My friend's mother from the Ukraine taught me this recipe for the classic beet soup. It's as authentic as it gets. It can be served vegetarian style by omitting the sausage.
No need to slave over the stove to prepare a delicious jambalaya! Toss the chicken, sausage, shrimp, vegetables, and seasonings in the slow cooker, and forget about it until dinner time.
I used to live in Sicily, and these stuffed rice balls were a favorite of mine! 'Arancini' means 'Little Oranges' in Italian, named so because the little breaded rice balls resemble small oranges so much.
'These cute little sausage and bacon bites are finger-licking good,' promises Cara Flora from Kokomo, Indiana. 'They have a sweet and salty taste that's fun for breakfast or as an appetizer.'
A roux cooked to a deep reddish-brown is what gives gumbo it 's distinctive flavor. This gumbo incorporates andouille sausage, cubes of beef, crab and shrimp in a highly seasoned stew with okra.
'We enjoyed a hearty breakfast bake during a visit to an Amish inn,' recalls Beth Notaro of Kokomo, Indiana. 'When I asked for the recipe, one of the ladies told me the ingredients right off the top of her head. I modified it to create this version my family loves. Try breakfast sausage in place of bacon.'
'This recipe was given to me many years ago at a New Year's potluck,' says Gwynne Fleener of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. 'Since then, it has been a tradition to serve it at our holiday open house. The creamy mixture is always a hit.'
This recipe, from Charlotte Skelton's book Absolutely a la Carte (A la Carte Alley, $22.95), is named after a community north of Biloxi. When pressed for time, try the Kitchen Express method below.
