I’m a pig and a glutton, sometimes. I admit. It’s true.. The other day, for example, I made a wonderfully simple salsa, packed with the fresh flavors of late summer. That, in and of itself, doesn’t make me a glutton, but the fact that once I started eating it, I didn’t stop until I had polished off half of a family sized bag of tortilla chips does. In fact, for 2 nights salsa, chips and PBR (that’s Pabst Blue Ribbon-beer- for those not in the know) was my dinner. I look at it this way; at least I got my vegetables for the day!!!!

Seriously though, I love salsa in all its forms, from the simple pico de gallo, to complex mole like creations involving 15-20 ingredients or more, though I don’t make it as often as I should. Instead, I often take the lazy way out and just pick up a bottle at the store. Yes, I am ashamed of myself, especially as I so often gripe about people buying stuff at the store when it is so easy to make at home.

This time of year though, I’d be a fool not to make my own salsa. With so many of its ingredients at their peak of ripeness there is no way store bought can even come close to the beauty that is homemade salsa. A quick stroll through my local farmer’s market and I had all I needed to make some killer salsa, and at a fraction of the cost of the store bought stuff.

Grilled Vegetable Salsa
makes about 1 quart

4 pounds tomatoes
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
3-6 jalapenos, depending on how hot they are and how hot you like your salsa. I used 3 as my wife likes her salsa only medium hot.
1/2 bunch cilantro
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
salt

Preheat your grill. Peel the onion and remove the core. Cut it into 3 thick slices. Use 2 Tbsp. of the oil to lightly oil the tomatoes, onions and jalapenos. Grill until lightly charred and slightly softened.

When done, core the tomatoes and remove the stems from the jalapenos. Roughly cut the tomatoes into 1/6ths or 1/8ths. Place the vegetables in a blender, along with the garlic and blend until well blended but not completely smooth. You will need to do this in 2-3 batches. You shouldn’t need to add any liquid if you place the tomatoes in first. Meanwhile add the remaining oil to a large skillet and heat until smoking. Add the puree to the skillet-be careful as it will sputter and spit-and cook for 10 minutes or until the salsa thickens slightly and turns a darker red. Remove from heat. Allow to cool to room temperature. While the salsa is cooking finely chop the cilantro and add when cool. Season with salt. Place in the refrigerator and allow the flavors to mature for at least 1-2 hours before serving.

On Sunday the family headed a few miles south to Kelley’s Country Creamery, a new ice cream place in the area. We were originally drawn to it because they sell hard pack ice cream, a novelty in this part of Wisconsin where frozen custard reigns supreme. This was our second trip even though the place hasn’t been open for a month yet, and I see many more trips there before the season is over. While we were drawn by the promise of hard pack ice cream, we have been hooked by the excellent quality, and the farm to table approach they take. You see, the Kelley’s also own the farm that produces the milk they use in their ice cream. It is my understanding that they send their milk to a local dairy producer who pasteurizes it and turns it into an ice cream base that the Kelley’s then flavor and churn. Supposedly, they have 61 flavors that they produce, on a rotating basis. While I haven’t seen, or tasted all of them, I have been impressed with the quality of the ice creams I have tried and inspired by their creativity. Of course they offer up the standards of chocolate, vanilla (which looks and tastes like homemade), and strawberry, but they also offer up more interesting flavors such as Purple Cow (grape), Root Beer, Orange-Chocolate Chip, White Chocolate-Raspberry, and Moo Luau (banana split ice cream-banana with swirls of chocolate, strawberry and pineapple). They are located just south of Fond du Lac, WI on County Rd. B (exit off of Hwy. 41 and drive east a few miles). Their website is here. Check it out, and if you find yourself in the area, definitely stop by for a scoop or two.

In the meantime, you can use this Hot Fudge Sauce to make your own Sundaes. This recipe has a great, old fashion flavor and is the perfect foil to a dish of vanilla ice cream. On try of this simple recipe and you’ll never buy store bought again!

Hot Fudge Sauce

1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 Tbsp. butter
3oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine cocoa powder, sugar and 3/4 cup of cream in a sauce pot and stir to combine. Add corn syrup, butter and chocolate. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once at a boil stop stirring and cook until mixture reaches 236°F. Remove from heat, allow to cool for 5 minutes then add remaining cream and vanilla extract. Store, covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. To serve, gently heat over a double boiler or in a microwave at half power.

It’s been cold up here in Wisconsin the last week or so. I thought I was ready for winter, but this cold snap has taken me by surprise and I’ve found myself taking more time than usual to acclimate to the weather. I hate to think that it is because I am getting older-I turn 40 in just under a month! Whatever the reason, I find myself lying in bed, in the morning, not wanting to get up. Not because I don’t want to go to work, I don’t mind that, but because I am not looking forward to getting into my icy cold car and waiting for it to warm up as I drive to work. I’ve tried to convince the wife to go out and warm up my car for me, but she is being awfully selfish, in my opinion, and not complying with my requests.

When the weather gets like this I search hearty, soul-warming dishes to dine on. There’s just something warming about a big pot of stew, soup or ragu sitting on the stove top, simmering away. I love the way the whole house fills with the aromas of a slow cooked dish, and the way all the windows, in the kitchen, steam up as the heavy, moisture laden air meets the coolness of the glass panes. The weather can rage outside, but while I’m cooking I feel safe and warm.

The other day, I picked up some Italian sausage thinking that I would sear them off and simmer in red sauce to put over pasta. Today, as I looked at them, the whole concept seemed bland, uninspired, and not what I was craving. I was craving something a little more homey and comforting and pasta just didn’t seem to fit the bill tonight, but I had this Italian sausage so my mind kept reeling around that theme, when it dawned on me that I hadn’t made polenta in quite some time.

For those of you not familiar with it, polenta is a cornmeal mush served all over Northern Italy. Don’t worry, it tastes a whole lot better than it sounds. I like it because it is heartier and more earthy than pasta, just the perfect thing for a cold winter’s night. It is a wonderfully versatile product that when served soft can be topped in about as many ways as you can top pasta. It can also be chilled, cut into shapes and baked, grilled or fried and then topped with a variety of sauces and garnishes.

If you come across polenta in American supermarkets (at least in areas without a large American-Italian neighborhood) chances are it will be either the precooked stuff that comes in tubes or the Instant variety. Stay way from both of these products. I have yet to taste either type that I can say anything good about. Instead look for cornmeal, in the baking section. If you can, purchase a coarse ground cornmeal or better yet a stone ground cornmeal, but if all they have is the standard fine ground stuff, still use that instead of the instant polenta. Your taste buds will thank you.

Polenta is a time consuming process, taking usually about 45 minutes to cook, sometimes longer. If you all you have is the fine ground cornmeal it will probably be done in about 30 minutes. Don’t rush the process. If you do, you’ll end up with a gritty texture instead of a smooth and creamy texture.

We’ll start with the ragu recipe as it simmers quite a while, and the polenta can then be made while the ragu is cooking. The key to this ragu is a long slow cooking process. That will develop it’s deep, rich flavor.

Sausage Ragu

2 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 each Carrots, peeled, small dice
1 rib Celery, small dice
2 medium Onion, small dice
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 pound Italian sausage, bulk, or with casings removed (hot or mild-your choice)
1 can (6oz) Tomato paste
1 1/2 cups Red wine
1 cup Water
1/2 cup Half and Half

Heat pot over medium high heat. Add the oil and allow to heat up. Add the carrots, celery and onion, lower heat to medium and cook, slowly until a golden brown (about 20 minutes). Add the garlic and cook 3 minutes longer. Add the sausage and break up, but still leave in bite sized chunks. You don’t want this looking like ground beef. Cook until well browned then add the tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly so that the tomato paste doesn’t burn. Add the wine and water. Bring to a hard simmer, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, adding more water if necessary to keep it like a thick sauce. In the last 1/2 hour of cooking add the half and half. When done check seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper. Keep warm

Creamy Sage Polenta

4 cups Water
1 1/3 cups Corn meal, medium or coarse grind if possible
2 Tbsp. Sage, fresh, chopped
1/2 cup Mascarpone
Salt
Pepper

In a sauce pot, bring water, seasoned with salt and pepper, to a boil. Add cornmeal in a slow, steady stream, whisking the whole while so that the cornmeal doesn’t clump together. Once the polenta has thickened switch to a wooden spoon for stirring. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for 40-45 minutes or until done. You don’t need to stir constantly, but you do need to stir it every few minutes to that it doesn’t burn on the bottom. Polenta is done when it starts to pull away from the sides of the pot when you stir it. With about 5 minutes left, add the sage. When done, stir in the mascarpone and remove from heat.

To serve, place a mound of polenta in the middle of a plate and top with Sausage Ragu. Serves 4

There are many ways I know my wife really loves me.  Not the least of which is she occasionally makes me Eggs Benedict for breakfast.  I love breakfast foods, but hate getting up early enough to make them, something I need to overcome as one of my life long goals is to own a Bed & Breakfast.  Luckily I have a wife who is a morning person.  I remember the first time she made them for me.  The thing that scared her the most was making the hollandaise.  There seems to be a mystique about hollandaise.  Most people think that it is this extremely difficult operation that should only be attempted by a “trained professional.”  While it isn’t one of the easiest sauces to make, it sure doesn’t deserve its reputation as being too difficult for a regular home cook.

I am going to walk you through making hollandaise, showing you the few areas where things can go wrong and, hopefully, at the same time dispelling its mystique.  These instructions are going to look long, but don’t worry, it really is quite simple.  The instructions are long because I want to make sure I have explained everything there you need to know.  So here we go.

Hollandaise Sauce

2 each Egg Yolks
1 oz. White Wine (water can be used if you don’t have or use wine)
6 oz. Butter, clarified (more on that in a minute), warm but not hot
1/2 each Lemon
1 pinch Salt
1 dash Cayenne

First a note on the butter. Most chefs prefer to use clarified butter over plain melted butter for various reasons. One of the main reasons though is that non-clarified butter contains a lot moisture. When making larger batches of hollandaise this can thin the sauce more than a chef wants it to be. Taking the moisture out of the butter allows the chef to thin the hollandaise as he/she sees fit, and they can do it with liquids more flavorful than water. If you find yourself pressed for time, melted butter usually works quite well though so don’t freak if you don’t have time to clarify it. And now, back to the recipe. (continue reading…)