Zuppa Toscana

Doesn't a good, rich, hot soup sound good when the weather turns colder?  I thought so too, so I wanted to try out some recipes using our cider in the recipe.  We're not wine drinkers, so I was very interested in figuring if our ciders would work in a recipe.  I've found that it was an easy trade-off, and they didn't alter the taste at all...in fact, they enhanced it!  You have to be careful to not add too much, because of the sweetness of the cider, but as a whole, the exchange works quite well.  In my experimenting, our Cherry Cider compliments well with beef recipes, Classic Sweet with pork or chicken, and our Dry with pasta. 
So I experimented with a tried and true recipe that we all love from the Olive Garden- Zuppa Toscana.  Now mind you, this is a copycat recipe, but the flavor is still amazing!
Zuppa Toscana
1 lb. spicy Italian sausage
1 large onion, chopped fine
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 cup Dry Cider
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
3 medium to large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 cups fresh Kale, finely chopped
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1 cup fat free half-n-half (doesn't seem possible, but it is fat free!)
Salt and Pepper to taste
In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, crumble up the sausage and cook until well browned.  Remove sausage from the pan and set aside in a bowl.  Add the chopped onion to the pan and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the cooked onion and cook for a minute more.  Stir in the cider, and at this point, I like to loosen the browned bits stuck on the bottom- it really adds to the flavor!  Return the sausage back to the pot, as well as the potatoes, kale, chicken broth and water.  Increase your heat to medium high for a short time til it boils, then reduce it down to medium-low and let it simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.  Stir in the half-n-half and salt and pepper to taste.         Serve & enjoy!
Have some fun experimenting...I think you'll find that cider will become a favorite adage to your dishes!