New Things and Sausage

When you think life is settling down and becoming routine, beware. Cart wheels and twirls and turns that leave you upside down right on your head. May I have some normalcy please? And I'll take it with a side of stability.

   Strangely, in the middle of it all, I feel a little bit of peace. This is after I've succumbed to turmoil and anxiety and, maybe, one too many gin and tonics. But no it doesn't help. When I gave it to the one who has much more power than me, and didn't take it back, I let go of all of that too. So this week it's putting in my notice and taking back up the unknown future, a good new job for Witt, and a black ensemble with memories of a dear man I only knew for a short amount of time. Witt's grandfather passed away this weekend and though it's hard to feel like I belong in the midst of everyone's loss, I live with the man who inherited his acceptance and his name. When I met grandfather Witt, he told me he loved me already. And while I'm quick to judge, my Witt is quick to give people the benefit of the doubt. So he left good things in his legacy, including my sweet mother-in-law, whom I love.

    When everything calms down I have great plans for food, still always in the back of my mind. Until then, you must check out my mother's adventures making sausage. I tried the finished product and it was delicious! 


The Gracious Gourmand

 

The Gracious Gourmand Making Sausage

Stuffed Onions

Stuffed mushrooms are one of my favorite appetizers. The other day I was flipping through Suzanne Somer's book, which I honestly love, "Eat Great, Lose Weight" and saw a recipe for stuffed onions. Why did I never think of this before? I love caramilized onions, and I love all the ingredients for them stuffed; white wine, mushrooms, paramsan cheese...oh yes. We celebrated my Mom's birthday this weekend. We came armed with goodies and when we got there my parents had done the same. Somehow our plans for a few tapas dishes had turned into a full Tapas bar, complete with Margarita's and mussels, stuffed peppers, shrimp wrapped in cheese and bacon, crab legs, roasted potatoes, caeser salad and something else I'm sure I left out. My heart skipped a beat when we finally sat down to eat. It was fitting to celebrate such good food along with my mom, an excellent cook.

 Here is my recipe for stuffed onions. I left out the sausage, though it would be great with it in there. Instead I added artichoke hearts and some lemon for zing. The trick is to put these in the oven way before you need to eat them, the longer they cook the yummier the onion becomes.

Stuffed Onions

4 onions, medium sized
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 1/2 cup mushrooms, any kind (I used baby bella), chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup white wine
1 6-ounce jar or can artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
Juice from 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Core the onion, taking out the hard circle in the bottom. If you want to delegate this to someone else (I promise my arm is not that hairy...) while you work on the stuffing, go for it.

Cate Photography

Chop the insides of the onion and saute in butter or olive oil until soft. Add the mushrooms and saute until golden. Add the white wine and simmer until most of it is cooked out. Add the artichoke hearts, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and the parmesan cheese and stir until combined (mixture will be sticky and clumpy). Wrap the bottom of the onions in foil. This is to keep all the juices in. Lay onions on a pan and stuff with mixture, sprinkling parmesan cheese on top. Bake for at least 45 minutes if not longer, until the onion is soft. If the top starts to get too dark, cover with foil and continue to cook.

Right before going into the oven:

Cate Photography

Cate Photography

Finished product:

Cate Photography

Vive la fete!

Cate Photography

Cafe Europa

Valentine's Day is what it is, personally I think it's a good excuse to get flowers. I don't enjoy going out on  Valentine's Day however. I've been scarred from working in the resteraunt, where Valentine's Night was dreaded with the same intensity of an oral presentation or tooth pulling (Ok, by me at least. I'm sure the owner enjoyed the business). The hoards of couples, and the occasional annouying we-hate-valentines-day group, pouring through the doors and demanding tables on the busiest night of the year is not a pleasent memory. Not only do you become inevitably over booked in the weeks leading up to the night, but people seem to feel they have something to prove to their date and are quite unpleasant when presented with a fifteen minute wait on their reservation. They don't know it, but it really isn't my fault that the couple before them has been playing footsies under the table for the past half hour when we thought they'd be up and on their way (Hopefully to get a room). There are also the flowers. Thousands of flowers being delivered to the restaurant with the expectation of having them on the table and waiting for the reservation they belong to. With about a five minute turn on each table, actually executing this with ease and grace is difficult. More than once did I give Jessica flowers that were for Felicity, resulting in Brad looking bad, Felicity without flowers and Jessica wondering what Brad's problem is.
  



Gypsy Slow Down



So we celebrated yesterday. It was another rare beautiful day and we were walking around downtown  Greensboro in the afternoon with the intention of sitting outside somewhere and maybe having a beer. Cafe Europa was a stop on our first date and I like their court yard, so that's where we settled in. We were one of only two other people out there and it was quiet and peaceful and the sun felt good on my neck. We ordered mussels in cream sauce with frites and crab dip with Parmesan pita squares. Mussels in cream sauce always remind me of a French cafe and a big glass of beer and what's more romantic than that? We drank our beer and ate our mussels and it felt right. As I sat there drinking in the warmth of the sun and my Kronenbourg I thought, this is where I've always wanted to be. In that comfortable knowledge of knowing you're being exactly who you are and it's ok.

                                              

                                  
                                                       I feel lucky to have finally found that.

Gypsy Slow Down



Gypsy Slow Down

                                                                Happy Valentines Day <3



Sunny Day

Some things are just good. Like sunshine and a blanket.

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And a good sandwich.

Gypsy Slow Down

Gypsy Slow Down

The key is banana peppers. And olives. Ok, and ham, pepper jack cheese, hearty bread, tomatoes, lettuce, salt and pepper, and the best mustard; Maille which is a creamy dijonnaise.



And apple turnovers, the easy way.

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Even though I don't eat white flour, occasionally I'll let myself go when it comes to desserts if everything else is sugar free. Phyllo dough is super flaky and delicious and works great with apples. The apple mixture sinks into the flakes and the end result is gooey and buttery and good.




Apple Turnovers

Gypsy Slow Down

3 tart apples, large
2 tablespoons cinnamon (I eyeballed this, so use as little or as much as you'd like)
4 tablespoons Stevia (obviously you could use sugar but also agave nectar or splenda)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup water with 1 tablespoon corn starch stirred in
2 sheets phyllo dough or puff pastry

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Preheat oven to 400. Peel and cut up the apples. Add all the ingredients and simmer on low until apples are mushy and there is a thick syrup from the water. Spread the phyllo dough out and cut each sheet into four squares. Grease a large baking sheet with butter and lay the squares out. Spoon a little bit of the apple mixture onto each square and fold over. Use a fork to press down edges. With a sharp knife, make three small slits in the top of each turnover. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the phyllo is brown and crispy. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Take a bite. If you close your eyes, you might forget it's winter time.

Gypsy Slow Down

Gypsy Slow Down

Grilled Lasagna Sandwiches

I used to hate leftovers, I'm not going to lie. However, for some reason when I'm the one that cooked them it seems ok (I know, I'm a snob). Maybe because I know how long everything has been sitting in the fridge. It's not that I don't trust my mom, but I know she stretched the truth to me about the "creation" date of some stew once. I know the stew was fine, and I know my Mom just wanted me to eat it, but I didn't trust leftovers after that. As of right now, I apologize to her for my scrunched up nose every time I asked that annoying food age question when lunch came around. I doubt that was very endearing. I embrace leftovers now and wish I'd taken advantage of my mom's wisdom growing up. I probably missed out on a lot of good lunches.

       However much leftovers are liked, sometimes it's nice to spruce them up a bit. Witt made me this sandwich the other day after lasagna a night or two later. Since lasagna is great with a slice of buttered bread, combining the two makes sense. Just slice up the lasagna thinly and place between two slices of bread and cook in a frying pan with a little butter. Serve it piping hot with some sauce to dip.

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Eggs Florentine

What to do with leftover prosciutti and gouda cheese. Eggs Florentine seems like a good idea. The reason I love this recipe is because after they've cooked, the little egg cupcakes slide out into a perfect mold. So lovely. Since the prosciutti is rich we leave out the bread but there's still spinach and eggs. A delightful breakfast, perfect for brunch or just a Sunday morning.

Eggs Florentine with Gouda (serves two)

4 slices prosciutti
2 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 cup frozen spinach, loose leaf
4 slices gouda cheese
2 eggs (or more, depending on how hungry everyone is)
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Grease two white ramekins and line the bottom and sides with prosciutti. Saute spinach in the butter or olive oil until soft.

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Add the spinach and cheese.

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Top with an egg. Add another if desired.

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Season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven for 10 to 20 minutes, until eggs are cooked to desired consistency.

Gypsy Slow Down

You can be creative with this dish by adding sauted onions with the spinach and a little garlic or use ham instead of prosciutti and chedder, parm or moz in place of the gouda.