Grilled Sausage with Lentils and Spinach

This has quickly become one of my favorite dishes. I make it about once a week. It's quick and easy to prepare too (well, quick and easy by my standards). I think if you can make a dish in under an hour that's sure to impress the guests, that's pretty darn good. I love this dish too because if you grill the sausage you only have a single pot to clean up afterward.

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 45 mins
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 bunch spinach, stems trimmed and well washed
1 lb. Italian sausage (4 links)
1 c. green or red lentils
2 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. dry white wine
6 sprigs Italian parsley, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
Mascarpone cheese

In a medium size pot, saute the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, salt, and pepper in olive oil over medium heat until it begins to brown and stick to the bottom of the pot. Add the wine and as it simmers, scrape the bottom of the pot. Add chicken broth and lentils and bring to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

At the 30 minute mark, start cooking the sausage. My preferred method is on the grill. If cooking indoors, I like to boil it for about 10 minutes to release some of the fat and keep it moist as it cooks, then brown it in a pan for about 5 minutes before serving. (As an aside, the water for the sausage can have other uses, like boiling potatoes for mashing.)

At the 40 minute mark, add the chopped parsley to the lentils; stir and cover. Then saute the spinach. Here's the best method I've found. Coat the bottom of a pan (with a tight fitting lid) with olive oil. As it comes up to temperature, layer in a couple hand fulls of spinach. Sprinkle with salt. Put the lid on for about 30 seconds; the salt should draw out the moisture in the spinach so it wilts quickly. Take the lid off, and add another couple hand fulls, sprinkle with salt, stir it in, and repeat the process until all the spinach is nicely and uniformly wilted but still retains some texture. Finish with ground pepper and immediately remove from heat. The whole process should take less than 5 minutes.

At the 45 minute mark, you're ready to serve. The lentils will be cooked. Your sausage should be done. And the spinach is perfect. Spoon a couple ladles of lentils into a shallow bowl (pasta bowls work wonderfully). Add a dollop of mascarpone to the center of the dish, followed by a layer of spinach, and topped with a sausage link. As you cut into the sausage, the mascarpone will melt and mingle nicely with the rest of the dish.

Pairs nicely with a rich Chardonnay or Pino Noir. You could even go with a nice old vine Malbec. Or if you prefer beer, try it with a nice strong and malty concoction, like Dead Guy or Kilt Lifter.

Cassoulet

So, Mark Cavanaugh gave me some duck breasts a couple weeks ago--duck he had shot himself. Talk about fresh! Given that I'm trying to lose some weight, it took me a little while to come up with a recipe that didn't involve copious amounts of rendered duck fat and potatoes to accompany the meat itself. After having an amazing cassoulet at my in-law's over the holidays, I decided to adopt a healthy version... It was quite tasty.

Cassoulet is a traditional French dish from Tollouse. It consists of beans baked with various braised meats--typically sausage and lamb, beef, or duck. It's a hearty dish, and perfect on a cold winter night. The problem is it takes FOREVER to make. This version is pretty lean, and can be made in about 90 minutes as opposed to several hours.

To make cassoulet, you essentially need beans and some nice, tender meat. I used lean chicken sausage and duck, but you could easily use beef, pork, lamb, or even chicken for a lighter flavor. Here is my version.

Ingredients:
4 lean sausage links
2 duck breasts (or 8-10 oz. lean meat of your choosing)
1 1/2 c. water
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 14 oz. cans cannelini beans
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp. "Better than Bullion" beef base
4 sprigs Italian parsley
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2-3 sprigs fresh sage
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp ground allspice



Directions:

1. Using kitchen twine, tie the herbs into a bouquet.
2. Sautee onion and celery, salt and pepper, in a large cast iron or stainless pot with a tight fitting lid or braising pan over medium heat just until soft, about 5 mins.
3. Add the sausage links and meat and brown, cooking another 5-7 minutes (increasing the heat a little will improve browning, and thus also add flavor).
4. Add 1 1/2 c. water, the diced tomatoes, the 2 tbsp beef base, and stir to dissolve.
5. Add herb bouquet.
6. Cover and place in 375-degree oven and braise, covered, for an hour.
7. Remove braising pan from oven, remove herb bouquet and add the beans. Stir.
8. Place back in oven and cook, uncovered, for another 30 minutes.

What up

I've decided I'll probably run dry of interesting content pretty quick. I mean, how am I supposed to compete with those guys who are blogging shit ALL the time. They say write about what you know. Well, one think I know a thing or two about is food. And I LOVE food. So that's what I'm going to do. Enjoy.

Fathers and Sons

I thought I needed a break from politics, despite (or maybe because of) how consuming it can be. I have a number of friends with young boys, and friends who are expecting them. Here's the best advice I can offer.

The most important thing I have learned about being a father to a boy, is that it's all about love and affection. Hug your boy. Kiss him. Hold him and comfort him when he's hurt or tired. Play with him and show him your joy. And show him the love and affection you feel for your wife too.

This will instill great confidence and independence. It will help him go out into the world and learn without being afraid. It will help him understand the importance of family. It will help him understand compassion. It will help your boys grow up and become good men.

First Time

So, what does a guy write for his first blog post ever? I figured it had better be something really special, so I have been thinking for weeks about what topic would inspire me enough to write the best first post I could imagine. But when I got to really thinking about it, I decided no matter what I do it’s probably going to be like having sex for the first time. Exciting, but over too fast, and leaving me wondering: so is that it?

Well, I hope there is more to it than this. Otherwise this is going to be a boring blog.