Zuppa Bianca (Italian White Soup)

From what I've read, traditionally a zuppa bianca is creamy from the white beans in it, often part of them being blended to thicken the soup.  I didn't want to use that many beans in mine, so I thought I'd try my own spin on the soup and it came out fantastic!
I started with homemade stock that Justin had made the day before.

I'll remind you again - SAVE ALL YOUR VEGGIE ENDS AND BONES!  Every time we cut off broccoli stems, carrot ends, onion ends, herb stems, and leftover bones we throw them into a Ziplock bag and stick 'em in the freezer.  Sooner or later you've got a full bag and you can put it all in a stock pot, add water, and make your own stock!  It's so easy, you're using every bit of the vegetable, and it's worth it to make homemade stock!

I also wanted to add anchovy, pepper, fennel and mushrooms to my zuppa bianca... also not traditional as far as I can tell, but man, they were a killer, tasty addition!  Served it up with some crusty bread and that was all you needed!  It might have been good with a little fresh Parmesan grated onto it, but we didn't have any.

This recipe makes a huge batch... you could probably half the recipe and it'd be fine, but being that I made it in a huge batch, that's the quantities I'm throwing at you.  I say make a huge batch and you can freeze the leftovers to pull out later when you don't feel like cooking.  That's what we do.

I love punk rock.  But there's a lot of old music that I really love too - I think I can sing more songs from the 60s than most people who lived through the 60s... though drugs might have something to do with that for a lot of folks.  So when punk bands cover songs from the 60s, it's no surprise that I usually love them.  (I never even stood a chance with the Gimmes.)  So let's listen to the Adolescents covering Eric Burdon and The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun"... the only song I was ever able to play on the organ, but probably can't now.  Plus... how many punk songs can you name with a harmonica solo?  -jen

ZUPPA BIANCA
Time:  about 1 hour
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes: 

• 1 pound ground spicy Italian sausage
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 anchovies packed in oil
• 1 cup diced celery (about 2 large stalks)
• 1 cup diced carrots (about 2 medium
• 1 cup diced fennel bulb (about 1 medium), reserve 1/4 cup of the fronds, chopped
• 1 cup diced green bell pepper (about 1 large)
• 2.5 cups diced onions (about 1 large)
• 3 cups diced crimini mushrooms
• 1.5 tablespoons minced garlic (about 5 medium cloves)
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt plus extra
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 quarts chicken stock
• 2 cups 1/2" cubed potatoes (about 1 large potato), skin on
• 1 can (14oz) white beans, reserve liquid
• 3 cups chopped kale (remember to remove stems)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup chopped basil
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
• lemon wedges

In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, brown the Italian sausage.  Remove sausage and set aside.  Leave 2 tablespoons of the sausage fat in the pot, discard the rest.  (That was all I actually got out of my sausage, but some sausage is fattier than others.)  Add olive oil and the anchovies to the sausage fat in the pot and cook 1 minute.  Add celery, carrots, fennel bulb, bell pepper, onions, mushrooms, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, white pepper and 1 teaspoon salt.  Cook, stirring intermittently, until vegetables begin to soften and onions are just turning translucent.  Add white wine and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Add chicken stock, potatoes and the liquid from the beans (don't add the beans yet).  Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.  Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10-12 minutes (fish one out and test it).  Once potatoes are tender, add cooked sausage, beans, kale, heavy cream, basil, parley and the reserved chopped fennel fronds.  Taste the soup and add salt or pepper if necessary.  Serve each bowl with a wedge of lemon to squeeze onto the soup.

Buttermilk Biscuit Chicken Pot Pies

Crossing biscuits and gravy with chicken pot pies!  Our deconstructed pot pie?  Or our open-faced pot pie?  Whatever it is, it's freaking delicious.

Justin had been wanting to do pot pies recently; the traditional kind with a pie crust.  We even bought a perfect sized ramekin to make a family-size one in.  But... he's been on another Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuit kick and made such a perfect, huge batch.  We'd recently seen some traveling food show where a restaurant was known for their chicken pot pie biscuits and gravy and we both drooled on ourselves a little when we saw it.  We had the biscuits, we had the chicken, we had most of the vegetables... it was on!

I just roasted some seasoned chicken thighs at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes.  I leave the skin on while cooking and it comes out ridiculously crispy, like cracklins or chicharrones.  Then I removed it before pulling the meat off the bone.  I'm not going to lie... I ate 2 of the skins straight up and felt guilt.  Massive, delicious guilt.  I just threw the remaining skins into our freezer bag of broth-makin' scraps, but I kind of wish I'd kept one of the super crispy ones to chop up and sprinkle on top of the plated biscuit pot pies.

The potatoes I cooked real quick while I was chopping up and sauteing the veggies, it doesn't take too long to cook them.  The instructions are below.

This recipe makes a large amount of gravy/pot pie filling.  If it's more than you want, you can always freeze it.  Or just cut the recipe in half.  Or make somebody's day by sharing it with them... that's what we did.  Justin took most of the batch to work to share with his coworkers since it's just the two of us at home.

Going back a little ways with some Stiff Little Fingers doing "Straw Dogs".

BUTTERMILK BISCUIT CHICKEN POT PIES
Time:  about 35 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  about 10 cups (10 servings - large batch!)

• 12 tablespoons butter (1.5 sticks)
• 2 cups carrots, diced 1/2" (about 3 medium)
• 1.5 cup celery, diced 1/2" (about 2 stalks)
• 1.5 cup onion, diced 1/2" (about 1 medium)
• 1.5 cups crimini mushrooms, diced 
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (optional for colour)
• 3/4 cup flour
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups potatoes (about 1 medium), diced 1/2" and cooked (see How To below)
• 1 cup peas, frozen
• 3 cups cooked chicken, cubed 1/2" (about 4 thighs or 3 breasts)
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1/4 cup packed basil, chopped
• salt to taste
• Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits (see recipe here)

In a large skillet or stock pot (that holds at least 4 quarts), melt butter over medium-high heat.  Add carrots and celery, cook about 5 minutes.  Add onion and mushrooms, cook 3-4 minutes until onions are translucent.  Add sage, black pepper and turmeric, cook 1 minute.  Add flour and stir until incorporated, cook 3-4 minutes.  Pour in chicken broth and whisk until thickened, about 5 minutes.  Turn heat to medium and stir in heavy cream, potatoes, peas, chicken, hot sauce and basil.  Add salt to taste and serve over Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits.

How To Boil Potatoes
Dice potato into 1/2" cubes.  Place potatoes in a large pot.  Add cold water to cover 1" above the potatoes.  Add a generous amount of salt.  Bring to a boil and cook about 6 minutes.  Potatoes should be cooked through but still firm.

Skillet Potatoes with Shallots and Lemon

My mother-in-law (Justin's mom) had shared a recipe she saw on Facebook for skillet potatoes.  They reminded me of our Accordion Potatoes, only sliced all the way through and in a cast iron skillet.  I really liked the concept and wanted to give it a try.  Anything in a cast iron skillet is delicious!  But I wanted to combine what I was doing with the Accordion Potatoes... so I decided to add shallots and lemon.

They came out delicious!  Sort of pretty, as far as presentation goes... but the taste!  Man!  So delicious!  The lemons were thin enough that they sort of candied and you could eat them, rind and all, a fantastic flavour along with the potato and shallots.   The potatoes had so many different textures... some on the outside were as crispy as potato chips, the tops crisped up great, the bottoms were just tender, delicious, seasoned potatoes.  I loved this dish, and I am not a lover of potatoes! 


I chose some Off With Their Heads for this recipe - "Nightlife".  I dig this band.  I swore I had used them before on a recipe, but I can't find anything... so here we go.  -jen 
 

SKILLET POTATOES WITH SHALLOTS AND LEMON
Prep Time:  30 minutes
Cook Time:  75-90 minutes
Serves:  6

• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 large shallots
• 2 large lemons
• 4 medium garlic cloves
• 3 large baking potatoes, skin on (we used russet)
• 1 tablespoon Caldo de Pollo (dried bouillon - optional)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
• 2 tablespoons bacon fat (if you don't keep bacon fat, you can just use 2 more tbsp of butter)
• 1/2 a lemon, juiced
• one-gallon-size Ziplock bag
• 12" cast iron skillet

Before baking

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Use 1 tablespoon of olive oil to coat bottom and sides of cast iron skillet.

Using a mandolin, thinly slice shallots, lemons, garlic cloves and potatoes.  (If you don't have a mandolin, just make sure you slice everything super thin... like a potato chip.)  Place the sliced potatoes into the gallon-size Ziplock bag.  Add 3 tablespoons olive oil, Caldo de Pollo, salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne.  Seal bag and use your hands to move the potatoes around and really mix it all up, separating all the sliced pieces so everything gets coated.

Arrange one layer of potatoes around the outer most edge of the skillet.  Once neatly arranged, carefully intersperse 1/3 of the lemon and shallot slices between the potatoes.  Repeat with a second and third layer inside the first.  Once the skillet is full, sprinkle the garlic slices over the top.  Melt the butter and the bacon fat (about 30-45 seconds in the microwave).  Pour all across the arranged potatoes.  I sprinkled a little more salt and pepper over the top.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 75 minutes.  Using a fork, test by piercing the center potatoes.  The fork should easily pierce the potatoes when cooked through.  If there's resistance, bake for another 15 minutes and fork-test again.  Baking times may vary since potato sizes vary and how tightly you arrange them - if your potatoes were bigger than mine, it could take up to 90 minutes.  Just keep fork testing every 15 minutes after the first 75 minutes.

When potatoes pass the fork-test and are golden brown, remove from oven and pour the lemon juice over the top while hot.  Serve hot (we served it with homemade pesto over the top).

Topped with homemade basil pesto

Before baking

Cheesy Cauliflower and Broccoli Casserole

I have another similar recipe on the blog, the Cheesy Cauliflower Bake.  In that one I steamed the cauliflower in large chunks on the stove.  Lately, I've been enjoying "riced" cauliflower with the food processor, then cooked in the microwave, so that's what I did this time.  And broccoli, of course.  Just a few little differences.  We both really liked this recipe though.  Had it tonight with pork medallions and I did up a pan gravy with the drippings.  Delicious!

Have had Hot Water Music's "Wayfarer" in my head.  -jen

CHEESY CAULIFLOWER AND BROCCOLI CASSEROLE
Special Equipment:  Food Processor
Prep Time:  25 minutes
Cook Time:  25-30 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  6-8 servings

• 1 large head of cauliflower, roughly chopped
• 1/2 crown of broccoli (2-3 cups, roughly chopped)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 8oz cream cheese, softened
• 3 tbsp Greek yogurt or sour cream (optional)
• 2 cups cheddar or cojack, shredded
• 3 tablespoons green onions, diced (about 3 medium)
• 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 2 dashes Sriracha sauce (or other hot sauce)
• salt and pepper to taste (I used my KFCseasoning, a little Mrs. Dash and some white pepper)
• 1 egg, lightly whisked
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, F.  Prepare a 2-quart 8"x8" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside.

Add cauliflower and broccoli to food processor.  Pulse until vegetables are about the size of rice.  Place in a microwave safe glass bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap.  Microwave on high for 10 minutes (bowl will be hot!!)  Let sit for 5 minutes with plastic wrap on.

Return cooked vegetables to the food processor and add butter, cream cheese, and yogurt/sour cream.  Process on high until smooth and creamy.  Return to glass bowl and stir in shredded cheese, green onions, Worcestershire, and Sriracha.  Now is the time to add your salt and pepper while you can still taste it and adjust.  Then stir in the egg.

Transfer to the prepared baking dish, making sure mixture is level.  Sprinkle Parmesan over the top and bake at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes.  Top should be golden brown.  Serve immediately.

Cheesy Cauliflower and Broccoli Casserole with pork medallions and gravy

Accordion Potatoes

We started out the new year with a great brunch with new friends (new for me, anyway).  I'd been wanting to try my hand at some sliced baked potatoes because I had a ton of different ideas for them.  Our friend Mike had made some a while back, showing us pictures - they looked great!  Then we saw some made on television and decided we had to make them.  Today presented a perfect opportunity, as we were hosting brunch and needed something to go with the Greek frittata that Justin was making. 

I'm not a huge fan of potatoes - baked, mashed, scalloped.  It's not that I dislike them, they just don't do a whole lot for me.  Until... today.  These potatoes were so freaking bomb ass, I ate two servings at brunch, and went back for a half of a potato for a snack.  I want to make more right now... we just don't have any potatoes left.

C'mon.  Irish.  Accordion.  Potatoes.  This was a total no brainer for music.  Flogging Molly's "Drunken Lullabies".  I love these guys.  -jen

ACCORDION POTATOES

• 3 large baking potatoes
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 2 teaspoons dried dill
• 1-2 lemons, sliced super thin
• 1-2 shallots, sliced super thin

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Scrub outside of potatoes clean.  Lay potato on cutting board and slice into 1/8-1/4" slices, not slicing through the bottom of the potato.  You can use two wooden spoons on either side of the potato as a bumper to stop you from cutting through it like in this photo.

Drizzle all but a teaspoon or two of the melted butter over entire top of potato, using your fingers to separate the pieces and get butter down into the crevices.  Sprinkle seasoning salt and dill over potatoes, separating pieces again to make sure seasoning gets into all the slots.

Squeeze sliced lemon and shallots, alternating, in between the potato slices.  Brush the tops of the potatoes with the remaining butter.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 60-80 minutes, until potato is tender.  (Timing depends on how large your potatoes are.  Test a middle piece with a fork - if it slides in easily, it's done.)


Remove and serve.  Don't forget to pull out the lemon wedges if you're not into eating lemon rind.

You could really season the potatoes with anything you wanted.  I actually used Penzey's Forward spice mix, some salt, and the dill.  Next time I'd like to use one of our chile-based spice rubs we make, and sprinkle some shredded cheese on during the last 10-15 minutes.

Once Baked Potato Casserole

I'm not really much of a potato person, but I do love a good twice-baked potato.  They seem like such a waste, though.  You can't scoop all the inside out, or your shell is too thin, and then most people just eat the stuffed innards and toss the skin.  With this recipe, we use it all!  It's like twice baked potato casserole... but, it's once boiled, once baked.  Whatever it is, it's awesome.

If you have cholesterol problems or are a physician, you might not want to continue.

Here's a little Social Distortion.  They go with potatoes really well.  -jen

ONCE BAKED POTATO CASSEROLE

• 4 large Russet potatoes
• 2-3 tablespoons salt
• 1 pound bacon
• 6 tablespoons butter + 1 tablespoon butter, room temp
• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temp
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
• 1 tablespoons chives, chopped
• 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• black pepper

Thoroughly clean potatoes and dice into large cubes, leaving the skin on.  Place diced potatoes into a large pot.  Add water just to cover the potatoes and stir in the salt.  Turn heat on high and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, cook 10-12 minutes until potatoes are fork tender.  Drain.

Meanwhile, chop bacon into small pieces.  Heat large skillet over medium-high heat and add bacon when skillet is hot.  Stir to keep from sticking and brown bacon until crispy, 7-10 minutes.  Remove using a slotted spoon and scoop onto a paper towel covered plate to drain.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine potatoes, 6 tablespoons butter, cream cheese, and cream.  Using a hand held mixer, blend until desired consistency - we like ours chunky.  Stir in shallots, chives, bacon and 1.5 cups of the cheese, setting aside the remaining 1/2 cup.  Pepper to taste.

Using the remaining tablespoon of butter, generously grease a 8x8 baking dish.  Spoon in mashed potatoes.


Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top and bake an additional 15 minutes, or until cheese has begun to brown.

Pork Steaks with Mushroom and Onion Gravy and Mashed Potatoes

I've always loved Salisbury steaks... the crappy TV dinner kind, the school cafeteria kind, the greasy diner kind. They're usually made with ground beef or cubed steak.  Well, we had some pre-tenderized pork steaks we'd been buying lately that were like cube steaks, and they've been a fast, tasty fix for nights we haven't felt like cooking.  Recently, we've had some sitting in our freezer and rather than breading and frying them like we usually do (delicious!), I thought I'd try something that "fancied" them up a little, but wasn't a pain in the ass to cook.  And this is the recipe I came up with!  It looks like a lot of ingredients, but don't let it scare you, it's really fast to make.  Basically you're just throwing some onions and mushrooms in a pan with flour and broth, then making a quick dry rub and broiling the steaks for 8 minutes.  Super basic, cheap, and some serious home style comfort food. 

Having come up with the recipe, I had to decide what kind of music I wanted to listen to while cooking.  It seemed like it was a bit of a Southern dish, but I just wasn't in a real hard, punk rock mood.  Instead, I did a little 90's flash back to some good, southern alt-rock: The Toadies.  I know, I know, we said this was a punk rock cooking blog.  But we listen to a LOT of different kinds of music, and we cook a whole lot, so sometimes we're just going to have to mix it up a little.  The Toadies never fail to bring some messed up, dark, Southern imagery to mind... creeping kudzu, old plantation houses, old dark family secrets, people mentally and emotionally (and sometimes physically) tortured by generations of fucked up bible thumping... oh yeah, and gravy!  So here is one of my favourite Toadies songs, "Away".  -jen

PORK STEAKS WITH MUSHROOM AND ONION GRAVY

• 3 tablespoons olive oil (plus additional oil for drizzling)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large yellow or white onion, julienned
• 1 pound white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1-1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1-1/2 cups beef broth
• 2 tablespoons dry Sherry
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce (depending on how spicy you want it)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 large pork steaks, tenderized (we bought ours pre-tenderized, like cube steak)

Seasoning Mix:

• 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

In a large skillet with straight sides, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter on medium-high heat.  Add onions and mushrooms, tossing to coat with oil and butter.  (The pan's going to look too full, but it'll all cook down.)  Cook, stirring occasionally until onions are translucent and mushrooms are tender.  Add garlic, Italian seasoning, thyme, Worcestershire and soy sauce, cooking another 3-5 minutes.  Sprinkle flour over vegetables and stir in until completely absorbed, cooking about 3-5 minutes.  Add chicken and beef broth all at once and stir quickly in order to avoid lumps in your gravy.  Bring to a boil, and then simmer until gravy has thickened.  Add Sherry, Sriracha and salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside on very low simmer, stirring occasionally to make sure gravy isn't sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Meanwhile, turn oven to broil.  Mix together all of the ingredients for the seasoning mix.  Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil.  Pat pork steaks dry and lay over olive oil on one side, then flip to the other side so both sides are coated with a small amount of oil.  Season both sides of steaks with seasoning mix to taste (you'll probably use 3-4 teaspoons of the mix in total).  Leftover seasoning mix can be stored in airtight container for future use!  Broil steaks on one side for about 5 minutes.  Flip and broil an additional 2-3 minutes.  Serve smothered in onion and mushroom gravy.  We used homemade mashed potatoes, but concurred that egg noodles or rice would also be delicious.

MASHED POTATOES
Serves 4

• 3 large baking potatoes
• salt
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup milk
• pepper to taste

Bring well salted water to boil in large pan.  Peel 1/2 of the potatoes (and scrub skin of the unpeeled ones clean).  Dice into 2" cubes.  Carefully put into boiling water and cook until they're fork-tender (about 12-15 minutes, fork should slide in easily).  Remove from heat and drain.  In a large bowl, combine potatoes, butter, and milk.  Mash with a hand masher until all ingredients are well mixed (butter will melt from the heat of the potatoes).  Add pepper to taste.

(We're really trying to work on our plating techniques... so we thought we'd each try a plate.)