Spring Greens with Oranges, Brown Sugared Cinnamon Pecans with Orange Vinagrette and Parmesean Flakes

This salad really strikes the salty, sweet, sour taste elements that when done right are phenomenal.

Spring Greens Salad with Oranges, Brown Sugared Cinnamon Pecans, Orange Vinaigrette and Parmesan Flakes

Salad
1 bag of spring greens mix
2 1/2 oranges
chunk of Parmesan cheese

Nuts
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup whole pecans

Dressing
Juice from the squeezed pith of the sectioned orange but the juice of the 1/2 orange
1 tbsp orange zest
2 tbsp champagne vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Nuts - Heat oven to 400 degrees. Melt the butter. Add the sugar and cinnamon. Place foil on a small baking sheet. On the foil mix the pecans and butter mixture together. Bake at 400 for about 5 minutes. Watch closely as this can burn easily.

Salad - Cut both end of the oranges. Using a zester, zest one orange and finely mince. Set the zest aside for the dressing. Cut the skin and white pith off the orange. Section the orange by using a paring knife and cutting the orange meat away from the membrane. Squeeze the pith into a bowl and reserve the juice for the dressing.

Dressing - Juice the 1/2 orange that has not been sectioned. Mix the orange juice, champagne vinegar, zest, salt and pepper. Whisk in the oil.

Pull the salad together by placing rinsed greens in a large bowl. Add the dressing and mix. Top with the oranges and pecans. With a potato peeler, peel off flakes of Parmesan over the top from a chunk of Parmesan.

Clam Chowder

Finally the cold weather has arrived in Southeastern Ohio so a warm comforting soup is in order. In our area, clams aren't readily available and when they are it is the little neck clam variety.

Typically when making chowder you want to use the larger quahog or top neck clams for a more intense flavor. I recently came across a store that had chopped clams in the seafood freezer section that were beautiful.

Clam Chowder
20 ounces of chopped clams
64 ounces of clam juice
2 cups of vegetable stock
3 tbsp butter
2 stalks of celery - diced
1 medium onion - diced
6 baby red potatoes - diced
4 thick cut slices of baked cut into 1/4 inch pieces
3 tbsp flour
3 bay leafs
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

In a heavy pot on medium high heat saute the bacon. Once crisp remove the bacon and set aside leaving the bacon grease in the pan. Add the butter. When the butter is melted add the celery and onions. Saute until translucent, about 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the flour gradually stirring continuously. Cook the flour coated vegetables for about 1 minute to cook the flour.

Add remaining ingredients with the exception of the cream(clams, clam juice, stock, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper). Bring the chowder up to a gentle boil. Allow to boil for about a minute. Let simmer for about an hour stirring occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. Add the cream in about 15 minutes before you are ready to serve.

Comfort Food for the Black Screen Computer Duldrums- Spaghetti and Tomato Sauce with S'nausage

Sunday morning I woke up after a night of dreaming of food blogging. (Is it uncool to admit that?) Immediately after waking I went to the computer to start by blogging frenzy. Black screen of computer beligerence. Ugh!

What's the best make your heart-and-soul-feel-better-food on a Sunday? How about an Italian dinner?! In my opinion its the mouth feel of spagetti or linguine with a tantalizing sauce. This time, it required a tomato sauce with some fiesty veggies and an al dente pasta.



Spagetti and Tomato Sauce with S'nausage

2 28 ounce cans of San Marzano whole tomatoes
6-8 Italian sausage links
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic - minced
1 medium red onion
8 shitake mushrooms - stems removed and sliced
6 button mushrooms - sliced
1 1/2 tsp crushed red chili flakes
1 tbsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp fennel
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 pound spagetti
grated parmesean

Heat a heavy pan on medium heat. Add olive oil, chili flakes and sausage. Brown the sausage in the pan for about 5 minutes. Add the mushroom, onion, and garlic. Snuggle the mushrooms and onions in and around the sausage. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occassionly.

Empty the cans of tomatos in a large bowl. Squeeze the whole tomatoes through your fingers repeatedly to break the tomatoes down to small chunks. Pour the tomatoes into the hot pan. Add the remaining ingredients (oregano, fennel, salt, sugar, and wine. Simmer the sauce for about 30 minutes.

Cook and drain pasta according to package directions.

Serve pasta with sauce, lean back and relax....no computers....