Random Quotes from the WIP Household, Part II

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"We live like the Mafia, only with less spaghetti."

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"I'm nice and toasty in my leather jacket. No wonder cows never get cold."

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"I was having trouble speaking, because my pants were bothering me."

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"Nice shirt, Dad. Got some pants to go with it?"

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"Don't be looking it up and then clicking on it, 'cause I ain't listening to it."

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Lamb Shanks with Broccoli Rabe and White Beans

I made my favorite lamb shank recipe yesterday. Actually, it's my only lamb shank recipe, since I refuse to try another one, because this one is just too damn good (although not terribly photogenic, at least when I make it).

















The shanks are browned, and then braised for hours with veggies, wine, broth, spices, and anchovies. Yes, use the anchovies. They disappear after 3 hours of braising. You won't know they're there, but they add a little oomph to the sauce. Trust me.

After everything's deliciously tender, you mash the veggies through a strainer, and combine the mash with the braising liquid. I love the resulting sauce. I've found myself going back to the kitchen repeatedly to dip a piece of bread into the pot. I (almost!) don't even need the lamb.

If your shanks are small, you can serve them on the bone, topped with sauce. Mine were Huge(!), and there's lots of yucky bits on a shank that most people don't appreciate, so I removed the meat and added it back in chunks to the sauce. (Feed the yucky bits to the dogs, they'll love you forever.)

This is one of those dishes that's better the 2nd day. Please don't be alarmed when the sauce solidifies in the refrigerator overnight. It'll melt right back up.

For the white beans, I drained a can, tossed 'em in a dish with some very thinly sliced garlic and a little beef broth, and warmed them in the oven (covered with foil) while the lamb cooked.

















The broccoli rabe was blanched, then sautéed in olive oil with garlic and red pepper flakes, finished with a bit of cider vinegar.
















I'm full. And happy. And so are the puppies.

Mortadella and Provolone Sandwich with Giardiniera

This is one of the best sandwiches I've ever made.

















It helps that I smuggled back a jar of Il Primo giardiniera from Chicago.

















Slice a good baguette in half, and remove most of the fluff. Spread one side with mustard, or better yet, Trader Joe's Aioli Garlic Mustard Sauce. Top with a slice of provolone. Put 2 slices (or 4, if you're feeling especially porky) of mortadella on the other half. Stick both halves in your oven and turn it on to 350. Let the cheese get melty and the bread get toasty. Put giardiniera on top of the cheese. Assemble, smoosh together, and eat.

Linguine with Italian Sausage, Zucchini, Olives and Capers

Given the success of my sautéed tortellini salad, Hubby requested another pasta dish.

This time I went with linguine, some hot Italian sausage, zucchini, black and green olives, capers and tomatoes. And parmesan cheese, of course.

















The recipe that follows is what I did, but I think next time I might add 2 more chopped tomatoes, at the same time the sausage is added.

Linguine with Italian Sausage, Zucchini, Olives and Capers

3/4 lb linguine
3-4 links Italian sausage
1 zucchini, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
small handful black and green olives
2 t capers, drained
parmesan
olive oil
salt

Cook linguine. Drain, saving some of the pasta water. Parboil sausages, remove casings, and chop into bite-size pieces. In your largest skillet, fry the sausages to cook all the way through and to start getting some nice caramelization. Drain on paper towels.

Sauté the zucchini, garlic and tomatoes in the sausage fat remaining in the skillet, adding more olive oil if necessary. When the zucchini is done to your liking, the tomatoes will most likely have broken down and started to create a sauce. Add the sausage, olives, capers, some parmesan (or a lot), and salt to taste. Splash in some pasta water, enough to create as much saucy goodness as you like.

Add the cooked pasta to the skillet, and toss. Serve with more parmesan cheese.

Here's proof that children will eat this, even if they do pick out the olives.

Sautéed Tortellini Salad

My parents have made this tortellini salad for as long as I can remember. Cooked tortellini, crisped up in a skillet with some veggies, the obligatory pork, and topped with parmesan cheese. Yum.

My brother recently made this dish for the first time, and said it just didn't turn out the same - my father told him he didn't use the secret ingredient - ground fennel! I immediately shuddered when I heard that's what made the salad taste so good. I hate fennel. With a passion. It was (I thought) banned from my house. I hate fennel so much that I don't eat Italian sausage too often, because of those horrible little seeds that crazy people like to put in their sausages. Ick.

But...apparently when fennel is ground to a powder, it's completely different. I raided my spices, and found a little baggie of fennel seeds. How the heck did they get there? I swear I didn't buy them. I ground some up. Yeah, it smelled like licorice. I almost didn't put the powder in the salad. But I persevered, trusting in the wisdom of my parents, and the fact that I had eaten it before, fennel and all, and loved it.

















I've given the quantities that I used - if there's no number by the ingredient, just add to taste.

Sautéed Tortellini Salad

1 bag small tortellini, any flavor
olive oil
butter
1 onion, sliced (next time I'd probably add a 2nd small onion)
~<1/4 c pancetta, sopressata, bacon, etc., diced small
carrots, julienned
frozen peas
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 teaspoon fennel powder
parmesan cheese
red pepper flakes
black pepper

Cook the tortellini according to package directions, but subtract a couple minutes from the boiling time.

Caramelize the onions, along with the chopped cured pork, in some olive oil mixed with butter, until the onions are brown and silky. Or not that brown, if you prefer them that way.

Raise the heat, and add the garlic, carrots and cooked tortellini. Mix it up, then let it sit undisturbed for a bit to get some crusty parts on the pasta. Sprinkle with the fennel, some parmesan, a lot of black pepper, and some red pepper flakes if you wish. Toss it around, then let sit some more. Keep doing this until the carrots are cooked and the pasta has yummy brown spots, about 5-10 minutes.

You can add a little pasta water to thicken the "sauce" if desired - the water, combined with the parmesan, gives a lovely coating to the pasta. You can also add some additional olive oil or butter.

Throw in the peas at the last minute, and let heat through. Serve with more parmesan & pepper flakes.

When I told Hubby I was going to make this dish, he didn't sound too enthusiastic. As a matter of fact, after dinner he told me that when I first explained the dish, he thought it "didn't sound good at all" and that while I was cooking, he was already making plans to get something out.

But...the man needs to learn to just shut up and eat what I cook him, because after his first bite, he couldn't stop raving about it. He even packed the leftovers and took them to work for lunch the next day. (That rarely happens.) And he did the dishes.

Hush Puppies

I had a craving for hush puppies, but can't stand the local fast food joint, so had to make my own. I used a recipe from Homesick Texan, and added a little more salt and a pinch of sugar.

















They were missing a little something, I think it's because I used milk instead of buttermilk. But with some hot sauce, and alongside my plantain fritters, these made for a great snack.

Plantain Fritters

I picked up a couple plantains from the market the other day, thinking about making tostones. But then I found Morsels & Musings' recipe for Plantain Fritters.

















One word - yum! Crunchy on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside. Drizzled with a bit of honey, these made a perfect snack.