven, and voila!  You have a ready to eat meal that is better than a TV dinner.  only one question remained: what could we make out of the Mexican Carne that would freeze well, and heat well?

The answer tonight was Enchiladas!

So off the the wonderful internet to find a good enchilada sauce.  And we found one.  it is really good.  Check out the post over at Add a Pinch.

Of course I could not leave well enough alone.  So I adjusted it to better work with the pork version of the Mexican Carne.  Meaning I cut some of the sugar she has in there, and only used half the Chicken stock (and yes, you can use water if you don’t have stick on hand).

 

Start by making a base similar to a French Roux, only thinner.  Combine the oil and flour in the pan, and put it on low to medium heat.  Whisk the entire time (about two minutes), to keep from burning, and to cook the flour a little bit (since nobody likes the taste of raw flour).  Once it no longer smells like flour, you can lower the heat and add the crushed tomatoes, spices, and whatever else is on the list.  Sauce will thicken fairly quickly when stirred together with the roux.

enchilada sauce Stir it together and set to a low simmer for ten to fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally.

enchilada sauceTaste and adjust the seasoning as needed.

pork carne enchiladaIt really is quite tasty.

If you are making it into a freezer meal like we did, simply roll up the Mexican Carne in flour tortillas, line them side by side in a disposable pan, smother them in the Enchilada Sauce, and tightly cover the pan with aluminum foil.  Label it with a permanent marker, and put it in the deep freezer.  Whenever you choose to use it in the future, put it into a 350 degree oven for an hour, then check it.  If the center of the middle ones isn’t heated through, put it back in the oven until it is.

Print
Enchilada Sauce
Author: 
Recipe type: Sauce
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Truly Good Enchilada Sauce, adapted from http://addapinch.com/cooking/enchilada-sauce-recipe/
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons chili powder
  • ½ cup chicken stock, or water
  • 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon packed brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Mix together vegetable oil and flour in a medium saucepan. Put over medium heat and whisk constantly for two minutes, until you no longer smell raw flour.
  2. Turn down heat and add crushed tomatoes, spices, and the remaining ingredients. Stir together.
  3. cook on a low simmer for 10-15 minutes.
  4. Taste and adjust spices as needed.

 

 

Mexican Carne

by

carneA few years ago, a friend of ours told us that her mother was visiting from southern Mexico.  Would it be OK if she came over to visit and bring her mother?  Would it be OK if she cooked at our house?  Would it be OK to mame some authentic Mexican Carne?

Well, yeah.  Definitely.

As a bit of background, I spent a few years in South America when I was younger.  I learned Spanish, at least the Uruguay version of Spanish, and I learned some Latino Culture.  Not all of it, of course; I was 20, so of course I wasn’t the best for studying and learning.  But I did learn to speak the language.

Fast forward 20 years, and we had a very pleasant lady visiting us, who spoke very little English.  And my wife, who spoke very little Spanish.  And my habit of chatting and shooting the breeze pulling me off on my own discussions, rather than work as translator.  My wife had a difficult time of it, and it was a long night, but she really enjoyed the company and we watched, and asked questions, and we learned.  Carne.  Simple, delicious, and always a hit.

We use some of the meat from the Pulled Pork, but you can use whatever shredded meat you have, beef, pork, and probably chicken, though I haven’t tried that.  If you don’t have the time to smoke the pulled pork, you can put a pork shoulder or a beef roast into a crock pot with water, stock, veggies, V-8 juice, or whatever you have.  Cook it on low overnight, take it out of the pot and shred it with a couple of forks.

Start by chopping the vegetables.  We used three onions, two green peppers, and one Jalapeno.  Ok, it’s best with a jalapeno, but the store was out, so the pictures have a small red pepper in them, I don’t remember which kind; Red Fresno, maybe.  It’s better with the jalapeno.  Also, feel free to use two or three of them if you like spice; one will add flavor and almost no spice; three may be too much for a general audience.

onion and peppersAdd oil to to a large saute pan.  Vegetable oil works well here.  I knew we were making Mexican Carne, so I kept some of the oil from the Pulled Pork.

pulled pork greaseAdd the peppers. And onions.

saute peppersadd onions

And saute them until they soften a little.

saute onions and peppersAdd the shredded meat, and mix it in.

add pulled porkmexican carne stir together

Then chop the tomatoes and add them.

IMG_1090mexican carne before simmer

Now you want to add a little more liquid, water or stock, etc.  Then simmer the entire thing, stirring occasionally, until it’s texture changes.  Usually takes about 30-40 minutes, depending on how hot the simmer and how full the pan.

carne

And that is what it looks like.  The photo doesn’t do it justice.  It changes from a bunch of stuff in a pan to a meaty goodness.  Be patient; you’ll know when it gets there.  Go ahead and taste it.  If you didn’t use the Pulled Pork or a stock, etc, when making the meat, and didn’t season the meat before this, the Mexican Carne will need salt and pepper added here.  But taste it first, don’t over salt.

Serving Suggestions.  Roll it into a tortilla.  Add your favorite things like Queso Fresco, lettuce, sour cream, etc.  Put it on a salad.  Or hang over the kitchen sink and snarf it before the kinds show up to eat it all; and yeah, that rarely happens if you have more than one kid.

 

Print
Mexican Carne
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Authentic Mexican Carne from Southern Mexico.
Ingredients
  • 3 medium onions, chopped
  • 2 green peppers, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
  • 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2-3 pounds shredded meat, beef, pork, or chicken
  • 4 tomatoes, diced
Instructions
  1. Saute onion, green peppers, and jalapeno pepper in oil until softened, about five minutes
  2. stir in shredded meat, warm through
  3. stir in diced tomatoes
  4. simmer until everything changed texture and blends, 30-40 minutes. If it starts to dry, add some liquid that the meat was cooked in if available, or water
  5. Add salt and pepper as needed.