NEW ORLEANS —
Italian Sausage Kale Soup
1 lb. Italian sausage, mild or spicy, out of casing
8 bacon slices, diced (divided)
1 onion, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. flour
4 cups chicken stock
5 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 bunch kale, de-stemmed and chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Heat a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat. Add a small drizzle of oil, then brown sausage, crumbling as it cooks. Drain well, then remove to a plate.
Fry bacon in residual sausage grease until crisp, then remove to plate with the sausage. Drain all but 1 - 1 1/2 Tbsp of bacon grease.
Add onion to the pot and cook for 5 minutes, adding garlic at the last minute.
Sprinkle flour over onion and garlic in a pot, then stir to combine. Pour in chicken stock, stir, then add in potatoes and bring to a boil.
Gently boil for about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender. Add in cooked sausage, most of the bacon, heavy cream, and kale. Stir and cook for 5-10 minutes until kale is wilted.
Taste and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Top with remaining bacon.
Pumpkin Pie Bars
Crumble Crust
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups oats
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light-brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Pumpkin Pie Filling
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups canned pureed pumpkin
1/3 cup evaporated milk or half and half
Sweetened whipped cream and cinnamon , for serving if desired
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, oats, salt and baking soda. Add in 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar an mix until no clumps remain.
Combine melted butter and vanilla and add to mixture, then stir with a spoon until evenly moistened.
Gently press half of the mixture into a greased 8 by 8-inch baking dish and bake in preheated oven 15 minutes.
Meanwhile in a mixing bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt.
Add in egg, egg yolk and vanilla and stir until blended. Mix in pumpkin, and milk.
Pour mixture over baked cookie portion and return to oven to bake 15 minutes, then remove from oven and sprinkle remaining cookie crumb mixture over top while breaking the crumb into small bits.
Return to oven and bake an additional 20-25 minutes until golden on top and center slightly jiggles.
Remove from oven and allow to cool. Cut into squares and serve with whipped cream and dusting of cinnamon if desired.