A matter of taste

I think its funny how your tastes change as you age. When I was young I loved mayonnaise, sausage, over-easy eggs, and ham and cheese sandwiches with ungodly amounts of mustard (only the sandwiches had mustard). I liked American cheese slices, hard boiled eggs on my salads, plain tuna, and well-done steak. When I was a little older, I didn't like mayo, sausage, over-easy eggs or very much mustard. Then it changed, and I liked them again. I still don't care for American cheese, hard boiled eggs (unless their deviled), plain tuna or well done steak. A few things, I didn't like as a child and I still don't like today, like cottage cheese. I think its my nemesis. For whatever reason I just can't stand the texture.
Lately, I have been having a renewed affair with sausage. I purchased some Evergood Louisiana style hot links and stashed them in the freezer. They are great fried up and tossed with spaghetti, butter, and parmesan cheese for a quick and easy dinner. I also like them cut up and scrambled with eggs and potatoes for breakfast burritos, or just a skillet-type breakfast.

Another easy dinner, that I had completely forgotten about, is chicken and sausage. You put some mixed chicken parts in a pan with sausage, add some onions, mustard, salt and pepper, and roast for about an hour. You can fix up a side while its in there cooking, and its very flavorful and absolutely delicious. I used Aidells chicken and apple sausage (really flavorful and delicious) and some chicken thighs I had in the freezer. I think this is great with Jasmine rice, or mashed potatoes. Its also nice if you have a big family, or you are having guests, because its so hands-off but you can double it and feed a crowd. The skins get nice and crispy, and so do the sausages. My boys (husband included) couldn't get enough. I will definitely be making this again, soon.

Sage Chicken and Sausages
serves 6
2 small onions
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon or deli style mustard
1 Tablespoon dried sage
pepper
salt
1 lemon
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 lbs chicken, cut into 8 pieces
6 sausages (as previously mentioned I think these are great)
2 Tablespoons chopped sage leaves

Combine oil, mustard, dried sage, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, the lemon juice (save the squeezed out rinds) and the Worcestershire. Peel and cut the onion into eighths, and place that, along with the squeezed out lemon rinds and the chicken, skin side up, in a large baking dish and pour over the marinade. Set at room temperature for 45 mins (or, you can put it all in the pan and leave it for a few hours in the fridge or overnight).
Preheat the oven to 425. Add the sausages and sprinkle on the chopped sage leaves, and salt and pepper the chicken. Cook for 1 hour, 15 minutes, turning the sausages over halfway through to color them evenly.

(If your not a big fan of sausages, you could just leave them out. The dish is still delicious.)

This is also absolutely amazing  grilled. You can take it with you to a cookout or camping, and it is a flavorful alternative to hamburgers or ordinary BBQ chicken. Just combine all the ingredients in a Ziploc bag and store in the refrigerator until about 30 minutes before grill time!

Sage, Spicy, Sweet

About half a year ago, I decided it would be much cheaper if we purchased our meat in large quantities once a year and divided it up for storage in our large freezer. Many butchers will cut your meat to order, i.e., buy a pork loin and you can get two roasts and two dozen chops. The cost is minimal compared to buying these items individually. It was around this time that I had purchased a pork shoulder, and my husband had given me a meat grinder for Christmas, so it was only natural for me to make sausage. I had used the other half of the shoulder to make this fantastic braised pork shoulder with fennel, and as the remaining half sat in the freezer, I began fantasizing about what I should do with it. I decided it should be sausage. At the incredible prices you pay for sausage, and the amount of sausage I use, I figured I would save some money. I told my plan to my husband (it seems like I always have plans) and began thinking about the types of sausage I would make.
A few weeks later, I still hadn't made the sausage, and we were in a hotel watching TV (we don't have cable...for some strange reason my husband thinks I would spend too my time watching the Food Network...hmmmm) so, I was watching Emeril's show, and guess what he was making...sausage! I was so excited! I decided to try his recipe, for Mild Italian Sausage. I also made sage, which I use when I make stuffing, and hot, which is a favorite for biscuits and gravy. They were amazing and delicious! I still can't believe I made them and they turned out that good. And it was so incredibly easy!
For grinding the meat, you can use a KitchenAid attachment, which you can also use to grind your own hamburger mixes (that way you know exactly what's in there), or a counter top grinder. If you have neither, you can cut the meat by hand. It is very tedious, and will not be as uniform as a grinder.

Each of these recipes makes three pounds. Be sure you have the right amount when you start, and be sure to test each type you make by frying it up and tasting it. Salt is very important here as it brings the flavors together.
Mild Italian Sausage Recipe
(note: ground anise seeds are the same as fennel seeds. You can use a mortar and pestle to grind the fennel seeds for the ground anise the recipe calls for. To toast seeds, just put them in a pan on the stove top on medium low heat, stirring constantly, until you smell them.)

For the sage sausage, I used a Tablespoon each of salt and pepper, and simply added a Tablespoon of powdered sage and 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh sage.

For the hot sausage, I used a Tablespoon each of salt and pepper, 2 teaspoons cayenne, 2 teaspoons chili pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons chipotle powder (you can find it at World Market), 2 teaspoons paprika, and 2 teaspoons chili powder. Taste the sausage and adjust the seasonings. I added more, because we like ours very hot.

I divided the sausage into 1-lb portions and wrapped them in plastic wrap, then labeled them for storage in the freezer.