Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

There are very few dishes that The Barefoot Contessa does not do well; foolproof recipes so to speak.  Her new cookbook Foolproof; recipes you can trust is a case in point.  One of the recipes she includes is this recipe for Roasted Sausages and Grapes.  The recipe comes from Al Forno, a restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island.  Al Forno is known for its wood-burning ovens and hardwood charcoal grills.  This is a dish I would cook in my fireplace in Lake Lure.

But unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your outlook, we are in Florida without a fireplace.  And fortunately this recipe can be cooked in a 500 degree oven. The  combination of sausages and grapes is a genius idea.  The following picture shows the sausages and grapes ready to go into the oven.

The roasted grapes make a sweet counterpoint to the spicy sausages.  The final touch is a balsamic vinegar reduction that brings it all together.  We absolutely loved this combination.

I served the sausages and grapes with creamy mashed potatoes and zucchini cakes.  This is an easy recipe and a satisfying winter meal.

ROASTED SAUSAGES AND GRAPES

1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian pork sausages
1 1/2 pounds hot Italian pork sausages
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 pounds seedless green grapes, removed from the stems
1/2 cup good balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the sausages, and simmer for 8 minutes to remove some of the fat.  Remove to a plate.

Melt the butter in a large roasting pan on top of the stove.  Add the grapes and toss them to coat with butter.  Transfer the sausages to the roasting pan with tongs, nestling them down in the grapes in one layer.  Place in the oven and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, turning the sausages once, until they’re browned and the grapes are tender.

Transfer the sausages and grapes to a serving platter with tongs and a slotted spoon and cover with aluminum foil to keep them hot.  Add the balsamic vinegar to the roasting pan and cook over medium-high heat for 2 minutes to reduce the balsamic vinegar slightly.  Pour over the sausages and grapes and serve hot.

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We have been gone for a week visiting our family in Cary, NC.  As much as I love our Farmer’s Markets in the mountains, nothing can compare to the Farmer’s Markets in Raleigh.  My DIL Kristen and I spent a morning strolling the aisles there.  There was everything from fresh bread from La Farm Bakery to these adorable eight ball zucchinis.  There is no doubt about what to do with these cute little spheres.  They are perfect for stuffing.

Kristen is very creative about coming up with ideas for recipes.  Later in the day we visited her local butcher shop and came away with some chicken chipotle sausages.

We also had some Round of Hungary sweet red peppers that we picked up at the market.  These peppers are sweet and also suited for stuffing, but in this case we used them as part of the stuffing for our zucchini.

I had already decided on making an orzo pasta dish (which I will blog about later), so our stuffing did not include rice or pasta.  But it did include Manchego cheese, the sausage, peppers, zucchini, and a topping of fresh corn, panko crumbs and more cheese.  It was as good as it gets.

STUFFED EIGHT BALL ZUCCHINI SQUASH

1 pound sausage of your choice
1 yellow sweet pepper,chopped
1 red sweet pepper, chopped
chopped flesh from hollowed out zucchini (about 1 cup)

1 cup shredded Manchego cheese

8 eight ball zucchini squash

Topping:
1 ear of sweet corn, cooked and kernels removed from cob
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup panko crumbs
1/4 cup Manchego cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Hollow out eight ball zucchini squash with a melon baller reserving the flesh.  There will be extra which can be saved for another purpose.

Saute sausage and peppers in a skillet until sausage is cooked.  Drain off grease. Add 1 cup of reserved chopped zucchini and shredded Manchego cheese.

Stuff zucchini shells with the mixture.  Place on baking sheet and cook in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

Mix topping ingredients together.  Top each zucchini with some of the mixture and return it to the oven.  Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until topping is browned.  Broil for a few minutes if topping is not browned.

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