I should have learned French

In a past life I spoke Spanish. I spoke enough Spanish to avoid being mugged, kidnapped and maimed in some seedy places in Central America. However, with the addition of my new favorite pan, I wish that I spoke French, as everything I want to cook hails from the land of Sarkozy.

If you have been reading my site for any amount of time, you know that I cannot follow a recipe -- probably why I stink at baking. Measure? Hell no! My palm works just fine. Thanks. The following recipe is not without exception. I peruse other food sites for inspiration, keeping in mind what I have in the fridge and pantry, or in this case, a pan that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE and would take to bed with me if that wasn't really creepy.

Epicurious was the springboard for the following delicious concoction of stewed veggies, beans and pork. It was kind of a classed-up version of pork and beans . . . kind of. It's a dish called a cassoulet, which is "a rich, slow-cooked bean stew or casserole originating in the south of France, containing meat (typically porksausages, pork, goose, duck and sometimes mutton), pork skin (couennes) and white haricot beans." Thanks wikipedia. Usually cassoulets cook for hours. When I say hours I don't just mean for an afternoon, I mean for over TWELVE hours. Who has that time? I don't, and I know you, fair readers, do not either.

I found a recipe that was as close to my liking and then I tweaked it. Namely, I cut out an enormous amount of meat (I have to include a funny typo -- I initially wrote mean. The N and T aren't even close. hmmm?) It called for a 3.5 lb pork shoulder, five slices of bacon AND a pound of kielbasa. No thanks. I left the veggies and the rest of the ingredients alone, less the fancy crusted topping. Again, time is a valuable commodity. If you have company and want to dress it up, I'll include it for you.

Nonetheless, served with crusty bread, this was awesome! Heather concluded that you will need: a fork, a knife and a spoon to efficiently eat this fine meal. Bread was certainly my fourth utensil. Pour yourself a glass of vino (don't know the French word for wine!) and enjoy. Buen provecho.

Sweet Italian pork sausage.

Turkey sausage was nowhere to be found.

Country ribs instead of pork shoulder:

cheaper and cooks faster.

Lots of veggies.

The meat should be fork-tender.

This photo is missing the fork, the spoon,

the knife, the crusty bread and the smiling Hailey.

Shortcut pork cassoulet

adapted from Epicurious

2 lbs boneless pork country ribs

1 lb sausage

1 large onion, roughly chopped

3 carrots, sliced

3 celery spears, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 14 oz cans great northern beans (little white ones)

1 can low-sodium chicken broth

1 14 oz can low-sodium diced tomatoes in juice

2 tbs tomato paste

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp salt

1/2 pepper

for the breadcrumb topping:

2 cups breadcrumbs

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tbs olive oil

1 small red pepper, cut into 1/4 inch-thick rounds

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large ovenproof stockpot with a lid, cook sausage over medium heat until browned. Remove and set aside. Season the pork ribs with salt and pepper. Cook pork until brown on all sides. Reserve with the sausage.

In the same pan, add the veggies and cook until tender, about five minutes. Stir in the thyme, cook one more minute. Add the wine, broth, tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Return the pork and sausage to the pan. Return to a boil and cover with the lid. Transfer to the oven. Bake for about 2 hours or until the pork is tender.

For the breadcrumb topping: mix breadcrumbs, cheese and oil in a bowl. Sprinkle half of the crumb mixture over the cassoulet. Arrange bell pepper slices atop the crumb mixture. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture. Bake uncovered until topping is golden and crispy, about 45 minutes.