We are making cassoulet today. It is a poor man's version. Chicken in place of duck. Canned tomatoes. A ham bone from the spiral ham we finished up. We filled a 9.5 qt LC. We will freeze most of it for a few quick dinners for January and February.

Cassoulet


Ingredients:
4 sprigs parsley
3 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
2 pounds small white beans such as Great Northern, soaked overnight in plenty of cold water
1/2 pound salt pork or thick-cut bacon, blanched
2 onions, halved
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 clove garlic, minced
2 quarts chicken stock
1 pound pork sausages
4 tablespoons rendered duck fat or olive oil, divided
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 pound red tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
OR
1 can (28-ounce size) tomatoes
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 whole confit of duck, cut in pieces
OR
8 whole duck leg confit, halved on the bone
1 1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs

Make bouquet garni of parsley and thyme sprigs and bay leaves. ( I put some whole cloves in as well)

To prepare the beans, drain and put them in an 8-quart casserole with the bacon, the halved onions, the smashed garlic, bouquet garni, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer over low heat, uncovered, for about an hour. Remove the bacon and cut it into 1-inch pieces. Strain the beans, reserving both the beans and the cooking liquid and discarding the onions and bouquet garni. Set the beans aside in a bowl.

To cook the sausages, prick each one in two places with a fork and put them in the bottom or a 10-inch saute pan with 1/4 inch water. Cook over medium heat, turning from time to time, until the water has evaporated and the sausages are browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove them and cut at an angle into 1-inch pieces.

Add 2 tablespoons of the duck fat to the pan with the chopped onion and cook, stirring from time to time until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and continue to cook and stir for another minute. Add the white wine and cook for another minute. Stir in the tomatoes and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, stirring from time to time. Season well with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.

To assemble the cassoulet, layer one-third of the beans on the bottom of the casserole and add half the bacon or salt pork, sausages, and duck confit (on the bone). Cover this layer with half the tomato mixture. Repeat with another third of the beans and the remaining bacon, sausages, and duck confit. Cover this with the rest of the tomatoes and then the beans. Add salt and pepper to taste to the bean-cooking liquid. Pour in enough of the bean liquid to come up just to the top of the beans. Cover the entire cassoulet with bread crumbs, dot with the remaining 2 tablespoons duck fat, and bake in a 350-degree oven for an hour and 15 minutes, or until the bread crumbs have formed a crust. You can break through the crust with the back of a spoon three or four times during the cooking to allow the juices to help form a crust.

Note: If duck is not readily available, substitute other poultry such as chicken or turkey.

I made half white/half wheat spaghetti (Fresh & Easy, I like it a lot more than full whole wheat), with corn, black beans, chili tomatoes, tomato sauce and spices dumped in. I'm going to pretend I did that on purpose.

Never heard of eating bean dishes on New Years.

Our family has pork and sauerkraut which I am told is a German tradition.

Your dish does sound yummy but my family would NEVER eat chicken on New Years, its bad luck, lol!

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hhmmm...hamburgers from a truck stop in Ga. Next year I'm eating with you guys..lol

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Melissa

We had pork, blackeye peas, and cabbage.

Selena

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I forgot to buy my blackeyed peas, so we missed out on them this year.

We had ham and black eye peas and cornbread. We have it every year. My parents made it every year growing up (and still do). They always said it brought good luck and prosperity in the new year.

Lisa

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We cooked a turkey, blackeyed peas, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans and hot rolls for our New Years meal.

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We had smoked sausage, mac and cheese, and black-eyed peas. Black-eyed peas are a must for us on New Years!

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Kim

I made some but didn't eat them until today.
I just made red beans and used the ham bone I had frozen from Thanksgiving.

Thinking about making some cornbread.

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