Irish Sausage with Sauteed Cabbage

I made these sausages during my week-long St Patrick's Day celebration but didn't have time to get this post up until now. My daughters started spring break last Friday, March 18th so we headed for the Florida Keys for a mini vacation. The views in every direction were fabulous. We stayed 3 nights but we should have stayed longer. We had just gotten into true relaxation mode and then it was time to drive home.

Once home there were things to do, not the least of which is entertaining two 9 year olds who are off from school. We checked out Disney's Animal Kingdom on Wednesday and have been working on crafts for some upcoming events. They have a Harry Potter camp weekend coming up with the Girl Scouts and we made wands for a wanding ceremony. I will have to post pictures of those because they came out pretty cool and also show how the rest of my time is spent.

I do love experimenting with all kinds of different sausages. Here is the Irish version:

Homemade Irish Sausage
3 lbs fatty pork, cubed
3 slices white bread, cubed
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp sage
1/4 tsp nutmeg 2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/4 cup Guinness Stout

Combine all the ingredients except stout in a large bowl and mix well. Put through the small disk of a meat grinder. Once all the meat has been ground stir in the stout. Mix well. Stuff the sausage into casings. Twist it into 3-4 inch links.

Place the links in one layer on a platter and prick each in several places with a toothpick. Put in the refrigerator for 24 hours, turning after 12. Now you are ready to cook it or freeze it. I cooked half and froze the other half.

Cooking the Sausage: To cook the sausage place it in a skillet with one cup of chicken stock and bring it to a simmer. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. The stock will reduce down to a couple of tablespoons. Lightly oil the grill racks and heat the grill. Grill the sausage over medium heat, turning and basting with the reduced stock until nice and brown.

Serve with the cabbage:

Cabbage Sauteed with Onions and Bacon
1 small head cabbage, shredded
1 medium onion cut into thin slices
3-4 slices bacon, diced
1/4 cup chicken stock salt and pepper to taste

Saute the bacon until it is rendered and just starting to crisp. Add the onion and cook 3-4 minutes until wilted. Add the cabbage and continue to cook, stirring frequently 3-4 minutes. Add the stock and salt and pepper. Cook another 3-4 minutes until the stock is absorbed and the cabbage is tender. Serve with the sausage.

Bon Appetit!

Scones

Next week is St Patrick's Day. Of course, this makes me think of all things Irish. I have never been to Ireland but it always sounds like such a magical place. They have fairies there. They have mist rising off the moors. Indeed it is referred to as the Emerald Isle. It also sounds like it could be kind of chilly there. But then you hear about the food and you warm right up. Tea and scones, corned beef and cabbage, whiskey, stews, oatmeal, stout, shepherds pie... and the list goes on. So, today is March 9. The countdown has begun. I want to try it all!

I started tonight. I made a batch of simple scones. They came out just the way I wanted them too. Tender and not too sweet. The perfect pairing for some wild blueberry jam I had in the fridge. Things get a little more complicated over the next couple of days recipe-wise, culminating in the corned beef and cabbage feast on the 17th. I know that one night I plan to get a stout cake in and definitely some Irish coffee so stay tuned!

Many recipes for scones call for self rising flour and buttermilk. I usually have neither of these items on hand and tonight when I decided to embark on my Irish cooking journey was no exception. I made due with what I had and things came out quite admirably.



Simple Scones
2 tbs milk
1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
4 tbs butter at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 egg
1 whipping cream or milk
1 tbs sugar

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix the 2 tbs milk and vinegar together and set aside. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together. Cut in the butter until it resembles course crumbs. Cut in the sugar. Beat together the egg and the milk mixture. Add to the flour mixture and mix until it starts coming together. Pour onto a cutting board and form a ball. Roll out to about 3/4 inch. Use a cookie cutter to cut into scones and place on a baking sheet. You should have 10 - 12 scones. Brush each with some cream and sprinkle with the sugar.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Serve with jam.