Back To Basics

Sometimes you want good, simple comfort food. Sausage & peppers does it for me! I got greedy and ended up spooning the peppers over some pasta, but we'll get to that later.

Start by browning some sausage over high heat-- sweet or hot (or both); it doesn't matter. I used half sweet and half hot. I live on the edge like that.

Remember to brown and not fully cook the sausage - hence the high heat. Once browned, remove the sausage from the pan.

Start your veggies in layers. I know this is called sausage and peppers, but onion and celery never hurt anybody. They wanted to join in the fun and games too. I added the celery first. I hit it with a little salt and pepper and let it sweat until softened. Onions were next, followed by the peppers. Season each layer! Flavor should be built at each stage, not just at the end. After the peppers have started to soften, add the garlic.

As the veggies soften, they start to release their liquid. This will help you scrape up the good

bits of fond on the bottom of the pan. If you thought those burnt bits were no good, shame on you. They add wonderful depth to a dish.

I wanted to hurry up and cook so that I could take a nap. After I got the veggies on their way, I added dried oregano, put the sausage on top, put the lid on the pan and popped it in a 350 degree oven. Of course the pan was my All-Clad Petite Braiser. The domed lid allows more moisture to drip down and baste the food.

About an hour later, BAM!!!

All of that juicy goodness needed to be in a bun, but since I didn't have any, I opted for some pasta. I took some Barilla No-Boil Lasagna noodles, boiled them and made tagliatelle. (Thank you, Jamie Oliver, for the idea.)

Tools of the trade:

• Shun Santoku
• Totally Bamboo Butcher Block
• All-Clad Petite Braiser
• OXO Tongs

Greens Fees

The first time I made these sauteed collard greens, I told one of my aunts. My brother called me two days later and asked, "Who told you you could fry greens?!" Now you understand my family.

Let's get to it. I've adapted this recipe. The original is from Chef Eric Wells in Cleveland. Grab a pot. Add some water. Slice a lemon or two in half and add it to the pot. Heat the water to boiling.

Let's get to work on the greens. Oh, the joy of cleaning greens ...

Grab a leaf. Inspect both sides. You're checking for excessive grit and bugs.

If all is good, fold the leaf in half along the vein and tear the leaf from the vein.

You should end up with something pretty like this.

Drop these beautiful leaves into the sink to soak. Use a good amount of water.

Remember patience is a virtue:

Agitate the water. Let it settle. Lift the greens out as gingerly as possible (to keep from disturbing any sediment on the bottom of the sink.) Place them in fresh water on the other side of the sink. Drain the original water and rinse any dirt out of the sink. Repeat this process until you don't find any dirt in the sink after you remove the greens. I think this picture is after the first soak.

You are now ready to cook the greens. Grab a few of the leaves and roll them into a tight cigar shape.

Slice across the cigar. If you were doing thin slices, the technique would be called chiffonade. We're making much thicker slices.

Place your cut greens into a bowl.

Your lemon-water should be boiling by now. Salt it liberally with kosher salt. Add your greens and cook for 15 minutes. Strain into a colander and then squeeze the excess moisture out of the greens. I just grab a small handful and squeeze by hand. You'll end up with little balls of greens.

After you're done squeezing, unravel the balls. I wish you could keep the bright green color, but oh well.

Now (actually you should do this while the greens are boiling), slice a good amount of garlic. You can chop, mince or press yours if you like.

Since this is for me and I love garlic, I don't mind biting into a toasty slice.

Add olive oil, garlic and red pepper flake to a cold skillet.

Heat on med-low heat until the garlic starts to sizzle. Once you hear that snap, crackle and pop, add the greens and toss them around to evenly blend everything. I like using tongs for this. Check your seasonings.

Plate and hit them with a little fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Watch out now! Sauteed greens!

Tools of the trade:

• All-Clad 4-Qt Pot
• Shun Santoku
• Shun Chef's Knife
• Totally Bamboo Butcher Block
• All-Clad Deep Saute Pan
• Oxo Tongs

Copycat

Purple potatoes! The finished pictures don't do the dish justice (I had to use the flash and it's washed out the color). I'm getting ahead of myself. Thank you Deb at Smitten Kitchen for this recipe. It is excellent!


Start by boiling a pound of purple potatoes.





While those are becoming fork tender, finely chop shallot and garlic. (This is where I make a departure from the original recipe.




Add these to three tablespoons of cold good-quality extra virgin olive oil. Cook over low heat until the veggies soften.



I know these don't look special, but you just wait!

Mash them with a fork.

Add salt (fleur de sel if you have it, kosher salt at the least), freshly ground black pepper, the softened shallot and garlic and infused olive oil. If you're feeling extravagant, add one additional tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.

Add chopped parsley.

Mix everything well.

Wow!

Tools of the trade:

• All-Clad Saucepan
• Shun Santoku
• Totally Bamboo Butcher Block
• Oxo Bench Scraper
• All-Clad Skillet