Perogies with Sausage and Chard

I made this for dinner tonight and found it very tasty. Canadians will be familiar with the mighty perogy and it’s wondrous comfort-food qualities. Friends in the US, however, may not be, which I think is supremely sad (and mildly surprising given the US’s predilection for fried potatoes in various forms). Perogies, for the uninformed, are little dough pockets filled with mashed-potato goodness that often includes cheese or onions. They are Ukrainian in origin and once they are made (a long, laborious process, I usually just buy the frozen ones) they are traditionally cooked by boiling, though they can also be fried or baked. I find the baking method to be a consistently successful and simple method of preparation.

Here is a lovely way to serve perogies. I often serve them with sausage and onion (sausage & saurkraut are traditional friends of perogies) and today decided that a bunch of chard would be a great addition to my frying pan of sausagey-oniony goodness.

Ingredients
4 large, traditional sausages, any type, removed from casings
1 large or 2 small onions, halved & sliced
1 bunch chard, stems & ribs separated from leaves, and separately chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp water
18 perogies, baked
sour cream (if desired)
Method
1. In large frying pan, fry sausage until almost cooked, add onion and cook until soft.

2. Add chard stems & ribs to fry pan, cook until soft. Add chard leaves & water, cook until soft.

3. Serve perogies atop sausage mixture, top with sour cream as desired

Serves 3

Blue Cheese Tenders

If you like Blue Cheese Dressing then you will love this! I even know some who abhor blue cheese but actually ended up liking this. I make this dish all the time for potlucks and it is a hit!

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 lb. Chicken Breast Tenders (cut into bite size pieces)
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 Clove Garlic, finely chopped
1/3 Cup Blue Cheese Dressing
Hot Cooked Farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
Crumbled Blue Cheese, if desired

Directions:

Heat oil in a 10-inch skiller over medium-high heat
Cook chicken, lemon juice, and garlic in oil for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink in center.
Stir in dressing.
Cook 2-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until hot.
Served over farfalle.
Sprinkle the blue cheese over the dish, if desired.

Makes 4 Servings.

Note: I usually always end up using more dressing than it calls for. Furthermore, I always sprinkle it with blue cheese.

Rosemary Lamb Chops with Swiss Chard and Balsamic Syrup

I have made this twice now with great success. Both times I served it with mashed yams, I find the sweetness of the yams compliments the tangy chard and balsamic quite nicely. It seems quite complicated and fancy but is really quite simple. I recommend following the recipe quite closely as there are details that make the whole process much simpler. I add extra garlic to both the chard and the chops. I also rub the spices into both sides of the chops instead of just sprinkling them on.

For balsamic syrup
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1/8 teaspoon black peppercorns

For chard
1 bunch Swiss chard (1 lb)
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon water

For lamb chops
8 rib lamb chops (1 1/4 lb total), trimmed of all fat
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Make syrup:
Simmer syrup ingredients in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart nonreactive saucepan (see cooks’ note, below) over moderate heat until just syrupy and reduced to about 1/4 cup, about 8 minutes. Pour through a sieve into a small bowl, discarding rosemary and peppercorns.

Sauté chard:
Cut stems and center ribs from chard, discarding any tough portions, then cut stems and ribs crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Stack chard leaves and roll into cylinders. Cut cylinders crosswise to make 1-inch-wide strips.

Cook onion and garlic in oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add chard stems and ribs, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until stems are just tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in chard leaves and water and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes.

Broil chops while chard cooks:
Preheat broiler. Sprinkle chops with garlic, salt, rosemary, and pepper, then broil on a lightly oiled broiler pan, 4 to 5 inches from heat, turning over once, for medium-rare, 6 to 7 minutes total. Serve chops and chard drizzled with balsamic syrup.

Cooks’ note:
Stainless steel and enameled cast iron are nonreactive, but avoid pure aluminum and uncoated iron.

Yam/Sweet Potato and Brandy Soup

• 3 large sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped Vidalia onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1 tablespoon brandy
• 2 cubes chicken bouillon
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 tablespoon allspice
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add sweet potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, peel, and mash. Set aside.
2. In a medium skillet over medium high heat, cook and stir onions in olive oil until translucent. Add white wine, red wine, and brandy, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add mashed sweet potatoes, stirring to incorporate. Dissolve bouillon cubes in water and add to the soup with the allspice. Simmer another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

In my usual style of recipe-as-suggestion I made a few adjustments, I used a purple onion instead (all I had!) and it was good, and substituted sherry for the brandy & white wine (since Sherry is like the two together). I peeled the yams before boiling them, but next time would probably bake them instead, and scoop out the fluffy baked goodness in order to make a smoother soup. Although if I were to boil them again I would save the water from boiling to use instead of plain water in mixing up the chicken broth.

I served this with pork chops tossed in olive oil, sherry, rosemary, salt & pepper, then baked in the oven at 350 for about 25 minutes, flipping them once, and they went REALLY nicely with the soup.