Broccoli RAbe, SAusage and Beans Soup

Broccoli Rabe, Sausage and Beans Soup
SERVES 4 -5
1 1/4 lbs sweet Italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
1 Potato (Large) diced
1 Carrot diced
1 head broccoli rabe, chopped
64 ounces chicken broth (8 cups)
31 ounces canned cannellini beans, rinsed (2 cans)
In a large saucepan, cook the sausage, breaking it up, over medium-high heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate; discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from the saucepan.
Add the onion , potasto and carrot to the saucepan and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.
Stir in the broccoli rabe and wilt. Add chicken broth and bring to a simmer; cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the sausage and beans and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

Pumpkin and Peanut Butter Soup

For our Brokers Open at 3772 Powder Horn Dr in Buckingham Forest, Furlong Pa. I made this soup (idea from The New Basics Cookbook, one of my favorite.)





You can use pumpkin, butternut or acorn squash.


The easiest is canned pumpkin.


4tablespoons of butter


4 cups canned pumpkin


2 cups cooked pureed sweet potatoes


1 cup smooth peanut Butter


6 Cups of chicken stock


1 teaspoon black pepper


1 teaspoon salt


heavy cream for garnish (if you use plastic bottles like in the picture, you can make some nice designs)


hot sauce for garnish (sriracha Huy Fong Brand)


fresh chopped parsley for garnish





Melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the pumpkin, sweet potatoes and peanut butter


add the stock, salt and pepper and stir well until smooth, heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.


When you are ready to serve, add in each bowl a squirt of heavy cream, 3o4 drops of hot sauce


and a bit of chopped parsley leaves.





Serves 8 (can be doubled)



Note: One can of Pumpkin is about 3 cups and one large can of sweet potatoes is also about 3 cups. That is what I used and it came out great.

Cranberry Apricot Relish

4 Cups cranberries
2 cups chopped dried apricots
1 cup raisins (1/2 black 1/2 white)
1 Tablespoon of grated orange peel
1/4 teaspon of ginger powder
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
1/2 cup French Brandy

Put all ingredientes except sugsr into a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the berries pop open. Remove from heat. Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
Cool. Can be frozen.

People will ask you for this recipe. Either send them here for a copy or have a copy ready in a 3x5 card, you will need it!! Its that good.

Summer Rice Salad

I first ate this salad at Sally Kabinoff's Fourth of July Swim party seven thousand years ago. To give credit where credit is due it originated from Ilene Berman's kitchen. I adopted it as mine, modified some ingredients and I now call it Henri's Summer Rice salad. Why Not.

Two things make this one a winner. You have to use "Success" Rice.
The one that comes in the boil a bag. You Have to use the right proportion of vinaigrette dressing. I said two but it is three, you have to use fresh dill and fresh parsley.

Vinaigrette Dressing

1/2 Cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbs Dijon Mustard
1 Tsp Salt
1 Cup olive oil
1/2 Tsp Pepper
2 Tbs Sugar

Mix and set aside.

The veggies: Plus or minus whatever you like! It has to be colorful.
8 Cups of Cooked and Cold Rice ( That Would be 4 Success Bags)

Chop into very small dice

1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
1 Orange Pepper or Yellow or Both
1 Red Onion
1 Bunch of Green Onions
1 cup of Currants or chopped raisins
1/2 Cup of Dried apricots or white raisins
1/2 Cup of Dried Cherries or Cranberries
Note that I say one or the other, not both. If you want to use both reduce to 1/4 cups.
It really does not matter what you put in it as long as you whatch the proportions
(yellow or green squash, cucumber, celery, etc)

10 oz of frozen Pettit Pois (little peas) a must
1/2 cup of Fresh Parsley chopped
1/4 cup of Fresh dill chopped.

Add all the chopped vegetables to the rice, only after rice is cold, then add the vinaigrette and toss.


You will be asked for this recipe over and over again. Guaranteed!!

You can send them here.

Italian Ricotta Cheese Cake

Every Time Hank Farrentino came to visit he would bring this fabulous cheesecake.Finally I got the recipe from him.
12 oz Ricotta
3 eight oz packages of cream cheese
1 and 1/2 Pts (24 oz.) Sour Cream
9 Tablespoons of flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons of Vanilla
1 2/3 cups of Sugar
9 eggs

Mix Ricotta cream cheese and sugar till well blended. Add eggs one at the time, blend well after each egg. Add sour cream, flour and vanilla making sure that each ingredient is well incorporated. Pour into a ten inch well greased spring form pan.

Bake at 350 degrees, in a pan of water (1-2 inches of water for 90 to 100 minutes.
Cake will rise above lip of spring pan and top will brown. . A good indication that it is done(If the top is not too brown don't wory and go to next step). Turn oven off and allow to cool in the oven for two hours. Cool cake using a cooling rack further till room temperature before refrigerating.


You will need a large mixing bowl, probably 5 quarts or better. Wrapping the outside of the spring form pan with aluminum foil will minimize leakage. Hank puts the spring pan into the larger pan and then pour the batter into it, then he adds the water.

French Bistro Dinner Party for Six Friends

Menu

1. Onion Pies with Blue Cheese (Roquefort), Prosciutto (Jambon de Bayonne) and Walnuts as appetizer
2. Bouillabaisse Provencal with a Spicy Rouille Sauce for the Soup course
3. Beef En Daube with Polenta a Bordeaux Sauce and Caramelized Shallots. Main Course
4. Eggplant Souflee . Side Dish
5. Chocolate Raspberry Napoleons. Dessert

Plenty of French wines. cheese, pate and your party gets going.

Cote is a great place to stop by for the pate and the cheeses . If you cannot find it at Cote

you can try Wegmans or mail order from D'Artagnan

1.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 vidalia onions very thinly sliced with mandoline
1/4 cup water
4 oz Blue cheeese crumbled into small pieces
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 Tbl melted butter
2Boxes (3 sheets) puff pastry . Save the third sheet for the Napoleons (store it in Refrigerator until ready for use. They have to truly thaw for them to work best.
1 egg
4 slices of jambon

Place a baking sheet in a freezer.
Warm the olive oil in a sute pan.
Saute onions until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Add the water and continue to saute until all the moisture evaporates, about another 5 minutes. Add the Blue cheese and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until melted, about 5 minutes longer.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Stir in the walnuts, then spread the mixture out onto the chilled sheet pan. Place in the freezer until the onions cool down completely, about 10 minutes.

Preheat an oven to 450 degrees. Brush a baking sheet evenly with the melted butter.
Cut 12 rounds from pastry sheets about 5 in in diameter. You can use the edges of a Tupper or a lid that is approximate 5 in wide.
Place 6 of the rounds on the prepared baking sheet.
Brush their outer rims and tops with the beaten egg.
Spread evenly the cooled onion mixture onto the middle of each of the 6 rounds, leaving 1 inch uncovered around the edges. Place 1 jambon slice on top of each mound of the onion mixture. Cover each round with a second pastry round, making sure to pinch down firmly around the edges to seal in the filling. Brush the top of each pie with more of the beaten egg.
Pierce the top of eachpie making one slit
Bake for 20 minutes
Idea taken form a Weldon Owen Book
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