Insert Clever Title Here

I know, I know...the title is a little disappointing...but you can't win 'em all.

When it comes to ground meat, I think you're a little limited in what you can do...burgers...pasta with meat sauce...meatballs...but we didn't want to do any of that.  So we turned to the interwebs to find an alternative, and we came across a recipe for fennel stuffed with sausage and parmesan.  It sounded the like the perfect way to use the pork sausage we'd picked up in the share, and it came together quite easily.

We started with a couple fennel bulbs, chopped off the stalks (though we reserved the fronds), and threw them in a pot to steam and soften.

While those were steaming, we got to work on the sausage.  We browned it with a little garlic, shallot, red pepper flake, and some oregano.  Or maybe there was a lot of oregano...Justin unscrewed the top of the spice jar, not realizing there wasn't a shaker top, and dumped about half the jar in the pan.  We were able to scoop out a good portion of it without sacrificing any sausage.  Luckily the other flavors helped to subdue the oregano.

Once the sausage was browned and cooked through, we started to add the parmesan and pecorino cheeses.  We also threw in some panko.  As everything cooked in the pan, the sausage developed a really crispy texture, as if it had been fried.

Once the fennel was soft, we cut them in half and cut out the core, so we could fill in the layers with the sausage and cheese mixture.  We made sure to get between all the layers of the fennel.  These went into a baking dish with a bit of stock, covered the dish with foil, and slid it into the oven for about 15 minutes.

Then we uncovered them, and let them cook a bit longer.  We finished them off with some of the fennel fronds and a little more cheese.  They were delicious, and well balanced.  The salty, savory sausage and fresh fennel fronds really rounded out the dish.

We know what you're thinking, these plates looks a little sparse.  Well, that's because we had a super rich, sweet, and creamy, dessert that we made for the evening.  We had some egg yolks left over from an omelette, so we decided to make some creme brulee.  Creme brulee may sound intimidating but it's really easy.  First scrape out a vanilla bean add it to a boiling sauce pan of cream.  Then just mix together eggs and sugar and slowly temper in the mixture vanilla and cream.

Once the cream, eggs and sugar were combined, we poured them into little ramekins, and the ramekins went into a hot water bath to cook.  This helps prevent them from drying out.

Once they were cooked, we let them set in the fridge overnight.  To get the nice, crunchy top, we added a bit of sugar to the top.  I was a little skeptical about Justin with a blowtorch so we just finished them off in the broiler.

We were a little distracted eating our sausage stuffed fennel, and the sugar got a tad bit burned, but they were tasty nonetheless.

Mangia, Mangia!

That's "Eat, Eat!" for those of you out there that don't speak Italian.

Since we went with the obvious the first time around, cooking clam chowder, we went with the 2nd most obvious dish...linguine with clam sauce!  For some veggies, we cooked up the brussel sprouts with some bacon and almonds.  So let's get to it!

I started with the brussel sprouts, popping them off the stalk and placing them on a cookie sheet with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Those went into the oven to get all roasty toasty!  We also pulled off the greens at the top to toss in with the sprouts later on.  We were left with a bare stalk...

I think it'll make a good beating stick for when Justin steps outta line! Hehehe :)  The bacon was next, getting a quick little chop and then tossed into the pan to get nice and crispy.  The onions were also thrown in with the bacon to soften and soak up some of the bacon delicousness.  

Look how nice and charred and toasty those sprouts are!  Sadly, we overcooked them slightly and they were a tad bit mushy in the middle.  But the leaves were crisp, and once they rolled around with the bacon, it made up for the overcooked centers.  Bacon makes everything better, right?

Meanwhile, Justin was handling the other half of the meal.  Since he's part Italian, I figure its better to let him take care of the sauces.  In a giant pan, he melted some butter, and threw in a bunch of garlic and onions.  Once those sauteed for a while, in went the clams.  It didn't take long for them to pop open and impart a little oceany flavor into the pan.  We also threw in some white wine for an extra bit of flavor.

Once the linguine was al dente, we made sure to reserve a cup of the starchy cooking water.  Its always good to add a bit of the starchy water to whatever sauce you're making because it will help the sauce stick to the pasta.  Oh!  We also threw in some grated parm and pecorino for a little salty deliciousness, and to help thicken the sauce a bit.  I removed the clams from the pan, added a splash of the starchy water, and then threw in the pasta.  Removing the clams made it much easier to get the pasta coated in the garlicky, buttery, clammy sauce.  On the other side of the stove, the brussel sprouts were being coated in the bacon delicousness, and I threw in some chopped almonds for another little crunch.

And then we were ready to eat!  With a little slice of cheesy garlic bread, complete with roasted garlic, we were ready to dig in!

Until next time...buona notte!

Its Almost Like Christmas

Every other Tuesday we get to pick up our CSA share.  Neither of us had participated in a CSA before, but considering how much cooking we do, and our affinity for trying new things, we thought we'd give it a shot.  I'd had my eye on the Farm Bus for a little while, mostly because their drops are at Eastern Market, within walking distance of my apartment, but when I was cooking for 1, it didn't seem like a viable option.  Now that I had another stomach on board, it made sense to give it a try.  We opted for the produce and meat shares, and there is always an abundance of food.

As much as I try to keep it a surprise, I can't help but open the email that tells us what we'll be picking up that night.  But it doesn't just stop at reading the email.  Then I start to think about what we can make, and how we'll utilize all the food we'll be getting.  Here's what today's share brought us...

The fun part about the food shares is getting to try different foods you wouldn't normally buy.  A couple weeks ago we were given some rutabaga, and this week we got some creasy greens.  Not greasy greens...creasy greens.  I hadn't even heard of these greens before, but with a little help from the interwebs, I learned their similar to watercress, with a peppery taste like arugula.  Pulled off their stems, they made a delicious salad with some shaved pecorino and some homemade Italian dressing.

We have some ideas in the works for this week, so stay tuned!