Ziti with Sausage, Onions and Fennel

Ziti with Sausage, Onions and Fennel
adapted from Lidia Bastianich via Adam

Ingredients

1 tablespoon sea salt
1 pound hot Italian sausage
1 large fennel bulb with stem and fronds (about 1 pound), trimmed and halved lengthwise
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, halved and sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 pound ziti
fennel fronds
1 cup Romano, Parmesan or grana padano cheese, freshly grated

Method

Boil lots of water with the salt until rapidly boiling.

Remove the sausage from the casing and break the meat up with your fingers. Slice the fennel into 1/2-inch slices. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat and add the sausage, cooking, stirring and breaking it up with a spoon for 1 to 1 -1/2 minutes until it is sizzling and beginning to brown. Push aside and add onion slices and cook, stirring, until they are sizzling and wilting, about 2 minutes. Stir in with the meat.

Push aside and add the fennel and cook for 1 minute until wilted, then stir with the other mixture. Sprinkle in half the salt and push to one side again. Add red pepper flakes and toast for 30 seconds, then stir them in. Move the mixture to the sides again, add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes until it is sizzling and caramelizing, then stir it into the sausage mixture.

Ladle 3 cups of the salted, boiling water into the skillet, stir well and bring the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 6 minutes until the fennel is soft but not mushy.

Meanwhile, add the pasta to the pan of boiling water, stir and bring back to a boil then cook for about 8 minutes until almost al dente.

Check the sauce, which shouldn't be too thick--if necessary stir in more water. When the sauce is done adjust seasoning. When pasta is al dente, lift out of the pan with a spider, drain briefly and add to the sauce. Toss pasta with the sauce, add more pasta cooking water if too thick, sprinkle with fennel fronds and cook, tossing constantly, for 2 minutes until the pasta is perfectly al dente and coated with the sauce.

Remove the skillet from the heat, sprinkle the grated cheese over the pasta and toss to combine. Transfer to warm pasta bowls and serve.

NOTES

None. Fantastic as is and good for guests.

Lemon Balsamic Chicken

Lemon Balsamic Chicken

Ingredients

8 bone in, skin on chicken pieces (legs and thighs)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 lemons, zested, 1 juiced, and the other cut into wedges
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Method

Prick the chicken pieces all over with a fork and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the balsamic vinegar with the zest of 1 lemon, salt, and ground pepper. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least a few hours, but preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Mix the sugar with the remaining lemon zest in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat until very hot, about 2 minutes. Melt in the butter, then place chicken skin-side-down in the pan along with the remaining marinade. Cook until the chicken is browned on one side, 3 to 4 minutes, and then flip each piece over and cook 1 minute more. Sprinkle the lemon sugar over the chicken and transfer skillet to oven. Roast until chicken is completely cooked through and a thermometer interested into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F, about 30 minutes.

Remove chicken from oven. Pour lemon juice over everything. Serve with lemon wedges on the side, if desired.

NOTES

Quite possibly one of the best chicken dishes you will ever make. Seriously. And I've had friends make it who felt the same. I won't expound; just make it and come back and tell me how shockingly awesome it was.

Habanero Hellfire Chili

Habanero Hellfire Chili
adapted from Edd Ryan at allrecipes.com

Ingredients
12 ounces bacon, chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 large yellow onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
3 habanero peppers, seeded and diced
4 Anaheim peppers, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons New Mexican chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons Mexican oregano
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans
1 (12-ounce) beer (I've used Corona and Boddington's, both with success)
3 ounces tomato paste
2 cups beef broth

Method

Place bacon in a large soup pot. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown and crispy. Remove bacon to paper towels and drain off excess fat from the pot, leaving just enough to coat the bottom.

Add beef and pork to the pot over medium high heat and saute until browned and cooked through, breaking it into chunks with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Drain off all but a small layer of fat and set meat aside.

Stir in the bell pepper, onion, jalapeno peppers, habanero peppers, Anaheim peppers, garlic, cumin, red pepper flakes, chili powder and oregano. Saute for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are moderately soft, then add drained beef and pork, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, beer, tomato paste and beef broth (if you want the end result slightly soupier, add more stock or water).

Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans and bacon and continue simmering for another 20 to 30 minutes.

NOTES

None. This is an old recipe, one of my first, and perfected to our tastes over time.