Sausage, White Bean and Kale Soup

As this never ending miserable winter soldiers on, I’ve been making big pots of soup to get me thru the weekdays. After last week’s soup, I decided to try another one with White Beans and Kale and managed to stumble upon this recipe.

I ended up rewriting the recipe as I was cooking it. First, I used hot Italian sausage instead of sweet. Then, I decided to grill the sausage. I sauteed the vegetables in duck fat and then pureed them once they were cooked – just like last week’s soup. I then sauteed the kale in duck fat and added them – also like last week. But when I went to grill the sausage, that’s when I found out that the butcher had given me bulk sausage and not links… So, I had to brown that in a pan and add it in at the end.

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I went with a bottle of The Croze from The Commons.

¡El Grande Fiesta Royale!

Another year has passed by… Time for my sister-in-law’s favorite: Cheese Enchiladas. As per usual, we put on a big spread. I bought some Chicharrón, Taqueria Mix Pickles, Salsa Verde, Guacamole and Tortilla Clips. I made Elotes, Cheese Enchiladas, Grilled Jalapeños, Rhubarb Salsa, Beer-Marinated Flank Steak. For desert, my wife made Flan.

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I had been saving these two beers for just this occasion: Bottleworks 15th Anniversary Ale – a Belgian Strong aged in Tequila barrels – from The Lost Abbey. And with dessert, I had a bottle of the Xocoveza Charred – a stout brewed with cocoa, coffee and spices to mimic Mexican hot chocolate that was aged in Bourbon Barrels – from Stone.

White Bean and Lacinato Kale Soup with Smoked Ham Hock

I was going thru some old Saveur magazines, and stumbled upon this recipe.

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To drink, I went with a bottle of the Barrel Aged Saison from pFriem Family Brewers.

Reuben Pizza

I’ve been wanting to try this recipe out for some time… I used the leftover Corned Pork that’s been in the freezer since New Year’s Day and used the Russian Dressing recipe from Bon Appétit.

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I decided to bust out the enigmatic Rhinocerous Party from Breakside.

Seared Scallops with Romesco, Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

This week, I decided to do the Seared Scallops with Romesco from the Toro Bravo cookbook and pair it with some Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta.

Everything came out near perfect, but this was a reminder that I need more cast iron… One of these days, I’m going to break down and get some Finex.

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To drink, I went a bottle of Witchfinder from Holy Mountain.

Garbure Gersoise

So I did end up cooking this weekend… I made a big pot of Garbure Gersoise to have for dinners during the week. Since confit duck legs are only sold in pairs – and the recipe calls for three – I decided to add some andouille which added a little heat. I also used jowl bacon instead of regular bacon since I’ve been eyeballing it in the meat case the last few weeks…

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I pulled a bottle of Heart’s Beat – a beer fermented in oak casks full of dark cherries- from Upright Brewing out of the cellar.