Brocolli Rabe Pasta with Kale and Sausage

2 Links Spicy Italian Turkey Sausage, broken up
1 medium Red Onion sliced into 1/4 moons
Approx. 1/2 Cup of Madeira or other such cooking alcohol
Dash of Red Pepper Flakes
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Tablespoon or so of chopped rosemary
Teaspoon or so of Dried Thyme
Approx. Cup of Chicken Broth
Generous bunch of Broccoli Rabe from BD's Farm
Bunch of Black Kale from BD's Farm
Approx. 3 tbl of unslated Butter
Approx. 1/4 cup of Half n Half

Egg Noodle Pasta from Farmer and the Cook. 4 minute cooking time.

1. Start a pot of boiling water.

2. Saute Sausage in a heavy pot.

3. Remove Sausage and reserve. Add a little olive oil to pan if not enough fat was rendered.

4. Add onions and saute. When desired tenderness is achieved, add peppers and herbs and stir. Add Madeira and reduce. Add chicken broth. Meanwhile slice kale into 1/4 inch pieces and wash. Chop Broccoli rabe into evenly sized pieces. Usually the stalk can be cut into 2 or 3 pieces.

5. Add Broccoli and stir. Loosely cover the pot to help broccoli steam, but pay attention that it does not overcook. At this point, throw pasta in boiling water. Just before pasta is done, add kale. And stir sausage back in.

6. Drain pasta and add to pot. Mix in butter and creme and stir to combine. Salt to taste.

Red Potato and Heirloom Tomato Gratin, Thursday, April 19th

I have been trying to hit this for a while. I started making a version of it from Deborah Madison's Green's Cookbook when I first started cooking. I was drawn to it cuz she said that she had gotten it from a Cookbook by Picasso and it had all of Eric's favorite ingredients in it.

We stopped by FnC on our way home after a hike on Willis Canyon and got the goods. We also picked up 2 delicious cappuccinos at Coffee Connection. We only had a Credit Card and Taylor trusted us to come back the next day. We put Steve and Olivia down as references.

So I am writing this as I cook, cuz these the first step of browning the potatoes takes time.

Get your OVEN ready. Preheat to 400 degrees/BAKE.
You will need an Oven Proof Pyrex-like Dish and A High Sided, Flat Bottomed Wide Skillet.

The POTATOES
1. Slice Potatoes as Thin as you can without hurting yourself.(Thank you, Edna).
2. Heat too much Olive Oil in the high sided flat skillet.
3. Brown the Potato Slices. You will need to work in batches. As they are browning, sprinkle fresh chopped ROSEMARY, good quality SALT and fresh ground mixed PEPPERCORNS on them. I seem to brown one side more than the other, guessing that this allows it to be both crispy and soft. I think I could have made them more like potato chips as they soften in the oven. Once browned remove to a plate. (If you want a drier dish, drain the chips on a towel. I ususally use paper, but I would love to learn how to use cloth. Maybe cheese cloth could work.)


THE ONIONS
4. While the potatoes are frying, slice up a large RED ONION. I chose to slice it in rings, cuz I thought it would look the prettiest.
5. Once the potatoes are all browned up, start browning the all onions in the same pan.

THE GARLIC
6. While the Potatoes are Browning or while the Onions are softening, Mince the GARLIC.

THE TOMATOES
7. While the Potatoes are Browning or the Onions are browning, core and slice the heirloom tomatoes.

THE OLIVES
8. While the Onions are browning, chop the BLACK OLIVES to a consistency of "chunky". I had a combination of herb cured and kalamata.

Once onions are browned, add the garlic, olives, DRIED THYME, a hint of RED PEPPER FLAKES, more salt, more ground pepper. Saute another 2 minutes or so, or until you first smell the garlic.

THE OVEN DISH
9. Poor a little olive oil into your PYREX-LIKE dish. Tonight I used this pretty Blue Crueset Oven Dish I have.

10. Spread Onions over the Bottom.

11. Layer first layer of potatoes on top of the onions.

12. Layer the slices of heirloom tomato. I had a combination of dark red and orange and I spread them out to create some contrast.

13. Layer the top layer of potatoes on. (I saved the most attractive (to me) potatoes for the top layer.)

14. Put in Oven. Set for 20 minutes

15. During this time, make the SAUCE and prep the SALAD.

16. At 20 minutes, check. Turn the pan 180 degrees to even out oven heat's effect on the dish. And set for 10 to 15 more minutes.

17. When done, remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes or so to cool to a reasonable temperature. As a cook who tastes all the time, you build up a tolerance for heat. People that are not used to tasting HOT food, need more cooling time than you think.

18. THE SAUCE
By hand, mix mostly sour creme, some meyer lemon juice , a smidge of grain mustard and some dry (fresh would be better) dill together.


19. TO SERVE
Use a serrated spatula (I love my Cutco one) to cut the Gratin into a serving portion. Tonight's gratin did not hold and was loose and "Country Style" in the shallow bowl. I kind of like this aesthetic, but it you want a tighter hold, you will use less oil, maybe add a binder, like egg or milk, and allow to cool a little more.

20. Serve the Sauce on the side.