Italian Sausage Stuffed Jalapenos

Italian Sausage Stuffed Jalapenos

Serves: 6

Italian Sausage Stuffed Jalapenos 

This is my second jalapeno appetizer. I mistakenly planted two jalapeno plants and they are prolific. I had to figure out some additional recipes featuring these relatively mild peppers. Removing the seeds and ribs not only makes room for the stuffing but also greatly decreases the heat. A mature jalapeño fruit is 2–3½ inches long and is commonly picked and consumed while still green, but occasionally it is allowed to fully ripen and turn crimson red. Good-quality Jalapeno peppers should be firm, smooth-skinned and have solid green coloring. Dry lines are not a blemish. They are signs of a mature pepper and indicate hotness. Avoid peppers that are soft, bruised, or have wrinkled skin or spots of mold. It is considered a moderately hot chili. However, chili peppers are an amazingly complex product. The region, climate, growing conditions, time of harvest all has an impact on the heat. The only real test is to taste one.

This recipe makes a lot of stuffing. Since it is hard to estimate the size of the peppers for stuffing, I would advise to make this quantity and use any leftovers to stuff tomatoes, poblanos or baked potatoes.

• 15-20 jalapenos, cut in half, seeded and deveined.
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 1-pound mild Italian sausage, casings removed
• 2 Tb minced red onion
• 2 Tb minced red bell pepper
• 1½ Tb minced garlic
• 1 C mascarpone or cream cheese
• 3 Tb grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt & Pepper
• ¼ C shredded mozzarella cheese
• Chopped chives for garnish

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and set a rack in the middle of the oven. Place seeded and de-veined jalapeno halves on a sheet tray and roast for 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool.

Heat 2 tsp canola oil in a medium sauté pan. Add 1-pound mild Italian sausage and cook 7-10 minutes, breaking it up with wooden spoon. Alternatively, if you cannot get the sausage to adequately break down to small piece – you could put the cooked meat into a food processor and pulse it a few times. Return sausage to the sauté pan, add the onions, red bell pepper and garlic and cook to soften for about 5 minutes. Remove and place in a large bowl to cool to room temperature. Then add mascarpone and Parmesan and season to taste with salt and pepper.

The sausage stuffing

....now with the cheese.

Turn broiler onto medium. Place approximately 1 Tb of mixture into each jalapeno half, and top with ½ tsp of mozzarella cheese. Place the sheet tray of stuffed peppers in the oven and broil until mozzarella cheese melts.  Sprinkle with chopped chives just before serving.

Ready for the broiler

Serve with beer, Sauvignon Blanc or a Pinot Gris and enjoy!

Larue

Chicken Schnitzel with Lemon Caper Sauce

Chicken Schnitzel with Lemon Caper Sauce

Serves: 4

Chicken Schnitzel with Lemon Caper Sauce

Traditional Weiner Schnitzel, a breaded veal scaloppini, is a classic dish served with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. I actually prefer to make it with chicken breast that is coated in Japanese panko crumbs, which are now available in the Asian section of most grocery stores. They make the extra crunchy exterior that works so well with a quick brown butter sauce of capers, lemon juice and parsley. This same technique would work equally well with traditional veal or turkey.

You will find this to be an extremely easy and quick mid-week meal. As always, the quality of the outcome depends on top quality ingredients. Quality chicken breasts are key in this recipe – you will want it nice fat boneless chicken breast halves. In San Diego we are blessed with access to local farmers, humanely raising chickens for distribution at Farmers Markets. I also love Rosie Organic Chicken, a free-range chicken farm located in Petaluma and Organic Smart Chicken located in Nebraska. Rosie’s are distributed on the West Coast – they can be found easily in grocers featuring organic products. Smart chickens are widely distributed across the US.  Both are certified organic and humane.

• 4 – 6oz chicken breast halves, skinless and boneless
• 1 C all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1½ C panko crumbs
• 6 Tb (3 oz) unsalted butter
• 2 tsp small capers, drained, rinsed and minced
• 2 Tb fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tb chopped Italian parsley
• Canola Oil
• Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Sliced – quartered – fresh lemon – garnish, optional

Trim away any fat or sinew on 4 – 6oz skinless, boneless chicken breast halves. If the small filet is still attached to the underside of the breast, remove by pulling it off. Cut away the sinew that runs through the fillet. Set aside.

To butterfly a chicken breast, place it on the cutting surface, skin side up with the thickest side of the breast towards the sharp knife. Carefully place your non-cutting hand over the chicken breast to hold it in place. Hold the knife so that the blade is horizontal to the cutting surface in the center of the breast. Draw the knife almost through the breast, splitting the breast horizontally, but leave the far side of the breast attached. Open up the breast like a book. Repeat with the remaining breasts.

Butterflying the chicken breast

Lay a large piece of plastic wrap on the counter. Top with a butterflied chicken breast and then cover with a second piece of plastic wrap. Pound the breast with a smooth surface meat pounder. Lift the plastic, rotate the breast 45 degrees, replace plastic and pound again. The finished scaloppini will be about 6-inches by 7-inches and even thickness. Set aside and repeat with the remaining breasts.

To cook the schnitzel, season both sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Spread 1 C flour in a large dish. Place 3 beaten eggs in a large dish and 1½ C panko crumbs in another large dish. Preheat oven to 250 degree F. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.

 Put ¼-inch of canola oil in a large frying pan. It may be necessary to cook the chicken in a few batches. Be sure the oil is quite hot before adding the chicken to sauté. If it is not hot enough, the chicken may stick to the pan. Quickly dip both sides of the butterflied chicken into flour, then egg and finally panko. 

Breaded chicken

Immediately place into the oil. Do not crowd them. As the bottom browns, tilt the pan and using a large spoon, baste the top of the schnitzels with the hot oil. This will begin to cook the top and will shorten cooking time once turned. When the first side is browned, turn the piece over. Adjust the heat as necessary. The total cooking time should be about 4 minutes. Remove the schnitzels to the paper towel and place into the warm oven. Continue to coat and cook the remaining pieces.

As you finish the last batch of chicken, place a small saucepan with 6 Tb unsalted butter over medium high heat. Let the butter bubble and cook until it is browned. It will be a nutty color, however be careful not to let the butter burn. Add 2 tsp of chopped, rinsed capers, 2 Tb fresh lemon juice and 1 Tb chopped parsley to the butter. Stir for a few seconds.

Browning the butter

Lemon caper sauce 

Arrange the chicken schnitzels on individual serving plates or a platter, and then pour the hot browned butter over the schnitzels.  Serve with sliced lemon if desired.

We love this dish.  It is quick and simple. Normally pairing chicken with wine is a breeze: chardonnay, pinot noir, Beaujolais or even an aged Cabernet Sauvignon.  But this dish with its wonderful lemon sauce could compete with the reds. I would love it with Champagne, especially a rose, but an unoaked Chardonnay, Riesling or a California Sauvignon Blanc would be divine. No matter what you choose, make this dish. You will love it too!

Larue

Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Mango

Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Mango

Serves: 6

Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Mango

This is a wonderful vegetarian dish. It could serve as a substantial starter or add some fried firm tofu or chicken and you have a main course. The refreshing nature of the cold soba noodles, the sweet sharpness of the dressing and mangoes and muskiness of eggplant – it just could not be more perfect. Other fried vegetables could also be added – wander through your refrigerator and see what you can find. I love adding roughly chopped Marcona almonds on top just for a little crunch. 

Soba is the Japanese name for buckwheat and synonymous with a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour. It has a correspondingly strong, nutty flavor. Generally we find dried soba in packets, but keep your eyes open for fresh soba at Asian markets.

Soba pasta

• ½ C unseasoned rice vinegar
• 3 Tb sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 jalapeno or ½ fresh red chili, finely chopped
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 C sunflower oil (divided)
• 2 large eggplants cut into ¾ inch dice
• Salt
• 8 to 9 oz soba noodles
• 1 large ripe mango, cut into ½ inch dice
• 1¼ C basil leaves, chopped, divided
• 2 C cilantro leaves, chopped, divided
• ½ medium red onion, very thinly sliced
• Chopped Marcona almonds – optional garnish 

In a small saucepan gently warm the ½ C vinegar, 3 Tb sugar and ½ tsp salt for up to 1 minute, just long enough to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and add 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 chopped chili and 1 tsp sesame oil. Allow cooling, and then adding grated zest and juice of 1 lime. Set aside.

Heat up sunflower oil in a large frying pan and shallow-fry 2 large diced eggplants in three or four batches. Once golden brown remove to a colander, sprinkle liberally with salt and leave there to drain and cool for at least 15 minutes.

Eggplant in our garden...

...and then diced.

Bring a large pot of water up to a boil. Unlike Italian pasta, you do not need to salt the water for soba noodles. Once it is boiling, hold the noodles over the water and sprinkle them in strand by strand. Once all the noodles are in, stir gently so that they are all immersed in the water. Bring the water back up to a gentle boil, and then lower the heat so the water is just simmering. (This differs from the rolling boil that is recommended for pasta.) If the water threatens to boil over, add about ½ C of cold water. But, if you lower the heat to a gentle simmer and have a big enough pot, this should not be necessary. Cook for about 6-8 minutes, or following the package instructions. Test by eating a strand – it should be cooked through and not mushy. Drain the noodles into a colander. When you are draining the hot water you may notice that it smells quite “floury”. This is what you want to get totally rid of. Rinse thoroughly under cold water. You want to wash the noodles. Take handfuls and gently swish about under running water.  Your goal is to wash off any trace of starchiness or gumminess on the noodles. When you are done the water should run clear. Shake off as much excess water as possible, and then leave to dry on a dishtowel.

Draining the steaming noodles

Drying the noodles

In a mixing bowl toss the cooled noodles with the vinegar dressing, 1 large diced mango, cooled eggplant, ¾ C chopped basil, 1 C chopped cilantro and thinly sliced ½ red onion. This can sit at room temperature for up to 2 hours. When ready to serve add the rest of the basil and cilantro and mix well. Then, pile on a plate or bowl and serve.  Sprinkle with chopped almonds if desired.

Diced mangos 

Fresh basil (again from our garden)

This is quite refreshing and unusual. You, your family and your guests will appreciate the flavors, and healthy aspects in addition to the probably introduction to soba noodles. Give them a try – you will not be disappointed.

Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Mango

Wine pairing can be challenging given the vinegar-based dressing. Beer and sake, of course. Champagne of course…but then, I always love champagne! Other wines that would likely work since the dressing is also quite sweet: Riesling or Viognier. Give them a try and let me know what works in your home.

Larue