Pizza dates back thousands of years, believe it or not, tracing its roots back to the flatbreads with toppings that were popular with ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. But modern pizza, the flatbreads with tomato sauce, cheese, and toppings, was born along the western coast of Italy, in the city of Naples.
Soup Season! Soups and stews are meals we love to make, especially now. One soup we anticipate making rather often is our creamy Italian sausage and potato soup.
Who invented baked potato soup? A: You might just be able to trace this back to the Irish, or to the French, when lines of people gathered for food handouts and mixtures of cheap ingredients became a soup.
Modern variations of this soup emerged at the chains Steak & Ale and Bennigan’s and can easily be traced back to the question “what are we going to do with these left over baked potatoes?” Well, some became potato skins, with the insides scooped out to become mashed potatoes. Some leftover bakers were re-purposed into twice baked potatoes, but some also became soup. Speaking of delicious and hearty soups…
Soup Season! Soups and stews are meals we love to make, especially now. One soup we anticipate making rather often is our creamy Italian sausage and potato soup.
Brown and crumble Italian sausage in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and drain excess drippings from pot.
Return sausage to pot and add potatoes, chicken stock, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 10-12 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to remove ½ of potatoes from pot. In a separate bowl, mash potatoes then return them to the pot. Stir in kale or spinach leaves, heavy cream, and more salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until kale is tender, about 2-3 minutes.
To serve, garnish with shredded parmesan cheese, freshly cracked black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Copper frying pans were used in ancient Mesopotamia. Frying pans were also known in ancient Greece, where they were called tagēnon (Greek: τάγηνον) and Rome, where they were called patella or sartago. The word pan derives from the Old English panna.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line sheet pan with parchment paper or foil for easier cleanup.
Slice the baby red potatoes in half. In a small bowl, mix together all of the seasonings.
Place the red potatoes and baby carrots on the sheet pan. Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil and half of the seasoning mix on top. Gently Toss to combine and place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
Prepare the asparagus by trimming the ends and cutting into 2 inch pieces. Thinly slice the yellow onion and thickly slice the sausage.
Remove the potatoes and carrots from the oven and push them to one side of the pan using a spatula. On the other side add the chopped asparagus, sliced onion, sausage, and minced garlic.
Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and remaining seasoning mix.
Toss to combine and then toss those ingredients with the potatoes and carrots.
Bake for another 10-15 minutes stir or until potatoes and onions are roasted to your preference. Top the dish with freshly grated Parmesan. …and serve!
Cajun Sausage and Chicken Gumbo – This is a Cajun-style gumbo made with a seasoned roux, a classic from the bayous of south Louisiana. I revised the recipe after many, many trials. Serve it hot over cooked rice or with potato salad.
Origin. Scholars agree that gumbo originated in Louisiana in the early 18th century, but its uncertain etymology makes it difficult to pinpoint the origins of the food.
1lbandouille or smoked sausagesliced 1/4 inch thick
4clovesgarlicminced
salt and pepper to taste
creole seasoning to taste
6cupchicken broth
1bay leaf
1rotisserie chicken boned and shredded
Instructions
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, whisk in flour. Continue whisking until the roux has cooked to the color of chocolate milk, 8 to 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn the roux. If you see black specks in the mixture, start over.
Stir onion, bell pepper, celery, and sausage into the roux; cook 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook another 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning; blend thoroughly. Pour in the chicken broth and add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Stir in the chicken, and simmer 1 hour more. Skim off any foam that floats to the top during the last hour.
Wor Wonton Soup – Chinese dumpling classic, whether in soup or fried, wontons will always bring you that mysteriously delicious taste of the Far East! Garnish with fresh scallions.
Wontons originate from China, with evidence of its existence going as far back as the Qing Dynasty (1644). Wonton soup was enjoyed by the rich, upper class families but after World War II, it became more widespread. As the economy improved after the war, the dish moved to Hong Kong, where many hawker stalls opened up to serve the dish to the working class. Due to it’s popularity, some variations of wonton include medicinal ingredients as a way to serve it to those who may not enjoy the strong taste of medicine. In Cantonese, ‘wonton’ roughly translates to ‘clouds’ – as the wontons look like clouds floating in the soup.
Wor Wonton Soup
This is really easy to make and you can make this your entire meal.
In a large bowl, combine pork, shrimp, sugar, wine, soy sauce, 1 teaspoon chopped green onion and ginger. Blend well, and let stand for 25 to 30 minutes.
Place about one teaspoon of the filling at the center of each wonton skin. Moisten all 4 edges of wonton wrapper with water, then pull the top corner down to the bottom, folding the wrapper over the filling to make a triangle. Press edges firmly to make a seal. Bring left and right corners together above the filling. Overlap the tips of these corners, moisten with water and press together. Continue until all wrappers are used.
FOR SOUP: Bring the chicken stock to a rolling boil. Drop wontons in, and cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with chopped green onion, and serve.
Notes
Uncooked wontons will keep in freezer for a good 2 months if well wrapped. Thaw before frying, but they can be boiled straight from frozen and cooked 2 minutes longer.)
TO FRY: Heat 2 to 3 cups of oil in a wok until hot. Deep-fry wontons in batches until golden, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Drain. Serve with dipping sauce or duck sauce, also called plum sauce.
Pepperoni Pizza Crisps – It’s simple. Baking cheese makes it crispy, and it takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish before you’re scarfing them down. Top it with pepperoni or salami for added flavor.
Although it looks the part, pepperoni isn’t a traditional type of Italian cured sausage. Rather, it was invented by Italians who came to the United States in the early 20th century. In 1919, the pepperoni sausage first appeared in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
Pepperoni Pizza Crisps (NOLOW)
It’s simple. Baking cheese makes it crispy, and it takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish before you’re scarfing them down. Top it with pepperoni or salami for added flavor. (NOLOW – No or Low Carbs)
Preheat oven to 375º. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon about a tablespoon of Parmesan into a small mound on baking sheet. Top with about half tablespoon mozzarella. Carefully pat down on cheese to flatten, then place a few pepperoni slices on top. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
Bake until crispy and golden, about 12 minutes. Let cool slightly before transferring to serving dish.
Serve at room temperature with marinara sauce for dipping.
