This recipe is only for those with patience

Soup that Looks Like America


(Making this soup is a multi-day process, so don't print out this recipe and try to make it on the same day you want to serve it.)

4 qt. ham stock

8 oz. dry black beans

8 oz. dry navy beans

8 oz. dry red beans

8 oz. dry pinto beans

4 stalks celery

2 yellow onions

6 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp. thyme

1 tsp. rubbed sage

1 Tbsp. Ivy & Devine Coffee Rub

1 tsp. paprika

1 lb. smoked sausage

1 lb. ham (cooked or cured)

½ lb. bacon

1 bunch green onions

Salt

Black pepper

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Prep

Soak beans in cool water (in separate containers) overnight. Drain, rinse and set aside. Chop celery, onions, garlic and green onions. Cut ham, sausage and bacon into ½” pieces.

Cook

In a large stock pot, cook bacon until browned and most fat is rendered. Add olive oil, onions, celery and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent. Add ham and sausage and cook until slightly browned. Add thyme, sage, Ivy & Devine Coffee Rub and paprika. Stir until all herbs and seasonings are evenly distributed. Add beans and stir. Add enough ham stock to nearly fill pot. Set remainder aside. Cook over high heat until stock comes to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for three hours, adding stock if needed to maintain a liquid consistency. Roughly stir occasionally to break up some of the beans, but not all. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve when beans are soft.

Plate

Serve in a shallow bowl and top with chopped green onions.

(Serves 6)

*There are plenty of good commercially available ham stocks in the grocery store, but to make it from scratch just chop up two onions, one bunch of celery, one pod of garlic and add with a ham bone to a pot of boiling, salted water and cook for several hours. To me, the homemade stock makes all the difference between good and great.

Request from a facebook friend

Here is a low-carb recipe requested from one of my facebook friends.


Bon Appetit!
~Tom


Low-Carb Stuffed Bell Peppers

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. Italian sausage

5 large bell peppers

1 large yellow onion

½ cup black olives

¼ cup capers

1 leek

4 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp. olive oil

3 Tbsp. fresh oregano

1 Tbsp. dried basil

1 large can tomato sauce

1 medium can chopped tomatoes

½ head cauliflower

salt

pepper

4 oz. Romano Cheese

Prep

Chop oregano, onions, one of the bell peppers, olives, leeks and garlic. Cut cauliflower into quarters and remove stalk and hard center. Shred most of the Romano Cheese, reserving some for garnish. Cut remaining bell peppers in half, lengthwise. Remove stems, seeds and pith.

Cook

Pre-heat oven to 375°. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring water to a boil in a second large saucepan. Add olive oil and heat for one minute. Add onions, chopped peppers, leeks and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent. Add meats and brown completely. While meat is browning, boil cauliflower until slightly softened to the consistency of rice. Drain cauliflower and lightly mash into pieces the size of rice. Add olives, capers, oregano and basil to the ground beef and cook for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes ½ of Romano Cheese and crushed cauliflower. Cook for five minutes.

Place bell pepper halves into a deep baking dish. Stuff mixture into bell pepper halves and spread remaining mixture around and on top of the peppers. Top with remaining Romano cheese. And bake for 30 minutes.

Plate

Place the stuffed peppers in the center of the plate and top with shaved or grated Romano cheese.

(Serves 6)

A Day Filled with Cooking (or why just driving down Devine Street today will make you fat)

I was doing my monthly "big shopping" at the grocery store yesterday (as opposed to my daily "little shopping") and saw that pot roast was on sale. Dinner solved. After checking out with my basket that looked like I was feeding the crew of the USS Enterprise, I came home to discover that my freezer had no room for the frozen stuff. The culprit? Turkey and chicken bones dating back to Thanksgiving. So, I donned by black and whites and started a full day of cooking pot roast and chicken stock. I was so in the cooking spirit that I even made four dozen cookies, and I generally don't bake. 


Here is the recipe for Dark Beer Pot Roast, which was served over a cauliflower mash. This is one of those "hey look what I found in the fridge" recipes that came together as I was making it. I hope you enjoy!


Dark Beer Pot Roast

1 5 lb. pot roast

1 large yellow onion

2 carrots

2 stalks celery

2 turnips

8 mushrooms

6 cloves garlic

8 Pepperoncini Peppers (optional)

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. rosemary

1 tsp. thyme

1 12 oz. bottle dark beer*

1 32 oz. container beef stock*

1 Tbsp. olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Prep

Roughly chop onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms and garlic. Peel and roughly chop turnip. Season roast with salt and pepper.

Cook

Pre-heat oven to 350°. Heat a large iron skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and continue heating until oil smokes. Add seasoned pot roast and brown on both sides. Add chopped vegetables (and peppers, if desired) and transfer to oven. With the oven open and the skillet on the middle rack, add beer, herbs and ½ tsp. black pepper. Add beef stock until liquid is almost to the rim of the skillet. Top loosely with foil and cook for 2 hours. Slide out the oven rack, turn the meat and stir the vegetables. Add more liquid to cover vegetables an cook for an additional 2 hours or until the meat tears apart with a fork.

Plate

Serve meat over some form of starch (toast, rice, mashed potatoes, or mashed cauliflower) and top with vegetables and some of the cooking liquid.

*Turbo Dog from Abita is my usual choice, but any good dark beer will do fine. I generally use the Kitchen Basics brand which comes in a 32 oz. waxed-cardboard container.

(Serves 8)