Tag Archive for: Sausage

Do you ever rediscover a former love of a recipe? Last weekend we decided to have a freezer cooking day with each of us picking something we wanted to make. I chose an old favorite from Lidia Bastianich. I am sure I have said before how much I love Lidia. Her recipes are unique and always wonderful. I think they always turn out (though I do tend to modify things as I go). This time we made this to be eaten later and miraculously it actually made it to the freezer! I am looking forward to enjoying it some night we have nothing in the house. It is full of flavor both robust and tangy. Served with veggies and bread or brown rice and you have a great fall meal!

Kelly

 

Chicken and Sausage Bites in Vinegar Sauce

¼ c Olive Oil

1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage, cut into bite sized pieces

2 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

Salt

4 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped

2 T Honey

2 T Butter

¼ c Red Wine Vinegar

½ c Aromatic White Wine

½ c Chicken Stock

Chopped Italian Parsley (for garnish)

 

In a large skillet heat 2 T olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until lightly brown on all sides. Pour off the fat if necessary. Add remaining 2 T of olive oil. Season the chicken pieces with salt and add to the pan. Cook until brown on all sides. When close to done, make a space to brown the garlic. Once golden and aromatic, stir into the chicken and sausage.

Drizzle the honey over the top and cook, stirring often until chicken is a rich mahogany color. Add the butter and stir until melted. Pour in the vinegar and bring to a boil. Boil until the vinegar has almost completely evaporated. Add the wine and bring to a boil, then add the chicken stock. Boil until thick and there is just enough to coat the chicken and sausage.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve. YUMMY!

A Few Notes: This is a recipe where it helps to have all the ingredients laid out and prepped before you start cooking. Everything goes from not ready to done quickly! I like to use sausage out of the casing to save myself some time. I also find that it helps to remove the sausage while you cook the chicken. It helps free up the pan to encourage browning. I almost always use extra honey to get to the right color. Be a little flexible on the liquid amounts. Do what you like!

One of the things that has always been a staple in our house is the mixed grill. As a kid, I remember my mom shopping on Sunday for the week and picking up veggies, fish, chicken and steak to cook that night. We always ate the fish the first night and set the chicken and steak aside for later in the week. The brilliance of this is that you can use the meat for anything! It could be as is with some veggies, or reworked into something like tacos, or pasta. It makes things so easy for planning and you can save yourself time on work nights. This is also a great thing to do for a group or a party as we did here. Throw in the veggies from the CSA box, and you are good to go. Everyone gets what they like and there are always leftovers! Buy whatever is fresh or on sale and throw it all together on the grill; the perfect summer dinner solution!

Kelly


Mixed Grill

CSA Salad: Fresh lettuce, arugula, herbs, diced tomatoes and radishes, tossed with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Tuna steaks marinated in Soy Vey Teriyaki grilled to medium.

Chicken legs grilled and basted with Grumpy’s BBQ sauce.

Teriyaki and pineapple sausage from Whole Foods…super delish!

Baby CSA artichokes steamed and drizzled with olive oil, pink flake salt and freshly cracked pepper.

CSA root veggies sautéed with onions in butter, then sherry vinegar to deglaze.

 

YUMMY!

 

P.S. Up next is our CSA dessert: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie!

So you made your lovely French bread…today I want to share something that we make with that wonderful bread! These sandwiches are incredibly simple and flavorful This is something you can prep ahead of time and make even on a weekday. We used a spicy sausage (habanero pork sausage from our local Whole Foods) which was a nice complement to the sweet peppers. An addition of some tomato adds some depth; they basically disintegrate and create a wonderful sauce. It’s a really great dish for fall; hearty without being heavy. Yum! What do you think??

Kelly

Sausage Sandwiches with Peppers and Onions

3 Bell Peppers (Assorted Colors)
1 Large Onion
1 Tomato
1 Pound pork sausage
1 T Worcestershire Sauce
½ C Red Wine
1 T Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 baguette
Parmesan cheese (for garnish)
Slice the peppers and onions lengthwise, keeping the onions separate.

Slice the sausages on the diagonal using a good knife (putting the sausages in the freezer for a half an hour before you slice them will help.)

Preheat the oven to 350° and place the bread in the oven whole. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the sausage to the pan and brown on both sides, about 4 minutes.

Move the sausage to the outside of the pan, then add the onions to the center of the pan.

Allow the onions to soften, about 2 minutes, then add the peppers and toss the ingredients together.

Allow to cook about 1-2 minutes before adding the tomatoes and the liquid ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook to reduce the sauce by half.

Slice the bread in half lengthwise and cut into sandwich sized pieces. Serve the sausage and pepper mixture on the open bread making sure to spoon some sauce on top. Garnish with some grated parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!
PS. Don’t worry if there are leftovers, we will show you a way to use them coming up!!