You win some, you lose some...

I love trying new recipes.  The anticipation of something new, the process of learning new cooking skills, and of course, the great taste that comes along with it.  Most times I hit the jackpot.  New dish, new fave, all is well in the world.  But then there are the other times...

... like when I tried homemade spinach gnocchi for Christmas dinner and we wound up with something that resembled a pile of bird droppings on our plates...

Yeah, sometimes it doesn't work out as planned.

This Monday I tried something that just sounded amazing.  A-maze-ing.  Fusilli with ricotta and crispy kale.  As a lover of pasta, this was one I had been waiting for.  Finally, it was time to make it happen. 

First, I needed to find the Dinosaur Kale, or as I called it, "flat kale."  Known in Brazil as couve, Paulo was ecstatic.  His mom makes a side dish with chopped up couve, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and some salt.  Yum.  So I set out, knowing what I was looking for.  But apparently, in the entire South Bay area, I was the only one.  Lucky, Trader Joe's (which I was pretty sure wouldn't have it, but you never know...), Safeway, and finally Whole Foods.  Surely Whole Foods would have it, as they carry all things weird and organic.

"Oh, Dino kale?"  the checker asked.  Excited head nod from me -- Yes, you have it!  "Yeah, with all this rain it stopped coming.  I think it was ruined for the season, but you know, I am not really sure about that. I might just be making that up.  Come back and check in a few weeks."  Bummer.  After two hours driving around, I picked up that stupid batch of curly leafed kale, which I found at EVERY grocery store and could have bought hours ago, paid the high price that one pays to buy food at Whole Foods, and headed home.

All of that, and I wasn't that fond of the dish.  What a waste of time.  Well, Paulo's coworkers said it smelled really great and he told me it made for wonderful leftovers and apparently (according to that wealth of knowledge we call Google) it is quite popular, but nah, not going to happen again.  The crispy kale, however, that is a repeater.  (Click on picture to get recipe). 

Photo from Rachael Ray Magazine

Simple change I made: chicken sausage instead of regular.  Healthier (as much as sausage can fall into the "healthy" category) and tasty.  Move over girls, chicken sausage is my new best friend!  (Which is why, if you come at any given time, you will find a pack of it in my fridge.  And it comes in so many flavors!)