Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Grilled sausages

Tonight's Menu

  • grilled sweet Italian sausages
  • onions caramelized on the grill
  • green salad "bar"
Yep, I'm grilling again. But now that it's March, it seems less wrong somehow. And besides, today was a beautiful weather oasis in what is otherwise supposed to be a chilly, nasty, rainy week.

Okay, these were fresh sausages (not cured/smoked/dried) so I did my usual deal of simmering them in a pan of water for about 15 minutes before slapping them on the grill to crisp and brown the skins. They were completely delicious. Grilled sausages rock my world, y'all.

I cut a large, sweet yellow onion (think Texas 1015, Vidalia, or something of that ilk) into half-inch wedges, laid the wedges on a piece of heavy-duty foil so that they were BARELY overlapping, dotted with butter, seasoned with a little salt and freshly ground pepper, then folded the foil around the onion so it made a sort of packet. I slapped this on the grill as soon as I lit it and just left it alone while the grill warmed up for the sausages. When I turned the sausages, I also flipped the packet over. It ended up cooking for around 20 minutes or so, I think, and the onions came out tender, sweet and delicious. I actually crave onions this way from time to time!

Incidentally, if it's not grilling weather yet where you are, you could make this whole meal in the oven. Prepare the foil packet of onions and put it in a 400 degree oven (either on a cookie sheet or right on the rack) before you put the sausages on to simmer. When the sausages are through simmering, remove the foil packet of onions and turn on the broiler. Then just broil the sausages, turning occasionally, until the skins are crisp and nicely browned. Your house will smell AMAZING, I promise!

Tonight's salad bar was mixed greens with sliced carrots, sliced cucumber, and a medley of cherry-sized tomatoes. My local sucky supermarket had assortments of red and yellow pear tomatoes along with some that looked like tiny watermelons, so I figured what the heck? They were good, but I can't WAIT until I have my own fresh tomatoes from the garden! Only a few more months, I hope!

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