What more sausage?

   So it was sausage on Sunday, sausage on Monday, and with this new kick on my mind I had to try sausage poached in white wine, then cut into bite sized pieces and used in risotto with shrimp and basil and parsley. Pretty good, though not quite as full flavored as sausage poached in red wine.
   Just so you don't think one can live on sausage alone, Monday evening we had some chicken breast sauteed with garlic, rosemary, sliced green olives, capers, some lemon and white wine. That was a very enjoyable dish.
    Ciao for now,  Garlichut

Sausag dish # 2

With the leftover sausage, and the rest of the ingredients already on hand, what was I to do? This is the follow up dish to yesterdays red wine braised sausage.
   4 red potatoes cut into chunks
   1 red bell pepper cut into chunks
   1/2 yellow onion 1 inch dice
   1 bunch broccoli rape cooked as you like it, sauteed or shallow poached
   5-6 links of the red wine braised Italian sausage cut into 1 inch pieces
   1/2 pound fontina cheese shredded or cut into small chunks
   Pecorino romano cheese
   I put the potatoe pieces in an 8+8 glass baking dish and drizzled with just enough olive oil to coat when tossed. Put in a 400 degree oven and stir occasionally to keep from sticking. When the potatoes are lightly browned, add the red pepper pieces and onion. Cook, stiring occasionally till the peppers and onion are soft and slightly browned. Add the sausage pieces and cook till heated through. About 10 minutes. Then add the broccoli rape and cook another 10 minutes. Srir the ingredients and top with the two cheeses and bake for another 5 min.. We had this dish for lunch with crusty bread and a liberal dose of chopped  hot pepper. Woah, I know that I'll be making this dish again.

     Cioa for now, Garlichut

New Jersey food

Well I got to Jersey yesterday early, after an all nighter. 500 mi. I pulled some sweet Italian sausage from the freezer. As it sat thawing, I was contemplating how to do something different with it. I saw a half full bottle of red wine on the counter and it reminded me of the chicken and sausage dish. I also saw a little leftover tomato sauce in the fridge. So the wheels start to turn and I figured, how about sausage braised in red wine with peppers and onions. That was sounding pretty good, but the dilemma came from the direction of a lot of greens and vegetables that needed to be used up. Escarole that was definitely on its last leg if it wasn't used, broccoli I had brought up from my fridge and broccoli rape that they also had. As my limited energy began to fade, the meal turned into a compromise. I poached the sausage in water, then put it into a saucepan with enough wine and tomato sauce to cover the sausage. I added a little sage, but I think some rosemary would have been just as interesting. Next time. The sausage simmered for at least 2 hours to make it fork tender. The broccoli rape didn't get used. I cooked the escarole as a side dish. I made some penne and broccoli and just served the sausage as the protein portion of the meal. It was all really good, but the sausage was especially noteworthy. It had a really rich flavor.
  So, now this new flavor is itching for a dish of it's own. One possibility that came to mind, and I think that I'm going to have to try some time, is sausage, roasted potatoes and red bell peppers, and  broccoli rape topped with some pecorino Romano and fontina cheese. Could be a dish to remember