Mariette's Sausage Buns (are really rich!)

I love going through cookbooks. And you have no idea how weird it is that I just wrote that.

My dad gave me a cookbook that I really wanted for Christmas. I found it while I was Christmas shopping, and immediately lusted for it. It was the picture of the "chocolate nutmeg cupcakes & glossy coffee frosting" that really did me in, but the first thing in the book I made was Mariette's Sausage Buns. The picture looked so incredibly, wholesomely rustic that they just begged to be made. So I did. I don't know if rustic usually equals incredibly buttery and rich, but these buns are both.

The recipe credit goes to Yvette Van Boven (and her mom), but the discovery that if you are going to go skiing, you should probably pack sausage buns for lunch is mine. These are not low-cal folks. There is enough meaty, buttery goodness to keep these buns from freezing solid on a cold day, and enough caloric power to blast you down the slopes of your choice.

Van Boven states that this is one of the oldest recipes she has. You should make them, don't you think?

(One last note. There is a bunch of writing coming up. Mostly things I learned making these buns. Don't be discouraged and think all the writing means they are hard to make. They are decidedly not hard.)


Be sure to see my note about crimping the ends of these yummies!

You will need...

For the Filling
2.25 lbs ground sirloin
1 egg
3 Tbsp ketchup
1/3 cup ketjap manis (This is an Indonesian sweet soy sauce. I couldn't find it here, so I added a little sugar to my Braggs amino/soy sauce and called it good.)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp allspice
1 Tbsp grated nutmeg (ideally fresh, but mine wasn't)
2 Tbsp prepared mustard (I used a dijon)
handful of diced bread crumbs
dash of Tabasco sauce
1 tsp salt

To Wrap and Bake
oil or butter for greasing
1 egg, beaten
15 sheets of puff pastry, thawed... TAKE NOTE: This is an Irish recipe. Before this, I had never, ever bought frozen puff pastry before. At the store, the boxes each contained TWO sheets of pastry. I couldn't believe I was expected to buy 7+ boxes of pastry. It seemed inconceivable. And really expensive. And I wasn't going to do it. This resulted in a bit of grocery paralysis, as I already had all the other ingredients required in my basket. Finally, the price decided it for me. I would buy two boxes, four sheets total, and see what happened. What happened is I discovered that ONE U.S. pastry sheet apparently equals FOUR Irish pastry sheets. So don't buy 7+ boxes. Either make your own (which is easy as it turns out), or buy two boxes and cut each sheet into quarters.

What to do...

1) First, make the filling: Combine all filling ingredients in a big bowl and mix thoroughly. You may want to use your hands to get a good mix. For the bread crumbs, add only as much as necessary to make the filling smooth and consistent, but not too moist and definitely not sticky.

2) Preheat your oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. (The original recipe states that you can alternatively grease the baking sheets. This would keep the buns from sticking, but I recommend using the parchment paper, as it will absorb a bit of the excess grease from the buns. A greased baking sheet will not...)

3) For each pastry sheet, make a "sausage" of the ground meat mixture. Fold the pastry around the mixture and press the edge firmly with your fingertips, then crimp with fork. Continue until all meat and pastry sheets are used. IMPORTANT NOTE: In Van Boven's recipe picture, the ends of the buns are not crimped. If you look at mine, you will see the ends are crimped. I crimped because there was enough pastry to do so, but I highly suggest not crimping the ends unless you are taking the buns on your ski trip. My feeling is that the end crimping held in excess grease from the meat. Without the end crimp, the grease could have drained out and been absorbed by the parchment paper. They still taste great crimped... but again, higher cal.

4) Arrange the rolls on the lined baking sheets and brush them with the egg. Bake 25 - 30 mins, until golden brown.

Yvette Van Boven suggests eating the buns with an apple & tomato chutney. I haven't made this yet, and the buns were great without it!

Mushroom and Black Bean Tortilla Casserole

A little over five years ago I had a dishwasher. And not just any dishwasher. I know that there is some disagreement over husbands giving wives appliances as gifts, but that dishwasher was a beauty. My husband found it at the local REstore (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), and immediately bought it for Christmas. At the time we were remodeling our house, had little money, and this dishwasher was more than a deal. It was a Fisher & Paykel stainless steel, two drawer glory. I can't help it. Here she is:
Fisher & Paykel : DD24DCX6 Semi-Integrated Double DishDrawer - Stainless Steel with LCD Display

Now you know what I'm talking about.

We got it cheap, replaced a part, and were off and running. Yes! Running the dishwasher. Our evenings were completely changed. Suddenly, "buzzing up" the kitchen after dinner meant we really could whip things into shape in ten minutes. And it was quiet. And it washed the dishes. Sadly, shortly after we moved onto our last boat and rented out our house, the Fisher & Paykel gave up the ghost. An exact diagnosis was never reached, but I suspect it missed me too much to go on. Sometimes, the feeling is mutual.

But instead of carting myself off to the appliance recycling center, I continue the hunt for meals that use a minimum of dishes, and hence require a minimum of washing up. Because now, I wash the dishes, and I don't want very many. This recipe tastes good, and is conservative in dish use. Win!

Mushroom and Black Bean Tortilla Casserole

You will need...

2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 lb. cremini or button mushrooms, trimmed and quartered (I just used standard white/brown mushrooms)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
coarse salt and ground pepper
reserved cooked black beans, or 1 can (15.5 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained (Why I don't use canned beans)
8 corn tortillas, warmed and halved (I warmed mine in a cast iron skillet, no oil, one at a time)
2 cups salsa
1 1/4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I think I used at least two cups...)

What to do...

1) If you have an oven, preheat to 400 degrees. If you don't have an oven, you will use your Dutch Oven, so move on to step two.

2) In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until browned ~7 mins. Add garlic and cayenne; season with salt and pepper.

3) Add black beans and stir to combine. Cook until beans are warmed through, 2 mins. Remove from heat.

4) If using Oven, arrange 5 tortilla halves in a 2 quart baking dish. No oven, arrange 5 tortilla halves in a lightly oiled Dutch Oven. Top with half the bean mixture and 1/2 cup salsa, then sprinkle with 1/3 the cheese. Repeat with another layer of tortilla halves, bean mixture, salsa and cheese. Top with remaining tortilla halves, salsa, and cheese.

5) If using Oven, cover with foil and bake until center is hot and cheese melts, ~10 mins. Uncover and bake until cheese is bubbling, ~5 mins. If using Dutch Oven, cover with lid and heat over very-low heat until center is hot and cheese melts.

6) Yum!

Lady's First Enchiladas

These are the enchiladas (my first!) that I made while staying at my sis's house while our boat was hauled out of the water. It is kind of a "cheater's" recipe, as it calls for you to purchase a rotisserie chicken. I thought, "No way! I'll cook my own chicken just fine thank you." But then I went to the store, and hunted through all the packages of chicken, and couldn't find one I liked for less than seven or eight bucks. Seven or eight bucks? That's how much a rotisserie chicken is! AND, I convinced myself, I'm running short on time... A friend was coming to dinner, and I was a bit behind schedule. Obviously, I needed to buy a rotisserie chicken.

Finally, I consoled myself (and you should too), there would be leftover chicken for lunch the next day, or maybe shredded for breakfast burritos.

Rotisserie chicken in hand, I headed back to the house to get things rolling, and I found this recipe to be quite easy to make look and taste good.

(But there are no pictures... the camera was commandeered for our boat haul out.)

From Cooking Light
Serves four
You will need...

olive oil for baking dish
1 cup chopped white onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper, any color
1 10oz. can enchilada sauce
2 cups chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
1 cup shredded, cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1) Preheat broiler. Yes, I had my sister's oven for this one!

2) Warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and pepper and sauté until crisp-tender, about 2 mins. Add enchilada sauce; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

3) In medium bowl, combine chicken, 3/4 cup of cheese, and cumin, tossing well.

4) Warm small pan over low heat and quickly warm tortillas, one at a time. Warm each side of tortillas, heating so that they are soft and flexible but not browned.

5) Spoon 1/4 cup chicken mixture in center of each tortilla; roll up. Place tortillas, seam sides down, in a lightly oiled 11 x 7-inch baking dish. Pour sauce mixture over enchiladas; broil 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup cheese evenly over enchiladas, and broil for 1 minute or until cheese melts.

6)Serve with sour cream and cilantro.