A Quick and Easy Cassoulet Recipe – Pork & Beans with Benefits

Of course you can’t make a real cassoulet in an hour, but you can make this very acceptable cheater version, and as long as you manage expectations, you’re in for a great, cold-weather meal.

Real cassoulet is an involved process, with several days of prep just to make the various meats served in this rustic bean casserole. Once everything is prepared, the dish bakes for hours, during which time the ritualistic crust forming and re-forming occurs.

Buttery breadcrumbs are scatted over the top, and when they form a crusty, golden brown layer, they’re pushed down into the bubbling mixture, and new crumbs applied. This is done several times, creating the dish’s signature texture. A creamy, aromatic, not-too-wet-or-too-dry bean mixture into which is suspended the chunks of succulent meat.

Here, we’re taking lots of short cuts. Chicken thighs replace the classic, and time-consuming, duck confit; canned beans replace dried; and bacon serves as a convenient substitute for other, more involved smoked pork options.

While it will be tempting to dig right into this as soon as the final “gratin” is formed, please follow the advice in the video, and let your cassoulet rest in the hot oven for 15 minutes. This will allow the beans and buttery crumbs to absorb the last of the excess liquid, and make for a better texture.

By the way, please adjust your seasoning depending on the sausage used. Mine was plenty garlicky, so I didn’t add any additional cloves. You’ll also have to taste and alter the salt, depending on whether your bacon and sausage shared enough with the rest of the ingredients. I hope you give this hearty, cold-weather classic a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 large portions:

4 oz bacon, sliced

8 oz spicy, garlicky, smoked pork sausage, sliced

12 oz boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed

1 onion, diced

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups chicken broth, or as needed

2 (15-oz) can white beans, drained, rinsed

1 1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary

1 1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme

cayenne to taste

4 tbsp melted butter

1 cup plain breadcrumbs

1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Next Up: A Quick Cassoulet

Chocolate Mint Brownies – Behold, The Tree of Disappointment

I loved everything about these brownies, except the flavor. I love mint, I love chocolate, and I love chocolate mints, but for whatever reason, I don’t like chocolate mint brownies. It’s quite a personal mystery.

My wife Michele’s theory is that since we love the pure chocolately goodness of classic plain brownies, the addition of that extra layer of flavor, especially one as distinctive as mint, just throws everything off. That could be.

Also, I don’t like the combination of nuts and mint, and so these didn’t contain walnuts or pecans like they usually would. Maybe it’s nut denial that has me in this anti-mint mood. Anyway, enough about my problems, if you like chocolate mint brownies, which based upon all the requests I got, many of you do; you’ll probably love these.

I’ve used a very stripped-down method here that requires almost zero technique, and uses only cocoa powder to achieve a dense, chewy, very chocolatey brownie. I hope you give these a try, and if you don’t enjoy mint either, just leave them un-iced, or add another flavoring like vanilla, orange, or rum extract. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 1/8 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

For the icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp mint extract, or to taste

2 tbsp milk

Italian Rice Croquettes aka Rice Balls aka Arancini – Back by Popular Demand… Aunt Angela and Uncle Bill D’Arduini!

I just flew back from New York, and boy, are my jokes tired (as you’ll hear). So is everything else, and there’s no rest for the weary as I pack for a quick trip to see the team at Allrecipes.com in Seattle. So, time is short, and I’m posting this incredibly delicious Italian rice croquette recipe, sans extra wordy article.

There isn’t much to add anyway; what you see is what you get. This great appetizer was filmed at a recent family dinner at my Aunt Angela and Uncle Billy D’Arduini’s, and if they sound familiar, they should! They’ve been featured on the blog numerous times; in such smash hit recipes as, Cabbage Rolls, Chicken D’Arduini, and Homemade Pasta.

You can definitely do this recipe completely vegetarian, by skipping the giblets, or switch those out for almost any other cooked meat. Sausage, prosciutto, or ham are just a few of the many options.

When it comes to the rice, we used a standard long rain, and went with a 2 parts water to 1 part rice ratio. You want fully hydrated and completely cooked grain. Al dente rice is not going to work here. Slightly overcooked is not a problem.

Anyway, I'd like to thank Aunt Angela and Uncle Bill for sharing their recipe, and I hope you can give it a try soon. It would be a great addition to any party menu. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

*Sorry, I never found out how many this makes, but I’m guessing about 70-80

2 pounds cooked chicken giblets (gizzards and hearts)

2 cups rice cooked in 4 cups salted water

2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp parsley, optional

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

2 large eggs

1/2 cup marinara sauce

salt and pepper to taste

plain breadcrumbs, as needed

vegetable oil for frying

lemon wedges

Heading West

I'll be flying from New York to San Francisco today, so my apologies for any delays in answering comments or emails. I will be back at it on Wednesday with what hopefully will be a fabulous new video recipe (possibly pictured below, but you'll have to wait to see for sure). Stay tuned!

Homemade Chipotle Oil - Better Red Than Dead

There’s nothing wrong with giving homemade holiday gifts, just as long as they’re something somebody would actually want and use. Thanks to things like fruitcakes so dense they have their own gravitational fields, making edible gifts has gotten a bad name, but that’s not an issue with this chipotle oil, especially if that certain someone on your gift list likes the spicy stuff.

As I mention in the video, this could work with lots of different spices, and not only does it look pretty cool, but it's a tasty and versatile addition to any foodie's pantry. Just be careful to stay away from using fresh ingredients, like garlic and green herbs.

I’m too busy (lazy) to go into detail, but if you can run into some serious food born illnesses bottling fresh ingredients, so be sure to thoroughly research any potential additions to these flavored oils. Nothing wrecks that festive holiday vibe like being charged with involuntary manslaughter. Enjoy!

Ingredients to make 2 (8-oz) bottles:

2 cups vegetable oil

2 rounded tablespoons ground dry chipotle

What About Lasagna?

Are you having trouble deciding what classic Christmas roast to do this holiday? Well, maybe that’s a sign you should take things in totally different, and much more Italian, direction. Follow this link to see the Christmas lasagna recipe video I originally posted last December. Enjoy!