Jamie Oliver's Cherry Tomato & Sausage Bake

Yesterday was Frank's birthday, and since he's been nursing a head cold since for the past ten days, it called for a very quiet dinner at home.  This recipe proved to be pretty perfect for the evening.

Ingredients:
• 2kg lovely ripe cherry tomatoes, mixed colours if you can find them
• 2 sprigs each of fresh thyme, rosemary and bay
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 12 good-quality Cumerland or coarse Italian pork sausages
• extra virgin olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Splash a little oil in a roasting pan (I used 9 x 15), then add in the tomatoes, garlic and herbs.  Add a couple of tablespoons of Balsamic, then give it all a stir.  Lay the sausages on top of this mixture, and pop in the oven for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven, turn the sausages over, and put back in for another 30 minutes.

NOTES:  I went to Whole Foods and got three different chicken-based sausages, which was really good, though I think it might be even better with pork-based sausage.  I served this with farfalle pasta tossed into a seasoned olive oil, and a Caesar.  Super easy, and something I will definitely make again soon!  The added bonus is that any leftovers can be rough-chopped and added to the leftover pasta for a great lunch! 

The Cannellini Bean Obsession

It's been miserable, cold and rainy all day. I spent a couple of hours at the Big House tweaking some of the Christmas decorations. Don't you just hate when one section of lights on a big piece goes out??? Anyway, those things are done, the ribbons have been fluffed, and tomorrow it will be outside.

My gardener side gets crazy on days like this, since I can't go outside; my chef side, however, loves cold rainy days. Lately my rainy day activity of choice has been catching up on recorded episodes of "Barefoot Contessa," since I really like Ina Garten's approach to cooking...great quality foods prepared simply.

I stopped at Whole Foods on the way home from work, and decided it was a cannelini bean kind of day. I got started on the White Bean and Fennel Soup (that recipe was posted in February) too late for it to be dinner tonight, so the giant pot of soup that's simmering on the stove now will go into the freezer for lunches.

While I was already in the kitchen, I decided to try another white bean recipe, which became dinner. It was very easy to put together, and really good! It's much less "gourmet" than it sounds, and the fried sage leaves really make a difference, so don't skip that step!

1/4 c. olive oil

3 c. fresh bread crumbs

20 fresh sage leaves

1 large onion, chopped

1 T. chopped garlic

1 lb. chicken sausage, removed from its casings

1/2 c. dry white wine

3 cans (19 oz) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

If you can't find fresh breadcrumbs (look in the bakery section at the supermarket), just grind up a baguette in the food processor. Fresh makes a difference here! Mix 3 c. breadcrumbs with 2 T. olive oil and set aside. I guess you could always use panko for this, too, but no canned breadcrumbs this time!

Heat the remaining oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the sage leaves (they have to be dry), and fry for about 2 minutes, until they start to crisp like bacon. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.

In the same pan (with the oil), saute the onion and garlic until translucent, then add in the sausage. Stir to break up the sausage a little, then add the wine and the beans, and cook about five minutes until the sausage is cooked.

Pour this mixture into a shallow casserole dish, top with the breadcrumb mixture, and bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees. When it comes out, top it with the fried sage leaves.

This with a green salad was an amazing rainy night dinner!