Monday, May 4, 2009

Zuppa Toscana

  • 1 lb ground Italian sausage
  • 1½ tsp crushed red peppers
  • 1 large diced white onion
  • 4 Tbsp bacon pieces
  • 2 tsp garlic puree
  • 10 cups water
  • 5 cubes of chicken bouillon
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1.5 lbs sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3-5 large potatoes
  • ¼ of a bunch of kale
  1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
  2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic for approxiamtly 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
  3. Mix together the chicken bouillon and water, then add it to the onions, bacon and garlic. Cook until boiling.
  4. Add potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
  5. Add heavy cream and cook until thoroughly heated.
  6. Stir in the sausage.
  7. Add kale just before serving. Delicious!

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce

I used to work at Olive Garden and copied this right out of the recipe book. Enjoy!
  • 1 lb unsalted butter (4 sticks)
  • 3 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 quarts heavy cream
  • 1 lb parmesan cheese
  • 8 fluid ounces white sauce mix (If you can't find this you can use corn starch or flour as a thickener)
  • 1 TSP black pepper
  1. Melt the butter on low setting.
  2. Add minced garlic when butter is about 50% melted.
  3. Add milk and heavy cream and bring to a boil.
  4. Turn heat down and wait about 5-10 minutes.
  5. Add parmesan, pepper, and white sauce mix/base.
  6. Sauce should start to thicken.
  7. Let cool about 10 minutes before serving over pasta.
Yeild: ~0.8 Gallon

Olive Garden does NOT use cream cheese in their alfredo. So if you see an "Olive Garden" recipe that does, it is fake.