Ron’s Bistro Chicken and Sweet Pepper Soup

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2 bone-in and skinned chicken thighs
2 – 4” lengths of your favorite sausage (Cut to 1 inch pieces), I use Andouille
6 small potatoes – cut in half – leave skin on
½ orange or red bell pepper – sliced on a mandolin
½ yellow bell pepper – sliced on a mandolin
½ green bell pepper – sliced on a mandolin
½ red onion – sliced on a mandolin
½ small yellow onion – sliced on a mandolin
1 large carrot
1 TBSP Olive oil
½ TBSP herbs de Provence (I grow my own herbs and blend 5 herbs for this dish Herbs de le Ron)
2 cloves garlic – cut into coins
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 ½ cups of chicken broth
Sea Salt
1 tsp peppercorn
(You can spice this up with red pepper flakes or Jalapeño pepper)

In a large pot add peppercorns and oil to the pot and brown the chicken. Add the chicken broth and carrots and boil for 20 minutes. Remove the chicken and cool, remove the skin and cut the chicken into spoon size pieces. Strain the broth of fat and peppercorns.

In a clean large pot, add oil and sauté the onions and peppers. Add everything to the pot and cook for 20 minutes.

Serve

As of 5/6/23

Ron’s Bistro Italian Sausage and Cannellini Beans

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¼ Dried Porcini Mushrooms rehydrated in ½ cup water

2 Italian Sausage links cup into bitesize pieces
½ chopped yellow onion
¼ Napa cabbage cut in half longways and then ½” sideways
1 15oz. Cannellini Beans w/juice
½ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic
1 TBSP olive oil
½ cup chicken broth

Add the oil to a large pot (I use a cast iron Dutch oven)
Brown the sausage
Add the onion and sauté
Add all the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil and then simmer 30 minutes.

Serve

5/3/23

Italian Sausage

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This is also a good recipe for Italian meatballs. You can substitute beef for pork or blend a combination of both.

Italian Seasoning
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried savory

Chop all in a small food processor to make it finer.

Sausage
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning (from above mixture)
• ¾ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp fennel seeds
• ¼ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp red pepper flake
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 lb. batch of pork shoulder and add ¼ lb. pork belly fat (skin removed)
• 1 3-foot length sausage casing (29-32mm, 1 1/8″ – 1 1/4″, Natural Hog
• ¼ cup water

Open one end of the hog casing and fill a little with running tap water. Squeeze the water through the case. Do this a couple more times to clean the inside of the casing. Soak the casing in water with a touch of vinegar for an hour. This makes the casing easier to chew when cooked with the casing on.

Cut the meat into ½ inch cubes. This makes it easier to grind the meat through a small grinder setting on a KitchenAid grinder attachment. In the KitchenAid mixing bowl, add the sausage ingredients to the meat and the ¼ cup of water. Attach the mixing paddle and mix the meat, seasoning and water 2 minutes. Place the mixing bowl in the refrigerator. Need to always keep the meat cold to preserve the fat.

Setup the KitchenAid with the casing stuffer and stuff the casing. Roll the casing on the counter to get it even meat. About 4 inches from one end pinch the sausage and turn the link away from you. Another 4 inches down the same but roll the link towards you. Do this until the entire casing is completely linked. Place in the frig in a sealed container overnight if you will use the sausage the next day or you can place the links in a freezer bag and freeze until use.

Note: In the pic above I removed the casing. I will be making a Ragu today and like to brown the meat without the casing on first. If you like serving a link alongside spaghetti, then you might consider leaving the casing on while cooking the sausage in the sauce.

As of 5/3/23

Meatballs

½ lb. ground beef
½ lb. ground pork
9 saltine crackers run through food process to make fine crumbs
2 eggs
Parmesan cheese grated
1 tsp dried parsley
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder

Mix in a KitchenAid 2 minutes

Weight out 1.75 oz. per ball and form into a ball

Bake 350° for 45 minutes or until brown

Coconut Curry (Turmeric) with Pork

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Serves 2

¼ head of Napa cabbage (a lengthwise quarter) this is optional
1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces ground pork lion chopped into cubes(chicken will work also)
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 ½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
½ Serrano pepper or Jalapeño pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, sliced into thin coins
1 5.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
Steamed rice, lime wedges, and cilantro leaves. You might also like to sprinkle cashews or pistachios
Kosher salt

Toss cabbage with a pinch of salt in a metal mixing bowl.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat add pork and brown. Brown all sides.

Add onion, season with salt and sauté with the meat. (3 minutes).

Add 1 tsp turmeric, ginger, garlic, and pepper stirring often. Cook 4–5 minutes.

Add coconut milk to a simmer. Reduce 5 minutes. Season with salt and ½ tsp turmeric.

Line the bowl with cabbage, add rice, spoon on the meat and veggies, add sauce and top with cilantro.

5/1/23