Grandpa Rosie's Recipes #2: Sausage Soup

This recipe is pretty much all prep. The cooking is just to dump everything into a pot, and the pot does all the work for the following 90 minutes.

With the last recipe, I also made some homemade white bread. I didn't make anything new this time because I had a couple of leftover corn toasty muffins from a meal I made the previous week. Can anybody tell me what a corn toasty is? It was for a Rachel Ray recipe, and I couldn't tell what the difference was between these and cornbread. IS it different?

My cocktail with this recipe was a Wild Irish Rose, which I made with Jameson Black Barrel. This might be the smoothest whiskey I've ever had while still being very flavorful. I've had some smooth Canadian whiskeys, but those were not at all very flavorful. This is a bottle that could do some trouble on me. Using it with this drink however was just a waste of good booze. With the inclusion of the lemon juice and grenadine, you really loose any of the whiskey taste; those other two flavors fully take over.

As mentioned, this was a VERY simple recipe. Slice/chop/cut what needs to be sliced/chopped/cut, and combine it all. The recipe says to cook slowly for about "1 to 1 1/2 hours." I brought it to a boil then brought it down to medium heat and covered for 90 minutes.

This was SO good. The smoked sausage I bought had the slightest bit of a kick to it, and it really worked when combined with the other flavors. The recipe only made about half as much as the mushroom/sauerkraut recipe, so it's not quite enough to feed an army. There was enough for me to have for dinner and two lunches, and I gave some to my sister (check out her Instagram hashtag #treasuretrunkdiner) and parents, just about a serving each.

Rosie's Recipes #1: Mushroom Sauerkraut Soup

 Okay, so here's something new.

When I was in college a little more than two decades ago, my grandfather wrote and published a cookbook. In the years that have followed, I have only made two recipes from the book, and they were both made while I was in college. One turned out pretty well, the other...not so much. I ended up throwing away a soup pot because of it.

I don't remember ever cooking, or even wanting to cook, while I was growing up. I started in college when I got my own apartment and my first cookbook, the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. since then, I've really enjoyed it. Before Covid, every Sunday would be Cocktail & Cooking day. I'd fix a cocktail from a bartender's guide I've had since college, and my sister would come over and I'd fix a meal from a Rachel Ray cookbook.

Now I'm riffing on my Cocktail & Cooking. Once a week on a day when my kids are at their mom's, I'll be fixing a recipe from my grandpa's cookbook. I'm going to record it, and I'm going to do a write-up here, and we'll see what happens. Generally, I'll get right to the recipe and cooking. I hate all of the cooking blogs with all the random and needless "chatter" beforehand (which is exactly what I've done here). But this should be it for that. From now on, the only thing I'll be talking about in these will be the food.

So...here we go!

First up are the ingredients. The only thing I adjusted is the amount of onions. I'm not a huge fan, and I really think a little goes a long way, so I cut the quantity down from four onions to two. Since no type of onion was specified, I used what I had on hand and what WAS specified for a recipe I'll make later in the week: one yellow onion and one red onion.

With the mushrooms, I used a store-bought package of pre-sliced white button mushrooms. I already had these in the fridge from a meal from the previous week that I never made.

One problem I tend to constantly run into is not reading all of the instructions ahead of time. Had I done that this time, I would have cubed the spareribs before putting them in the put and covering them with water. Sigh.

When I first got the cookbook, my dad said it would be interesting to see how these recipes turned out since Grandpa never really measured anything out. He also probably didn't do much copy editing for this book, because there are two ingredients listed that are never mentioned past the ingredient list: the sugar and the vinegar. I ended up combining it with the gravy that was being made with the skillet drippings, flour, and water. 

I enjoy having an adult beverage when I cook. I bought a bartender's guide while in college...or maybe it was when I was in my first post-college apartment before I got married...that I use to make random mixed drinks. It has forced me to try different drinks with different, and sometimes weird, liqueurs. The drink this time around was called a One Ireland. It was basically minty whiskey ice cream float. It wasn't great.

I made some white bread while the soup was constantly simmering. The recipe I used was from the aforementioned BH&G cook book. My timing was a little off in the preparation of the two things, but luckily this was just soup, and it just simmered for about an hour or so extra while the bread was in the oven.

Final thoughts? The bread was delicious, and I can't remember the last time I had warm, fresh-baked bread. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the soup. There was a sweetness I wasn't expecting, despite dumping in half-a-cup of sugar. I'd say that, if you actually want to taste some celery or mushrooms, toss some more in. I was basically tasting nothing but sauerkraut and super-tender spareribs. That's not a complaint at all, but it really seemed like the celery and mushrooms were unnecessary (and would really require a change in the name of the soup).

Here's a video I made. It's not good. I've learned some things, though. Mainly...nobody wants to see me talking about cooking. I'll play around with it for next time. We'll see what ends up working.

What You Should Have Eaten #59

Ricotta Pasta with Sausage

Here’s number two in a series. Last week it was grape tomatoes, peas, and basil. This week it’s sausage.

 Browning the sausage is the only prep work involved in this, at least the way I made it. No onions to chop, and only dried herbs instead of fresh ones.

The drink was a Toronto, with Canadian whisky (Canadian Mist for me), Fernet Branca, sugar syrup, and Angostura bitters. I’m not the biggest whisky fan, I tend to enjoy the clear spirits, and this drink is almost half bitters, so it’s a bit of a face wrinkler. I can’t see myself making this again unless it’s on a dare.

The addition of the sausage and the subtraction of the veggies made this meal a bit heavier than last week’s. It was good, though. To me, pasta will always be better with meat and cheese.

Out of the five different ricotta pasta dishes I’ve made in the last five weeks, this is the one my kids liked the most. I guess, since it didn’t have any veggies in it, it was the least weird looking.

Video of the Day

This is not a good video, so I apologize to honeyhoney for linking to something that is sub-par, but this is an excellent song.

I don't like country music. I live and work around Nashville, but I don't like. My dislike borders on hate. Other than some oh-so-brief experimentation with some Garth Brooks music (I was young, I didn't know! Peer pressure!), I just can't get into it.

honeyhoney's latest album Billy Jack is the closest I'll come, I think. Two songs, this one and "Turn That Finger Around," popped up on Spotify as I was driving to work this morning, and I didn't skip ahead to something a little harder, a little more rock and roll. I listened, and I loved it.

I don't really know how to describe the music. I say it's the closest I'll come to listening to country music because I really don't think it's actually country music. Maybe a bit of folk rock? With some blues thrown in? I don't know, but I know that I like it, and I'm pretty sure you might like it, too. Here's an Amazon link, in case you want to go buy some of their stuff.

You know you want to.

Also, Ms. Santo? The next time you're in Nashville, we should totally go drink various alcoholic beverages together. You like the whiskies...whiskeys...whiskys...whatever? The Whiskey Kitchen is calling.

What You Should Have Eaten #38

Shrimp Martinis and Manhattan Steaks

Manhattans seem to be the drink of choice for my dad, but I’ve never been that much of a whiskey lover. But you know, this isn’t bad. I was expecting the vermouth to really sweeten it up and make it undrinkable, but it cuts the bite of the whiskey perfectly.

I was talking on the phone while making this, and taking a picture of the ingredients totally slipped my mind. I used Canadian Mist whisky, Gallo sweet red vermouth and a bit of Angostura bitters. A maraschino cherry was dropped in afterwards.

I’ve been looking forward to fixing this for a couple of weeks now. Food flavored with Manhattans and martinis? SOLD!

Two-thirds of my kids will eat broccoli, but only crowns, not spears. Hey, I’m just amazed they’ll eat any part of it at all.

I know I didn’t get the right type of steaks, just regular strip steaks instead of New York strip steaks or porterhouse steaks, but those were just too damn expensive. I’m hoping that won’t affect the meal.

Yes, I know that shallots are onions, but they’re fancy onion, and I only got a small one instead of the large one that is specified, so I’m okay with it.

I have a shot glass collection. I don’t know why I started it, but whenever I go on a trip, I get a shot glass from the city I’m in. The last one I got was a Maker’s Mark shot glass from Louisville, KY.

Toast points? Is that just cutting a piece of toast into triangular quarters? Whether it is or not, that’s what I’m going to do.

I’m not all hung up on presentation with my meals, so no pitcher for the cocktail sauce. Although, my pilsner glass looks like it might work well. And correct me if I’m wrong, but this looks more like a Bloody Mary than a martini.

I tasted it, and while good, I didn’t get the required 2 cups of cocktail sauce, so it’s a bit soupy…and very vodka-y. Not that that’s a bad thing.

If I ever don’t have enough pictures to go with a meal, that means I started the cocktails too early.

This was the first time I’ve ever flambéed anything. I was a bit nervous at first, putting long lighter next to the sauce and clicking it, seeing the flame shoot up under the microwave. I blew it out before the kids saw it, then called them into the kitchen and did it again. The flame was MUCH smaller, but they freaked out. It was all-around awesome.

Well, that was quite a tasty dinner, and now I’m extremely tired. Since shrimp and cocktail sauce is a staple at Rosenblatt family gatherings, I think I’m going to have to bring a bit of THIS cocktail sauce and see what people think. As long as the young-uns are kept away from it, I think all will be well.

Probably for the rest of the month I’m going to whore myself out with an impassioned plea: click on the ads. PLEASE click on the ads. I don’t care if you exit it out of it immediately or actually look around. This isn’t some professional blog where I believe in the products I’m shilling. These are automatic ads placed by Google. But my experiment this weekend proved to me that I actually AM making a spot of cash whenever the ads are clicked. So I’m going to put this little disclaimer on the bottom of all my posts for the next month or so, and I hope you’ll take an extra 10 seconds after reading my blog to click on an ad. Thanks so much!

What You Should Have Eaten #30

Super Mashers with Steak and Pepper Hash
and Oven-Roasted Veggies

Tonight’s drink is a Waldorf. Pernod, Irish whiskey (Jamesons) and Angostura bitters. Gotta say, I’m not looking forward to it. I’m okay with the whiskey and bitters, but I’m not looking forward to a drink so heavy with Pernod.

I’ve always had a desire to try absinthe, but until recently it was illegal in the U.S. Pernod is a cousin of absinthe, both are aniseed drinks. Pernod is distilled from star anise where absinthe is distilled from wormwood. Aniseed, it turns out, tastes and awful lot like black licorice, and I hate black licorice. If this is what absinthe is going to taste like, then I’m no longer curious about it.

 

 I shattered my standard cocktail glass last night, so now I’m using the giant z-stem cocktail glasses. My drink looks puny in it. Oh my God, it’s awful. It’s like drinking yellow, alcoholic licorice. I'm going to finish it, but I’m not going to be happy about it. I’ll be washing it down with a Schlafly American India Pale Ale.

With most of these Sunday dinners, my sister is eating with me and the kids. Tonight she brought over a bottle of Apothic Red. It’s quite tasty.

 

This meal is very prep heavy. I’ve already been at this for about an hour and a half, and I don’t think I’m close to being done.

What the kids had.

What Katie and I had.

Katie and I thought the dinner was great. The kids didn’t eat a thing. What kid DOESN’T like mashed potatoes and cheese? And my kids LOVE steak! And nobody ate a thing. Sigh.

What You Should Have Eaten #18

Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes

 

 

From the first time I heard about these a few months ago, I’ve wanted one. At first, my wife said she would make a batch. That didn’t happen. Then my sister said she’d make them if I bought the alcohol. I never got around to buying her the alcohol, the ended up forgetting she said she’d make them. So when I started my adventures in baking a couple of weeks ago, I vowed that I’d do these. I knew I was taking on something major, but I figured I’d be up to it.

 

 

The recipe was taken from the Smitten Kitchen blog, which I’ll probably end up getting a lot more recipes from. Click here to be taken to the recipe.

 

 

For the stout, I decided to go with Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout rather than Guinness. I like it better, and I already had some on hand. I got a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey, ‘cause it was pretty inexpensive. I also went with Ryan’s Irish Cream instead of Bailey’s, also for economic reasons.

 

I couldn’t find ANY cookie cutters at my local Kroger Market Place, let alone a 1-inch round one. I attempted to use the wide end of a baster for a few, but it didn’t go deep enough before hitting the lip and smooshing the cupcake. I used a knife after that, but it wasn’t pretty.

While lengthy (the whole shebang took about  2 ½ hours from start to finish), this was not a difficult project. My biggest problem was finding enough big bowls in which to mix stuff. It was extremely messy, though. Or maybe that was just me. I had powdered sugar and flour all over the place. The cord to the mixer ended up spilling a bit of the cream onto the counter, and my phone sat in it for who knows how long (didn’t bother it, though). I’m pretty messy with most things I cook, though, so it’s not like I’ve never had a massive clean-up following a cooking session.

Seventeen minutes wasn’t quite enough for the cupcakes, but I may have put too much batter in the cups. I ended up having to leave them in the oven for closer to 25 minutes.

If I continue to do stuff like this, I might invest in a piping bag for icing. These bad boys are not pretty, but damn it if they weren’t delicious. I realized, though, that I made all these cupcakes and a houseful of kids who couldn’t eat them because of the alcohol (it only bakes out of the cupcake, not the filling or the icing). So I’m treating some of my coworkers, but not all because I don’t have enough. So shhhhhhh.