Sausage

The large portobello mushroom makes a natural saucerlike container for tasty fillings. For modest appetites, one amply stuffed big mushroom will make a satisfying lunch or supper dish, but if you’re really hungry, make two.

Here’s a soup to warm your heart even on the bleakest day of winter. Use it as a guideline, and make your own innovations according to what you have on hand. The beans are very nourishing, the meat accent lends heartiness, and the greens are healthy, giving balance and color. It’s interesting how cooks of the past just knew these things instinctively.

Bed and breakfast inns are very popular in the areas surrounding Austin, Texas, which is known as the “Hill Country.” Around here, B&Bs are usually historic homes that have been in the innkeepers’ families for years. One of the best aspects of staying at a B&B is breakfast! The innkeeper traditionally gets up early and prepares a lovely morning spread for the guests. The richness of Brie, sausage, and egg reminds us of days well spent relaxing around a perfect breakfast with other guests at our favorite B&Bs.

As well as being inexpensive and easy to make, pasta is actually low in fat. It typically tends to be what we combine it with (and how much we consume) that gets us into trouble! But if you are still worried about carbohydrates, you can always opt for low-carb or whole wheat pasta. Instead of substituting the pasta, we avoided calorie pitfalls by adding lots of zucchini and using naturally lower fat cheeses, such as feta. The addition of hot Italian turkey sausage and red pepper flakes adds just the right amount of heat to keep your taste buds happy. Pair this dish with your favorite salad to make a quick and satisfying meal any night of the week.

Chicago’s best-loved food is deep-dish pizza. Do it up right, just as they do in the windy city, with heaping portions of spicy, hot Italian sausage, green peppers, fresh mushrooms, and onions. You can cheat a little and use refrigerated dough, but if you don’t want to upset the mob, try making your own dough from scratch (see page 194). Chicago-style pizza and our beloved home of Austin, Texas, have more of a connection than one might realize. Reportedly, the famous Chicago-style deep-dish pizza was invented by former University of Texas football star Ike Sewell. Go Horns!

Ah, the Corn Dog Casserole! Just the smell alone will get the kids to the table in time for dinner. Maybe even your neighbor’s kids. Okay, forget the kids. Who are we kidding? If you’ve ever dropped by your local carnival or street fair just to get yourself a corn dog, this is the dish for you! It’s fun to act like a kid sometimes, anyway.

My mom used to make stuffed peppers, but I don’t like peppers. What I liked was the stuffing. So I’ve taken my mom’s recipe, tweaked it, and stuffed it in cabbage instead. I’ve also added chicken livers. The livers add an earthy richness that makes this dish super-special. If you don’t like chicken livers—or think you don’t—this is one time where you should get beyond the ick factor, accept that they’re worth adding, and move on . . . because this dish rocks.

When people think pesto, they think basil. But I like to mix pesto up and use broccoli rabe—one of my very favorite vegetables. Broccoli rabe makes a delicious starting point for pesto. Add some sharp cheese and pistachios and you’ve got an amazing way to transform an old classic. I stick with a traditional combo—bitter rabe and sweet sausage over orecchiette (translated as “little ear”)—but I tweak it just enough to make it fresh and fabulous!

Years ago, I was working at a tiny restaurant in Tuscany. This is where I first learned to make ragù—an unbelievably delicious sauce that I would let cook for hours and hours. But in the beginning, no matter how long I let it simmer, the owner would come over, taste it, and tell me the vegetables were raw! In my head I remember thinking, are you freaking kidding me? But he was right. I was skimping on an essential step—I was rushing the browning of the soffritto: the early stage in a ragù’s life cycle when the flavor begins to build and deepen. Now, of course, I’m super-sensitive to this step, and when I taste a ragù in a restaurant, I can tell instantly if the chef has taken a shortcut at the browning stage. So be patient—if you’re taking the time and effort to make this spectacular sauce, don’t rush it; brown it and enjoy!

I love the charred flavor of grilled pizza. You can top it with anything, of course, but this version is one of my favorites. It’s crispy and crunchy, kind of like a grilled cracker. Whenever I eat pizza I always give it a sprinkey-dink of crushed red pepper—it’s just better with a little kick! That’s why I make this infused oil for my pizzetta. It’s an amazing way to get a big flavor bump, and while I love this chili oil on pizza, it’s great on lots and lots of things.

These mushrooms are double-stuffed with pork so even if you think you don’t like mushrooms, remember, they’re just the vessel for a double dose of porky deliciousness! I make these all the time and here’s a tip: Always make a small tester patty out of the stuffing before filling all the caps. Cook the patty and taste it to make sure it’s delicious. It may sound like an unnecessary step, but it’s one you don’t want to skip. There’s nothing fun about an underseasoned mushroom!

This simple batter puffs up in the oven like a popover and envelops the sweet sausage nestled down in it like a snuggly down comforter. This is a family favorite on cold winter Sunday nights.

In most bait shops throughout the South and beyond, big gallon jars of pink-tinted pickled eggs sit on counters next to smoked summer sausages. Here these two favorite fisherman’s snacks are brined up together and make a perfect take-along lunch for a day out on the lake for the angler gourmand.

There are endless possibilities when it comes to topping pizza. Here, sweet shrimp meet spicy chorizo sausage, slightly bitter escarole, and salty Manchego cheese. The combination is out of this world! If you haven’t explored making your own pizza yet, let this be one to try with the family.

Choucroute garnie traditionally combines sausages and thick chunks of bacon with larger cuts of meat like smoked pork chops and even hunks of pork shoulder. This faster version includes only sausages and bacon. The grated potato adds body and silkiness to the sauerkraut, which, if not homemade (see page 143), should be purchased refrigerated (not canned).