Hot Dog Hotdish for the Minnesota Game

Minnesota is noted for its cold weather and for hardy residents who speak with cute accents. The severe winters don't keep people huddled indoors, though; folks continue to go ice fishing, skating, and socializing.

But after venturing out into the frigidness, a warm meal is warranted. And Minnesotans are famous not just for casseroles, but specifically for what they call "hotdish."

According to Wikipedia:

"Hotdish is a variety of baked casserole that typically contains a starch, a meat or other protein, and a canned and/or frozen vegetable, mixed together with canned soup."

In honor of Saturday's game - Minnesota vs. Michigan - I thought I would pay tribute to this culinary tradition. But I was not going to resort to using the infamous condensed soups.

That is, until I read the following:

"Cream of mushroom soup is so ubiquitous in hotdish that it is often referred to in such recipes as 'Lutheran Binder,' referring to hotdish’s position as a staple of Lutheran church cookbooks. The soup is considered a defining ingredient by some commentators."

And so, I realized that I would be dishonoring the very essence of the hotdish if I tried to make it more sophisticated. It is consummate comfort food, and part of its charm is its hominess and ease of preparation.

So I took as my basis the famous green bean casserole, and added a few tweaks to make it an entree rather than a side dish. It's perfect food for a football game, as it's hearty and substantial and ideal for fall.

Hotdish is so integral to Minnesota culture that Sen. Al Franken even welcomed the state's Congressional delegation to participate in a hotdish competition this past January. The winner did not feature another Minnesota product, the lovely wild rice. It didn't feature venison bratwurst, or any other enobling ingredients. Nope - the winner was Sen. Amy Klobuchar, whose Taconite Tater Tot Hot Dish was a combination of ground beef, creamed soups (mushroom and chicken), tater tots, and Pepper Jack cheese.

Hotdish may be lowly, but you know what? Even with its simple ingredients and lack of elegance, it's really, really good! My Hot Dog Hotdish was devoured when I served it, and will be a hit if you serve it for Saturday's game. Jeremy loathes green bean casserole, but he loved this so much that he actually ate more helpings than anyone else!

University of Minnesota at University of Michigan
Saturday, October 1 at 12 p.m. EDT
GO BLUE!!!

I was THRILLED to see that this post was found and discussed thoroughly on Serious Eats the other day: "Hotdish Casserole"!!! And I was equally happy to find that everyone had lovely things to say about, and memories of, hotdish ... regardless of whether it's called a casserole or a covered dish or whatever around the country ... :)

Note: Today is the first full day of Rosh Hashanah. My friend Debbie Vanni at The Culinary Cellar very graciously invited me to write a guest post for the holiday. Thank you, Debbie, for the fabulous honor!

So go visit her fabulous site devoted to recipes and cookbooks, and you'll find us celebrating the new year and reviewing the past one while sharing a sweet treat: Apple Almond Kugel. 'Cause it's not a Jewish party without kugel, after all - a traditional creamy noodle pudding with a crunchy, cinnamony topping.

I've baked a lot of kugels over the years, but Jeremy told me that this is "the best one you've ever made!" Pretty high praise ... :)

Shana Tovah!!! [shah-NAH toh-VAH]

May you have a sweet new year!


Hot Dog Hotdish

4 wieners, cut into 1/2" slices
1 10-3/4 ounce can cream of mushroom soup
half of a 10-3/4 ounce can condensed cheddar cheese soup
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup milk
several splashes cayenne pepper sauce
1 pound frozen green beans, defrosted
1 cup fried onions
45 tater tots
4 ounces mild cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8"x8" baking dish.

Heat the wieners over medium heat in a medium skillet until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine soups, mustard, salt, milk and pepper sauce. Stir in wieners, green beans and fried onions; pour into the prepared baking dish.

Place the tater tots in rows over the green bean mixture. Bake for 25 minutes.

Place the cheese over the tater tots, and bake for another 25 minutes until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling.

Serves 8.

Creamy Macaroni & Cheese

Sometimes, a girl just needs some food for her soul.

Long days (and extra days) at work during the busy season, illness in the family, too many deadlines and obligations, a few crises thrown in to keep from getting bored ... it takes a toll. We've all been there. I know everyone is nodding in agreement.

So a dish like macaroni and cheese is precisely what is needed. Warm, rich, gooey, soothing - consummate comfort.

The seasoned bread crumbs add some texture and a boost of flavor; though really, when you're using an entire pound of cheese to make your sauce, you hardly need much more to make a dish great!

While we all have a perverse affection for the mac 'n' cheese in the famous blue box, it's so easy to make a homemade version that there's just no need to resort to dehydrated stuff. Just be sure not to bake this, as that dries it out; the key to its creaminess is to simply immerse the pasta in the sauce and let the two dance happily together without any further intervention.

Creamy Macaroni & Cheese

1 pound penne
4 tablespoons + 3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons unbleached flour
2 cups 2% milk
4 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded
4 ounces mild cheddar cheese, shredded
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon Mrs. Dash or other seasoning
1/2 cup whole grain crackers, crushed

Prepare penne according to package directions; drain.

In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk and cook until sauce is thickening. Slowly whisk in all of the cheese until sauce is smooth, then whisk in the mustard.

Combine penne and cheese; place into a 9"x13" serving dish.

In a small skillet, melt remaining butter; remove from heat. Add seasoning and cracker crumbs; combine well. Sprinkle crumbs over the macaroni and cheese, and serve immediately.

Frugal Floozie Friday -- Mark's Carts

It's Frugal Floozie Friday, and today's adventure takes us to a place with a tremendous variety of foods. No, it's not a buffet; but it's a bit reminiscent of one, as you can choose a little bit here, something else there, and be lured by the temptation of a rich treat off in the corner.

Today we're visiting Mark's Carts, a courtyard in downtown Ann Arbor filled with street food carts featuring everything from comfort foods to ethnic dishes, from sandwiches to desserts.

Tom and I perused all of the available offerings, though unfortunately there wasn't a complete array as we were there early in the evening and each cart keeps differing hours. Apparently things really get going after 6 p.m. on Friday nights, with all of the vendors open and live music contributing to the festive ambience.

We decided to try a bit from each of the three carts that were ready and waiting for us. A Thai-style salad with peanut dressing from The Lunch Room was our opening act, a light dish of rice noodles with bright, colorful vegetables.

We had a wonderful chat with cart co-owner Phillis Engelbert, whose smile and enthusiasm are irresistable. Her cart's menu is vegan, and features everything from a barbecue tofu sandwich with slaw to large cookies (Blackstrap molasses gingersnaps, Mexican hot chocolate). And Phillis even told me that adults are welcome to order the fabulous "kids' meal": peanut butter and jelly sandwich, applesauce, carrot sticks, and a chocolate chip cookie -- a healthy happy meal for only $5. Bike delivery is available at lunchtime, if you're having a craving and can't get out of the office.

To go with the salad, we ordered a bratwurst on a crispy toasted bun from Eat. This was topped with sauerkraut from Ann Arbor's own The Brinery, which specializes in fermented vegetables (and makes a kimchi which Tom adores!).

At $6 for this portion of our meal plus $4 for the salad, the mainstay of our shared dinner came in at precisely $5 per person, our Frugal Floozie Friday budget limit, and featured an entire array of handmade and locally sourced foods that were good both for us and for Michigan's economy ... how great is that?

And yet, the pièce de résistance was a flourless chocolate cake purchased at Darcy's Cart, which was topped with an amazingly generous slathering of homemade whipped cream (cream-to-cake ration of 2:1!). You can pay $3 for just the cake, but why not invest the extra $1 for the cream? Coupled with a refreshing $2 lemonade from the Eat cart, sharing the sweet portion of our meal provided another less-than-$5 per person option, perfect for an after-dinner treat.

But let me get on to describing the "cake," which was really more of a dense fudge than a traditional flourless dessert (i.e.: one made with ground nuts). It was so rich and luscious, and it really benefitted from the not-too-sweet cream that helped to balance the depth of its intensity.

Darcy's Cart, like the other vendors in the courtyard, proudly cooks with Michigan products and features a bulletin board giving credit to those who've contributed to that day's offerings:


Mark's Carts is a great idea, leaping into the street food phenomenon so popular in larger cities and helping to promote both local vendors and the Michigan suppliers whom they support. Head on over some time, and eat a little here and a little there - a wide variety of cuisines and treats - and enjoy the summer weather while having a fabulous meal!

Mark's Carts
211 W. Washington
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
734-224-8859


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Pastitsio for National Macaroni Day

We have yet another food holiday to celebrate today! And this one - National Macaroni Day - is an easy one to join in on.

There's macaroni and cheese ... pasta salad ... lots of family favorites.

But ever since having a fabulous dinner at Pegasus in Greektown recently, I'd been craving more pastitsio - an amazing dish of pasta layered with a rich meat sauce and topped with a cheesy custard ... sigh.

Pastitsio has no redeeming nutritional value whatsoever, unless you delude yourself that the fat content is neutralized by the prostate-friendly tomato sauce or that using skim milk in the topping will make it all okay! But sometimes you just need comfort food; and this particular comfort food also makes a great party dish for graduations, showers, or other events at which you'll be feeding a crowd.

It may look as though this requires a lot of work, but it really doesn't; each of the layers is very easy to make. And there aren't too many dirty dishes, either - I don't have a dishwasher, and I still wasn't overwhelmed by the washing afterwards (a saucepan for the custard, a skillet for the meat sauce, a stockpot for the pasta, accoutrements for chopping and stirring).

So please don't feel intimidated when you look over the length of the recipe. As always, just trust me ... this pastitsio is so worth making! It's rich, luscious, substantial, and a universal favorite ... :)


Pastitsio

Pasta Layer:
8 ounces macaroni

Meat Sauce:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground lamb
1 small onion, chopped
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup red wine

Cream Sauce:
1/3 cup butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.

Prepare macaroni according to package directions.

Cook the beef and lamb over medium-high heat in a large skillet until only slightly pink; add the onion and cook until meat is browned, then drain. Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg; cook for 1 minute. Add wine, and cook for 5 minutes until sauce is thickened.

Grease a 9"x13" baking dish. Spread just over one-half of the macaroni over the bottom of the dish.


Top with the meat sauce, spreading it carefully.


Spread the remaining macaroni over the meat sauce.


Set aside while making the cream sauce.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the milk, incorporating each addition before adding the next. Add the salt and nutmeg; cook for 5 minutes, until thickened.

Place the eggs into a small bowl, and add 1/2 cup of the cream sauce to them; whisk until blended, then stir the eggs into the saucepan with the rest of the sauce. Stir in the grated parmesan.

Pour the sauce over the pasta, spreading to make sure everything is covered. Sprinkle the shredded parmesan over the top.


Bake for 45-50 minutes until the top of the pastitsio is golden brown.


Let the pastitsio rest for 5 minutes before cutting into squares. Start with smaller portions, as it's very rich; you can always come back for seconds ... and I can promise that you will!

Baked Tilapia with Smoked Salmon Spread

At the grocery store recently, I found a container of Cajun-spiced smoked salmon spread that was on Manager's Special: it was nearing its "do not sell" date, so the store was trying to banish it from the premises by discounting it and luring sale shoppers. Well, it worked! It cost only $1.29; and I could see significant potential for this product, so I took it home with me.

For one thing, it made a lovely evening snack with crudites or even extra-large croutons dipped into it. When I was up late, insomniac that I tend to be, and needed "a little something" (as Winnie-the-Pooh would say), this was just perfection.

It would also have been excellent shmeared onto a toasted bagel, with some lettuce and tomato and red onion tossed into the mix, if I'd had everything I needed for such a sandwich all at the same time rather than perpetually lacking one of the key ingredients.

But even better, my serendipitous purchase contributed to a supremely delicious dinner one evening, spread over some tilapia and baked just until the fish was moist and flaky.

There was a twinge of spice from the Cajun seasoning, and sweetness from both the fish and the mayonnaise base of the smoked salmon spread. The toasted crumbs on top provided the ideal crispness to complement the tender tilapia.

Some things are just meant to be ....

Baked Tilapia with Smoked Salmon Spread

4 4-ounce tilapia filets
3/4 cup smoked salmon spread
half of 1 whole wheat hamburger bun, ground into fresh breadcrumbs
sprinkling of seasoned salt
sprinkling of lemon pepper

Preheat oven to 425F. Grease a 9" pie pan.

Place the tilapia into the pie pan. Spread each filet with salmon spread, then sprinkle the bread crumbs over everything. Sprinkle lightly with the seasoned salt and lemon pepper.

Bake for 15 minutes, in the top 1/3 of the oven, until the bread crumbs are toasted.

Serves 4.

Garlic Scape Season Has Arrived!

It's garlic scape season! I've been waiting all year for this precious 2-3 week period, and it's finally arrived!

And what, exactly, is a garlic scape? According to WiseGeek.com:

"The garlic scape serves as the stem from which the seed head of the garlic bulb is formed. As the bulb begins to grow and mature, garlic stalks also begin to lengthen. During the growth period, the garlic scape begins to curve. Contained within the garlic scape is a great deal of flavor, although the stalk never does reach the level of the pungent garlic bulb itself."

My friend and fellow Michigan Lady Food Blogger, the charming and radiant Diana Dyer, and her sweetheart of a husband are garlic farmers; and they're my sole trusted source of the precious scapes at the various farmers' markets in the area, with many varieties to offer and a wealth of information to generously share.

Here are just three of the many options available, each with its own distinctive bite or lack thereof:




The Dyers tend to their garlic farm with wholehearted devotion: Diana told me that if they were to count each time the garlic is cared for in one way or another, it would probably total 20-25 separate events, from planting to harvesting.

And so, the garlic which will be available later this summer is amazingly wonderful, with each bulb offering its own strengths and colors and virtues.

But to me, the scapes are the most prized -- not only for their flavor and versatility, but also because one must respect and accommodate their moment of glory. Scapes represent seasonal eating, as they are only available for a short while. Then they become a happy memory and something to long for and anticipate through the rest of the year, with late Spring bringing their joyous return.

Diana asked me how I prefer to prepare the scapes because, of course, she would recommend different varieties depending upon my plans.

As much as I adore her justly famous scape pesto recipe, my favorite thing to do is saute them in butter ... a simple, flavorful preparation that showcases the scapes' flavor with little intrusion from other ingredients.

This time I added some white wine (I used Flip Flop Wines Riesling, a most generous marketing gift!) and a touch of cream, to infuse the sauce with more depth and richness.

Then I tossed some pasta and peas into the sauce, for a luxuriously sophisticated yet ridiculously easy dinner. And it was just perfection, after waiting an entire year for the opportunity to eat this luscious meal again ....



Pasta and Peas with Garlic Scapes

6 ounces whole wheat pasta shells
1 cup frozen green peas
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
generous sprinkling of red pepper flakes
pinch of kosher salt
4 garlic scapes, minced
1/3 cup white wine
2 tablespoons cream
parmesan, for serving

Prepare the pasta according to package directions, adding the peas for the last minute of cooking.

Meanwhile, melt the butter and oil together over medium-low heat. Add the red pepper flakes, salt and garlic scapes; saute for 1 minute. Stir in the wine and bring to a boil; cook until reduced by half. Stir in the cream.

When the pasta is ready, pour the sauce over it and stir to combine. Place onto a serving platter and top with parmesan.

Serves 2-4.

High Blood Pressure? Me?!?!?

My blood pressure went skyrocketing in recent months, unbeknownst to lil' ol' moi. And so I'm going to be a bit long-winded today (it's been awhile, hasn't it???) with a cautionary tale.

I had always known high blood pressure to be a sneaky entity which put one's health at risk with no warning signs ... I was wrong. There can be symptoms when the situation is critical enough, but I hadn't been aware of that. And so I hope perhaps my little saga might inform or educate someone else who can benefit from it.

I'm someone who never gets sick -- the last time I had the flu was my senior year of high school, and I took care of someone who had the Norovirus at Christmastime but I didn't even catch so much as a sniffle from that nasty bug. I'm prone to sinus infections beause of seasonal allergies, but not actual illnesses.

And while I am, indeed, the poster child for osteoporosis (very small frame, Caucasian, rampant family history), I am not someone you'd consider a candidate for high blood pressure. It's much more prevalent among African-Americans, people who are overweight (I'm told nearly daily that I "should have a little more schmaltz on my bones"), and people who smoke (my sole contact with cigarettes has always been to remove them from my presence). My only risk factor was family history.

But beginning in January, I started having periodic episodes of skull-crushing headaches and nausea.

Was my immune system -- a source of such great pride to me! -- finally being compromised by my stress levels as I meandered through the telenovela that is my life??? This would be a new phenomenon, since my life has been a telenovela for years and years and I've always still been healthy.

I noticed that these episodes were tied in to very specific stressful instances in my personal life, rather than a generalized condition. And I finally went to the doctor during one of them, determined to figure out why I kept getting sick and why the symptoms were always the same. After all, shouldn't there be some variation in the viruses and bacteria I was falling prey to?

At that appointment, per the standard protocol, the medical assistant took my blood pressure.

It was 188/110.

For those of you who don't know what these numbers mean, my blood pressure has always been "textbook perfect" at 120/70. At 188/110, I was in a state known as "hypertensive crisis", described below by the Mayo Clinic:

"A hypertensive crisis is a severe increase in blood pressure that can lead to a stroke. Extremely high blood pressure — a systolic (top number) blood pressure of 180 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or higher and a diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure of 120 mm Hg or higher — damages blood vessels. They become inflamed and may leak fluid or blood. As a result, the heart may not be able to pump blood effectively.

.... An urgent hypertensive crisis is when your blood pressure is extremely high, but your doctor doesn't suspect you have any damage to your organs. Signs and symptoms of an urgent hypertensive crisis may include:

- Increased blood pressure
- Severe headache
- Shortness of breath"

I had each of those symptoms.

It was clear: the situation I was sorting out and finally resolving, to which I could directly tie my episodes, might literally kill me.

And so, I took certain steps like starting to take medication (2 different ones, actually), and removing myself from the stressful situation entirely (my BFF Wendy interceded on my behalf to finish some interactions). And I gave up potato chips, which I adore.

I researched ways to modify my diet to see if that could help as well. My salt intake was already low, and people have often asked for salt shakers to sprinkle a little bit extra on food I'd prepared because they were accustomed to using far more.

In doing my research, I was reminded of the DASH Diet, which is an acronym for "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension." It encourages:

- Eating more fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods
- Cutting back on foods that are high in saturated fat, cholesterol, and total fat
- Eating more whole grain products, fish, poultry, and nuts
- Eating less red meat and sweets
- Eating foods that are rich in magnesium, potassium, and calcium

I bought bananas, for their potassium. I started taking magnesium supplements in addition to my prescriptions and my multivitamins and my calcium pills.

There was virtually no room for improvement on the fruits, vegetables or low-fat dairy foods (no-fat being my usual preference for milk and yogurt). I also eat whole grains almost exclusively, though I can't deny that I have 32 sweet teeth rather than only 1 sweet tooth! I also found that drinking green tea could be beneficial, so I made pitchers of it to have ready in the refrigerator.

With all of that tea loitering around, it only seemed natural to devise a recipe that would incorporate it. Poultry? Yup. Spices for flavor? Yup. Green tea? Yup.

And if I may say so myself, this was so good that you'd never know it had virtually no salt! Served with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, it's a dish that won't make you feel deprived or as though you're on a special diet.

Oh, and how is my blood pressure now, after waging war against it???

At my last check-up, it was 122/74 ... :)


Tea & Spice Marinated Chicken

4 chicken thighs (skinless, if you prefer)
1 cup green tea, chilled
1/4 cup pomegranate molasses
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
juice of half lemon
1 teaspoon shawarma spices (available at Middle Eastern markets; substitute 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, if necessary)
1 teaspoon ginger
pinch of kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce

Place the chicken into a strong gallon-sized baggie. Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken. Marinate the chicken for 8 hours or more.

Drain the chicken and place the pieces skin-side down into a large skillet. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes until nicely browned; turn them over, cover the pan, and cook for 20 more minutes.

Serves 4.

Pasta "Rags" with Fennel, Mushrooms and Spinach

This, if I may say so myself, was an absolutely stellar meal! I would have devoured the entire thing in one sitting, except that I really wanted to be able to savor leftovers at work the next day ... thus, restraint and patience were required.

Pasta "rags" are merely broken pieces of lasagna noodles -- a thrifty way to use up scraps rather than having them go to waste. I didn't happen to have any crumbled bits, so I simply broke them up myself specifically for this dish.

Now, I know that telling someone you're serving "rags" is hardly enticing! So let's call it by its Italian name; the Italians and the French ... man, they can make anything sound good, can't they???

Okay, here goes: Stracci di Pasta con Finocchio, i Funghi e Gli Spinaci. And this is how it's pronounced: [STRAH-chee dee PAHS-tuh kohn feen-OH-kyoh ee FOON-ghee ay lyee speen-AH-chee]

Trust me -- as convoluted as that looks, it is a gorgeous thing when said properly! But I make no claims to being able to say it well myself; I can say it, but not like an Italian can. So let's just shorten it to "Stracci di Pasta" and make it easier on ourselves!

Anyway, this dish came about because I had a fennel bulb, 3 mushrooms, and a handful of Farmers' Market spinach to use up before they rotted ... and you know how quickly these things can turn on a girl. Amazing how the whole can so fabulously exceed the sum of the parts!

Listen to some gorgeous melodramatic Italian opera while you're cooking, and then enjoy your dinner with a lovely glass of wine. You, too, can feel transported to Italy by the vibrant and seductive flavors of this dish ....

Stracci di Pasta con Finocchio, i Funghi e Gli Spinaci

6 whole wheat lasagna noodles, broken into 2" pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 small fennel bulb, stalks removed, halved, sliced thin
3 white mushrooms, halved, sliced
2 cups chopped spinach leaves
1/4 cup pesto
parmesan cheese, for serving

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat oil, red pepper flakes, and garlic in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add fennel and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fennel softens. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly golden. Add spinach and cook just until wilted.

Add pesto to drained lasagna noodles and stir to coat well, then stir in vegetables. Serve immediately, topped with parmesan cheese.

Serves 2 generously.

It's Not Green Eggs and Ham, It's Green Sausage!

What is that in the photo, filling that taco with such a vibrant hue??? Why, it's green sausage, purchased at my new favorite place on Earth, Dos Hermanos Market near my summer sublet apartment!!!

Is this just about the coolest food item you've ever seen???

When I meandered into the market awhile ago and found it in the meat case, I simply had to have some. At just over $3/pound it's an incredible deal, even if it doesn't look particularly appetizing (colossal understatement!) before being cooked and transformed into the crucial ingredient for my tacos.

There were loud fans and music playing overhead, so it was difficult to talk to the man behind the meat counter; thus I don't have much information about the sausage, but I was feeling adventurous and so I bought it anyway. Suffice it to say I learned that this is handmade pork sausage, its vivid color coming from green salsa.

I recently made soft tacos with some lovely sauteed peppers, some pan-toasted corn, and -- of course! -- my green sausage. Or, let's give it a better Latin flair: Green Sausage = Salchicha Verde!

The salchicha verde isn't spicy at all, providing only the tiniest twinge of tingle at the end of my meal; if you like hotter food, you'd need to toss some potent salsa into this mix.

But it is still immensely flavorful; there is clearly a taste of cilantro, and a hint of sourness from the acidity of the salsa. This was a perfect contrast to the sweetness of the red and yellow peppers, as well as to the richness of the sour cream.

Dos Hermanos has an amazing array of spices, hot sauces, cheeses, traditional breads such as conchas (round loaves of a sweet bread with a swirled pattern on top), cactus leaves and plantains, spicy snacks, and even piñatas for sale. (And oh, you should smell the tantalizing aroma when you open the bread cabinet!!!) They even fry up their own pork rinds, which Jeremy and his dad adored when they were offered samples. (I'll eat pork, but not the fried skin ... ick. Jeremy thinks I'm a hypocrite 'cause my favorite part of the chicken is the skin! But I think I've been repulsed by the stench of the grocery store variety and can't get past it.)

Here are some photos:






Truly, a girl could have way too much fun shopping here!!!

But on to the tacos!

Interestingly, the sausage didn't brown; I probably cooked it for longer than was necessary, thinking that it would eventually. It was also fairly soft, rather than firming up as breakfast sausage patties do.

I tossed some frozen corn into a pan and cooked it just until it was starting to toast a bit and turn golden, and I grated a lovely Monterey Jack cheese (though a Pepper Jack could also work very well). I sauteed red, yellow and orange peppers with a sliced red onion in just a splash of salsa, as colorful contrasts to my attention-getting sausage.

Then I put it all together on corn tortillas and feasted ... truly! The meal was an absolute seduction of all my senses, from the colors to the aromas to the textures and tastes.

To each his or her own when it comes to putting these together; so there's no recipe "per se," but rather merely visual instructions.

It's too bad that those of you who are spread around the world can't just drop in on Dos Hermanos one evening and pick up some of this salchicha verde. All I can do is torment you by telling you how exceptional it was ... though maybe that's enough enticement for some of you to come visit me, huh???

Do come visit -- it'd be fun! And we'll go eating and grocery shopping throughout Southeast Michigan ... starting at Dos Hermanos, of course!







Dos Hermanos Market
412 W. Michigan Avenue, Ypsilanti
734-487-8802

Curried Rhubarb Chicken

I love this chicken dish! Truly, it is one of my all-time favorites. It's ideal for Spring, with its abundance of seasonal rhubarb. And it's got curry, one of my most beloved flavors. What more can I say???

Well, let's see:

This is a great family dinner, though it's special enough for an event.

The house smells amazing while it cooks!

You get both protein and fruit in this meal, livened up by the rich flavor of the spices.

It's simple to make, requiring no special equipment or prolonged time frame.

Hmmm ... to paraphrase a line in the fabulous and extraordinary movie "Amadeus": I am passionate. Do I persuade???

I tried making a variation on this with pork one time, and it didn't work at all: the pork was tough, rather than meltingly tender as I'd expected it to be. Odd, but that's what happened. I haven't tried this with chicken breasts, though I imagine that using a different part of the same beast would still result in a luscious dish.

So, go ahead -- try this! And if you can't find all of the spices, just use some extra curry powder. It'll be fine, and your dinner will still be delicious ... :)


Please note that I am NOT ignoring all of my beloved blogging buddies, both new and old!!! Every time I've tried to post a comment, Blogger asks me to pick an identity; I choose "Google Account." I'm then asked to sign in, even though I'm perpetually signed in; then my comment comes back up, it claims to be from someone named "Anonymous" rather than from Yenta Mary, and then when I try to post it anyway I get taken right back to the sign-in page ... oy. Quite the Sisyphean frustration! So if I can ever manage to be myself again, I'll go back to letting all of you know how much I love what you write ....


Curried Rhubarb Chicken

2 tablespoons + 3 tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon + 2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ginger
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup white wine (I used Flip Flop Wines Riesling)
1/2 pound rhubarb, ends trimmed, cut into 1/2” pieces
4 pounds chicken thighs and drumsticks
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 425F.

In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, red pepper flakes, coriander, cumin, ginger and curry powder; saute 1 minute. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion softens a bit. Add wine and rhubarb; bring to a boil, then cover and cook 10 minutes over medium heat. Stir, then re-cover and cook 10 more minutes until rhubarb has broken down into a sauce.



In a 10” skillet, heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken with remaining 2 teaspoons of salt and the black pepper. Place chicken into the skillet skin-side down; cook 5 minutes until well-browned, then turn chicken over and cook 5 more minutes. Place chicken skin-side up into a greased 9”x13” baking dish, and pour rhubarb sauce over it; sprinkle with brown sugar.

Place baking dish into the oven and bake chicken for 40-45 minutes.

Serves 6-8.