Zuppa Du Jour Recipes

Steps:

• Cook the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon; set aside to drain. Add the Italian sausage to the drippings and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until browned and no longer pink, about 6 minutes. Transfer to the paper towel-lined plate to drain.
• Add the potatoes, garlic and onion to the drippings and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with the crushed red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are tender and cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Add the kale, heavy cream, bacon and sausage and cook over medium heat until the kale is tender, another 5 minutes. Stir in the vinegar just before serving.

Steps:

• Cook and stir Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until sausage is browned and crumbly, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer sausage mixture to a bowl.
• Stir bacon into the same Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until bacon is crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain fat, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings in the Dutch oven.
• Stir onion and garlic into bacon; cook and stir until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour chicken broth into bacon mixture; bring to a boil. Stir potatoes and kale into broth; cook until potatoes are tender and soup is flavorful, about 15 minutes.
• Stir sausage and heavy whipping cream into soup, reduce heat to medium, and cook until soup is heated through, about 5 minutes more.

Steps:

• In a large saute pan (approximately 16-inches), add oil, garlic, and shallots. Saute until garlic and shallots are a very light golden color. Add all the fish to pan along with the wine, water, tomatoes, thyme, salt, pepper, and oregano. Cover pan and let simmer until clams and mussels open, approximately 20 minutes. Add parsley and basil and divide evenly into 4 soup bowls.
• At Peasant, Frank floats crostini (toasted bread rubbed with olive oil, garlic, Parmigano, oregano, salt and pepper) on top of each serving.

Steps:

• Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.

Steps:

• In a large stock pot, cook bacon until most of fat rendered. Add onions, garlic, carrots, celery, mushrooms and cook until onions transparent.
• Add red pepper flakes, oregano, basil and salt and pepper.
• Add chicken stock and stewed tomatoes.
• Bring to a boil, and add pasta.
• Cook until al dente.
• Check for seasoning and adjust if needed.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, drain cherry juice and add rum; set aside. Prepare vanilla and chocolate puddings in separate bowls, according to package directions. Allow to set up 5 minutes.
• In a 9x13 inch baking dish, place a layer of cookies on the bottom of the dish; cut a few of the cookies in order to create a tight fit, if needed.
• Sprinkle cookie layer with 1/3 of the cherry juice mixture and spoon vanilla pudding over the cookies, spreading to the edge of the pan. Repeat steps with cookies, cherry juice and chocolate pudding. Make final layer with cookies and remaining juice.
• In a medium bowl, whip cream and sugar together until soft peaks form. Top dessert with whipped cream, sprinkle with almonds, and garnish with whole cherries. Refrigerate for 2 hours or more before serving.