Chicken and Mushroom Manicotti

Italian-style chicken sausage is made with many of the same herbs and spices as pork sausage, but, of course, it’s leaner. Here, it provides savory flavor to the manicotti, along with earthy mushrooms and two creamy cheeses.

You can use store-bought ricotta cheese, but making your own is easy and simple. For a recipe, check out Veal Manicotti with Fresh Ricotta. 

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 12 manicotti shells
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb mild Italian chicken sausage (casings removed, if in links)
• 6 oz button or crimini mushrooms, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 2/3 cups fresh tomato sauce (or canned crushed tomatoes)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh ricotta cheese (or from a 15-oz container)
• 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Manicotti Ingredients

Fresh Ricotta Cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. Cook the manicotti shells in a large pot of boiling, salted water 7-8 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the sausage, mushrooms, garlic, and shallot and season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up the sausage, until the meat is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, 10-12 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool 10 minutes.

Sausage Mixture Beginning to Cook

Cooked Sausage Mixture

1. Place the sausage mixture in a medium bowl. Add 1/3 cup of the tomato sauce, the ricotta cheese, and parsley. Stir well to combine.
2. Spread another 1/3 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 13 X 9-inch baking dish. Stuff each manicotti shell with 3 to 4 tablespoons of the sausage-ricotta mixture and place side-by-side in the dish.
3. Spread the remaining tomato sauce of top of the shells and scatter the mozzarella cheese on top.

Sausage-Ricotta Mixture

Stuffed Manicotti Shells

Manicotti Ready to Bake

Bake until the cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes. Remove and let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Baked Manicotti

Chicken and Mushroom Manicotti

Roast Duck with Apricot-Maple Glaze

Duck tends to be one of those fowl that folks either love or hate. If you’re in the latter camp (you’re probably not reading this recipe), maybe an easy cooking method and sweet and sticky glaze will change your mind.

Duck has dark, oily meat that benefits from a long, slow, low-temperature braise. The thick skin will shrink as the fat renders, leaving moist, tender meat beneath it. (Note: This is not a recipe for crispy skin—that would require a higher temperature for a shorter time.)

Scoring the skin before cooking helps render the fat. Just be sure to cut carefully so that only the skin is scored, not the meat.

The simple glaze here is brushed on about 15 minutes before the duck is done. Otherwise, a little salt and pepper and plenty of time are all you need to get this special, inviting dinner on the table.

Try a simple side of Brown-Sugar Sweet Potatoes with the duck.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 5- to 6-lb duck
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup apricot jelly
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 3 tbsp fresh orange juice
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp soy sauce

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 300° F.
2. Remove any innards from the cavity and rinse the duck under cold water. Pat dry. Remove excess skin, tail, and any quills from the duck.
3. Use a sharp knife to score the skin in a crosshatch pattern. (Be careful not to cut into the meat. Score only the skin.)
4. Rub the cavity and outside of the duck with salt and pepper. Truss the legs with kitchen twine and place the duck breast-side up on a rack in a roasting pan. 

Duck with Innards and Extra Skin 

Scored Skin

Duck Ready to Roast

1. Roast the duck 1 hour.
2. Turn the duck breast-side down and roast 1 hour.
3. Turn the duck breast-side up again and roast 30 minutes.

Duck after 1 Hour 

Duck after 2 Hours 

Duck after 2nd Turn

1. Meanwhile, make the glaze. Combine the apricot jelly, maple syrup, orange juice, honey, and soy sauce in a small skillet or saucepan. Season lightly with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.
2. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the glaze has slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Brush the duck with the glaze and roast 15 minutes.

Glaze Beginning to Cook

Cooked Glaze

Roast Duck with Glaze

Transfer the duck to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes. Carve, serve, and enjoy.

Roast Duck with Apricot-Maple Glaze

Brown-Sugar Sweet Potatoes

This homey, old-fashioned sweet potato dish is a testament to how simple flavorful can be—and how flavorful simple can be.

When I was growing up, brown-sugar sweet potatoes were a common site on holiday dinner tables, but they’re so easy and quick, why wait for a special occasion? These tender, buttery, caramelized treats are a welcome site on the table any day of the year.

(If you can’t find small sweet potatoes, choose a couple larger ones and cut them in half crosswise before cutting them in half lengthwise.)

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

• 3 small sweet potatoes (about 1 1/4 lbs total)
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Small Sweet Potatoes

Preparation

1. Peel and halve potatoes lengthwise.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the butter and oil, swirling to coat and combine.
3. Add the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the sugar and cinnamon and cook, covered, turning several times, until the potatoes are very soft and browned in places and the liquid is syrupy, 25-30 minutes.

Sweet Potatoes Ready to Cook 

Potatoes Beginning to Cook 

Sugar and Cinnamon Added

Serve with any pan syrup spooned on top.

Brown-Sugar Sweet Potatoes

Hot Reuben Sandwiches with Red Russian Dressing

Who doesn’t love a reuben? The only real question is, “What’s authentic Russian dressing?”

Some say this must-have spread for the sandwich is creamy, thick, and pinkish-orange in color, made with mayonnaise, ketchup or chili sauce, and some minced onion and pickles. That sounds like Thousand Island to me, and, in fact, it’s common to find reubens made with exactly that.

Some say Russian dressing is a deep red color with sweet and tangy flavor, made with ketchup, honey or sugar, vinegar or lemon juice, or all of the above. That’s the version I went with for this recipe—dark red, no mayo.

Regardless of authenticity (“Russian” dressing isn’t even from Russia, but the U.S., anyway), the keys to a delicious reuben are good corned beef stacked high, plenty of sauerkraut, creamy Swiss cheese, and hearty rye bread—light or dark. The ingredients are simple and few—but they play so well together.  

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the Dressing

• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

For the Reubens

• 4 large slices rye bread (light or dark)
• 1/2 lb thinly sliced corned beef
• 1 packed cup sauerkraut, drained (warmed, if desired)
• 4 thin slices baby Swiss cheese
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• dill pickle spears, for serving (optional)

Kraut, Corned Beef, and Cheese

Sliced Rye Bread

Preparation

For the Dressing

1. Combine the first 9 ingredients (through paprika) in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. (May be made 1 day ahead, covered and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before using.)

Red Russian Dressing

For the Reubens

1. Lay the bread on a work surface and spread all 4 slices with a generous amount of dressing.
2. Divide and mound the corned beef onto 2 slices and top with sauerkraut. Lay 2 slices of cheese each over the sauerkraut and place the tops on the sandwiches.

Dressing Layer

Corned Beef Layer 

Sauerkraut Layer 

Cheese Layer

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the butter, swirling in the pan as it melts.
2. Place the sandwiches in the pan and press down with a grill press or large, heavy spatula. Grill until golden on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Turn and grill 2-3 minutes longer, until golden on the other side and hot throughout.

Reubens Beginning Pan-Grill 

Pan-Grilled Reubens

To serve, transfer the sandwiches to a cutting board and cut each diagonally in half. Serve with dill pickle spears, if desired.

Hot Reuben Sandwiches with Red Russian Dressing

Sausage and Egg Scramble with Avocado and Cheese

When you’ve got time to do breakfast, do it with a little pizzazz. This simple, easy recipe is loaded with flavor—and just enough heat to make sure you’re awake.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2/3 lb bulk Mexican chorizo or hot Italian sausage
• 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
• 1 serrano chile, thinly sliced
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, finely chopped
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp unsalted butter
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup chopped, peeled avocado
• 2 tbsp crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese

Bulk Sausage 

Chiles, Pepper, and Scallion

Preparation

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the sausage, red and green bell peppers, white parts of the scallions, and serrano and chipotle chiles. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Cook, breaking up the meat, until the sausage is just cooked through and the vegetables are tender, 7-8 minutes.
3. Transfer to a bowl and wipe out the skillet.

Sausage Mixture Beginning to Cook

Cooked Sausage Mixture

1. Add the butter to the skillet, swirling to coat. Add the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Scramble until just cooked through, 1-2 minutes.
2. Return the sausage mixture to the skillet and stir to combine.

Eggs Beginning to Cook 

Sausage Mixture Returned to Skillet

To serve, divide the sausage and egg scramble among 2 to 3 shallow bowls or plates and top with avocado, cheese, and green parts of the scallions.

Sausage and Egg Scramble with Avocado and Cheese

Grilled Shrimp Kebabs with Spicy Cocktail Sauce

Homemade cocktail sauce is easy to prepare and brings something special to the party—or to the dinner table, if you’re serving the kebabs as a main course.

What gives cocktail sauce its signature “cocktail sauce” flavor? Horseradish. Look for fresh-grated horseradish in jars in the refrigerated section of your supermarket. (Avoid the creamy horseradish sauce sold in the condiment aisle.)

If you’re putting together a party tray, simply remove the shrimp from the skewers after grilling and scatter them around the bowl of fresh sauce.

Note: If you prefer cocktail sauce with a little less heat, add only one tablespoon of chile paste and one teaspoon of Tabasco.

For a boiled shrimp recipe served chilled, check out Cajun Shrimp Cocktail.

Makes 4 shrimp kebabs

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup grated horseradish (sold refrigerated)
• 2 tbsp finely chopped green olives
• 2 tbsp ground fresh chile paste (sambal oelek)
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp Tabasco sauce
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp chile powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 20 large shrimp, (21-25 count), peeled and deveined, tail left on
• olive oil for drizzling, plus more for brushing grill pan

21-25 Count Shrimp

Peeled, Deveined Shrimp, Tail On

Preparation

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients (through Tabasco sauce) in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. (Use salt sparingly—there’s plenty in the other ingredients.) Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or overnight).
2. Combine the chile, cayenne, and garlic powders and paprika in a small bowl and season with salt.
3. Place the shrimp in a large bowl and drizzle lightly with oil. Sprinkle with the spice mixture and toss well to coat.

Spicy Cocktail Sauce 

Spice Mixture for Shrimp

Oil-and-Spice-Rubbed Shrimp

1. Thread 5 shrimp onto each of 4 skewers (soaked in water 30 minutes, if wood).
2. Heat a grill pan (large enough to hold the skewers flat) or a cast-iron griddle over medium-high heat and brush lightly with oil. Grill the skewers until slightly charred and just cooked through, 2-3 minutes per side.

Shrimp Kebabs Ready to Grill

Shrimp Beginning to Grill

Grilled Shrimp Kebabs

Serve as shrimp kebabs with the cocktail sauce on the side, or remove the shrimp from the skewers and place on a platter around the bowl of sauce. (Serve warm or at room temperature.)