Chicken Sausage Hash Recipe (just five ingredients!)

It's another five ingredient dinner!  If you have kale leftover from the copycat version of the Cheesecake Factory Fresh Kale Salad, here's a great way to use it up.  This is also a really economical dish that's great for lunch leftovers.  The added plus: this is another five ingredient meal!

I was inspired to make this by the Food and Wine magazine Instagram.  I saw this photo:

How easy and tasty does this look?

I've made this three times now, each time a little differently.  The first time, I bought six chicken sausage links from the deli case at Fresh Market.  They were on sale, so they were about $6.  This was the cheapest rendition.  The next time, my husband was headed to the grocery.  I told him we should make this again, so pick up some chicken sausage.  He came back with breakfast links.  Instead of criticizing (and the possibility he'd just not go to the grocery next time I asked), I just worked with it.  The recipe actually turned out fine, but a little "breakfast-y" tasting.  He remarked it wasn't as good as the time before, but I let it slide.  The last time, I was at Kroger and they didn't have sausages in the case like Fresh Market.  I used packaged sausage, I think it was Al Fresco brand.  If you want to have leftovers for lunch, use six to eight deli sausages, or two packs of packaged sausages.

 

The best option is to use deli chicken sausage.  If you can't find any at your grocer, note the difference between the breakfast sausage and the larger apple sausage links.

You're going to love how easy this is.  For four servings, all you're going to need is three strips of bacon, about eight ounces (half a package) of baby carrots, the sausage, a green apple, and as much kale as you'd like to add (at least two leaves!)

Seriously--all you need is five ingredients.  How simple is this?

To get started, determine if your chicken sausage is pre-cooked or not.  If you get it from the deli case or a meat market, it probably isn't.  If it's pre-packaged from the cold cuts section at the grocery, the package will likely say that it's pre-cooked.  

If it isn't, use a skillet and a sautee pan.  If it is, you'll only need the skillet.

If not pre-cooked:

1) Chop your bacon into lardon-sized pieces (rough chop it into bites) and your carrots into small rounds.  Add the bacon to a hot sautee pan.

2) Place the sausages in the skillet and pop in the oven to bake at 350.

3) Once bacon is approaching crispy, add the carrot rounds.  While you're waiting, chop the apple into small pieces about the same size as your lardons.

4) Once the chicken sausage begins to brown, remove the pan from the oven and cut the sausage into rounds.  Return to the oven and switch to broil to speed the browning.  Once the pieces turn golden, add the carrot-bacon mix from the sautee pan.  

5) Once the carrots begin to brown on the edges (about five minutes), add the apple pieces.  While you wait, tear the kale into bite-sized pieces.

6) When the apple pieces are beginning to brown, and the carrots and sausage have deeply brown roasted edges, add the kale by sprinkling it over the top of the contents of the pan.  Spread out the kale so you don't see any of the contents underneath.  As it browns, it will shrink.  

7) Remove from oven once the edges of the kale are getting deeply brown and crispy.  Spoon into bowls and serve.

If pre-cooked;

1) Set oven to bake at 350.  Add bacon lardons to skillet.  Bake for about 10 minutes, check to see if they are golden.  Once golden, add the carrots.  Bake for about five more minutes.

2) Add the chicken sausage, already chopped into rounds.  Turn oven up to broil.

3) Once chicken sausage pieces are golden on edges, add chopped apple.  Broil for three to four minutes.  Chicken should have deeply brown edges.

4) Add the torn pieces of kale, spreading to cover all the contents beneath.  Remove from oven once the edges of the kale are getting deeply brown and crispy.  Spoon into bowls and serve.

Insider tip: have two plastic containers waiting by the stove.  When you take the skillet out of the oven, spoon equal servings into two bowls and the two tupperware.  This way, you've pre-measured two leftover containers and will resist the urge to go back to the skillet to get more to eat!

Copycat version of Cheesecake Factory's Fresh Kale Salad

Earlier this month, my husband and I had dinner at Cheesecake Factory at the Indianapolis Fashion Mall.  Instead of ordering a fattening appetizer or gorging on bread, we decided to split the Fresh Kale Salad from the Small Plates and Snacks section of the menu.  According to the description, the salad was going to contain apples, marcona almonds, golden raisins, and green beans tossed with buttermilk-black pepper dressing.  We were expecting a little side salad.  When it arrived, it was a mountain of kale and ingredients, although the apple was conspicuously absent.  As it turned out, the salad didn't need the apple--it was perfect as is.  If you like apple, or you dined at Cheesecake Factory and they remembered to put the apple in your salad, feel free to add some diced green apple.  The golden raisins gave the right amount of sweetness and the marcona almonds were pleasantly salty.  I like kale salads because the greens are firmer than spring mix.

My husband insisted that I make this salad for him at home.  I didn't mind because with five ingredients, and a little salt and/or pepper to taste, you have a nice light meal or a fantastic side dish.  And the best part?  This copycat version tastes just like the real thing.

All you're going to need:

fresh kale
green beans
marcona almonds
golden raisins
Ken's Steakhouse peppercorn ranch dressing

The marcona almonds will be the most difficult ingredient to locate.  They do not sell them at the two Marsh stores closest to my office, so I purchased a container of them for about $6 at Fresh Market.

Start by washing all the produce.  Trim the ends from the green beans.  Using kitchen shears, cut them into a microwave safe container in small rounds.  I used two handfuls of green beans for two salads.  Once green bean circles are sliced, top container with water and microwave for three minutes.  Taste the green beans.  They should be blanched but still firm.  If they are the desired firmness, immediately drain in colander and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.

Here's what the little green bean rounds look like.  The smaller the better.

While the green beans drain, tear the kale into small pieces.  I used about four huge leaves.  Omit out the ribs--just tear the leaf away from the center of each leaf and any coarse veins.  Add these to your colander of green beans.  Using the kitchen shears, give the kale a few chops to make sure all your pieces are really small.

Add one handful of golden raisins to your colander.

Transfer one handful of marcona almonds to a ziploc bag.  Cover with a towel and crush with mallet or back of a large spoon.

To cut down on dishes, I did not move the contents of the colander to a bowl for the next step.  The holes in my colander are small enough that nothing fell through.  Next, this step is a matter of preference.  Add one to two tablespoons of the Ken's Steakhouse peppercorn ranch dressing to the colander and stir everything around so the dressing is distributed.  I do not like a wet salad, so about two tablespoons was just right.  You may want more.  Just remember to add dressing sparingly.  You can always add more, but once you put in too much, you have a soggy, ruined salad.

See--nothing is falling through the colander.

Last step, add the crushed marcona almonds and stir.  Again, they didn't fall through because they stuck to the dressing.  Taste a bite--if you really like the peppercorn flavor, add some fresh cracked black pepper to taste.  (I did.)  I usually salt salads lightly, but this one did not need it because of the almonds.  If you need a pinch of salt, add it now.

Serve by piling the salad into a high pyramid.  Enjoy!

My finished product!  It looks and tastes just like the Fresh Kale Salad from the  Cheesecake Factory.

Copycat version of Chef Gerald Chin's apple salad

Early this fall, I saw the most beautiful salad on the Food and Wine magazine Instagram. Per the photo, it was an apple salad with endive, radicchio,toasted pecans, white cheddar, and a maple emulsion made by Chef Gerald Chin.  Chin is Executive Chef at Chef Michael Mina's Stripsteak at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Bliss in my Instagram feed.

I immediately knew that I wanted to try this with the apples in the overflowing bowl of produce on my kitchen counter.  My husband and I had just driven from Indianapolis to where he grew up in Evansville for the town's annual fall festival.  On the way, we stopped at Slater Farms Market, a cute farm stand alongside U.S. 41 outside of Terre Haute, Indiana.  Outside, there were rows of mums and bins of pumpkins for sale.  Inside, there were all kinds of fruits, vegetables, preserves, and cider.  I didn't even know there were so many types of Indiana apples!

Rows of mums and pumpkins greeted us at Slater Farms Market.  Stop by for a visit!  They're located at 15102 U.S. Hwy 41, Terre Haute, Indiana 47802.  Call for hours since they're open seasonally--(812) 696-5122.

Almost ten kinds of Indiana apples for sale at Slater Farms Market.

More Slater Farms Market scenery--mums and huge pumpkins.

Loads of pie pumpkins, just $.79 each at Slater Farms--last time I bought one, I paid about $3.00 at Kroger.

Huge pumpkins at Slater Farms Market.

We ended up buying a butternut squash, cooking pumpkin, a zucchini, big bag of Granny Smith apples, a tutti frutti candy stick (for me), and a root beer candy stick (for my horse) for less than $10.00.  In hindsight, I wonder if something was rung up incorrectly because that much produce would be more like $30.00 at Fresh Market.  The apples were begging to be transformed into the gorgeous apple salad, so I got to work on my imitation.  With more methodical cutting of the produce, I could have better mimicked Chef Chin's dish.  Regardless, mine tasted amazing.

I started by washing all produce, preheating the oven, and whisking together a tablespoon of olive oil, a teaspoon of maple syrup, and a tablespoon of white balsamic vinegar.  I adjusted the proportions to taste slightly, then repeated to double the amount of dressing.  Last, I added a dash of salt and white pepper.  While my version of maple emulsion sat on the counter for the flavors to meld, I started on the salad.  I put a pan of crushed pecans in the oven to toast for about five minutes at 300 degrees.  After trimming away the bottom of the apple and stem, I sliced horizontally in thin slices.  The seeds and core were visible in the center of the slices.  With more patience, I should've tried for thinner slices.  I was hungry though!  Then I cut away the center of each slice to remove the core and seeds.  It looked like a donut of apple when I was done.

Next, I tore the endive and radicchio leaves into small pieces.  To the novice cook, here is an important note--don't substitute red cabbage for raddichio.  When I went to Marsh for ingredients, they didn't have radichio and endive, so I ended up making a stop at Fresh Market.  The difference matters.  Radichio has a clean but bitter-ish flavor and delicate texture.  Red cabbage is thick and waxy.  I added these to a bowl and chopped a few chives into the mix.  Then I grated some white cheddar--just a little bit--about one ounce.  Last, I added the pecans and two spoonfuls of the dressing and combined the ingredients to make sure the dressing was incorporated.  I diced up the little remnants of apple and a slice that went awry so they wouldn't go to waste and added them to the mix.

To assemble the salad, I drizzled a spoonful of the maple emulsion on the plate.  You can't see it because our plates are red, but it was a very pale yellow.  Then I added some salad mix, topped with an apple slice, and built the salad using a smaller slice of apple each time.  Last, I added an extra sprinkling of chives over the top of the salad.  The presentation was pretty, architectural, but invitingly fresh.  Be sure to include a knife in your place setting so this is easier to deconstruct.

My husband was impressed.  We both enjoyed the light sweetness, punctuated with the flavor of chive or the white cheddar.  We enjoyed this so much that I made it again a few nights later, but with some butternut squash soup.  This is definitely a first course or snack, not an entree salad.

The finished product--my layered apple salad with maple emulsion.  Chef Chin's was definitely prettier.  How it could taste better is beyond my comprehension though since this was amazing, even with my non-chef touch.

Beautifully bright and fresh.  This would be beautiful on a white plate so you can appreciate the pale color of the maple emulsion.

The next time I made this, I served it with a big bowl of butternut squash soup.  It isn't enough for a meal.

Also of note, I tagged Chef Gerald Chin and Chef Michael Mina in my photograph of the imitation version of the salad.  I was a little worried they wouldn't take me trying to copy them at home so kindly, but it was quite the opposite.  They both responded with follows and kind words, which made me a little starstruck.  Yes, you can be chef starstruck!  It also made me happy that they took my imitation as flattery.  I bet they're really nice guys in person.  One of my new travel goals is to get back to Vegas so I can go eat at Stripsteak now.  

Insider tip: use your sharpest knife and cut the apple slowly, or you'll end up with slices that are too thick to be aesthetically appealing.  If you're having vegan guests, omit the white cheddar.

Simply Recipes Recipe Test: Moroccan Chicken with Lemon and Olives

I wish I could recall how I came across this recipe.  I was online, and saw the thumbnail of the photo somewhere.  It may have been Facebook.  Anyway, the photo redirected to a site called "Yummly," where I clicked again to get the full recipe at Simply Recipes.  This isn't a new recipe--Elise Bauer posted it in 2006.

Here's the full recipe:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/moroccan_chicken_with_lemon_and_olives/

How can you resist a recipe with this photo in it?

I started by rounding up the ingredients.  I'd never cooked with preserved lemon, and I couldn't find it at Fresh Market.  I found an Epicurious recipe for fast, easy preserved lemon.  I just preserved one lemon using the recipe, but it worked out well.  All you do is slice the lemon thinly, place in baking dish in as close to a single layer as possible, douse with salt and lemon juice, and bake at 200 for three hours.

Here's the easy preserved lemon recipe from Epicurious:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Quick-Preserved-Lemons-12760

About to put my lemons in the oven.

I made the lemons two days before, and also mixed the spices so the chicken could sit in the spice rub for two days.  I love bold flavors, so I wasn't afraid to really let the flavors develop.  I ended up doubling the spice rub, too, so I could get as much as possible on the chicken.

The recipe made this much spice rub--just enough to fill the corner of my Ziploc bag.  I didn't think this was enough to really coat the chicken, so I doubled it up.

Bag of chicken with spice rub ready to go into the fridge for two days.  Letting it sit in the spices for two days let the flavors, as well as an intense orange color, develop.

When it was time to prepare the chicken, I was excited.  It had developed a really deep orange color from all the spices.  I didn't have a tagine, so I used a deep pan and prepared according to the recipe.  I didn't make any substitutions.  I didn't keep close tabs on the time, instead, I made sure the chicken skin was browned and crispy before flipping it.  I like chicken skin to have a crisp texture instead of a floppy, slow cooked softness.

Onions in, ready to simmer.

The house smelled fantastic as the chicken cooked.  As the chicken cooked, I carefully removed the parsley and cilantro leaves from the stems to ensure no tough stem pieces or the weird little unappetizing hairs cilantro gets if pulled off the stem hastily.

Moments from serving...

At serving time, the dish was very pretty.  The yellow from the lemon and bright green of the parsley and cilantro popped against the red flesh of the chicken.  The skin was satisfyingly crispy and the inside was meaty and moist.  The whole dish was freshly aromatic.

The finished product!

I can't wait to make this one again!  Another winning recipe!

One note: after prepping this dish, I noticed that the white French tips of my manicure were stained yellow, presumably from the turmeric.  Insider tip: consider wearing gloves if you have a fresh or pastel-colored manicure.  Turmeric stains.