Poultry & Pork

Another day at the Old Town Farmer's Market done and done.  We had cloud cover which kept the soon to be heat at bay for a couple of hours.  The wind blew gently over where I was cooking....my hubby doing anything that I asked.  We had bottles of Ice water, and a hot grill heating up, it was going to be a good morning.

First off we cut chicken breast length wise so that they would cook evenly and quickly.  Be carefully doing this, but it a great way to cook chicken fast so that it won't dry out.  Add salt and pepper to the meat and place it either on the grill or in your wonderful cast iron skillet, we did both.  The grill did cook the chicken faster, but it might have helped if the burner under the skillet had been on high, once we did that then the cast iron started bringing on the heat.

In the second skillet on the grill we browned sweet Italian sausage.  I did want small crumbles, but a bit bigger pieces, so I did leave it a lone and broke up only the really big chunks.  Once that was browned I did add some onion and let it cook a bit longers.

Cooking on your cast iron on the grill, gas or charcoal keeps the heat and mess outside. I serve in the same skillet, looks rustic and nostalgic.  Better to wash only one pan than pans and bowls and serving pieces.

I tried to leave the meat in bigger than normal pieces for this dish.  You can use any type of sausage you like, hot or sweet or plain.                                    



Pasta & Sausage

1 lb of sweet Italian Sausage
1/2 small onion diced
1-2 cloves of garlic, smashed and diced
1 lb of mini bow tie pasta prepared according to package, drained and set aside
a bunch of basil, chopped
3 oz of Pecorino Romano Cheese, shredded-you can sub Parmesan if you find Pecorino too strong
Salt and Pepper to taste

Make your pasta, set aside
Brown the meat in a skillet over medium high heat, once it is browned add the onions and garlic.  Continue cooking for another minutes or so.

Combine the meat and pasta in a large bowl.  Add the basil and cheese and stir to combine.  May add a splash of olive oil to finish it off.


Creamy Chicken and Orzo

2 chicken breast cut length wise into a total of 4 pieces, season with salt and pepper
1/2 lb of orzo
1 cup of water
2 small zucchini, diced
1/2 small onion diced
1 cup of diced cherry tomatoes
1/2-3/4 heavy cream
salt and pepper
crust bread from Crust and Crumbs

Grill or brown the chicken remove from heat and set aside.  Add the orzo and the cup of water, bring to a boil, reduce.  Add the vegetables and simmer till orzo is almost cooked.  Add the cream and heat this up, taste and add salt and pepper as needed.  Serve with the bread.

It's that easy!