Spaghetti Squash with Sausage Filling
Serves 4
- 1 3 3/4- to 4-pound spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise, seeded
- 1 pound Whey-Good Pork Mild or Spicy Italian sausage
- 1 cup chopped green or thinly sliced roasted bell peppers
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce (homemade for best results)
- 1/2 cup grated Andalo cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush olive oil on flesh side of squash and place face down on oiled jellyroll pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes. Cool.
- Meanwhile, sauté sausage, bell pepper, onion and garlic in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until sausage browns and vegetables are tender, breaking up sausage with back of spoon, about 12 minutes. Mix in marinara sauce.
- Using fork, pull out squash strands from shells and place in bowl, leaving shells intact. Season squash to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon squash back into squash shells. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover; refrigerate.) If your shells break, spoon squash into a casserole dish. Either way, pour sausage mixture over squash and sprinkle each with ¼ cup of shredded Andalo cheese.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange filled squash halves on baking sheet. Bake uncovered until heated through, about 20 minutes (30 minutes if previously chilled). Cut each squash half in two and serve.
(via adapted from Bon Appetit September 1998 issue)
Hearty Beef Stew
This recipe makes a lot so you can freeze the rest and have on a rainy/snowy day when you don’t want to cook.
Serves 6-8
- 5 pounds James Ranch stew meat
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 medium onions , chopped medium
- 3 medium garlic cloves , pressed through a garlic press
- 1 ½ cups dry red wine
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 lbs. Russet potatoes, cut into 1 ½ inch chunks
- 5 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks
- ½ to ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Dry the beef thoroughly with paper towels, then season generously with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Braise meat in two batches until pieces are browned on all sides using more oil as needed. Transfer to a bowl.
- Return the Dutch oven to medium heat and add more 2 teaspoons of oil until shimmering. Add the onions and ¼ teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour; cook until lightly colored, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the red wine; scraping the browned bits off the skillet bottom. Stir the broths, thyme, and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Add meat; return to a simmer. Cover and place in oven; simmer for about 1 hour.
- Remove Dutch oven from oven, add potatoes and carrots, cover and return to oven. Simmer until meat is just tender about 1 hour. Remove stew from oven. (Can be cooled, covered and refrigerated up to 3 days.)
- Stir in the peas and parsley and allow to stand 5 minutes.
- Adjust seasonings, and serve.
Tomato Soup Concentrate
When winter arrives, we crave the fresh flavors of summer. This recipe allows you to have summer tomato flavor in the winter. The Gardens at James Ranch have wonderful Roma tomatoes that work great for this recipe.
Makes 2 quarts
- 1 large onion
- 3 carrots
- ¼ lb. butter (1 stick)
- ¼ cup flour
- 9 cups tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 6-8 leaves of basil (2 tablespoon dried)
- 2 stalks parsley
Instructions
- Sauté onions and carrots in butter until tender. Blend in flour. Add additional ingredients and simmer, stirring occasionally for 20-30 minutes.
- Put through food mill or blender. Cool, then pour into freezer jars or plastic bags and freeze. Can be served hot or cold.
To each quart of thawed concentrate add:
- For hot soup: 1 cup cream plus 1 cup of milk with the options of adding 1 cup cooked rice or pasta with dash of Tabasco )
- For cold soup: 1 cup cream plus 1 cup yogurt or sour cream with the option of adding 1 cup of cucumber or avocado
(via Mount Holyoke College Cookbook)
Savory Braised Short Ribs
- Serves 6
We recommend you make horseradish mashed potatoes and The Garden’s green beans to go with this meal! Delicious!
- 4-1/2 to 5 lb. James Ranch beef short ribs
- 3 Tbs. vegetable oil
- Kosher salt
- ground black pepper
- 2/3 cup medium-diced carrots
- 2/3 cup medium-diced celery
- 2/3 cup medium-diced onions
- 2 whole dried bay leaves
- 1/2 cup pitted olives
- 1 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme
- 1 Tbs. finely chopped garlic
- 1/2 to 1 tsp. ground allspice
- 1/2 cup sherry
- 3/4 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 3/4 cup dry red wine
- 3/4 cup lower-salt chicken broth
- 3/4 cup diluted lower-salt beef broth
- 1 to 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1 to 2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F. In an 8-quart Dutch oven, heat 2 Tbs. of the oil over medium heat. Season the ribs with 2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper. Add half of the ribs to the pot (or as many as will fit without overlap), and cook, turning with tongs, until nicely browned on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the ribs to a platter and repeat with the remaining ribs. Pour off all but a thin layer of fat from the pan.
- Add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil, carrots, celery, and onions to the pan. Season with 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring until the aromatics are soft and lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add bay leaves, olives, thyme, garlic, and allspice, and cook, stirring, until well distributed and fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour the sherry into the pot and cook, stirring to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot, until the liquid is reduced to about 2 Tbs., about 1 minute.
- Transfer all the ribs and juices that have accumulated back into the pot. Pour the red wine, chicken broth, beef broth, tomatoes and 1 cup water over the ribs. Using tongs, arrange the ribs as evenly as possible no more than 2 layers deep.
- Bring the liquid to a simmer, cover, and put the pot in the oven. Cook, turning the ribs with tongs about every 40 minutes, until they are fork tender, about 2 hours. (The meat may fall off most of the bones about midway through cooking; this does not mean that the ribs are fully tender.)
- Transfer the ribs to a serving platter or dish. Let the sauce and solids sit in the pot for a few minutes to cool and with a shallow spoon, skim off the fat from the surface. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper, and add the vinegar. Serve the ribs with the sauce spooned over, sprinkled with chopped parsley.
Braised Brisket with Mushrooms, Carrots and Thyme
- Serves 12
A Warm Winter Recipe For When You are Tired of Turkey
- 2 Tbs. sweet paprika
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8-1/2 to 9 lb. James Ranch beef brisket (whole brisket), untrimmed of fat. This recipe can be cut in half and a half a brisket used.
- 5 Tbs. vegetable oil
- 6 large yellow onions, diced (about 12 cups)
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 15-oz. can tomato purée
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 4 large sprigs fresh thyme
- 8 large carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 10 oz. cremini or white button mushrooms, quartered if large, halved if small (3 cups)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the paprika, 1 Tbs. salt, and 1 Tbs. pepper. Rub the mixture all over the brisket. Let rest at room temperature for two hours or cover and refrigerate overnight (bring the meat to room temperature before cooking).
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft and pale gold, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the onions to a large heavy-duty roasting pan and spread them in an even layer. Set the brisket fat side up on the onions (it’s okay if the pieces overlap), cover tightly with heavy-duty foil (or a double layer of regular foil), and braise in the oven for 1 hour. As the brisket cooks, it will give off quite a bit of liquid.
- Pour the tomato purée and wine around the brisket and add the thyme sprigs. Cover and continue to braise the meat for 2-1/2 hours.
- Add the carrots and mushrooms and continue to braise, covered, until the meat is fork-tender, about 1 hour more.
- Transfer the meat to a cutting board and trim the fat. With a slotted spoon, move the vegetables to a serving bowl.
- Skim the excess fat from the pan juices, strain 2 cups of the juices, and bring to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil until reduced to about 1 cup; the sauce should be rich and flavorful.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Slice as much brisket across the grain as you need for the meal and serve with the vegetables and reduced sauce. Wrap the leftover brisket, vegetables, and juices separately. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
