19: Breakfast Mode: Omelette with Smoked Sausage, Swiss Chard & PepperJack Cheese / Garlic Roasted Potatoes

I think this may only be the third breakfast recipe I’ve posted on this blog. I think chocolate chip pancakes are in order next weekend, but enjoy this meal in the meantime.

I prefer omelettes to scrambled eggs because the omelette allows for more creativity. The smoked sausage and pepper jack cheese provide a nice against the slightly bitter, slightly salty nature of swiss chard. Swiss chard is an amazing vegetable, a super vegetable because of its health benefits, and its flavor profile is similar to beets and spinach. In fact, try substituting swiss chard next time you plan to use cooked spinach.

I made this for two people, and you could easily make this for yourself by reducing the ingredients by half.

Ingredients and Directions:

-4 eggs, beaten

-1 large red potato, halved and then quartered

-1 smoked sausage, diced

-1 leaf swiss chard, chopped (discard stem)

-pepper jack cheese

-garlic powder

-salt and pepper

-olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and start all your prep while the oven warms up. Coat the potatoes in olive oil and salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Roast in oven for 30 minutes.

When the potatoes are 15 minutes from being done, heat olive oil for 2 minutes on medium heat. Add sausage and cook for 5 minutes.  Add eggs to the pan now, and let the eggs and sausage cook until the top of the eggs seems to be cooking, probably 3-4 minutes. Add swiss chard, cheese, salt, pepper, and let cook open faced for 1 minute. Fold over eggs gently to form the omelette. Cook long enough to soften swiss chard and melt cheese, flipping the omelette at least once in the process.  Omelette should be ready at the same time as the potatoes.

Serve and enjoy!!

18: Steamed Mussels / Herbed-Champagne Broth with Smoked Sausage & Fennel / Squid Ink Linguine

You might recognize this recipe as similar to the mussels dinner last night, but the flavor profiles of the broth are completely different. Tonight’s broth was champagne-based, which makes for a lighter sauce. I substitute smoked sausage and mushrooms for the tomatoes and saffron, creating a less acidic and more savory sauce. Additionally, the bread is replaced with fresh squid ink linguine I bought from a local farmer through my Arganica Farm Club membership. Squid ink gives the pasta a subtle sea flavor. I think you’ll like both styles, and, really, it’s just a matter of preference. You could always make both, even on the same night, and let me know which style you like better.

Ingredients and Directions:

-1/3 cup diced onion

-3 minced cloves of garlic

-1 cup champagne

-1 cup seafood/fish stock

-half of a medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced

-mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded (important - google it!)

-1 smoked sausage, diced

-3/4 cup sliced mushrooms

-1 big handful of pasta

-olive oil

-parsley and basil, chopped

You'll want to de-beard your mussels before you do anything else, if necessary.

You’re going to need a pan deep enough to hold two cups of liquid, plus veggies. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Sauté the onions on medium heat until soft, just a few minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute or so. It should start smelling really good now. Now add the fennel, and cook for about five minutes, stirring frequently. Start pasta water while fennel cooks (You may need to start the water sooner if you’re cooking dry pasta). Add the mushrooms and sausage, and cook for two minutes more. Turn the heat to high, add the champagne, fish stock, and herbs. Bring to a boil, and then bring heat to low to simmer for 10 minutes.

Turn the heat back to high on the sauce, and add the mussels. Cover the pan, bring the heat down to medium, and cook for about five minutes. Drop fresh pasta in water for two minutes, drain. Throw away any mussels that haven’t opened.

Serve in a bowl with the broth and all and enjoy!