Keeling over for Kielbasa

Awhile back, I had some fresh kielbasa sausages from the Willy St. Co-op in the freezer. They were meant for someone else, but I decided to make them for myself. I used the recipe for Escarole with Italian Sausage and White Beans from Epicurious. (See my swaps and substitutions below the recipe.)

Seared sausages

3 tablespoons olive oil

12 Italian sausages (about 3 pounds), casings removed

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped prosciutto (about 2 ounces)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1 large head escarole, chopped (about 10 cups)

3/4 cup dry white wine

4 15-ounce cans Great Northern beans, rinsed, drained

1 cup chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, sauté sausage until cooked through, breaking up with back of spoon, about 6 minutes per batch. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to bowl, leaving drippings in pot. Reduce heat to medium; add onion to pot and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add prosciutto and sauté 1 minute. Mix in garlic and crushed red pepper. Add escarole and sauté until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add wine and cook 2 minutes. Add beans, stock and sausage and simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to large bowl. Top with grated Parmesan, if desired.

For the Love of Tuna

Ah. I just finished a very refreshing shower, and now I'm drinking ginger ale and walking around in my Wonder Woman underoos.

Tonight for dinner, I grilled tuna steaks and topped them with leftover pesto butter.

On the side, I had a few crostini topped with olive tapenade (well, in a previous incarnation, it was an olive and basil vinaigrette for an arugula and cannellini salad, but it was close enough to a tapenade to work).

For the picnic preceding Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit at APT last week (7/23), I prepared this:

Arugula and Cannellini Salad with Olive Vinaigrette  
(from Whole Living)

vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup pitted oil-cured olives, such as Nicoise (about 36)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
• 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

salad

• One 15 1/2-ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2 cups pear, grape, or cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch arugula (about 6 ounces), trimmed and washed

Make vinaigrette: Combine olives and the water in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until olives are finely chopped. Add garlic, basil, vinegar, and cumin; process until mixture is smooth and combined, stopping to scrape sides of bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.

In a medium bowl, combine beans, tomatoes, and red onion, and gently toss. Pour vinaigrette over bean mixture, and toss to coat. To serve, divide arugula leaves among four plates, and mound bean mixture on top.

World's tiniest pic--hooray for iPhone cameras--of us at APT for Blithe Spirit

On July 9, J. and I went to The Taming of the Shrew at APT. I must admit that the female obedience theme was rather tiring by the end. While it's not one of Shakey's full-on problem plays, it was controversial, according to some critics, for its celebration of female subjugation and misogyny even when first published. The Wikipedia article about it has all kinds of interesting info., so I won't regurgitate it.

At APT for The Taming of the Shrew

Baby Got (Sprained) Back or Driving Miss Erica

Gracie and her gigantor paws during a nap

I spent most of the weekend sprawled on the couch because I sprained my lower back last week. After a mostly sleepless night on Thursday, C. and J. shuttled me to and from the urgent care clinic on Friday. (Thanks, guys!) Since then, I've been communing with my heating pad, taking meds., and doing some world-class snuggling with the catbots. Shifting does a number on the injured muscles, so I've also been abstaining from driving. (Anyone want to recreate Driving Miss Daisy?)

Cannellini with Garlic Sausages

This morning, I visited with J.'s family and welcomed the sun back with a brief walk along the lake. Then I read a bit of the Sunday paper and my book (Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra: A Life). After waking up from my muscle relaxant-induced nap, I made David Rocco's Cannellini with Garlic Sausages (Salsiccie e Fagioli). The recipe calls for rosemary, but I also added a bit of sage to add more depth. I also watched approximately five minutes of Sarah Palin's speech from Saturday, which was about as much as I could stomach. (What can I say? I have a low crap threshold.)

I think this evening holds a bath, some reading, and perhaps an episode of Upstairs Downstairs on PBS.