This recipe is perfect for St. Patrick's Day or a cold rainy fall day.  Simple, almost humble, ingredients that creates a rich Irish stew to warm you up.  It is a perfect way to enjoy the day without having to spend the money on a brisket.  

Irish Coddle
8 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
2 lbs good sausage links
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, diced
1 large leek, sliced thin
2 TB minced parsley
3 lbs potatoes, cut into large bite sized pieces
2-3 cups chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
 
Directions:  pre heat oven to 300.  In a 7qt dutch oven, cook bacon at medium heat.  Once crispy, add garlic.  Cook for 2 minutes.  Remove bacon and garlic and place on a paper towel lined plate.  Set aside
 
Add sausages to dutch oven and cook in the bacon fat.  About 3 to 4 minutes per side.  Remove and cut into thirds.
 
Remove the pot from the burner and layer in potatoes, seasoning with generous pinch (or two) kosher salt, some freshly ground black pepper, and half of the parsley. Next layer in the onions, leeks, sausages (and any accumulated juices), cooked bacon and garlic and the rest of the parsley.
 
Pour broth over top - if you like extra broth add 3 cups. Cover with the lid and place into your preheated oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.  Remove from oven and ladle into bowls, top with chopped parsley and crusty bread if desired.
 

I love fall.  I love Thanksgiving.  Many chef's over the years abhor the holiday because turkey has little flavor.  I am not one of those chefs.  I love the holiday.  The smell of a well seasoned bird as it roasts brings food memories from holidays past.  Did you know that NOW is a great time to begin prepping for the big turkey day?  I am all about taking the time to prepare ahead by making my liquid gold...Roasted Turkey Stock.  Nothing compares to store bought stocks and broths when measured up to freshly made stock.  (Side Note:  What's the difference between stock and broth?  Answer:  Broth is just the meat and bones.  Stock is meat and bones with onion, carrots and celery added in.)  Below is a basic recipe for you use as a base for making your own stock.  Enjoy!

Turkey Stock  
5 Lbs turkey thighs, legs, wings, necks, feet (chicken feet works too).  A mix of all 5 is great 
3 lg onions, quartered (you may keep the skins on, just remove the root end)
2 large carrots, washed, unpeeled, chopped into 3 or 4 pieces
2 celery stalks, washed, chopped into 3 or 4 pieces
2 whole garlic bulbs
6 sprigs of thyme
8 parsley stems
10 black peppercorns
Olive oil

Directions:  Preheat oven to 425.  Place vegetables at bottom of large roasting pan.  Top vegetables with turkey parts.  Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 1 hour 30 minutes or until turkey is golden brown.  Be sure to turn the turkey over every 20-30 minutes.  Stir the vegetables occasionally so they don't burn.  Remove roasting pan and let sit for 5 minutes. 
Add water to roasting pan, enough to fully cover the bottom.  Start placing the meat into a large stock pot.  Once completed, take a wooden spoon and start scraping the bottom of the roasting pan and swirl the water around releasing any stuck bits.  Once complete, pour remaining contents of pan into the stock pot.  Add the thyme to the pot, parsley stems and peppercorns.  Fill the pot with water until everything is just covered.  Place on stove and bring to a light boil.  Reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for 3-4 hours.  Once complete, let cool for 20 minutes.  Remove the turkey and set aside (you can use the turkey for soup, turkey sandwiches or even pot pie  Don't let it go to waste).  Strain the stock with a fine mesh strainer into a different pot.  Let cool.   You can freeze in smaller containers or pressure can it in jars for future use.  

I love Thanksgiving.  Many Chef's hate it.  The turkey is the main reason why.  To me....it's the smell of roasting meat and all the incredible side dishes that accompany it.  It's a lot of work to come up with a menu.  My main goal when creating the meal is to maintain balance.  That means adding some crunch to a dish, using some acidity to cut through the fatty heavy foods and of course butter.  Below is one great recipe I did on eightWest a number of years ago.  I still love making it.  Using local butternut squash and baking it twice changes up the usual soft and overly sweet yams with marshmallows.  Enjoy!

Twice Baked Butternut Squash
1 Large Butternut squash
½ onion diced
6 Slices bacon
2 Cloves of garlic
¾ cup whole milk
6 oz goat cheese
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
2 cups bread crumbs
½ stick of butter
2 TB chopped parsley
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp ancho chili powder
 
Directions:  Heat oven to 375.  Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds.  Coat cookie sheet with non stick spray and cook squash until soft (aprox. 45-60 minutes).  Remove from oven and let cool.
 
Cut bacon into thin strips.  On medium high heat, place a 5 qt pan on stove.  Add bacon and cook.  Keep stirring until bacon is crispy, remove bacon with slotted spoon on to a paper towel.  Add onion and garlic into bacon greased pan and saute until softened. 
 
Scoop out butternut squash and add to pan with onions and garlic.  Add milk, salt, pepper, and goat cheese.  Puree the mix, once smooth, fold in bacon.
 
In microwave, melt butter.  In a bowl, add bread crumbs, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder and ancho chili powder.  Pour melted butter over bread crumbs and mix.
 
In a greased 9 x 13 pan, add sweet potato mix, top with bread crumbs and bake until top is golden brown.  Serve immediately.

Winter and soup have so many tasty directions you can take.  Broth based is at the top of my list.  This Beef and Cabbage soup is outstanding with all the fresh flavors.  I used local vegetables from Crisp Country Acres and the ground beef mixed with heart from Country Dairy.  All procured from my friends at West Michigan Farmlink.  Do not fret if you cannot get local vegetables.  Using fresh veggies is the key to making this great soup.  Enjoy!

Beef and Cabbage Soup
3 TB olive oil
1 onion, Diced
3 Carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
4 cloves of garlic
1lb Ground Beef
4 cups rough chopped cabbage
8 cups beef broth
¾ Cup long grain white rice
2 TB brown sugar
1 28oz can petite diced tomatoes
3 TB sherry vinegar
2 bay leaves
¼ cup chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:  Heat olive oil, onion, garlic, celery and carrots on medium.  Saute until onions are translucent.  Add ground beef and brown.  All remaining ingredients with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Stir, raise heat to medium high and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 45 minutes until rice is fully cooked.  Remove bay leaves and taste the soup.  Add more salt and pepper if necessary.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and chopped parsley if desired.

I love soup.  Hearty soups with a broth base are my favorites.  This White Bean soup is one of my new favorites.  Loaded with fresh beans, kale and sausage turns the soup into a filling savory meal.  The reason dried beans are used instead of canned is because of the flavor they add to the soup.  Dried beans add an earthy flavor, something canned beans cannot give.  This recipe is simple to prepare.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

White Bean, Kale and Sausage Soup
1lb dried white beans (pinto, cannelloni, great northern), soaked over night in water
1 large onion, diced
7 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 TB olive oil
3 stalks of celery, sliced thin
4 carrots, sliced
1lb bulk sausage (I used Hehlden Farms kielbasa)
2 smoked ham hocks
8 cups chicken stock (turkey stock works too)
1 cup white wine
Parmesan rind (about 3 inches by 1 inch, less is ok)
2 TB chopped rosemary
2 bay leaves
3-4 cups chopped kale (Lacinato Kale)
2 TB rice vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Shredded Parmesan for garnish

Directions:   Soak beans in water overnight.  Heat a stock pot at medium high with olive oil, add celery, onion, garlic and carrots.  Saute for 5 minutes, stirring often.  Add sausage.  Break it up and saute until fully cooked.  Strain dried beans and add them to the pot, stir.  Add stock, wine, Parmesan rind, ham hocks, rosemary and bay leaves.  Bring to a light boil, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 45 minutes, stir often.  Add Kale.  Simmer for 30 minutes, remove ham hocks and let cool.  Simmer for 15 minutes, remove bay leaves, add rice vinegar, cut off any bits of ham (there will not be much) and add it to the pot..  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Garnish with Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil

Cote de Beouf.  An old school French method of serving a really good thick steak!  The name alone can be a turnoff for those who do not have strong faith in their cooking abilities.  Do not fear....this is a simple dish to make.  All you need is patience and a great cut of beef.  Which cut you ask?

A thick good quality Ribeye is they key.  For presentation...a bone in ribeye.  You do not need the version I procured from my friends at The Grilling Company,  which by the way is a Tomahawk Chop.  Impressive, isn't it?  The reason yo want a good quality ribeye....the fat.  See the thin veins of fat going through the meat.  That is a good sign of a great cut of meat.  Those fat lines mean flavor.  Essentially...fat is flavor. 

Now for the cooking.  I removed the ribeye 1 hour before I was set to cook it.  The goal is to get it up to room temperature.  With 15 minutes remaining to warm it up, light up all the burners on your gas grill (I lit all 5 of mine).  Then season the meat generously (I mean generously) the top, bottom and sides with Maldon Sea Salt and cracked pepper.  Nothing else.  Next up is the cooking.  Turn off the middle burner, place the meat directly over that turned off burner, close the lid and start cooking.  If you do have 5 burners, after 5 minutes, turn the burners next to the steak down a quarter turn.  This is to prevent the very large fire that might happen as the fat melts off the steak.  After 10-15 minutes, flip the steak, close lid, keep cooking for another 10-15 minutes.  Then.....let it rest for 15 minutes.

While the steak is almost done resting, heat a cast iron skillet or saute pan on medium high heat.  Let it get good and hot.  Once meat is sliced (FYI, cut away the thick fat layer around the meaty middle section. The meat and fat you cut off is still edible and great to soak up what will be left in the cast iron skillet.  Cut the middle section up into slices).  Add 5 Table Spoons of butter, 3 cloves of garlic and two large sprigs of thyme to the pan.  Remove from heat.  Place sliced meat into pan.  Coat with bubbling butter, top with parsley and a good pinch of sea salt.  All that's left is a buttery garlic and smokey goodness.  Enjoy each and every bite!

A dear chef/writer friend suggested last week that we should do a Thanksgiving Sunday.  We were busy discussing meals we had made with other chefs on Facebook.  I was excited.  What was I going to do? What recipes would I try?  I can easily say, I was like a kid waiting to open presents at 5:30am on Christmas morning.  So, Amy Sherman, currently seen doing food stories with John Gonzales for MLive doing Michigan's Best Searches and I set out to do a home bound Thanksgiving meal.  If we ever needed a reason to do this, I think a stay at home order is all we need.  Below are the pictures (as best as I could get) of my meal.  If you know me...I am not a lengthy blogger.  Each Pic will have a description and some of them will have recipes.  During this stay at Home Order....take the time to get creative with your meals, post on my FB page pictures of those meals...have fun and be safe!

Chantilly Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan Crust
I used Food and Wine's recipe which turned out great!

Sourdough Sweet Potato and Cranberry Dressing
3 cups sourdough bread, 1 sweet potato (diced, about 1 cup), 1 celery stalk sliced thin, 4 cloves of garlic(chopped), 1/2 cup diced onion, 1/2 TB chopped rosemary, 1/2 TB chopped sage, 1 TB chopped parsley, 2 TB butter, 3 to 4 cups turkey or chicken stock (warmed), 1/2 cup dried cranberries.  Directions:  saute vegetables at medium heat in butter.  Add some olive oil if it gets too dry.  Add to bowl with bread, herbs, pinch of salt and pepper, and cranberries.  Toss in 1/2 of the warmed stock.  If still too dry, add more stock.  Place in a greased casserole dish, cover and bake at 425 for 45 minutes until internal temp is 165.  Serve.

Corn and Bacon saute with Foraged Green Onions

Roasted Turkey Gravy.  Made with what I call "liquid gold"..aka Roasted Turkey Stock

Green Bean Casserole prepared from scratch.