White Fish with Spaghetti Squash

In order of thickness, we like Cod, followed by Haddock, followed by Pollock. Whichever one is on sale and looking good at the supermarket, is the one we will get and have for dinner. This week that happened to be Pollock.
I cut the thickest pieces of the fillet to use in my aluminum foil pouches. We layered blanched green beans on the bottom, followed by the fish, then thin slices of green pepper, onion and topped with some fresh parsley. Each layer had a dosing of salt and pepper. Everything was wrapped in aluminum foil and baked in the oven at 400 degrees until it was all cooked through, about 20/25 minutes.
For the spaghetti squash, I cut it in half, scooped out the seeds, placed flesh side down in a casserole dish and baked until the flesh was fork tender, about 40 minutes.
I sauteed a clove of garlic, two diced tomatoes and a small diced onion in a tablespoon of olive oil until the tomatoes broke down to a sauce. I added salt, pepper and more fresh parsley. Once the squash had cooled down, I scraped the flesh out with a fork and tossed it all into the saute pan with the tomatoes, sprinkled with a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese and cooked until everything was heated through.
This whole endeavor was a sort of we have a little of this and a little of that lying around, what can we make for dinner tonight? Here's the end result.  

Beer Braised Bratwurst with Vidalia Onions and Homemade Spaetzle

I started making my own sausage about three years ago. So far I've tried my hand at traditional breakfast sausage, Italian sweet sausage and Bratwurst. There are as many different ways to make sausages as there are variations of sausages. And I truly believe there is a fine art to making your own sausage. A good site for recipes, supplies, etc. is The Spicy Sausage.
Dinner the other night was beer braised Bratwurst and Vidalia onions on a sub roll served smeared with mustard along with homemade Spaetzle. Spaetzle are little egg noodles, traditionally served with butter. You can added fresh herbs to these or cheese for a different taste. The ones I made ended up being a little on the long side, instead of little balls of noodles, but only because I used the cutting board method for cooking them.
The Bratwurst I made was a combination of pork and veal, with a healthy chunk of pork fat added. The spices included salt, pepper, crushed caraway seeds, nutmeg, garlic powder. The flavor profile was spot on to what I think of when I think of Bratwurst. One thing I'm still fine tuning is the consistency or "creaminess" of the Bratwurst. Usually this is done by altering the ice water/milk that I use in my recipe. It's still a work in progress, but each new batch I make comes out better than the last.

Homemade Bratwurst

 

Flinstone Pork Ribs with Brussel Sprouts & Yukon Golds

The only thing I had to pick up from the store on my way home was a veggie. I already had the meat and the potatoes. The local supermarket had some killer good sized brussel sprouts. I used to hate them as a child. I have definitely gained an appreciation for them as an adult.
The pork spare ribs I already had. They were on sale in January and that's when I brought them home, marinated and vacuumed sealed them until last night. The marinade was a combination of, two parts hoisin sauce, three parts soy sauce and one part teriyaki sauce. We grilled the ribs over low heat until cooked through (about 20/30 minutes), then turned the heat up for another couple of minutes to get a nice little char on them.
I had some small Yukon Golds lying around and quartered them. I cut the base off the brussel sprouts and halved them. Threw all of it into a 9x13 casserole dish with a healthy dosing of salt, pepper, olive oil and tossed the whole thing into the oven, set at 425 until cooked through (about half hour to 40 minutes). This was dinner last night.  

 

Classic Meatloaf Comfort

My Dad has a 1990's printing of a good old fashioned Betty Crocker cookbook. You can't go wrong with Betty. We only ever use the book for three recipes, meatballs, chili and meatloaf. I used to hate meatloaf when I was a kid. I suppose it was because I disliked catsup as a child. As an adult; however, it's true comfort food 101. Here's the recipe we use, meatloaf Betty Crocker.
As with anything that involves cooking (not baking), you can change it to suit your needs and wants.  The picture below was with a combination of pork and ground beef. I've also done it using the trifecta of meats, beef, pork and veal. You can substitue the bread for bread crumbs using about a 1/3 cup. There are more variations on this classic recipe than you could shake a stick at. We actually don't put the catsup on top, opting for a thick brown gravy instead, which always pairs perfectly with the potatoes. They are Yukon Golds in this case, creamy and tasty mashed with lots of butter and a hint of cream. For a veggie? Here I used french cut string beans, but whatever your favorite is can be used to round out the meal. When fall rolls around and we are beginning to gravitate inside, this is usually one of the first meals we start with.

 

Polish Stuffed Cabbage

We like our cabbage. There are a ton of recipes out there for stuffed cabbage. I happened to find one that has become my go to. You can find the recipe I use here: Polish Golabki. We prefer a thin brown gravy made with beef stock compared to what seems to be the more traditional tomato based sauce. We typically have boiled white potatoes (because you can't have enough starch!) or some roasted cauliflower. 

These are super easy to make and taste even better re-heated the next day, making them perfect for leftovers.

 

Ready to pop in the oven!

 

Lemon Chicken with Tarragon in White Wine Cream Sauce

We used A whole chicken that I split by cutting the backbone out. I laid the halves over what I had lying around, couple of carrots, turnips and fingerling potatoes. Added some lemon slices on top of the chicken. Seasoned with salt, pepper and tarragon. For the sauce I did 2 tablespoons of butter melted in sauce pan. I added a half cup of chicken broth, a half a cup of white wine and the juice from one lemo, letting those all reduce by about half, then I added a cup of heavy cream. Salt, pepper, tarragon to taste.
This is before and after of the chicken. You can cut the chicken anyway you like for serving.

 

 

 

Garlic Sausage with Tomato Risotto

Cook risotto as directed on the package. I added 2 chopped beefsteak tomatoes and a medium onion, topping it off with a three cheese shredded blend and the end. season to taste. 

We purchased a garlic sausage made locally by W A Beans and Sons. Their garlic sausage was the perfect choice for this tomato inspired risotto. Not too garlicky with just a little bit of a kick, they have the consistency and depth of flavor similar to a hearty sausage like Bratwurst. They come fully cooked. I steam them in a cast iron skillet with about a half cup of water, then finish them off on the grill. Serve on top if the risotto and enjoy.