Cookaholics Bulletin Board

My KA grinder has sitting mostly unused for the past six years since the hamburgers I made with it did not meet with my executive chef's approval.

I was cutting up a pork shoulder this morning for pork and fennel stew and decided to make breakfast sausage with the 1½# of cubes I had left over.

I just did a little test patty after the second grind and the result is at least as good as packaged breakfast patties that we get at Wegmans occasionally. I can almost smell the Sunday Morning Sausage Biscuits cooking.

That looks great, Jim. I, shamefully, stopped making sausage and brought the recipe for both Italian and American breakfast sausage to my butcher (I can't get either here). I am not using the breakfast sausage fast enough. Any ideas on what to do with it, other than fry it for breakfast?

Mary

The sausage I froze is in barely compacted 2 oz balls. They can be turned into Italian sausage with the addition of garlic, paprika, fennel, and perhaps anise and few drops of red wine.

I also plan to turn them into meatballs with some binder ingredients- perhaps with some ground lamb, veal or beef with a meat ball sub as the probable end result.

They probably wouldn't ruin a meatloaf either but I cannot remember the last time I made one.

Mary - what does the butcher add to make them breakfast sausages? I can't imagine using the ones we have here for much other than breakfast food with the flavour profile, or maybe adding to stuffing.

It is pretty strong tasting, with ginger and thyme. I thought of stuffing for poultry and maybe mushrooms. It would not morph into Italian sausage.

Mary

Mary,

The first issue of CC had a recipe for a sausage, spinach, and potato casserole. It's very hearty and a big hit with the fam during the winter months. I've made it with a few types of sausage -- Italian was good, but I usually use homemade stuff that has fennel, garlic, rosemary, and sage. Last time I made it I was not feeling the whole sausage-making thing, so I bought some breakfast sausage (pretty mild stuff from the local supermarket) and added some herbes de Provence. That was also very tasty.

It works with a wide variety of sausages is what I'm saying. Let me know if you'd like the recipe.

JB- I'm not Mary but I'd love that recipe.

Here it is. I usually use half again as much sausage and I just brown it up into crumbles. I also cheat and use frozen spinach more often than not.

Potato, Spinach, and Sausage Casserole

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 teaspoons olive oil
16 ounces fresh spinach, washed, dried, and stemmed
1 pound sausages, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch half-moons
2 large red onion, halved and sliced thin
1 garlic clove, minced
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups Gruyère or Swiss cheese, shredded

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter 13 by 9-inch baking dish.

2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add spinach and cook, stirring often, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Transfer spinach to strainer and drain. When cool, squeeze out liquid and roughly chop spinach.

3. Wipe skillet clean. Add sausage to skillet and cook over medium-high heat until browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Use slotted spoon to transfer sausage to bowl. Wipe skillet clean. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in skillet. Add onions and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Scrape mixture into bowl with sausage.

4. Meanwhile, place potatoes in large pot and add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring potatoes to boil over high heat, then lower heat to maintain gentle simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes, wipe pot dry, put potatoes back into pot, and mash with butter, cream, broth, vinegar, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir in spinach and 1 cup cheese.

5. Transfer potato-spinach mixture to prepared baking dish. Top with sausage-onion mixture and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake until potatoes are very hot and cheese is golden and bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Servings: 8

Tips
This hearty casserole works with several kinds of sausage, including Italian (sweet or hot), kielbasa, or chorizo. It's really more of a main dish than a side dish.

Source
Author: Lynn Zuccarelli Austin
Source: Cook's Country Charter Issue

That looks amazing and I think it would go well with my sausage. THANKS! I also just realized I could use a snack. Wish I had some russet potatoes.

Mary

Thanks from me too! Mary, i have a 50 lb bag of russets. Come by.