Guest Post: Spicy Lamb Sausage with Beans

I'm very happy to introduce Bobby Hoffman, guest blogger du jour! I met Bobby and his friend Johnny recently, while having dinner with Johnny's and my friend Ingrid. Bobby's passion and enthusiasm for food shone brightly, and I immediately knew that all of you would want to meet him, too. Read this post enviously, wishing you'd shared in such an amazing dinner. Quite frankly, and with no shame (well, maybe a little bit - 13 years in Catholic school and all that Jewish guilt, after all!), after pining over all of this, I just simply violated every rule of etiquette and practically demanded an invitation to a future meal!

Since moving to Ann Arbor from Chicago this past month, I have been sampling and savoring everything that the city has to offer! I’m a sensualist whose passion for food and drink knows no bounds. As soon as I’m done with a meal, I immediately begin planning what, and where, I’m going to eat next!

I had a few friends over for dinner the other night, and planned a menu which showcased the ingredients that I picked up at the farmers' market and Biercamp. (Mary's note: Biercamp is a fabulous shop that specializes in artisan sausages and jerky. It was recently featured on Frugal Floozie Friday.)

Blackberry Mojitos: I keep homemade simple syrup infused with fresh mint in the fridge all summer long. I’m always prepared to whip up a batch of Mojitos or Mint Juleps in seconds!

Wedge Salads: I love to serve cool, crisp iceberg lettuce on a hot summer day. I updated this classic by using Biercamp’s pea meal bacon.

Spicy Lamb Sausage with Beans: Some recipes are particularly successful, and the star of the menu was definitely this dish. It was fresh, hearty and bursting with flavor! I did all my prep in advance, and assigned the task of grilling the sausages to a friend while I began assembling the dish tableside. I kept the ingredients cool and added the hot sausage at the last minute. The last step before plating was to sprinkle the feta cheese on top.

Peach Almond Cobbler: Not wanting to get stuck in a hot kitchen while my friends enjoyed the sultry summer night, I baked the cobbler in the afternoon. I used firm peaches and grilled them first. I added finely chopped, toasted almonds to the dough, made fresh whipped cream with a couple drops of almond extract, and finished each dish with toasted almonds.

I hope you enjoy!

Spicy Lamb Sausage with Beans

• 6 links of spicy lamb sausage
• 1 can of Garbanzo beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 can of small white beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 medium Vidalia sweet onion (chopped)
• 2 medium tomatoes (diced)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• black pepper (to taste)
• coarse salt (to taste)
• 1 cup of crumbled Feta

Grill the sausages while preparing the rest of the dish.

Combine the beans, onion, tomatoes, rosemary and thyme. Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, pepper, and salt; pour over the other ingredients and toss gently.

Slice the sausages and mix into the other ingredients; place onto a serving platter, then top with feta.

Greens 'n' Grains Salad with Fresh Blackberries

My BFF Wendy and I particularly loved this salad, with the bright lemony flavor of the couscous and sweetness from organic blackberries, crunch from toasted almonds, and a hint of tartness from the blackberry-fig balsamic dressing lightly coating the greens.

This was substantial enough to serve as a light lunch or supper; it was therefore a nice dish to serve at my Berry Fest for vegetarian guests, since it was supplemented by a variety of cheeses, grilled strawberries, biscuits, and desserts.  There was plenty of food for everyone, regardless of dietary needs!  I also served a fresh fruit salad, because these beautiful organic berries are a wonderful ingredient but also shine on their own without any adornment.

The lemon-herb couscous with stir-ins could even be prepared and served without the lettuce, as a complement to any number of entrees.  It's quick, simple, and delicious - what more do you need for a perfect summer dish?

Greens 'n' Grains Salad with Fresh Blackberries

2 5-ounce packages Whole Foods 365 brand lemon & herb pearled couscous
1 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
finely grated zest of 2 organic lemons
1/2 cup chopped fresh organic parsley
8 ounces mixed organic Spring greens
2/3 cup Bella's organic blackberry & fig balsamic dressing
1 cup organic blackberries

Prepare couscous according to package directions; let come to room temperature.  Stir in almonds, lemon zest, and parsley.

Toss greens with dressing.  Place greens onto a serving platter, then place couscous into the center of the greens.  Sprinkle berries over the top.

Serves 6-8.

(Note: Whole Foods Market very graciously provided me with a gift card to help purchase supplies.)

Hodgson Mill Giveaway!!!

You'll have to go on a bit of an adventure if you want to find my recipe for Asian-Style Lettuce Wraps, which is a great way to use up turkey leftovers after the Thanksgiving feast: it's on AnnArbor.com's Food & Grocery page.

I write for AnnArbor.com Monday-Friday, and have been crossposting from ye olde blog in recent months due to a lack of time. But I'm trying to vary the routine a bit, so that you have reasons to check out both offerings! So one site has a recipe today (and lots of other fabulous goodies, too!), while the other - this one! - has a giveaway.



I'm participating in a food bloggers' baking contest, and one of the rules states that contestants should host a giveaway. And it's a giveaway for a fabulous prize from a great company! I'm proud to offer this opportunity today to U.S. residents (the company's restriction - sorry foreign friends!).

Hodgson Mill - "a family owned company with more than 125 years' experience producing delicious stone ground, whole grain and organic foods ... with no artificial preservatives, additives or colorings" - is offering a $25 gift certificate to its online store for the lucky winner!!! You can choose anything from flours to pastas to gluten-free items to mixes ... it's up to you.

Entry into the fray is easy, trust me. You don't need to "like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, though of course you're always happily welcomed there ... :) I'd like it if you followed me here but, truth be told, I don't have time to check up on that.

So here 'tis: all you have to do is leave a comment below saying that you'd like to win, and make sure I can reach you by email to let you know if you've won. That's all! Oh, and only one entry per person even if you leave more than one comment; the first one will be the one that counts. It's easier and more fair that way.

I'd have the grandpuppy pick a number from all the valid entries, but he'd probably eat it. So I'll use Random.org to pick the winner. I'm too cheap, though, to pay $4.95 or whatever the fee was to earn entitlement to the winner widget. (I glanced over the seemingly endless terms, so I'm not 100% sure of it all.) You'll just have to trust me when I announce who wins, rather than my being able to post the box that shows the winning number. I hope you all know me well enough to know I'll play nice! And I work at a religious institution, so have no fear - God knows where to find me if I don't do this fairly.

The deadline is Sunday, November 27 at 8:00 a.m. EST. If I notify you of winning, you'll have 24 hours from when I send my email to acknowledge it; if you ignore me, I'll move on down the road to the next in line.

When you leave your comment, you could also tell me whether you're serving "stuffing" or "dressing" at your Thanksgiving feast, as well as how loaded it is or whether you like simpler versions, but that's not at all required for admission to the party. I just like to talk about food and to learn what people's preferences are! And I'm always fascinated by regional language quirks, so I'm intrigued by the terminology.

I'll start the conversation: I make a simple stuffing that's half-cornbread, with pecans and dried cranberries stirred in. It's baked in the turkey, which is why it's "stuffing" at my house - stuffed into the beast - rather than "dressing." My recipe won a prize several years ago in a Rachael Ray contest; if you're interested, it can be found here. (It's my recipe, by the way, even though my name doesn't appear to be found anywhere.)

Good luck to everyone!!! And have a lovely holiday!




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Tomato Sandwiches - One of the Best Summer Meals!

Is there a more perfect summer food than a ripe tomato? And is there any better way to eat one than in a tomato sandwich? I know many people - myself included! - who wait all year long for the joy of biting into this deliriously simple but splendid delicacy.

It takes so little to make a tomato sandwich - bread, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, a bit of salt and pepper. And yet, because there are so few ingredients, the quality of each is paramount.

So start with a good sourdough to contrast with the sweetness of the freshly picked, vine-ripened tomato. Add real mayonnaise - full-fat, please, contributing its smooth richness to the cause. Toss in some crisp lettuce, to add both contrasting color and crunch. Add a sprinkle each of salt and pepper, and put it all together.

And once these few simple items have been combined, you find yourself with a sandwich you remember vividly from last summer, which you've longed for as you watched the leaves turn, as you shovelled the snow, as you smelled the lilacs in bloom, as you planted your tomato seedlings and tended them with care.

It's finally here - the sandwich you've missed so, the one you've dreamt of for months and months.

You take the first bite ... the juice of the tomato starts to drip down your hand ... you grab for your napkin. And you smile broadly, knowing it was worth every moment of the wait for this moment of sheer bliss.



Tomato Sandwich

2 slices sourdough bread
generous schmears of mayonnaise
lettuce
2 1/2" thick slices of tomato
pinch of kosher salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper

Lay the bread onto the countertop, and schmear with the mayonnaise. Lay lettuce on one slice of bread, and top it with the tomato slices. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the tomatoes, then top with the remaining slice of bread and cut the sandwich in half.

Makes 1 sandwich, but can easily be multiplied.

Fattoush: A Fabulous Summer Salad

I love fattoush - it's one of my very favorite salads! Just as Jeremy will inevitably order a Reuben if he sees one on a menu, if fattoush is offered to me I will always happily eat some.

Fattoush is easy to make, showcases fresh ingredients from the garden or the farmers' market (or both), and is a flavorful accompaniment to meat or fish in addition to being fabulous all on its own.

This is an Arabic salad which began, as did the Italian panzanella, as merely a way to use up stale bread by combining it with vegetables and letting a dressing help to soften the crisp bread. But these bread salads are so fabulous that I never bother to wait until the primary ingredient is stale - I just toast up some fresh bread and proceed along whenever a craving strikes!

The sumac included in the dressing ingredients is vital, and is available very inexpensively at Middle Eastern markets. It provides a sour flavor that enhances, rather than overpowering, the salad, working in conjunction with the lemon juice without making the dish too tart.


Fattoush

1 cup chopped parsley
1 large piece whole wheat pita bread, torn into 1" pieces and toasted lightly
1 small red onion, quartered, sliced thin
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 large cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded, sliced thin
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground sumac
lettuce, for serving (optional)

Place parsley, toasted pita, onion, tomatoes and cucumber into a large mixing bowl. Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and sumac. Pour dressing over the salad and combine well. Let salad rest for 30 minutes to let flavors develop, then serve over lettuce if desired.

Serves 6 as a side dish.

Good As Gold Vinaigrette

I love going to the Downtown Ypsilanti Farmers' Market on Tuesday afternoons! It's fairly small and not terribly crowded; so it's a wonderful opportunity to chat with the vendors and to revel in baked goods, fresh herbs, live music, and gorgeous plants, fruits and vegetables.

Last week, I bought some beautiful salad greens that also came with an extra perk: vibrant edible flowers. Why be boring with iceberg lettuce, when you can have a freshly picked variety of leaves and the added bonus of a unique ingredient?

So I hardly wanted to pour plain ol' grocery store salad dressing onto such a lovely accompaniment to my dinner! And that's when I started tinkering with a little of this and a splash of that to make a light, sweet vinaigrette that was the perfect complement to the freshness of the lettuce and the twinge of zest from the flowers.

I started with the basics: oil and vinegar. From there, I simply used what I had - leftover pineapple juice, a lime waiting for a purpose in life, and a touch of hot sauce when the vinaigrette just needed a little bit of oomph.

This dressing would be ideal for any salad featuring chicken or fruit, as well, if you turn it into a meal rather than a side dish.

Good As Gold Vinaigrette

1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon balsamic vinegar (see note below)
1 tablespoon pineapple juice concentrate
juice from 1/4 lime
pinch of kosher salt
4 drops cayenne pepper sauce

Whisk together all ingredients, and drizzle over salad.

Note: Lemon balsamic vinegar is available at Fustini's Oils and Vinegars, a proud Michigan-based franchise. You can use 1/2 tablespoon each of balsamic vinegar and lemon juice as a substitute for the lemon balsamic vinegar.