Sausages with Sweet Potato Hash

MMMM....hash!  Served with eggs, it makes a classic, down-home breakfast.  Served with a main course and a salad as described here,  it makes a great dinner dish.  The oven-roasted method described below eliminates the need for a cook at the flattop grill, but if you have the cook-power and love traditional hash, feel free to fry it up.  We use roasted red peppers as a stand-in for fresh when bell peppers are out of season.  Huge jars can occasionally be found at Costco, and when we find them, we buy extras for the pantry.  If they're not stocked there, the next place to look is at a Greek or Italian grocery.  The jars will be huge and the price will be right.  Beyond that, you'll find them next to other jarred and pickled vegetables at well-stocked groceries.  As always, we hit Stanley's for the remainder of our vegetables.

There's a plethora of all-natural, pre-cooked chicken sausages on the market today, the best-known of which may be Amy's brand, available at most grocery stores.  Several flavors of Amy's are available at Costco, including a sweet Apple-Gouda and a mildly spicy Andouille.  We use both flavors with good results.  Trader Joe's sells similar sausages under their store-brand which are equally delicious.  Oven roasting the sausages yields a crisp outside and a tender center and takes just a few minutes to prepare.  We serve them Chicago-style: on a bun with mustard and hot peppers as desired; hold the ketchup!

To compliment the sweet flavors in this meal and to combat the cold weather outside, we start things off with mugs of hot cider long before dinner is ready.  This takes the edge off the cold and makes the dining room smell great.  A simple platter of crudites and vegetable dip makes a nice starter.  Still or sparkling water is good with the dinner itself.  Enjoy!  

WARM SPICED CIDER

Gently heat prepared spiced apple cider (available at Trader Joe's and other groceries)  in an XL stock pot over medium heat, adding a fresh cinnamon stick or two as desired.  Ladle cider into warm mugs to serve.

OVEN-ROASTED SAUSAGES
Makes 42 sausages

• (1) 21-count package of Amy's Apple Gouda chicken sausage (available at Costco)
• (1) 21-count package of Amy's Andouille chicken sausage (available at Costco)
• 1/4 cup olive oil plus 2 TBS olive oil
• 5 medium yellow onions
  
• 42 sausage buns, whole wheat if possible
• 16 oz jarred hot peppers or Giardinara
• 5 medium yellow onions
• Dijon mustard

Preheat convection oven to 400 degrees.  Preheat grill top to medium-high heat. 


Slice onions into thin rings.  When grill top is hot, warm 1/4 olive oil until just shimmering.  Saute onions for 20-30 minutes until deeply golden and caramelized.  Keep warm until ready to serve.

 

Use a basting brush to lightly oil two sheet pans with olive oil.  Arrange sausages in a single layer on each pan, using one pan for each type of sausage you'll be serving.  Roast sausages until they have deeply browned and rendered some of their juices, approximately 20 minutes in a commercial oven.  They will shrink in size but greatly increase in flavor when cooked until well done.  

While sausages are roasting, arrange sausage buns on an additional sheet pan.  Transfer pan to the oven about five minutes before serving to lightly toast the buns.  

To serve, place a sausage in each bun and offer caramelized onions, hot peppers and mustard on the side.

 

SWEET POTATO, MUSHROOM AND RED PEPPER HASH
Serves 36

• 5 lbs fresh button or crimini mushrooms, stalks trimmed and tops quartered
• 5 lbs sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cubed into small dice
• 5 large Spanish or sweet yellow onions, diced
• 36 oz jarred roasted red peppers, diced
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• generous amounts of sea salt and pepper
• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, washed, trimmed and finely chopped for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

 

Prepare the mushrooms, potatoes, onions and peppers as described and combine them all in a full-size hotel pan.  Toss the vegetables with the olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper.  Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until everything is tender and lightly caramelized.  Cooking time may vary depending upon your oven.  The time given above is for a commercial convection oven.   If using a conventional oven, allow an additional 20+ minutes to cook. 

WINTER FRUIT SALAD WITH HONEY-YOGURT DRESSING
Serves 40

• 5 lbs assorted apples
• 5 lbs assorted pears
• 4 lbs grapes
• 6 lemons, freshly juiced
• 2 cups raisins
• 1 qt 2% Greek yogurt 
• 1/2 cup honey 
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

In a small bowl, squeeze the juice from the lemons and remove the seeds with a spoon.  Add the raisins to the lemon juice to rehydrate. 

Prepare the dressing so it's ready to use as soon as the fruit is chopped.  This will keep the fruit from browning.  In a bowl, combine yogurt, honey, cinnamon and vanilla and mix well.  Test for flavor and add more honey as desired.

  

Wash and core apples and pears and chop into bite sized pieces.  Wash and drain grapes.  Combine both in a large serving bowl.   Add the dressings, lemon juice and raisins to the fruit bowl and mix well.  Chill until ready to serve.