- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced into small squares
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 1 package turkey sausage (12 links) removed from casings
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 large cloves minced garlic
- 1 cup low sodium chicken stock
- 1/3 cup red wine
- 1/2 cup black olives, sliced and pitted
- 1 540 ml (18 fluid ounce) can tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, or decrease amount if you like your sauce less spicy)
- salt to taste
- Heat olive oil on medium high in a heavy bottomed dutch oven and sautee the sausage, onions, carrots and celery until the meat is cooked and begins to brown and stick to bottom of pan.
- Add thyme, oregano, basil, and minced garlic. Stir well to incorporate.
- Add chicken stock and stir well to get any brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Add the wine. Bring to a boil and continue to simmer on medium heat until the stock and wine have almost completely reduced.
- Add the olives, tomatoes, bay leaf, balsamic vinegar, salt to taste, and cayenne pepper if using. Bring to a good simmer then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer stirring occasionally 30 minutes
Spicy Turkey Filling Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion, small dice
- 1/2 green pepper, finely diced
- 1/2 red or yellow pepper, finely diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced (1 large)
- 1 stalk celery, finely diced
- 1 package ground turkey (app one pound) (3 tbsp ancho)
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder (3 cloves, minced)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1 small tin diced tomatoes
- 1 large tin mixed beans (drained, rinsed, and mashed slightly)
- 1/2 regular tin pork and beans (mashed slightly)
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 1/2 tsp creole spice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 11/2 Tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/8 cup ketchup
- A few shakes of hot sauce
- 1 bay leaves (pinch of cheese0
- Saute peppers, onion, and and celery in olive oil using a large dutch oven or cast iron pot just until the onions begin to turn translucent.
- Add the ground turkey, cumin, garlic powder and salt. Continue to sautee at medium heat until the turkey is cooked.
- Add frozen corn and stir to incorporate
- Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on medium low heat for at least an hour.
- Remove bay leaves.
- Cool completely
- 2 cups mashed orange-skinned sweet potatoes (yams)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 2 1/3 cups yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/3 cup chopped basil
- 1/4 cup chopped pine nuts
- 1 cup shredded asiago cheese
- Pierce sweet potatoes in several places. Microwave on high until tender, turning once, about 12 minutes. Cut open and cool. Mash enough potatoes to yield 2 cups. Place mashed potatoes in large bowl. Whisk in eggs and buttermilk. Stir in jalapeno pepper.
- Blend cornmeal and next 5 ingredients. Add butter and blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add to egg mixture. Stir in the basil, pine nuts, and cheese just until blended.
- Grease a mini muffin tin and fill each cup about 1/3 full (about a teaspoon per cup) with the muffin mix
- Using your fingers, flatten the mixture along the bottom and work it up and around the sides of the cup. The idea is to make your cornbread batter into a little bowl your filling will go in.
- Fill each cup with turkey sausage filling (about a tsp or two) and top with another tsp batter.
- Smooth batter over the top with a butter knife so that it forms a muffin cap.
- Bake in a 375 oven about 17 minutes; until a toothpick inserted into the dough comes out clean.
- Serve warm from the oven. Garnish with fresh sour cream if desired.
- These freeze beautifully. Cool completely and freeze on baking sheets. Once frozen, store in heavy duty freezer bags.
- Makes 36-40
