Bobby Flay's Wild Rice, Sausage & Goat Cheese Stuffing

For years, I skipped holiday stuffing opting for more mashed potatoes or starchy corn pudding. Perhaps it was my aversion to raisins (or any fruit in a savory dish) or dislike of those boxed, horribly hard croutons. Then I tried Bobby Flay's wild rice and goat cheese stuffing, and my oh my am I a convert!!  Stuffing is now hands down my favorite part of any holiday meal. We enjoyed it on Thanksgiving, and I will whip it up again this Sunday for the Christmas table. 

While Bobby's recipe is delicious on its own, I've made it enough times to alter it slightly for our tastes. Unsurprisingly to any regular LaurenLivingLocally reader, I added some kale. I also took the sausage down a notch in spiciness to accommodate the mixed palettes of our family. Lastly, I omitted parsley...the cardboard of herbs in my opinion. Otherwise, it is true to the original form and we enjoy every single flavor-packed bite.

The second best part of this stuffing recipe is the leftovers. Poach an egg, serve it for breakfast the next day and I promise you will be one happy camper.  The real question is why do we only serve scrumptious stuffing on the holidays? That has got to change! One of my 2012 food resolutions: Eat more stuffing! 

Bobby Flay's Wild Rice, Sausage & Goat Cheese Stuffing
Courtsey of Bobby Flay & the Food Network

Ingredients

• 2 cups wild rice
• 6 cups water / follow your rice directions
• 1 pound diced sweet sausage (or spicy chorizo if your table can hack it!) 
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 1/2 cup diced carrots 
• 1/2 cup diced celery (optional)
• 1 cup washed, de-stemmed and loosely chopped kale
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 loaf country-style bread, cubed (either day old, or toasted in the oven for crunchiness)
• 2 to 4 cups chicken stock 
• 12 ounces goat cheese
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Kosher salt

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 375 
• Combine the water, rice and 1 tablespoon of salt in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil, reduce to low heat and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, (or follow directions on package).  Drain and set aside 
• Melt the butter in either your final baking dish or a saute pan over medium heat, and cook the sausage, onions, carrots and celery until done.  Add the garlic, herbs & kale, and saute another 2 minutes, mixing frequently
• Combine the bread, goat cheese, 2 cups of stock and rice with the vegetable sausage mixture and mix well to coat and melt the cheese.  It should be very moist, so add more stock if needed.  Add a few cranks of salt & pepper, and either bake in this dish or transfer to a large buttered baking dish
• Bake, uncovered for 25-30 minutes.  Remove and let rest 10 minutes before serving
• If you make this the day before, or want to enjoy it again in the morning, simply add a bit more stock and reheat for 20-25 minutes. 

Getting Started

 

A No-Justice to Deliciousness Final Product Photo 

 

Breakfast Stuffing with a Poached Egg!

Roasted Squash & Carrot Quinoa

These fall gems arrived in my CSA delivery.  On the weekend, my husband and a few of our good friends spent the day catching striped bass on a boat off Montauk point.  The growing baby in my belly kept me ashore, (I LOVE fishing so this baby better be cute ;-) and I cooked up the accompaniments for the evening feast. You may have read about the delicious apple and pear crisp, and the salad below offered a calm compliment to the star of the of menu, fresh stripped bass in a coconut curry sauce.  Recipe for bass to follow!

Roasted Butternut Squash & Carrot Quinoa Salad 

Ingredients 

• 1 butternut squash
• 3 - 4 large carrots
• 1 white onion
• 1/2 log of goat cheese
• 1 cup dry quinoa 
• Fresh Sage
• Handful of arugula or other greens
• Salt, Pepper and Olive Oil

Directions

• Pre heat over to 375
• Peel, chop and cube the butternut squash and carrots
• Finely dice the onion
• Toss the onion, carrots and squash with 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil, 5-6 torn sage leaves, salt and pepper
• Roast in the oven for 35-45 minutes until tender
• Meanwhile, prepare the quinoa as instructed
• When the quinoa is finished, toss with 1/2-1 tablespoon of olive oil to break it up
• After the veggies are roasted, mix the quinoa, veggies, washed greens and goat cheese to coat
• Serve!

About Quinoa

Quinoa is a super food.  High in protein, gluten free and rich in 8 essential amino acids like lysine, Quinoa really is the ultimate grain.  It's also delicious.

Homemade Tapas: Baked Goat Cheese in Peppers, Onions & Tomato

Tapas always reminds me of the Cafe Babareeba in Chicago. You'd think it would remind me of my honeymoon in Spain, or one of the fantastic restaurants here in my adopted hometown of NYC.  Instead, say the word tapas, and I am fondly recalling my first memories of dining without parents with my high school girlfriends.  When asked for restaurants in Chicago, some two!?! decades later, I am still sending people to Babareeba on Lincoln and hoping they enjoy it as much as I have.

One of my first go-to items is actually still on the menu, "Goat Cheese baked in Tomato Sauce." A simple, yet perfectly delicious appetizer.  When our local farmer's market cheese monger suggested a bright and creamy goat cheese last weekend, in a flash I was back at Babareeba, sopping up that perfect little appetizer with good crusty bread, talking about boys, sneaking in the occasional sangria and laughing with my oldest friends.

I've recreated a slightly more filling version below, bulking up the sauce with some gorgeous CSA mini bell peppers and optional sausage.  We plopped the entire pan on a hot plate directly on the table, ripped off hunks of crusty bread and gorged straight from the source. Deliciso!

Goat Cheese Baked in Peppers, Onion & Tomato Sauce

• 12-15 mini bell peppers OR 3 - 4 large bell peppers all red, yellow or orange
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 a large white onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 log of goat cheese
• Olive oil, plus more for the table
• Salt & Pepper
• Optional: 1 link of sweet or spicy sausage of your liking, sliced thinly
• Large loaf of your favorite crunchy bread or baguette

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 
• Dice the onions and peppers into bite size pieces
• Swirl olive oil twice around a cast iron or oven-proof saute pan.  Add the peppers and onions, and saute over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 4 minutes.
• If using sausage, add sliced sausage and cook for 4-6 minutes until done, stirring frequently. 
• Add chopped garlic, salt & pepper, and cook for 1 minute stirring until fragrant.
• Lower heat to low-medium, pour tomato sauce over and cook for a few minutes until the sauce is warmed. 
• Slice goat cheese into 6-8 pieces and place on top of the tomato pepper base. 

• Add the entire pan to the oven, and cook at 325 for 8-10 minutes until cheese starts to melt but doesn't fall apart.  Optional: Turn on the broiler, and broil for another 2-3 minutes to brown the cheese. 
• Remove from the oven.  Divvy onto plates or serve straight from the pan on the table along side a baguette, olive oil and salt for dipping.

Without Sausage                                      With Sausage