New Soup and Rolls

I made two new recipes last night for dinner. One was a knock-off version of the Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden. Stephen really enjoyed it. He even went for seconds which is pretty rare for him with soup. The other new recipe was for "Rustic Dinner Rolls" from America's Test Kitchen. The recipe was intense and quite complicated. It was an entire page single space in the Cooks Illustrated Magazine. I literally started the dough at 1p.m., then babysit it all afternoon, and then cooked it at 5:15p.m. We were all actually hungry and so the last rise wasn't as long as it should have been. I was worried after all the time that I had put into them, that I would be disappointed. The verdict was that we were definetly not. Stephen thought they lived up to his high bread standards for sure. They were delicious. I will include the soup recipe, but it will take me a while to type up the roll recipe. I made a few changes to the soup just because of convience and what I had. I used the precooked bacon instead of bacon bits, and I also took the sausage out of the casing and just cooked it on the stove top. I also used whole milk instead of heavy cream because it was all that I had. Enjoy!

Zuppa Tuscana (from Recipe Zaar Online)

• 1 lb Italian sausage
• 2 large russet baking potatoes, diced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 can oscar meyer bacon bit
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups kale or swiss chard, chopped
• 2 cans chicken broth
• 1 quart water
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Cook sausage in a 300°F oven for approximately 30 minutes.
2. Drain sausages on paper towels and cut into slices.
3. Place onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water, garlic in pot, and cook on medium heat until potatoes are done.
4. Add sausage and bacon.
5. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Simmer for another 10 minutes.
7. Turn to low heat.
8. Add kale and cream.
9. Heat through and serve.