Corn, Sausage & Leek Chowder. A warm hug in a bowl.

If I was one of those organized people who hosted holiday open houses with Vince Guaraldi playing in every room and Mistletoe hanging above the doorway, I'd serve this soup. Comforting yet not too rich with its brothy stock laden with all kinds of textures, it has everything going for it. And that's before you add toppings!

You can use sweet sausage instead of spicy but I love a little heat against the sweet corn. And if you want it 'meatier' feel free to up the sausage to one pound. I find the ratio below makes this a perfect guys and gals soup though. The dudes feel like they're eating a hearty meal and us gals can still hold our head up and say we had soup for dinner. But if you're in the camp of 'mo sausage, mo betta' cheers to that.

Maybe one year I'll be organized enough to actually host that holiday party of my dreams. Until then I'm just happy knowing I already have the perfect recipe.

Corn, Sausage and Leek Soup
* This soup is great to make ahead and tastes amazing reheated.
* I can't stress rinsing your leeks thoroughly enough. This is best to do once you've halved them lengthwise so you can get the water in between the leaves where fine grit hides.
* Serves 6.

Ingredients:
3/4 pound spicy Italian sausage, loose
2 tablespoons salted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 med sweet onion, chopped
3 leeks, white and light green (not tough) parts only, well rinsed, halved lengthwise then chopped into thin strips crosswise
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus extra to taste
pinch pepper
10 oz frozen corn
32 oz low sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup half and half

Shredded cheddar cheese, for serving
Chopped Fresh cilantro, for serving
Tortilla chips, crushed up, for serving

Directions:
In a large dutch oven, break up the sausage with a wooden spoon and cook over medium heat until cooked through and some bits have become nice and brown and crispy, about 8 minutes. Remove sausage with a wooden spoon and set aside.

To the dutch oven, add 2 tablespoons salted butter and a tablespoon of olive oil. Allow the butter to melt then add the onion. Cook stirring often for 3 minutes then add the leaks. Season with coriander, salt and pepper and continue cooking and stirring over medium heat until the onion is translucent and the leeks are super soft, about 10-12 minutes.

Stir in the corn, chicken stock, and cooked sausage and raise heat slightly so the soup comes to a simmer. Simmer for a few minutes, then reduce heat to low and stir in the half and half. Taste for seasoning. If it's not the most delicious thing you've ever eaten, it needs more salt so make gradual adjustments until it is.

Serve with chopped fresh cilantro, crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheddar and or/any other toppings you see fit.

Manchego and Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms (Magic Mushrooms)

My new favorite way to get cheese into my mouth. These are gluten free and can be prepared ahead and refrigerated for several hours or even overnight for an easy make ahead appetizer. Happy Weekend Y'all!

Manchego and Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms (Magic Mushrooms)

Ingredients:

3 (8 oz packages) Baby Bella mushrooms

½ pound sweet Italian sausage

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon of olive oil, plus more for oiling baking dish

½ cup chopped shallots

2  cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (this adds a particularly wonderful flavor but white wine or maybe even cider vinegar would work)

1/4 tspn paprika

Zest of small lemon

2 tablespoons almond flour (seasoned or plain dried breadcrumbs would work also if not gluten free)

¾ cup shredded Manchego cheese, lightly packed

½ cup crème fraiche (sour cream would work too or even Greek yogurt)

Pinch red pepper flakes

1 ½ tablespoons finely minced green onions

Big pinch fresh ground nutmeg

Parsley, additional chopped green onion or cilantro for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 if making right away.

Clean the mushrooms by rinsing quickly under cold water and patting dry (if you're a purist feel free to hand wipe each one instead - see you in a month.) Carefully remove the stems by pulling firmly and gently from the base where they connect. If the stems are particularly stubborn, you may need to use a small spoon to scrape out the leftover stalk to make room for the filling.

Next chop up enough of the stems (fine dice) to equal half a cup and set aside (you can discard the rest of the stems or save for another use.)

Lightly oil a large casserole dish with olive oil then place the mushroom caps spacing them evenly apart inside, cavity side up. Season very lightly with salt. Set aside.

Next heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up well with a spoon (you don't want super big chunks because you're going to stuff it into fairly small mushrooms.) Once broken up add the half cup of diced stems along with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until the sausage is cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Remove using a slotted spoon to a holding plate and set aside. Meanwhile add a little olive oil to the pan if necessary and let heat through for 30 seconds. Add the shallots with another small pinch of salt and cook for 4-5 minutes until beginning to turn translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook another 2 minutes or until softened.

Raise the heat slightly and add in the sherry vinegar. You want it to bubble a little and reduce until there's just a scant amount of liquid left in the pan. At this point kill the heat and move the skillet off the hot burner.

Carefully stir back in the sausage/mushroom mixture along with 1/4 teaspoon paprika, lemon zest, almond flour, creme fraiche, red pepper flakes, green onions and nutmeg until well mixed. Taste for seasoning and add pinch more salt/pepper if desired.

Use a small spoon to stuff the prepared mushrooms (I have found that if I pile them high enough I can use up all the filling.) At this point you can let them cool, cover and refrigerate for a few hours or even overnight before baking or bake right away in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until the top of the filling just begins to brown and they mushrooms have released their liquid and cooked through.

Cool for 5-10 minutes before garnishing with chopped herb of choice and serving.

Sausage Stuffed Baked Potatoes with Arugula. Not as weird as it sounds.

When Giada made this a couple of years ago on her show I thought - "Nope."

Granted it's hard to make sausage look pretty, particularly when thrown in a baked potato drowning in marinara. But more than that I just thought the whole idea was messy and weird. Arugula? Tomato Sauce? Sausage? Potato? It reminds me of something a pregnant person would crave after accidentally eating a pot brownie.

But as they say, time changes everything. I ordered her latest book (official cookbook hoarder - HELP!), saw this recipe again and went huh, that looks pretty good actually. Just for the record I'm not pregnant nor do I have a stash of pot brownies lying around. Sadly.

Just to blow your mind a little more, I subbed cottage cheese for the mascarpone because I didn't have any on hand. It sure as hell didn't make it prettier but it passed the husband test and my thighs were grateful for the little switcharoo. I also added a slice of fresh mozzarella to the split potatoes before covering them in sauce (sorry thighs.) The cheese melted like butter giving the sauce a nice little place to get cozy in.

Speaking of the sauce it's pretty dang great on its own and would be delish in a more traditional environment. Like say, pasta.

Cheers to facing our fears. And eating them.

Baked Potatoes with Sausage and Arugula
Lightly adapted from Giada De Laurentiis.
Serves 4.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed or chopped
1/2 pound sweet or spicy Italian-style turkey sausage, casings removed
1 1/2 cups tomato-basil or marinara sauce
3 cups baby arugula or basil
freshly grated nutmeg (my addition, out of habit)
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese (4 ounces), at room temperature OR low fat cottage cheese or ricotta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, or to taste
4 baked russet potatoes, 8 to 10 ounces each (see Cook's Note, below)
4 thin slices of fresh mozzarella cheese, optional
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or basil

Directions:
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the sausage and break up the meat into 1/2-inch pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook until browned and cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the marinara sauce and arugula (or basil). Stir in a good pinch fresh grated nutmeg. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the arugula has wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the mascarpone cheese (or cottage cheese or ricotta) and stir until the mixture forms a creamy sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut a slit in the top of each baked potato and gently squeeze the ends to form an opening in the top. Lay over the slices of mozzarella if using, then spoon the sausage sauce into each potato. Garnish with parsley or basil.

Cook's Note: To bake the potatoes: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Using a fork, prick the skins of the potatoes all over. Wrap each potato in foil and bake until tender, about 1 hour. To cook the potatoes in a microwave: Using a fork, prick the skins of the potatoes all over. Place 2 potatoes at a time on a dinner plate. Microwave on high for 8 minutes. Turn the potatoes over and microwave until soft, 6 to 8 more minutes.

Smoked Tomato, Goat Cheese, and Sausage Pasta

The other day I was going through my cabinets when I came across a stove top smoker, still in the box. Oops. I'd bought it over two years ago never used it. I happened to have Roma tomatoes on hand and the next thing I knew I was drizzling them with red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and smoking them.

I let them go for a few hours until they were halfway to the 'sun dried' phase - wilted but not completely shrunken - then tossed them with olive oil, fennel seeds, garlic powder, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes.

At this point I knew I had something special on my hands. Part of me wanted to hoard them in a jar in the fridge but hunger got the best of me and soon I was mixing them into pasta. If I die right now I'll feel like I accomplished something. These tomatoes are that good - rich, smokey and sweet. A haunting combo. They would also make a fantastic appetizer stuffed with a little goat cheese and fresh thyme...but I digress.

If you don't happen to suffer from my gadget affliction and own a stove top smoker, no matter. That can be solved in a matter of seconds. Do it.... DO it....

I can't wait to experiment with what to smoke next!

Smoked Roma Tomatoes, for Pasta, Appetizers, or Anytime
Ingredients:
6 Roma tomatoes, cut in half, length-wise
Red wine vinegar, for drizzling
salt and pepper

Place your stovetop smoker on a gas burner. Add a pinch of cherry wood chips to the center then place the rack inside. Scatter the tomatoes over the rack, cut side up, then lightly drizzle them with red wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Shut the top leaving a half inch crack and set the heat to medium. As soon as you see smoke coming from the crack, shut the top all the way and smoke the tomatoes for four hours, checking on them every half an hour or so after the first hour to make sure you don't need to adjust the heat. (If it's blackening too quickly, lower the heat, if not much is happening after the first hour, raise it a little.)

After four hours, the tomatoes should be thoroughly shrunken and be about half the size they were, but not withered to the sun dried phase. Remove them from the smoker with tongs and toss with the following in a glass or plastic lidded container:

1/4 teaspoon thyme, rubbed between your fingers
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Couple dashes garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 large bay leaf or two small
2 tablespoons olive oil

Set aside until ready to use or cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days. To make the pasta, continue to the following recipe:

Pasta with Smoky Tomato Sauce, Turkey Sausage, and Goat Cheese
Ingredients:
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
1.1 pounds turkey sausage, removed from casing and broken up with your fingers or wooden spoon in the pan
3/4 pound whole wheat pasta (rotini, penne, or whatever you like)
1 cup pasta water (use 1/2 cup to deglaze the sausage/onions in pan, plus as much as needed afterwards to help the goat cheese meld into the sauce)
3 oz goat cheese
3 tablespoons Parmesan, plus additional for garnish
2 teaspoons of fresh thyme leaves plus additional sprigs for garnish

Directions:
Add the butter to a medium/large dutch oven and put over medium heat. Add the onion, season with a good pinch salt and pepper and saute, stirring occasionally until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the sausage and break up with your spoon as you cook it through - about 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add in a handful of kosher salt, return to a boil then add your pasta and cook until JUST al dente, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.

Add 1/2 cup of the pasta water to your onions and sausage to 'deglaze' the pan and help you scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, then use a spider to add the cooked pasta to the pan. Mix well then toss in the goat cheese, parmesan, and thyme leaves. Give a good stir to melt and break up the goat cheese, adding a splash or so of the reserved pasta liquid to help things get along, then add in your smoked tomatoes (and all the oil and seasonings.) Stir again (tomatoes will break up which is fine) and check the consistency to see if you want to add more pasta water to make it more moist and taste for seasoning. Add any salt and pepper if necessary and serve in heaping bowls garnished with sprigs of fresh thyme.

Doughy, Naughty, Cheesy Pigs in Blankets - Happy New Year Loves!

I am writing this as my last post for the year. Dear God - where did it all go? As I write I'm having a little bout of overwhelm-ment (that's a word, right?) and gratitude with all kinds of sappy, retrospective goo filling my brain. But this year was truly special to me for reasons I haven't been able to share on the blog. Maybe one day soon (and no my dears, it's not a baby.) Anyway, I feel beyond, beyond blessed with everything that's happened to me in the past 365 days.

I hope I can share this and much, much more with you in the new year. It's about dang time. I feel like all of you - my darling readers and anyone who happens to stop by this often silent and neglected blog - deserve it. But in the meantime, I want to say that I treasure each and everyone of you - particularly the peeps I have a semi regular dialogue with but also even the most random stranger who leaves a comment and never appears again. Because as is now a cliche thanks to the movie Julie and Julia, blogging can be a very lonely business (if only we all had as many readers as Julia! We'd be sittin' pretty, wouldn't we?)

Alright. Cue the violin music... I am so happy you read me. Be it once or once in a while or regularly. Thank you, thank you, thank you. The funny thing is, as a quasi professional writer by trade, I am blown away by how many amazing writers there are out there. You guys are funny. And witty. And original. So keep it up y'all. Okay, I'm done with my rant. And now - onto the star of the M&PF New Year's Show...

Pigs in Blankets! With cheese! Because clearly I'm on a mission to constipate everyone for the first week of the New Year! ;)

Unlike yeast doughs, you can whip this up and have it the oven in half an hour. The only hitch is you need self rising flour on hand and you have to be willing to play with the dough a little. For example, I can't tell you why but sometimes I need exactly the amount of flour called for and other times a WHOLE lot more... The good news is it is very resilient. Just keep adding spoonful by spoonful until it gets to a constisency you can roll and work with. If it sticks to your hands when you try to pick it up, keep adding...

Doughy, Naughty, Cheesy Pigs in Blankets
* If you're really naughty you can sprinkle some additional cheese over the pastry strips before you add the sausage and roll them up. As they say - you can never be too rich, too thin, or too cheesy.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups self-rising flour, sifted or spooned into the measuring cups with a light hand, plus extra just in case and for flouring board an rolling pin
1 heaping teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
1/3 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup whole milk, lightly warmed for 20 seconds in the microwave, JUST until not cold
1 egg
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
55-60 cocktail sausages

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425.

Add the flour, salt, sugar, mustard and cheese to a large bowl. Stir with a whisk or fork to make friends. In a separate bowl (or even a measuring glass the milk was poured into) take the 1 cup of milk and add in the egg and oil whisking briefly to combine. Set the milk/egg/oil mixture aside while you make a 'hole' in the center of the dry ingredients, then add the milk combination gradually to the dry mixture, stirring or forking as you do just until it's combined.

Do a finger check for the consistency of the dough after mixing. If it sticks to your fingers and therefore won't roll out, add a bit more flour and mix again. Keep doing so until it cooperates with you but be patient because if you dump a boatload of flour in we've just wasted a good chunk of time on a cheese brick.

Once happy with the dough, flour your rolling surface and rolling pin , LIGHTLY, and roll the dough out until it's slightly thicker than 1/4 inch thickness, or just roll until the dough stops stretching/giving outwards, being careful not to go too thin.

From there, use a sharp knife dipped into flour to cut it into 3" long by 1" thick strips. To each strip, lay a mini sausage on one end, then roll up pinching the seemed bottom and placing onto an aluminum or parchment-lined, oil sprayed baking sheet, seam-side down.

Once all assembled (you can put them on 2-3 large disposable pie tins or on 2-3 baking sheets) bake for 12-15 minutes until the tops are JUST light golden brown. Remove and let cool slightly before serving.

I like them with mustard but have ketchup or whatever you fancy on hand to dip.

Frank in Austin and why I must go to there.

1. They serve their drinks in Mason jars.
2. They have bacon infused vodka.
3. They have chocolate dipped bacon.
4. The place is freaking adorable - like a general store from the 1800's as envisioned by Kubrick.
5. It's cheap. An old school jalapeno cheese dog will cost you $3.50 while a specialty sausage dog (everything from venison to rabbit to anything in between) goes for $7.50 - still pennies compared to Trulucks across the street or anything else in the Warehouse District.
6. The Jackalope - their signature antelope/rabbit/pork blend weenie covered in huckleberry jam, Sriracha aioli, and applewood smoked cheddar (pictured above.) Mary might have craved this when she was pregnant with Jesus.
7. Their appreciation for waffle fries and the plentiful ways in which they serve them including 'nacho style' (also pictured above) and Poutine style with cheese curds and gravy.
8. You can order any dog 'pork it' style - wrapped in bacon and deep fried. Anyone who's eaten at Crif Dog in NYC knows better than to turn their nose up at this. In fact anyone who's been to a state fair should know better than to turn their nose up at this.
9. Frank isn't one of those restaurants trying to bring something 'extra' to Austin - on the contrary it's one of the restaurants that makes Austin more Austin just by being here.
10. The alcoholic ice cream float. The only invention known to man to actually allow one to span time. One sip and you're both 12 and 21 at the same time and not a day older.

Visit Frank on the interwebs here.

Sausage Stuffed Bell Peppers with Basil and Sundried Tomatoes

These are for the times when you want to eat 'healthy' but only in the not-calling-out-for-pizza sense of the word. Residual 1990's fat gram counting guilt aside, these are damned delicious. Pour yourself a glass of something cold and zingy and sit down to dinner.

As for you still-in-the-'90's set (you may recognize me - I visit from time to time), feel free to substitute chicken sausage for the pork. Just shake in a hefty pour of red pepper flakes as you mix up the filling and you won't be missing a thing.

Sausage Stuffed Bell Peppers with Basil and Sundried Tomatoes
* These can be served as a main dish (two per person) or as an appetizer or side dish. Adjust your menu accordingly.

Ingredients:
2 large bell peppers or 3 medium, cut in half lengthwise and cored and deseeded

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
1/2 cup ricotta cheese (part skim is fine)
pinch sea salt
few cracks fresh black pepper
zest of 1/2 large lemon (or whole small)

dash olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
2 hot Italian pork sausage links, skin removed and broken up with your fingers or spoon
pinch sea salt
fresh cracked pepper
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds (or more if you really want that licorice tang)
grated nutmeg
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped sundried tomatoes
handful of basil leaves, chopped

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375.

In a large bowl, mix the parmesan, ricotta, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat up a dash of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over low/medium heat. Add in the shallots and saute for 1 minute. Add in the sausage, breaking up with your spoon or fingers as you add it in into large chunks. Season with salt and pepper and cook, continuing to gently break up as it browns into smaller bits (easier for stuffing) and adding in the dash of oil when the bottom of your pan dries out too much. After it's browned about halfway, add in the fennel seeds and nutmeg. Once brown, add in the minced garlic and cook an additional minute, stirring frequently to keep the delicate garlic from burning.

Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes, then add in the entire mixture to the cheese mixture. Add in the sundried tomatoes and basil and stir well.

Stuff the peppers, pushing down to make sure your getting into all the crevices. Once stuffed, drizzle lightly with a smidge of olive oil over the top, and bake for 22 minutes, or until the tops are just brown and the sides of the peppers have begun to wilt and soften.

Just in Time for the Weekend - Sausage and Parmesan Stuffed Mushrooms

Before you read this post, if you need a brief escape from the world, go to youtube and search for 'Jimmy Dean Sausage complaint' (I tried to link it here but my site is being hormonal.) I was just in Texas and saw a woman walking her dogs with a braid down to her ankles stop and do 50 push ups against a rock. You don't mess with Texas. Or a Texan's sausage, apparently.

Anyway, I made these sausage-stuffed mushrooms years ago for a party, loved them, and promptly forgot all about them. It wasn't until this past week visiting family in Texas that they resurfaced again in my tiny brain. Actually, I think I 'forgot' about them on purpose because while they were delicious the first go around, they were a pain in the @$$ to make because I used little button mushrooms which made cleaning and filling them as tedious as hula hooping in a body cast. If memory serves, that was also the party where I was so flustered from running late I forgot to eat and ended up running around with my pants down at the end of the night thinking everyone had left. They hadn't.

So do yourself a favor. Do make these little crack-filled nuggets for company or to snack on during football, but only if you can find the baby bellas about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. My sister and I found them in packages of 6 at her grocery store in Texas, but of course I can't find them now that I'm back in NY (that would be too easy.) So when I make them here, I'll go through the trouble of rifling through the free range mushroom bin to find them all this size. Far less traumatizing than ending up with a gallon of sangria in my stomach and my pants around my ankles...

Sausage and Parmesan Stuffed Mushrooms
(Serves 12 as an appetizer or hor douvre with a salad)

TIP: I know rinsing mushrooms is a culinary 'no-no' (it's said to make them heavy because they absorb the water.) But nothing is sadder in the entire world for a cook than biting into a wonderfully seasoned mushroom that tastes like potting soil. It gives me chills just thinking about it. So for me, I rinse the little bastards. Not for several minutes, but quickly and under hard running water to knock any clinging dirt or grit off. I then dry them off with a paper towel which gives me a chance to double check them for any garden remains. But if you want to stick with the damp towel method - more power to you.

Ingredients:
24 (roughly 2 1/2 inch in diameter) Baby Bella mushrooms, gently and quickly rinsed, patted dry with stems removed so you can fill them
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, finely diced
3/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
pinch fresh cracked black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (16) package ground pork sausage, preferably Jimmy Dean or other trusted brand
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temp
1 (6 oz) tub shredded parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons minced flat leaf parsley
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (just a couple shakes)
pinch red pepper flakes, or more to taste
additional 1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 400.

Heat up a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil (you may need a dash more depending on how large your onion was.) Let the oil heat through for one minute, then add the onions seasoning them with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring every so often until they become translucent, about 12 minutes. Add the minced garlic, give a good stir, and cook another 3-4 minutes until softened.

Transfer the onion and garlic mixture to a large bowl. Add another dash oil to the pan and put back over medium heat. Add the sausage, breaking up with your wooden or plastic spoon and cook stirring every couple of minutes until cooked through (usually about 10 minutes but use your eyeballs and consult the package instructions.) While the sausage cooks, add the cream cheese, parmesan, parsley, nutmeg, red pepper flakes and salt to the onion and garlic mixture, stirring in well to incorporate.

Once the sausage has cooked, use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to the onion mixture (leaving excess grease behind in the pan to discard) and mix well. Set aside.

Grease two large rimmed baking sheets with non stick spray, then begin filling your mushrooms with the stuffing mixture. Use a small spoon to do so, pressing the filling in gently so that it fills up the entire cavity of the mushroom and put a hefty bit of the filling over the top, but not so much that it's falling over the sides. (You could even put additional parmesan over the tops after you're done filling them, but by this point, I'm over it:)

Place in the oven for 15 minutes, then swap the trays to allow for even cooking and cook another 8-12 minutes, until the tops are just becoming golden brown. Remove allowing to cool a couple of minutes before serving.

Mediterranean 'Fajitas' with Halloumi Cheese, Roasted Peppers, Shallots, and Basil

Have you had Halloumi cheese? I hadn't heard of it until a couple of years ago, and now I'm an addict. I've even gotten Kris addicted too. He calls it 'that squeaky cheese.'

Halloumi is traditionally made with both sheep and goat's milk, but I understand that the addition of cow's milk is common when you purchase it in the states. Its origin is a little confusing, with it having ties to both Greece and Turkey. It is often said to have derived from Cypriot cuisine (Cyprus being an island in the eastern Mediterranean.)

But what makes it extra special is the fact that its high melting point allows you to grill it. Literally - you can throw it on the grill next to some bell peppers and slices of fresh Ciabatta for an elegant, quick crostini.

The recipe below sadly doesn't take advantage of its David Blaine-esque/fireproof characteristic, but is delicious nonetheless. And while I admit the piquillo peppers and Halloumi are on the pricey side, I can easily rationalize their purchase by the fact that the whole thing comes together in a half hour and that it's a quasi healthy dinner on the whole.

Mediterranean 'Fajitas' with Halloumi Cheese, Roasted Peppers, Shallots, and Basil

Ingredients:
4 fresh (raw) chicken sausages
2 fat garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the back of your knife
3 large shallots, cut in half length-wise then thinly sliced cross-wise
salt
red pepper flakes, to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil plus extra
1/4 cup vermouth or dry white wine
8 piquillo peppers, halved (or roasted red bell peppers from a jar)
6 oz Haloumi cheese, cut into little 1/4 inch logs
zest of one small lemon (just a small pinch)
couple handfuls of fresh basil leaves, torn

Tortillas, for serving (I used the whole wheat healthy ones - but by all means use what you like!)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400. Take a wide, rimmed baking dish (I use my round 12x12 Le Creuset) and spray it with nonstick spray. Add the sliced shallots and drizzle with olive oil, a little salt, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Mix around the pan with a spoon to incorporate. Add the sausages, spacing them out evenly, then the garlic cloves and drizzle lightly with additional olive oil.

Roast for fifteen minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully pour over the vermouth or white wine to deglaze the pan, loosening any sticking shallots with a wooden spoon. Flip the sausages to the other side, then sprinkle over the halved peppers and halloumi slices distributing evenly throughout the pan. Bake for another 15 minutes, or until the cheese has softened nicely and browned on the edges.

Remove and sprinkle over the lemon zest, stirring around to 'scent' the entire dish, then the basil leaves.

Cut the sausages into slices and serve in warmed tortillas, kind of like a mediterranean fajita, with additional red pepper flakes if desired.