Something Else to Do With Pizza Dough: Sausage Bread

I think I need a better name for this than "sausage bread". Even though it's quite descriptive, it's not very poetic. It is good though, full of sausage and... er, bread. Hm. Anyway, I'm not going to put a recipe in this post or even a method. Why? Because I don't want to. Plus I didn't get any prep shots and it's not like I won't be doing this again. But since I do have some pictures and haven't posted in forever, here it is! I used breakfast sausage, since I had some, and there's some onion in there. Would be even better with cheese too, which is another reason to wait to post a recipe/method. The idea for this came from a bread my brother makes, whose name escapes me, that has cheese and onions in it and is fricking awesome. This isn't the same as that (which I'll have to post about sometime soon since it's so good) but it is a variation on the theme. Anyone out there make bread like this?

Mega Steak Mafioso Sandwich

This sandwich was inspired by the steak mafioso sub at Sabatino's, a pizza place that has several locations around Boston. It is awesome. But my version of the sub is, dare I say it, better. For one, cube steak is better than shaved steak. I mean, really. For another, if you're doing something this Italian provolone is a better choice than American cheese, I think.

Not that Sabatino's version isn't spectacular, it is. But, like I said, I think mine's better. Here is what you need for it. No recipe, no attempt at amounts. I'm feeling lazy today... er, I mean it's all a to taste thing. Right. So:

cube steak, sliced against the grain
sliced onion
sliced pepperoni
sliced salami
provolone
tomato sauce
oregano, basil, garlic powder (or fresh), salt and pepper to taste
sub or sandwich roll, toasted is delightful

First things first, fry up the pepperoni and salami a bit, just enough to get some browned edges and have them put out some fat. Mmmm, multiple sausage fats.... uh, hm. Excuse me. Next, onions. I like them nicely browned. Once they're about half done season the beef with the basil and all that, push the onions to the side of the pan and put the beef in a single layer on it.Once they're browned up on one side, flip 'em and let them almost finish up. Then, add everything back in, plus the tomato sauce.Mix it around a bit, let it sit for a minute so the flavors mingle and the beef finishes, cheese up a roll and then slap in on there. Now look at the sandwich and in your best cotton ball filled Marlon Brando voice make it an offer it can't refuse.

Camera Cleanup #9

I've got a lot going on right now, so I'm afraid my posting will be a bit sporadic. But I do have some cool stuff I'm planning on doing, so don't forget about me! And since I'm already posting something, here is a pic of egg salad with salami. Seriously, it's wicked good.

Mega Nachos

Ok, I know what you're thinking, is he really back this time? Well, I'm not telling. I'm a man of mystery and I like to keep things mysterious. But since I'm back, I figure I'll share these nachos with you.

Yeah. It started with a big chunk of chorizo, some hamburger, onions and garlic getting browned up. Then we added some salsa, black beans... uhm, other stuff too. I don't really remember. Cumin, that went in there. Cheese. And we heated the whole thing up in the oven. It seemed the perfect time to try out the hot sauces I got from Cholula. They were all good (and free in exchange for a review. That's adequate disclaimer, right?), but the best one was definitely the chipotle. I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for that in stores. At some point I'm going to remake the nachos and write down a recipe, they were wicked good. We topped them with sour cream and more salsa, but other toppings would be good too. Anything you'd put on nachos, really...

Pizza Quick Tip: Less Greasy Pepperoni

Hands up, who has made a pizza that looks awesome before you pop it in the oven? Then you cook it and the pepperoni, salami, linguica or whatever fatty thing you slapped on there in a brazen fit of excess has turned it into a pool of molten grease?
(not pictured: lots of grease)

I know it's happened to me plenty of times. Then I learned a trick, although I don't remember from where, and now my pizzas are better for it.It's easy, just microwave the pepperoni, or in this case salami, between some paper towels for maybe ten-fifteen seconds. Not only does this make the pizza less greasy but it helps the stuff crisp up really nice, which is a good time. I don't know why you couldn't do this same thing with any kind of already cooked, thin sliced, fatty meat and cut down on the grease. If you're into that. For those wondering, this is a salami, green pepper and red onion pizza (heh, randomly and appropriately seasonal) with a spicy tomato/roasted red pepper sauce (like this one, without the sausage). It was wicked good.

I usually make it several times a week, how often do you folks make homemade pizza?

How to Make Italian Sausage Like a Vendor

When I did my Sausage Cart Spaghetti post last week I was dismayed by how many people had never had an Italian sausage from a vendor's cart. I mean sure, they're greasy, sketchy and who knows when that license they have taped up (but covered in grime) was last renewed, but c'mon! Slightly charred sausage, soft and gently caramelized peppers and onions, it's deliciousness on the go, how can you even resist?

Or maybe it's that they don't have them around you, is that why you haven't had one? I'm told they are mostly a Northeast city thing, so if you don't live up here they might not be around. You might not know the dubious joy of waiting in "line", if the unruly mob around any given vendor can be called that, with impatient suits and bike messengers trying to grab a quick lunch (or breakfast), inhaling second hand smoke, first hand insults and thinking it will all be worth it once you get your sausage and all these fricking people just fricking stop fricking bumping into you. Or maybe that's just me... Anyway, here, let me show you how to recreate it at home.

All you need is around five ingredients; Italian sausage, peppers, onions, mustard (if you like) and rolls, and you're all set. First I should tell you though, different vendors make sausages different ways, there isn't one magic vendor method that makes some kind of delicious thing. But fortunately all the methods that I've come across are wicked easy, have a minimum of ingredients and can be done quickly. Almost as though the people who use them are in a rush and feeding people for money. Heh. Anyway, this is how I do it.

First, you've got to brown up your sausages. Or in this case, sausage. You should set the heat to medium-high, I like to use a steel skillet, although cast iron is good too. Don't be shy when you're cooking them, a good bit of browning means a good bit of flavor. Plus you want some fond because it will add more flavor to the veggies. Don't stress cooking it all the way through, it's going to get steamed some in just a minute, color is the main goal here.

Next add some sliced peppers and onions, sliced kind of medium thickness. I like red for both, but you can use any kind you like. Toss them around to coat them with some of the fat then pile them up on any fond you have. Now cover the skillet and let it steam for about five minutes or so, longer if you want the veggies softer or if the sausage isn't cooked through. It's not rocket science, kids.The veggies will let out some liquid which will deglaze the pan a bit, so when everything is cooked just toss them around some more to coat them with all that goodness. And that's it, other than toasting the roll and slapping on a little mustard. This is possibly the simplest way to make Italian sausage, short of just grilling them, and it's definitely my favorite. One great thing about this method is you can make just one or as many as your skillet will hold, it doesn't really change the length of time you need that much.

But that's it, that's how to make an Italian sausage like a vendor. For a more authentic experience I suggest making them for a crowd, that way everyone can stand around the stove, pushing and talking on cell phones, complaining that they have to get back to work and what's taking you so long anyway? How hard is it to fry a sausage?! This package won't deliver itself, douche bag! I've got a meeting in ten minutes!

Simple and Easy: Sausage Cart Spaghetti

-1 lb Italian sausage
-1 lb spaghetti, mostly cooked
-1 bell pepper, sliced
-1 onion, sliced
-2 cups chicken stock
-2 cloves of garlic, minced
-2 1/2 tbls good mustard
-pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
-salt and pepper

You can either slice the sausage or crumble it. Either way, brown it in a skillet over medium-high heat, then remove it and set it aside. If you want you can put it on a paper towel lined plate to absorb some of the fat. Saute the garlic, onions and peppers in some of the fat remaining in the pan and set them aside. Deglaze with the chicken stock, add the mustard and red pepper flakes and let it reduce to 1 cup. Taste for seasoning and add more mustard, salt and pepper, if needed. Add everything back in to the sauce and stir gently until all the liquid is absorbed by the pasta, about 1-2 minutes. Serve.

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It's sad to admit, but I'm not a very well traveled guy. I've only lived in Boston and Providence, RI (which is an awful lot like Boston, only smaller) and despite the fact that I've been all across the country on road trips, I was always young and never really payed much attention to what was going on. So I don't know if Italian sausage carts are as ubiquitous in the rest of the country as they are in the cities of New England, but here you can't go to any kind of event or even just outside when it gets above 40 degrees without smelling onions and peppers sauteing in sausage fat.I remember when I was living in Providence there was a guy who was a die hard cart vendor. He would be out there year round in the center of the city, morning, noon and night. I would walk past him on my way to and from work, wending through groups of people waiting for the bus, smoking cigarettes and carrying on loud conversations. The smells of tobacco, city and frying sausage mixed together to form a heady perfume that I swear you could get high off of. And every time I saw that cart I thought "damn, those smell wicked good. I should buy one". But I never did. I'm not sure why, since I love Italian sausage, but I just didn't. It's on my short list of regrets, although getting one probably would have wound up on it too. Heh.

Fast forward ten years (and half a page of semi pointless setup) and I have a craving for sausage, peppers and onions wicked bad. Now, I could just brown everything in my skillet and stuff it in a roll. I could even ask one of my neighbors to stand near me smoking cigarettes while I eat it on the sidewalk, watching traffic and occasionally yelling at people so I could get the whole sausage-cart-in-the-city experience. But I wanted to do something different. I decided to try to make pasta that tasted like one of those cart sausages. So I did. And it worked. I love it when that happens.

This is one of those simple dishes with a short list of ingredients that turns out just awesome. The sauce gets pretty much completely absorbed into the pasta, giving it lots of flavor and just a slight coating of smooth, rich liquid. And let's face it, that liquid is fat. I mean, we're eating sausage here, that's why it's so good. You can cut down on the fat by draining the cooked sausage on a paper towel lined plate and pouring off the fat from the pan (although you would have to replace it with some olive oil to properly saute the veggies). But you only live once and just so long as you don't eat like this every day then you're fine.

I didn't specify what kind of mustard you should use, other than good, since that's really a personal choice. And I suppose you could use crappy mustard if you want, each to their own, you know? I happen to like Dijon. But whichever one you would put on an Italian sausage, that's the right kind to use. Next time I make this, and there will be a next time, I'm going to toss some toasted bread crumbs in at the end, I think that would add some nice texture and flavor.

So tell me, where are you and do you have Italian sausage carts? If you don't have them (or even if you do), you should make this pasta, it's pretty close to the flavor but different enough to be, well, different. And if you want the whole experience, let me know. I'll come stand next to you with a smoldering cigarette and yell things at passersby.

And I'm going to send this in to Presto Pasta Nights. Excitement!

Italian Fried Rice

-2 Italian sausages (~1/3 lb)
-1/2 cup chopped onion
-1/2 cup chopped pepper
-2 cups leftover rice
-1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
-1/2 tbl chopped fresh basil
-2 tbls fresh parsley
-2 cloves of garlic, minced
-1/4 tsp ginger, minced
-2 tbls parmesan cheese, grated
-pinch of red pepper flakes
-salt and pepper

Heat up a nonstick wok, stir fry pan or saute pan over medium/medium-high heat. Brown the sausage breaking it up into small pieces as you do. Once it's cooked transfer it to a paper towel lined plate, leaving a little of the fat in the pan. Add the onions and cook them until slightly soft and browned. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30-40 seconds. Add the peppers and cook them until they are as soft as you like. Transfer the vegetables to the same plate as the sausage. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, let it get hot and add the rice. Stir it around to coat it with the oil and then let it sit for a minute to get crispy. Stir and repeat until it's as crispy as you want. Add the oregano, parsley, basil, parmesan, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Mix it to combine then add the vegetables and sausage. Mix it up again and let it cook for a little bit to make sure every thing is hot.

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When I made the garlic pan fried noodles last week there was quite a bit of interest in some Italian/Asian fusion. Sure, a lot of the interest was from me, but that's fine. I'm going to explore the idea anyway. Heh. We got some Chinese take-out the other day and ordered extra rice so I would have some leftovers to play with. I decided to Italian it up, see how it went. It went quite well. Quite well, indeed. I basically just used an asian method of using leftover rice with Italian style stuff. Like standard fried rice you could use anything you want, really. It's like stew or casserole, clean out the fridge.

First, I cooked up a couple Italian sausages. I like nonstick for making fried rice. You don't get quite as good a texture but you don't have to use anywhere near so much oil, making it less heavy. Once the sausage was browned, cooked through and broken up I moved it to a paper towel lined plate. I left about a half a tablespoon of fat in the pan to cook the vegetables in. Which is what I did next. First the onions, then I added the garlic and ginger, then finally the peppers. I just heated the peppers through, pretty much, since I don't like squishy peppers. I moved the veggies to the plate with the sausage and heated up some olive oil in the pan. You want to use just enough to lightly coat the rice, but not so much that it gets all oily. I used about a tablespoon, I think. Maybe a little less. Should have measured it, sorry about that. Then I tossed the rice in there and stirred it to coat everything. I let it sit for a minute, then stirred it and let it sit again. I did that a couple times until there was some browning on the rice. I know you can't see it, but I assure you there was some. Then I added the sausage and veggies back in, as well as the herbs and cheese. Stirred it around to combine and make sure everything was hot and that's it. Italian fried rice. It was wicked good. Next time I will be making some changes, of course. I liked the ginger in there, it added some nice flavor, I might add a little more. But I'm not sure, I don't want it to become overpowering. A splash of white wine would have been good, so would some tomatoes somewhere in there. I was thinking maybe a little balsamic vinegar, maybe some broccoli and chopped spinach. Chopped prosciutto or salami would be good too, I expect. Maybe some of those pickled hot peppers whose name I can't remember. What do you kids think, what else would be good in Italian fried rice?

Scrambled Eggs with Salami and Peppers

Just a quick scrambled dish today, kids. I seem to remember, back in the day, going to a diner that had an "Italian omelet". It had tomatoes, basil, salami and a couple other Italian/Italian-American things in it. Now, I don't honestly know if this is a real memory or just something I thought of. I've been in a lot of diners and have often thought up things they should make and it could easily have been turned around into something I thought one of them did make.

But none of that is really important.

I had eggs and salami and decided to mix them together. It seemed like a good idea at the time. And so it was. Easy, too. I just browned up some diced salami and peppers. Then poured in some eggs and scrambled it up. I put some fresh/frozen herbs in there, too, the Italian blend. And that's that. Good times. Would have been great in a wrap, too. How about you folks, how do you like your scrambled eggs? Plain or full of stuff? If stuff, what stuff?

Product Review: Nature's Pride Bread

It's been some time since I've done a review, hasn't it? Of course, it's been some time since I've gotten any free stuff to review. Heh. But then the delightful folks over at Foodbuzz offered to send me some Nature's Pride bread and since I love bread (and free stuff) I said yes. I was expecting coupons, like you get for a lot of these offers, but I actually got two loaves in the mail! How awesome is that? They sent me a 100% whole wheat and a 12 grain. Here's a shot of the 12 grain I've already eaten the other loaf so you don't get to see that one. So. I haven't tried the 12 grain yet, but the whole wheat is really good. Soft, but not squishy and with a good, deep flavor. To take it for a test run I made one of my favorite sandwiches: Turkey, salami, honey mustard and cheese (sharp cheddar this time). I tossed some lettuce on there too, since we had some. The bread stood up to the strong flavors just fine, without being distracting and didn't instantly adsorb all the honey mustard and get soggy. Which is good. Final verdict? I would totally buy this, as long as it's not ridiculously expensive.