Tons of Italian sausage

[snack_pack85]

First of all I'd like to say that I have only been gone a month or so and this place is totally different. Took me 20 minutes to find this thread!

Anyway...I need to make dinner this week for an important client and I want it to be semi fancy. I have tons and tons of frozen italian sausage. A bag of frozen balsamic marinated veggies (onions,mushrooms, tomato and green beans) I also have several starches at my disposal. Brown rice, grits, cous cous....Just no idea how to make a fancy side dish out of any of them!

I need to know what I can do to the sausage too (a new cooking method maybe?) to dress them up a bit. I go to the grocery store every Monday so I need help quick! Thanks!

 

[Jeff G.]

Simple.. Pasta Bolognese


Peel and chop onions, garlic cloves, mushrooms and green pepper. Put large skillet on burner and heat olive oil on medium high setting. Add onions, garlic, mushrooms, and green pepper. Fry for 5 minutes or until onions turn clear and garlic starts to smell strong. Pour all ingredients into a bowl and reserve for later.

Quick sear the sausages and skin them. Fry and break into small chunks. Return the fried vegetables to the skillet. Add whole tomatoes and chop them up. Add tomato sauce, oregano, basil, bay leaf, thyme and ground pepper. Mix ingredients well. Cover skillet and turn heat down to simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add spaghetti, a little at a time. Stir and add extra virgin olive oil to avoid sticking. Cook for 10 minutes or until just cooked through (no hard white center). Drain and run cool water through spaghetti. Transfer to a bowl and add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and a half cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Mix well.

Serve with the sauce..

Only thing to serve with it.. a nice green salad and garlic breadsticks. Red wine is a nice touch.

 

[snack_pack85]

Simple.. Pasta Bolognese


Peel and chop onions, garlic cloves, mushrooms and green pepper. Put large skillet on burner and heat olive oil on medium high setting. Add onions, garlic, mushrooms, and green pepper. Fry for 5 minutes or until onions turn clear and garlic starts to smell strong. Pour all ingredients into a bowl and reserve for later.

Quick sear the sausages and skin them. Fry and break into small chunks. Return the fried vegetables to the skillet. Add whole tomatoes and chop them up. Add tomato sauce, oregano, basil, bay leaf, thyme and ground pepper. Mix ingredients well. Cover skillet and turn heat down to simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add spaghetti, a little at a time. Stir and add extra virgin olive oil to avoid sticking. Cook for 10 minutes or until just cooked through (no hard white center). Drain and run cool water through spaghetti. Transfer to a bowl and add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and a half cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Mix well.

Serve with the sauce..

Only thing to serve with it.. a nice green salad and garlic breadsticks. Red wine is a nice touch.

I like this idea very much. A few things I realize I should have mentioned though. My clients have some diet restricions, no garlic (i can infuse the oil or butter but i can't leave the garlic in the sauce) no onion at all, and no pasta. I think I'll make the sauce anyway and put it over polenta slices or some spaghetti sauce. How many servings does your recipe make Jeff?

 

[Jeff G.]

I like this idea very much. A few things I realize I should have mentioned though. My clients have some diet restricions, no garlic (i can infuse the oil or butter but i can't leave the garlic in the sauce) no onion at all, and no pasta. I think I'll make the sauce anyway and put it over polenta slices or some spaghetti sauce. How many servings does your recipe make Jeff?

It all depends on how much you make... i don't have volumes figured out per serving.. I don't cook that way.

 

[BAMIKE]

This might be a little late, but maybe for next time.
Stuffed Peppers:

Brown sausage and chop into small chunks.
Clean and remove seeds of Anahiem Peppers
Stuff peppers with half sausage and half mozzarella cheese
Cover in Pasta sauce and bake covered for 30 minutes.

 

[snack_pack85]

It all depends on how much you make... i don't have volumes figured out per serving.. I don't cook that way.

I just wanted to thank you for the recipe/idea. I made it for my clients and they LOVED it. I had one of them tell me they thought this would be the first thing I'd ever made them that they wouldn't like (because of the spaghetti squash I had to serve with it) but the sauce saved the day!

Thanks again!

 

[Jeff G.]

Very cool... Spaghetti squash... Great idea!!

 

[giggler]

if you still have some Italian Sausage left over, one of my very favorite is sausage stuffed Mushroom...

take some larges white mushrooms and pull the stem... stuff with Italian Sausage and maybe some Parm Cheese ... bake at 350 f. for like 30 minutes, very good!

Eric, Austin Tx.

 

[ErikC]

Maybe I am too late to post to this, but I like to make meatballs from Italian sausage. Just slit the skins open, squeeze the meat mixture into a bowl, then make meatballs as normal. Of course, they have to be the uncooked variety in order to do this, but I rarely see pre-cooked Italian sausage.
And what kind of diet cuts out garlic? I mean, besides Vampiric...

 

[Claire]

I'm coming in too late to help you this time, but where you live, cooking out on the grill is a good answer. Vegetables, sausage, etc, can be brushed with a little olive oil or Italian salad dressing, then grilled and put on a large platter. Then a large bowl of unadorned pasta/couscous can be presented. Everyone takes what they want or can eat. If your business associates are from elsewhere, this will actually seem somewhat exotic (believe me, I was astonished to learn that our normal Sunday dinner is now called "Santa Barbara Barbecue"!!!!). Any time you have difficult guests, just make it so that everyone can take what they want or can eat.