Recipe Review from 6/28/21

This fine little fellow came home with us on Friday. English Setter, 8 weeks old. Nickname: Lil' Teufel. He's an angel when he's sleeping and a little devil when he's awake. But that's the way of a puppy.

Hi!  I'm Chet!

The Meal Plan
Sat (L)leftovers (S) Surf and turf and Potato Salad
Sun (L) Grand Rapids Brewery (S) Grilled sausage and veggies
Mon (yoga pm) leftovers sausage and veggies
Tues (donate blood) out
Wed (yoga pm) leftover sausage and potato salad
Thurs - Corn and Clam chowder
Fri - leftover chowder

Lunches - farro and feta salad bowl  (originally wheatberry, chickpea and feta salad)

Grilled Sausage with Vegetables (Eating Well, July/August 2021) gluten free
Another easy dish full of summer flavors and great for a hot summer evening. Toss on the grill, chop, eat. It's that easy. I used andouille sausage as I had some in the fridge, skipped the tarragon as I didn't have any (and it's not worth paying $3.00 for a small package for a tablespoon). This serves four, but I somehow managed to get 3 meals out of it and I was short a sausage. Not complaining tho! I like it when I can stretch meals a bit. Recommended!

Photo from EatingWell.com

Serves 4 (equivalent of 1 sausage each)

2 large bell peppers, seeded and quartered
2 large red onions, cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic, grated, divided
1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage links (I used andouille sausage)
1 bunch scallions, trimmed
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
Pinch of salt

Preheat grill to medium-high.

Toss peppers, onions, half the garlic and fennel seed with 1 tablespoon oil in a large bowl.

Oil the grill rack. Grill the peppers and onions, sausage and scallions, turning occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and slightly charred and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the sausage registers 165°F, about 4 minutes for the scallions, 8 minutes for the sausage and 10 to 12 minutes for the peppers and onions. Transfer to a clean cutting board. Slice the vegetables and sausage into 2-inch pieces.

Whisk the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and garlic with parsley, tarragon, vinegar and salt in a medium bowl. Add the vegetables and toss to coat. Serve the vegetables with the sausage, topped with more parsley and tarragon, if desired.


Clam and Corn Chowder (modified from Eating Well, July/August 2021)
This was fairly quick to pull together, had good flavor, and made enough for leftovers. I did do a significant modification - I skipped the whole corn cob part. I just didn't want of futz with corncobs. Which means, this might have been a bit subdued in the corn flavors and more pronounced clam flavors. Which is just fine if it saved me a bit of time. The best time savings was the coming days when I could reheat and serve. When it's 90* outside...yeah, that's about all I have energy for. I served this with slices of lightly toasted sourdough bread. Recommended.

Photo from EatingWell.com

Serves 6

2 ears corn, husked (I used 2 cups frozen corn)
2 strips bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups diced onion
1 cup diced celery
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
⅓ cup white whole-wheat flour
3 (6.5 ounce) cans chopped clams, drained, juices reserved
2 cups clam juice
4 cups diced waxy potatoes, such as yellow or red
2 cups whole milk
½ teaspoon ground pepper
⅛ teaspoon salt  It's plenty salty from the clams

Cut kernels from corn cobs. Reserve the cobs.

Add the corn kernels and bacon to a large pot. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is crisp and the corn starts to brown, about 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon and corn to a small bowl.

Add butter, onion, celery, garlic, thyme and bay leaf to the pot. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in juices from the cans, clam juice and the reserved corncobs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer; cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Discard the corncobs, thyme sprigs and bay leaf.

Stir in clams, milk, pepper and salt. Add half of the reserved bacon and corn. Cook, stirring, until hot, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve topped with the remaining bacon and corn.