Family Matters

I generally like my double entendres to be a little more lighthearted, but such is not the case. This is just a quick note to let you know that I'll need to take a break from the blog this week to attend to some pressing family matters. I will be back before you know it, and I want to wish all of you a happy and thoughtful Memorial Day. 

Curly “Q” Sausage – Get It Twisted

Someone sent me a video link last summer, showing someone spiral cutting a hot dog. The wienercision was done by Blake Smith from Chow.com, and I remember wondering if this technique would work with parboiled Italian sausage.

Oh, it worked. It worked real good. By the way, I was going to provide a link to the aforementioned video, but Blake ended the demo by putting ketchup on his hot dog, so forget it. Okay, fine, since I did steal his technique, here you go.

Not only does this look very cool, the technique also provides a significantly greater amount of surface area, and when you’re talking about grilling meat, it’s all about the surface area. You could brush barbecue sauce on an un-helixed Italian sausage, but here you’re literally flavoring the sausage inside and out. 

And if you're skeptical about how well barbecue sauce goes with Italian sausage, take it from someone who ate one; it’s a match made in backyard barbecue heaven. I’d like to wish all you a safe and very festive Memorial Day weekend, and I hope you “spring” these curly “Q” sausages on your guests. Enjoy!

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Pan-Roasted Marble Potatoes – A Short Post About Little Potatoes from a Small Town

You’ll have to excuse the smaller than usual blog post, but I just flew across country, and boy are my arms tired…sorry, not arms, I meant jokes. 

Anyway, I’m back at my mom’s for a few weeks to help her out after some shoulder surgery, and despite a very late, turbulent, and sleepless flight, I had just enough energy left to post this marble potatoes video.

I generally try to stick with ingredients that can be found at any large grocery store, and I hope that’s the case here, but to be honest I really didn’t care, as these were just too damn cute not to film. If at all possible, I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 stripes bacon, sliced

1 pound marble potatoes

salt and pepper to taste

2 tsp chopped rosemary

1 tbsp rice vinegar, or any vinegar

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Smoked Turkey & Spring Pea Fettuccine – A Pasta From My Salad Days

This rich and creamy, smoked turkey and spring pea fettuccine recipe is inspired by a pasta I learned long ago, working at my first real chef job in San Francisco. 

You may have heard me mention Ryan’s Café in the past, especially if you’ve tried our famous chicken Marsala, and it was at this same restaurant where I learned what I still consider one of the best pasta recipes ever.

As I mention in the video, the original was done with smoked chicken, but for whatever reason smoked turkey is much easier to find at the market. I blame the sandwich industry, but no worries, as the turkey is just as good. There’s just something very special about the way the creamy, slightly sweet, aromatic sauce pairs with the smoky meat. Which reminds me, this is also wonderful with leftover ham.

Regarding what many would consider the dangerously large quantities of cream, I’d like to take a moment to do some math. The recipe makes four appetizer size portions. There’s about 1 3/4 cups of cream used, which is roughly 350 calories worth of butter-fatty goodness per serving. To put that into perspective, those two small ladles of dressing you used during your last trip to the salad bar had about the same amount. So, long story short, relax.

Anyway, now that I’ve armed you with a comeback for when your (probably too thin) friend questions your copious cream usage, I hope you give this very simple, but extraordinarily delicious pasta recipe a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 small or 2 large portions:

8 oz dry fettuccine noodles, boiled in salted water

For the sauce:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp minced shallot

1 3/4 cup heavy cream (about 34-36% fat)

6 oz smoked turkey, sliced

1/2 cup green peas, frozen or fresh shelled

2 tbsp minced fresh tarragon leaves

salt, pepper, cayenne to taste

1 tsp lemon zest

Parmigiano-Reggiano to garnish

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