Breakfast Sausage

* Warning: the following post may cause readers to embrace vegetarianism *

Dave loves to make his own sausage! It takes some of the mystery out of the mystery meat when you see what goes in it, and makes it much more enjoyable to eat!


Ingredients:

• 2 pounds pork butt (2 1/2 pounds with bone), diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound fat back, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
  
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

Combine diced pork with all other ingredients and chill for 1 hour. Using the fine blade of a grinder, grind the pork. Form into 1-inch rounds. Refrigerate and use within 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months. For immediate use, saute patties over medium-low heat in a non-stick pan. Saute until brown and cooked through, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

Recipe Courtesy of Alton Brown, Foodnetwork.com

Sausage Pasta

This is a delicious almost-one-pot meal. It warms up great for leftovers too! We usually use Dave's homemade sausage (recipe to come later) but it works great with store-bought sausage too!


Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 lb. hot or mild Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled
• 1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 28 oz can italian diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 lb bowtie pasta
• 3 Tbsp. fresh parsley, minced
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add sausage and pepper flkaes. Cook until sausage is no longer pink (~7 minutes). Add onion and garlic to skillet and cook until onion is tender and sausage is light brown (~7 minutes). Add tomatoes, cream and salt. Simmer until mixture thickens slightly (~4 minutes)

Cook pasta until tender. Drain. Add pasta to sauce, sprinkle with parsley and fresh Parmesan.