Cooking Sausage Patties in the Oven

Last year I talked about Bakin' Bacon and how it's the cleaner and quicker method to cook bacon for a crowd.  Well I tested this theory with sausage patties as well, and it worked great.  I love not having to clean grease splatter from my stovetop!  The method is easy, I started with a hot oven and finished them off in the broiler to get them brown and crispy.

Sausage Patties in the Oven
Original Recipe

Sausage Patties
Foil
Rimmed Baking Sheet

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with foil and arrange the patties on the sheet so they are not touching each other (use a second sheet pan if needed).  Bake the sausage for 10 minutes, then flip each patty and rotate the baking sheet back to front.  Bake for 10 more minutes, then broil for 3-4 minutes until the sausage is browned to your preference.

Bakin' Bacon

Mmmmm bacon. I love bacon so much I had a Bacon Party!

Cooking bacon for more than two people can be time-consuming and messy. After today, you can forget about making multiple batches and splattering hot grease all over your stovetop. My secret?  I cook it in the oven. This method is perfect for makin' bacon for a crowd. Just throw it in the oven until it's done to your desired crispiness. And you don't even have to flip the strips! I like to save the bacon fat so once I pour it off, the lingering grease cools/hardens fairly quickly, then just crumple the foil and throw it away.

If you want bacon for breakfast without cooking it every morning, you can it in the oven, then reheat it with a zap in the microwave.  When I make BLTs, I just cook up the whole package for the two of us.  That way we get BLTs two days in a row and only one day of cooking bacon. 

It's surprises me that more people have not heard of this method. I've been doing this for a few years and have no idea where I first heard it, but it's genius.  Now that you know the trick, I hope you'll try it next time you have a bacon craving!

Oven Bacon

Original Recipe
Yield: 4-6 servings

1 lb bacon (I prefer thick cut, but use whatever you like)

2 rimmed baking sheets

Foil

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line baking sheets with foil. Lay the bacon on the foil. Don't be afraid to put them right next to each other, they'll shrink as they cook. As long as they're not piled on top of each other, it'll be fine. Put the trays into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until they're done to your satisfaction.  Timing will vary depending on how thick or thin your bacon is so start checking around the 10 minute mark for thinner slices.  Remove the bacon onto a paper towel-lined plate to degrease a moment before devouring.

BLTs are one of my favs!

Chicken With 40 Cloves of Garlic

I really need to cook more with my dutch oven so I'm dedicating March to dutch oven recipes.  Up first is Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic.  This chicken was amazing!  It was juicy and full of flavor.  I poured the sauce over the chicken and mashed potatoes as if it was gravy, an herby, garlicky gravy.

Normally when I cook a whole chicken, it's pretty basic.  When making this chicken, I looked for something different and wanted to use my dutch oven.  When I found this recipe which includes lemon zest, herbs and garlic, I made my mind up right away.

Don't be afraid of the 40 cloves of garlic.  The garlic flavor becomes less intense and slightly sweetens as it roasts.  So delicious, I love roasted garlic!  By the way, 40 cloves is about two heads of garlic (give or take a few cloves).  Cloves will vary depending on the size of the head and size of the cloves.  You don't have to be exact, just use two good sized heads of garlic.

Here's a tip for peeling all that garlic:  smash the head of garlic to separate the cloves, put everything in a bowl (size doesn't matter), invert a second bowl of the same size over top and shake vigorously.  The agitation will peel most of the garlic for you in very little time.  If you need a visual, check out this video.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma
Yield: 6 servings

1 (~4 lb) chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil
40 garlic cloves (about 2 heads of garlic), peeled
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, minced
Zest of 2 lemons
1/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup chicken stock
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 400. 

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a wide Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Working in batches, brown the chicken, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. 

Add the garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the chicken, rosemary, thyme and lemon zest and stir to combine. Cover the pan, transfer to the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Baste the chicken with the accumulated juices. Continue roasting, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes more. 

Transfer the chicken to a platter; leave the garlic in the pan. Cover the chicken loosely with aluminum foil. 

Set the pan over medium heat and mash the garlic with the back of a spoon. Add the wine and cook for 3 minutes. Add the stock and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer to a warm gravy boat.  Serve the chicken immediately and pass the sauce alongside.

Tomato Soup

Grilled cheese and tomato soup is total comfort food for me.  Who doesn't love it?  When I was little I would only eat tomato soup if I was dipping grilled cheese into it.  Luckily I grew out of this, and I'm on a mission to find a homemade tomato soup worthy of becoming a replacement for canned soup.

Grilled cheese and tomato soup is a meal that we eat frequently once the weather cools down.  I keep cheese and a can of tomato soup in the house at all times.  Now that I see how easy tomato soup is, I'll just keep a few cans of tomatoes reserved specifically for soup instead.  However, this particular recipe will not be my go to for tomato soup.  It had a nice flavor, but it wasn't tomato-y enough to be a standard tomato soup.


Tomato Soup
Adapted from Michael Chiarello

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup and 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 stalk celery, diced

1 small carrot, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup heavy cream, optional

Preheat oven to 450.

Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, to taste, drizzle with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and roast until caramelized, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat 1/3 cup olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaf and butter. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Remove the bay leaf, and add basil and cream, if using. Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth.  Alternatively, you can puree in a regular blender.  Be careful though, you don't want hot soup flying all over your kitchen (especially not tomato soup).


Tips for Blending Hot Soup:
Don't fill the blender more than 1/3 to 1/2 full.
Remove the cap from the hole in the blender lid.
Put the blender lid on tight and cover the hole with a towel.


Full disclosure:  Red Gold sent me a variety pack of canned tomatoes to try.