Cabbage casserole

I had a GIANT head of cabbage in the fridge from two weeks ago, and finally I had an evening to prepare something.  I found a recipe for scalloped cabbage casserole on-line:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/beths-scalloped-cabbage/detail.aspx

I used 1/2 of the GIANT head of cabbage, used breadcrumbs instead of crackers and sprinkled paprika on top for color.  Bert liked it okay. I think it was kind of boring. I think that smaller pieces of cabbage might have worked better than chunks of cabbage. I think I needed to either drain the cabbage more or use more cheese in my roux. The final product was kind of runny. I sprinkled curry on mine which helped a little.

I served this with grilled pork chops.  I think some butternut squash would also taste good with these two items.

Unstuffed Cabbage

They gave me a giant head of cabbage, so I had plenty for another recipe.

Unstuffed Cabbage- makes about 6 servings
1 pound chicken sausage (apple chardonnay flavor)
1/2 onion chopped
14 oz can diced tomatoes
3oz tomato paste
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon chili powder
Salt to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste
5 cups shredded cabbage

In my large non-stick skillet I started by heating the sausage with the onion until the onion was a little soft. I cut the onion into half rings, because I wanted to match the size with the cabbage pieces. Next I added the tomatoes, vinegar, salt and pepper. Then I folded in the cabbage. I cooked that for about 10minutes.

I actually used red chili pepper flakes, which made the dish super spicy so I added a little sugar to try to balance the flavor.

This was okay. I served it with roasted potatoes (which I thought were a little burned). The dish was very spicy. The sausage was tasty. If I made it again I would leave out the red pepper flakes.

We ate this for leftovers a couple nights later. We served it with rice, which really improved the flavor.

Braised cabbage

Tonight we tried Braised cabbage. Recipe found here:
https://stillmansfarm.wordpress.com/

I didn't want to buy a 1/2 gallon of cider, so I bought a 12oz bottle of hard cider.
I didn't buy caraway seeds because Trader Joes didn't have them and I didn't want to stop at another store. I tried cumin instead.
I didn't buy fresh thyme either and used dried instead.
I added my last turnip with the apple. The apple wasn't a Granny Smith. I think it was a Cortland.
I shredded the cabbage by using my mandolin on the julienne setting. That worked really well. All of the skin on my hand is still intact!

Bert melted the butter, added the turnip for two minutes, then the apple for another two minutes, then the cider and spices, waited three minutes, then added the cabbage, covered and simmered for 9 minutes.

This all took about 20 minutes. We served this with roasted potatoes and chicken.
Overall, I am not a fan of cabbage. This dish was edible, and certainly an acceptable way to get rid of some cabbage. I think that it needed more apple flavor, so either I needed to use more cider or buy real cider.  I will try the leftovers tomorrow.