An Old Favorite

Tonight, we're having an old favorite of mine - Koru Ragu or Swedish Sausage Stew. It's from a book I got from my former mother-in-law many, many years ago called "Complete Meals in One Dish". This meal is so easy and delicious - perfect for a weeknight meal.

Koru Ragu

1 pound sausages (I've made this with sliced up smoked sausages and smoked kielbasa)
3 tablespoons butter
½ cup diced onions
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup beef broth
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups sliced carrots
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf

Brown the sausages in a heavy skillet. Drain and reserve sausages. Melt butter in the same skillet and saute onions for about 5 minutes, until soft. Blend in the flour and then add the beef broth. Bring to a boil. Return sausages to pan. Add carrots, potatoes, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes (add more beef broth, if necessary).

That's it. Easy as pie and quite delicious! Make it with your favorite kind of sausages and I'm sure it will be a hit. It's a great cold night meal. Yum!

Catching Up!

She Said:

I have some serious catching up to do. I have three recipes that we made that count toward our own Julie/Julia Project. They are all from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Day 61 - Arroz Con Pollo with Peas

2 cups long-grain white rice
2½ cups chicken broth
½ cup dry sherry
¼ teaspoon crushed saffron threads
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups fresh peas (about 2 pounds in the shell)
1 roasted red pepper, diced
20 pimiento stuffed green olives, sliced
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the rice in a sieve and set in a bowl. Run cold tap water over the rice until the rinse water runs clear. Drain well. Set aside. (This step is optional. It does wash away vitamins that have been sprayed onto the rice, but it greatly improves the texture of the final dish.)

2. Combine the broth, sherry, and saffron in a small saucepan and warm gently over low heat.

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sauté for 2 minutes, until the chicken is partially cooked. Add the onion and garlic and continue to sauté until the chicken is white and firm, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the rice and sauté until the rice appears toasted, about 3 minutes.

4. Stir the chicken broth mixture into the rice. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle boil. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the peas to the skillet (do not stir) and continue to cook until the liquid is absorbed and the peas are tender, about 10 minutes. (if your peas are "mature", they may take a few minutes longer.)

5. Fluff the rice with a fork. Stir in the red pepper, olives, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Serve at once.

This was just OK. I even thought it might get better having sat overnight in the fridge and reheated. But it wasn't. It was just OK.

Day 62 - German Potato Salad

2 pounds waxy potatoes, scrubbed, halved, and sliced ¼ inch thick
4 ounces bacon, diced
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons white wine or red wine vinegar (we only used 3½ tablespoons of white wine vinegar)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 celery stalks, diced
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine the potatoes with 6 cups salted water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup of the cooking liquid and drain. Transfer the potatoes to a large mixing bowl and keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until brown and crisp, about 4 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and transfer to the bowl with the potatoes. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease.

3. Add the shallot to the skillet and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the reserved cooking liquid, oil, vinegar, and sugar. Bring to a boil. Pour the mixture over the potatoes and toss to coat. Add the celery, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Serve immediately.

This was not what we were expecting from potato salad but it was quite good. The real test was taking it to work the next day when it was cold. It held up even then. Good recipe!

Day 63 - Carrot Muffins

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1½ cups firmly packed grated carrots
¼ cup pure maple syrup
¼ cup sour cream or yogurt (we used sour cream)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping
½ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Grease 16 regular-size muffin cups.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.

3. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the carrots, maple syrup, sour cream, and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture until smooth.

4. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. The batter will be stiff; an ice-cream scoop does a great job of distributing int.

5. Bake the muffins for 25 to 30 minutes, until they have risen and a knife inserted in the center of one comes out clean.

6. Let the muffins cool in the pan on a wire rack for a few minutes.

7. To make the topping, mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. When the muffins are just cool enough to handle, one at a time dip the tops into the melted butter, then into the sugar and cinnamon mixture, covering the tops completely. Let cool before serving.

I was worried about the cinnamon and sugar topping for these. I thought that they would need a cream cheese frosting or something like that. Admittedly, they were a little dry but really tasty and just right to have with your morning coffee or tea. I really enjoyed these!

Days 61, 62 & 63/365:Recipes 32, 33 & 34/175

Day Six - Easter Dinner!

She Said:

I will not go into details about what we had for Easter dinner - suffice it to say that we had 16 people and lots of food (except we did run out of potatoes - note for future - 5 pounds of potatoes is not enough for 16 people!)

But, we did do one recipe (multiplied by seven) from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman and that counts toward our own Julie/Julia Project.

Day Six

Maple-Roasted Carrots

1 pound carrots, cut into thin 3-inch spears
1 tablespoon canola oil
Salt
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Chopped fresh parsley or cilantro, for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 425℉. Lightly grease with oil a baking sheet just large enough to hold the carrots in a single layer.

2. Put the carrots on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil and toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer.

3. Roast for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in the maple syrup on top of the stove or in a microwave.

4. Drizzle the maple syrup mixture over the carrots. With a metal spatula, turn the carrots over. Roast for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the carrots are lightly browned and easily pierced with a fork. Stir with the spatula to coat the carrots with the glaze on the bottom of the pan and transfer to a serving dish.

5. Garnish with the parsley. Serve hot.

I thought these were delicious. Nicely sweet and rich-tasting. I did forget about the garnish, though, so ours were parsley-free. I didn't miss it.

Day 6/365:Recipe 7/175.

Oh, we will be taking a break from our own Julie/Julia Project while we endeavor to put a hurtin' on all of the leftovers we have in the refrigerator from the last six days plus Easter. We'll be eating well for a while!