Sausage Question

[jkath]

I've got our favorite sausages to cook tonight, but was wondering if anyone had any good ideas.
The sausage is fresh, from my favorite Italian deli, and there's about 2-1/2 to 3 lbs.
I don't want to grill tonight, and would prefer to keep the sausages in their casings. Only other limitation is that my m-i-l is joining us, and she can't eat real spicy stuff.

So, what are your recommendations for tonight's dinner?

[QSis]

I made this one last night, jkath, using sweet Italian sausages. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci..._33312,00.html

It was delicious, but I wouldn't bother with the sauteed garlic cloves again - you really couldn't taste them much. I might just mixstore-bought chopped garlic in with the mustard.

I had four large sausages, and I cut the pizza dough into 4 sections to roll out each section. And I trimmed the rectangles with scissors, to fit. Spread the dijon and garlic on the dough, then the sausage, then topped with a 4-cheese shredded blend. You could put in anything you want - they come out like a calzone pig in a blanket! I served one whole one for each person and they were great! Sauces on the side could be marinara sauce, green chile sauce, more mustards, horseradish sauce.

Lee

[TATTRAT]

What about browning them off in a large pan, and then smothering them in peppers, onion, tomatoes, and finishing in the oven? i suppose it is a little hoehumm, but very traditional, and good.

[BreezyCooking]

I agree with Tattrat - that's what I'd do. Serve some small pasta on the side that can soak up some of the sausage sauce, & a green salad.

[ironchef]

Are you suuuuure you don't want to remove them from the casings JKath?

Well if you decide to do so, here's a few suggestions. I can't really think of any recipes off hand that uses them whole which don't involve peppers and tomatoes.

1. Remove casings, finely chop by hand or with a food processor and use them as a base for Bolognese sauce.

2. Remove casings, cut into 1" pieces, brown, and use the drippings as a base for risotto

3. Same method as above, and use for paella

4. Remove casings, mince and render with shallot or onion. De-glaze with balsamic or sherry vinegar, and use as a base for a salad dressing.

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Sausages are great when cooked, chopped, and added to mixtures of pasta, or in hashes containing potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic, or they can be added to Minnestrone - type soups. They are excellent when chopped into inch-long chunks and added to baked beans, or boild dinner (which will dilute some of the spicyness for your MIL.

Pre-cooked sausage baked into cheese macaroni is great. Or slice and top pizza with them. They are good with sour kraut and make a great addition to tossed green salad with tomato and cucumbers.

All of these suggestions allow you to cook the sausages in their casings, and slice, dice, chop or leave whole as the recipe requires. And whole sausages add a dramatic look to a pot of beans, especiall when they and the beans are placed on platter rather than in a bowl when served.

The sausage is also a very good addition to chili.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

[jkath]

oooooooh, so many great ideas!
I hesitate to the peppers/onions, as that's the only way m-i-l ever cooks them. My personal favorite is to make the italian sausage soup, but since it's nearly 100 degrees, soup is out of the question!
Qsis: I saw that episode! Love Michael C!
Thanks so much, all!

[kleenex]

rice mixed with some cayenne powder and butter to make it a spicy fried rice.

add some cooked browned sausage.

[marmalady]

Maybe too late for tonight, but - what about pan-grilling them, then serving on some yummy rolls - like sourdough, or something - with all sorts of condiments on the side?

[Aurora]

I know that you have Italian sausage but one of my family's favorites is bangers and mash. Saute the sausage and serve with mashed potatoes. Even though it's a big deviation from the English traditional dish I like to saute the sausage with mushrooms, onions and peppers and make a brown gravy with the pan drippings.

[jkath]

Originally Posted by kleenex

rice mixed with some cayenne powder and butter to make it a spicy fried rice.

add some cooked browned sausage.

m-i-l can't have spicy food!

Marm: love the idea!

I went with Ironchef's idea of a bolognese sauce. I made a 4 layer lasagna, and on the bottom layer, used the bolognese in a heartier, chunkier sauce. Then, for the remaining 3 layers, I used my stick blender and ground the meat quite fine. It came out to rave reviews. Thanks again!