These early autumn days are beautiful, crisp and clear. But when the sun, that feels fantastic at recess time, slips below the horizon, you know it is fall. And what does fall mean at Ben’s Day Wednesday? Soup. Though Ben tends to be a bit of a “soup denier,” the rest of us love it, and appreciate its restorative properties. Phil makes up for Ben’s lack of enthusiasm by declaring every soup, “one of my favorites!”
This week, we made a super quick, delicious sausage posole. Left to my own devices, I can knock this thing out in half an hour or less. With Ben, it takes maybe 45 minutes. With Phil, take the day off work.
Sausage Posole
1 medium onion, quartered
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and quartered OR 1 small (4.5 oz.) can chopped green chili
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 quart chicken broth
1 bunch cilantro
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound sausage*
1 teaspoon cumin
2 (14-15 oz.) cans white hominy, drained and rinsed
Pumpkin seeds, to serve
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Brown sausage, stirring and breaking up clumps, until no longer pink (about 4 minutes.) Remove to paper towel lined plate. Retain oil in pot.
- Meanwhile, cut off bottom third of cilantro bunch and discard. Cut off middle third of bunch (with mostly stems, and some leaves) and place into blender, along with onion, chili, garlic, and 1/2 cup chicken broth. Blend until smooth puree forms.
- To hot oil in pan, add puree and cumin, cooking over medium-high (reducing heat, if necessary, to prevent burning) until most liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes.
- Add cooked sausage, hominy, and remaining broth, simmering gently for about 10 minutes.
- Pick remaining cilantro from stems, and chop.
- Serve posole with chopped cilantro leaves, and pumpkin seeds.
*Phil, my editor, insists that I specify what kind of sausage to use. In our family, we only use Bob Evans, original recipe. Ben is such a fan that he calls it Bob “Heavens.”
Sometimes, when you are having soup, and you have a fresh loaf of sourdough bread from Wegmans, what you really need is a grilled cheese sandwich. My only rule for grilled cheese is to not let Phil participate. I’m not being mean. He will admit that all his attempts at bread-based foods are terrible. His French toast is inedible (simultaneously scorched and raw), yet he makes the finest crepes I’ve had. I know. It’s a mystery to me, too.
By the time we decided that “It comes with…” grilled cheese, Ben had already removed his chef’s hat, so I was on my own for the grilled cheese.
Grilled Cheese
Ingredients: bread, cheese and butter
First, I cut 6 slices of bread from the sourdough loaf, melted 3 tablespoons of butter on a small plate (for 30 seconds in the microwave) and got out a bag of pre-grated cheddar cheese. Next, I heated my largest, non-stick, lidded skillet over medium-high heat. Next, I buttered the bread. (If the butter is completely melted, I dip one side of three pieces of bread in the pool of melted butter on the plate. If the butter is spreadable, I spread it with a knife, instead.) Then I put the bread in the pan, buttered-side down, and immediately topped it with a handful of shredded cheese. Next, I buttered one side of the remaining three pieces of bread, and placed them, buttered side up, on the sandwiches in the pan. Covering the pan with a lid is essential for melting the cheese. After a few minutes, I checked them, and if they were brown on the underside, I flipped them, replaced the lid, and toasted the other side, reducing heat if they were browning at a rate higher than the rate of melting cheese. I’m sure there’s a grilled cheese equation out there that could guide our actions, but until that comes to light, you might want to try our formula for grilled cheese success.
