Roasted Sausages and Grapes

It's been a good week to be a Buckeye.  And considering the year we've had, it's about damn time!  First, we landed ourselves a pretty good football coach, although I've despised the guy until I knew he was going to be one of my own.  Hey, he kicked our ass in Glendale a few years ago when everyone was thinking Tressel would walk away with championship #2.  I've called him all kinds of very mature names over the past several years, but when he took that podium Monday afternoon in Columbus, I said, "Pass the Koolaid."  Welcome home, Urban!

And second, did you see that beat down we put on Duke last night?  To quote Coach K...."We've had our butts kicked and we've kicked some butts, but tonight my butt is really sore."  That was 40 minutes of near perfect Buckeye basketball.

So, like I said, it's been a good week to be a Buckeye.  Sayonara "Tattoo Gate".  Time to move on.

All of that sports talk was just to distract you from the picture of the Roasted Sausage and Grapes.   No matter how delicious that dish is, I couldn't find a way to style it to make it look that way!  I first saw this being made on The Barefoot Contessa and thought it sounded delicious.  Ina's friend, Johanna Killeen, of Al Forno Restaurant in Providence, RI was demonstrating the dish on the show and said it was the best selling item on their menu.  It had to be good, right?

While I couldn't quite wrap my mind around the combination of sausage and grapes (and roasted grapes, quite frankly, sounded mushy) I love anything involving sausage.  Errr.  Anyhoo.....this is de.  lish.  us.  And why has no one told me about roasted grapes before?  Not mushy.  Well maybe a little, but in a totally amazing way. I used a combination of red and black grapes (make sure you buy seedless) which worked perfectly because the red ones get a little softer than the black grapes so you get this great combination of crunchy and soft.  And while I know some people don't like spicy sausage, it's really these best counter to the sweet grapes.  Regular italian sausage works, but I'm just sayin.  And then there's the red wine and balsamic sauce.  Oh my.  This is slap-your-grandma good.  Serve this with some focaccia bread or some ciabatta to sop up every last drop.

Here's the recipe:

Roasted Sausages and Grapes

Johanna Killeen

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds Italian hot sausage
1 1/2 pounds Italian sweet sausage
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 to 6 cups (2 pounds) red or green seedless grapes, stems removed
2 to 4 tablespoons dry red wine, preferably Chianti
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Parboil the sausages in water to cover for 8 minutes to rid them of excess fat.

Melt the butter in a large heatproof roasting pan, add the grapes, and toss to coat. Over moderately high heat add the wine. Stir with a wooden spoon for a few minutes until the wine has reduced by half.

Using tongs, transfer the parboiled sausages to the roasting pan and push them down in the grapes so the sausages will not brown too quickly. Roast in the oven, turning the sausages once, until the grapes are soft and the sausages have browned, 20 to 25 minutes.

Place the roasting pan on top of the stove over a medium-high heat and add the balsamic vinegar. Scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the roasting pan, and allow the vinegar and juices to reduce until they are thick and syrupy. With a slotted spoon, transfer the sausages and grapes to a serving platter.

Pour the sauce over the sausages and grapes and serve immediately, accompanied with fresh bread.

This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.

Peanut Butter Brownies

It's been quite the news week, hasn't it?  Seems Herman Cain is quite the horny badger; Rick Perry is, well....Rick Perry; Penn State is in the middle of the most horrific scandal to ever take place on a college campus, and OMG did you see what Kim is dating on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills???  Scandalous.

And even more scandalous are these brownies.  These are creamy and gooey with the great combination of peanut butter and chocolate.  Throw in some crunchy peanuts and a rich caramel topping and these are durn near perfect!  Make these this Thanksgiving for the non-traditional dessert lovers in your family.  Like me!!

Here's the recipe:

Peanut Butter Brownies

King Arthur Flour

Ingredients
3/4 cup peanut butter, crunchy or smooth
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Topping:
1/2 cup lightly salted peanuts, chopped
1/2 cup (14-16 pieces) caramel
1 tablespoon water

Directions:
Grease a 9-inch square pan and line with foil or parchment.  Preheat the oven to 350 deg. F.  Combine peanut butter, butter, and both sugars in a large bowl; heat in the microwave or over simmering water to melt the butter and sugars, cool to lukewarm.  Stir in eggs, vanilla and dry ingredients until the batter is smooth.  Stir in the chocolate chips  Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle half of the peanuts on top.  Bake for 28 minutes, until the center is set.  Remove from the oven and place on a rack.

For the topping:
Melt the caramel in a small saucepan with the water and drizzle over the top of the brownies; sprinkle with the remaining peanuts.  Cool completely before slicing.

Meatless Monday....Spicy Spaghetti Squash with Black Beans

There are no vegetarians in my house.  I'm pretty sure there are no vegetarians in my family.  Yup.....only meatetarians here.  That being said, other than hubs little sweet tooth issue, we eat fairly healthy.  Generally a lot of fish and chicken and fresh veggies.  But after last week's little overindulgence at Blackberry Farm, we definitely needed a little detox up in here.

Hubs loved this and so did I.  I follow Whole Foods on Twitter and they tweeted this recipe a few weeks ago.  I admit, I did tweak it a tiny bit for our tastes because it's one of those recipes that lends itself to creativity.  I added a few more spices and some mushrooms to give it a little heft!  Feel free to put your own spin on it.  We ate this as our meal but this would also be great served as a side dish.  And if you're like me and craving some meat, you could totally add in some chicken, sausage or even shrimp.  Yum!

(My changes are in red)

Spicy Spaghetti Squash with Black Beans

Whole Foods

Serves 4
Serve these stuffed squash halves immediately or fill with the stuffing and refrigerate them, covered, one day in advance. Simply reheat them before serving.

Ingredients
1 medium spaghetti squash

Filling
2 teaspoons olive or corn oil
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1 jalapeño chili, seeded, minced
1/2 cup red pepper, chopped  (I didn't have one so I subbed chopped Shiitake and Portabello shrooms)
1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained well
1/2 cup sweet corn, frozen or fresh
1 teaspoon chili powder (I used ancho chili powder and also added a heaping tsp. ground cumin and some red pepper flakes)
All of the reserved cooked squash, about 4 cups
1/3 cup cilantro, minced
1/3 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions
Roast squash in a 375°F oven for 50 minutes until tender or cut squash in half and place in a microwave dish with 1/2 inch of water, lightly covered with plastic wrap for 20 minutes on high until tender. cool. When cool, scoop flesh from squash halves leaving the shell intact for stuffing.  (I prefer to roast the squash in the oven vs. the microwave method, but both work find.  I slice the squash in have and place it cut side down on a sheet pan and roast until tender.  I then scoop out the seeds and shred the squash with a fork)

For the filling, heat oil in a large pan and sauté red onion, jalapeño chili and red pepper for 2 minutes. Add beans, corn and chili powder; sauté 1 minute longer. Add cooked squash, cilantro, lime juice and salt, cook 1 minute until heated through.

Fill squash halves with filling, mounding mixture in the center.  Sprinkle with cheese and return to the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese.


On a completely unrelated note, we headed to Tuscaloosa Saturday to tailgate before "The Game of the Century" {cough, cough}.  We had a great time partying with everyone pre-game, but if I ever hear another arrogant SEC fan say Big 10 football is boring I'm gonna have to slap them.  We've been playing smash mouth, defensive football for years and getting criticized for it because it's not exciting, but when the SEC does it, it's suddenly awe inspiring.  Whatever.  (Oh and Nick, you may want to check your local high school's soccer teams and find yourself a kicker.  Just sayin.)

Anyhoooo.  Like I said, tailgating was a blast.  Since we're Tuscaloosa rookies, we went down with a few seasoned Bama graduates and fans.  Yes, they're our friends.  We love them in spite of their poor choice in football teams!

There was lot's of houndstooth.....lots and lots of houndstooth.  I'm thinking the little one preferred some Scarlet and Grey!

And lot's of bizarre!

And because the party started well before noon for a 7:00pm game, there's was also lots of this.  This may be the only area that I'll acknowledge that SEC might have something over on the Big 10.....FOOD!

I will offer my condolences to my Alabama friends for not coming out on top in the game because if there's any team I like less than Alabama and Auburn, it would be LSU!!

Thanks to Chad and Jenny for showing us around your alma mater and as always we had a fabulous time!

Blackberry Farm

Hubs and I took a little trip to the Tennessee mountains earlier this week.  I've long been coveting a few days at Blackberry Farm but every time I think about booking it, the dates they have available are not the dates we have available!  So a few weeks ago on a whim, I checked their website and whadda ya know, they had a few available nights at the end of October and so did we!

I'm not sure the timing could have been better.  As if the grounds of this 4200 acre estate in the Smokey Mountains aren't beautiful enough on their own, throw in peak Fall colors and it was simply breathtaking.

We stayed in an estate room in the main house because that's what was available and you know what they say about beggars, but there are also cottages and larger homes to choose from.

Personally, I loved the charm of the main house.  It felt more like I was the guest in the home of (some really fabulous) friends instead of just your typical resort hotel experience.

The views were fabulous from the back patio, where you can sit and read a book or sip a glass of wine before dinner (or lunch, for that matter!)

And if you're wondering, "What the heck am I supposed to do for fun at someone's damn farm.  Milk the cows?"  (Which if your interested in that sort of thing, these folks would find a way to make that happen, I'm sure.  With a huge smile.)  Besides all of the extra-special guests they invite (Sommelier Andrea Immer will be there in a few weeks and one member of the staff mentioned David Chang of Momofuku was coming in this week) to entertain you, you can hike, learn to fly fish or shoot clay pigeons, bike, play tennis, visit the spa or even follow the chef around for the day (which I'm sooo doing the next time).

They even provided pumpkins for carving since it was Halloween!

But, if I'm completely honest, my sole purpose was the FOOD!  I think these people have won every culinary award possible (in addition to every hospitality award possible!).

Dinner is served every night in this barn.  The story is that this barn was built in the 1700's in Pennsylvania and in 2007 was disassembled piece by piece and transported to Blackberry Farm and reassembled to become the center of all things culinary.   Cooking classes and demonstrations are performed here and it also houses a 180,000+ bottle wine cellar (DUDE!) and cheese cave.

Let's just say that all of those previously mentioned awards are well deserved.  The two dinners we ate were far and away some of the best food we've experienced.  I finally figured out what Tom, Padma and Gail mean when they talk about "restraint and balance".  Actually, I probably still don't know what they hell they're talking about but if I did......those dinners would be it.

Since we ordered the seven course tasting menu with wine pairings the first night, we had a LOT of walking to do the next morning.  It was a bit overcast and crisp to say the least, but it really didn't matter.

These guys were extremely friendly!

We watched a few guests try their hand at fly fishing.

This is where you come to sign up for lessons.  How charming is that??

Hubs took advantage of the spa and got a relaxing massage and I chilled and read a book by the fire the rest of the afternoon.  

Then we forced ourselves to go back to The Barn for another dining masterpiece.

We're home and on some strict dietary restrictions (no butter or cream or grits with hollandaise) until we can once again button the jeans, but I can't wait to go back.