Making Sausage

Tags

bratwurst, DIY, homemade, hot, Italian, mild, pork, sausage

Last year for Christmas, my loving hubby gave me several attachments for my Kitchen-Aid mixer. Specifically the grinder and sausage stuffer. I have been wanting to use it but just haven’t had the extra hands to help with such a momentous project (oh the joy of shift work). Black Friday was the perfect opportunity. My parents and I cut and ground 20 lbs of meat then spiced, mixed, and stuffed it into natural hog casings. It took a full 8 hours start to finish and was great fun, though next time I think I will grind the meat and stuff the sausages on separate days. (On a side note, I used my mixer nearly the whole time. It didn’t overheat or have any troubles at all. I was pretty impressed!)

Below are the recipes we used and how the look prior to being stuffed. The Hot Italian smelled the best.

Hot Italian Sausage

5 lbs pork
1 cup cold red wine
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
5 tsp salt
1 tbsp garlic powder or-4 to 5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp fresh ground pepper
3 tsp cayenne
5 tbsp fennel seed
2 tsp crushed chili peppers
5 tbsp paprika

Combine all, mix well & stuff into hog casing.

Bratwurst

5 lbs ground pork, fine grind
4 tsp sugar
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground sage
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp nutmeg
4 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients, mix well & stuff into hog casing.

Sweet Italian Sausage

10 lbs ground pork
4 tbsp salt
1 cups ice water (the original recipe called for 2)
1 tbsp cracked fennel seed
2 tsp coarse black pepper
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tbsp coriander
3 tsp crushed hot peppers

Combine all ingredients, mix well & stuff into hog casing.

The picture below is me rinsing the casings and looking for holes. About 7 had small holes and I set them aside, though we did use nearly all of them. We just cut the pieces smaller to avoid them and continued on with the idea that smaller sausages could be bun length.

After the casings were selected, you grease the stuffer attachment with crisco and gently (but with purpose) thread the casing on. Then run your meat mixture through the attachment and into the casing. At first we were rather slow but with practice we were able to speed up fairly significantly.

As you can see, the sausage was a great success! Can’t wait to taste it!

 

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Lavender Liqueur

Tags

adult, beverages, cocktails, DIY, gift ideas, gluten free, herbs, lavender, liqueur

My friend Kathryn gave me this gorgeous little bottle of lavender liqueur and I was hooked. It’s fresh, herb-y flavor has so many potential uses (those will be future posts). Presentation is everything and I just love the little bottle. It would make a lovely gift, wouldn’t it? I know two things- 1) I had to share with my blog readers and 2) I will be making this on a regular basis because it is so dang good!

Lavender Liqueur

• 1/4 cup food grade dried lavender flowers
• 750 ml premium vodka 
• 1/2 cup local honey

In a glass container, combine the lavender and the vodka. Allow to steep for three days. Strain off the lavender flowers then stir in the honey. Allow the sediment to settle. Let the liqueur to rest for two days. Strain the mixture through a paper strainer to remove any remaining bits of flowers and sediment. Store in glass containers.

For more lavender recipes on my blog, check out these posts:

• Lemon Lavender Shortbread
• Lavender Rosemary Potatoes
• Plum Lavender Crumble with Almonds and Oats

Taco Seasoning for Gift Giving

Tags

Christmas, DIY, gift, holiday, Mexican, mix, seasoning, taco

Chances are you don’t want to make taco seasoning one use at a time. It makes so much more sense to have a jar of pre-made seasoning. This recipe makes about 1 cup. Three tablespoons equals one packet of the purchase seasoning.

Taco Seasoning for Gift Giving

• 1/4 cup and 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1-1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1-1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1-1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 3 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp black pepper

Combine all the seasonings and store in a dry place.

Busy Busy December!

Tags

Christmas, consumerism, DIY, gift, holiday, homemade

Wow! I am overwhelmed just thinking about the Christmas holiday. So much to do, so little time. I have to confess I have been a bit of a crab in the past about Christmas. Christmas is supposed to focus our minds on love, peace, family time together, etc. Instead it seems that everything is focused on the consumerism that is the holiday season. My local Kmart had decorations out before Halloween! Good grief! Can we please celebrate one holiday at a time?!?!?

Now we have passed Halloween and Thanksgiving on the calendar. Time to celebrate Christmas. Remember when we had real cranberry garlands? When children were so excited to watch Charlie Brown’s Christmas and drink homemade hot chocolate? When it was more about the events and the fun playing with your cousins/friends than the belongings we soon would acquire? When an orange was still an appreciated gift?  I plan to focus on the love, peace, and family time even more than ever before and to combat consumerism with a vengeance. I am going to make the great majority of my gifts. The few exceptions are the books for my grandparents (books are always a good and lasting gift that promise the receiver many years of enjoyment).

For the ladies in my family I hope to make some sort of sugar/salt scrub. Who doesn’t like spa days? For the cooks in my family, both male and female, I plan to give lemon curd, the pear jams I made (here and here), and taco seasoning mix. For my neighbors and co-workers, I will put together a candy box full of homemade candy like these chocolate covered caramels, bourbon truffles, and dark chocolate butter crunch. Don’t those seem like better gifts than the junk you don’t know you want or need? Gifts from the heart are gifts I want to give and receive. Not gifts made anonymously in a foreign country with more bright lights and promises of distraction from the most important thing in your life- those you love.

Garlic, Lemon, and Herb Yogurt Cheese – Part 2

Tags

appetizer, cheese, DIY, food, herb, homemade, lemon, yogurt

Many of you may remember my previous post Garlic, Lemon, and Herb Cheese.  I was pretty excited to see the results, especially in light of my friend David’s fantastic cheese.

The results are in! And it was a success…

Though there will be some future changes. Finished cheese on a bagel chip….

Texture- The texture was creamy and smooth, just like I expected it to be. I let the cheese drain for 3 days. That was the longest I thought it needed to work. But after the cheese sat in a container for a day, a surprising amount of liquid had seeped out. Next time, I will either allow it to sit longer or I will use a sieve instead of a strainer to hold my cheese.

Flavor- The flavor is garlicy, lemon-y and herb-y. Maybe a bit too garlicy. I had hoped for a more subtle garlic flavor. Instead, it tasted a bit raw. Next time, I intend to roast a head of garlic and mash a few cloves into a paste. The thyme and lemon were right on. I have recently become obsessed with lemon zest, which I love in this cheese.

Overall, I will certainly make this again. My in-laws like it very much when they came to visit. It would also make a nice appetizer for work functions, for presents, for appetizers.

Garlic, Lemon, and Herb Yogurt Cheese – Part 1

Tags

appetizer, cheese, DIY, food, herb, homemade, lemon, yogurt

I am so excited to finally taste the final product of this two part recipe. The ingredients list and the pre-taste indicates that it is going to be superb. My friend David made something very similar to this a few months ago. Since then, I have been searching for a recipe to recreate his masterpiece. I stumbled across a fantastic food blog called Scrumptious, an African food blog written by Jane-Anne Hobbs Rayner from Cape Town. Not only does Jane-Anne have this cheese recipe, she also posts such beauties as Lemony Green Beans with Frizzled Prosciutto, Fried Breadcrumbs and Aioli, and Buttermilk Cheesecake with a Strawberry Topping.You really should check it out. The recipes are fresh, the ingredients are accessible, and the photography is stunning. I have perused her blog for several hours and found many recipes I can’t wait to try. Have a look yourself, won’t you?

Garlic, Lemon, and Herb Yogurt Cheese

1 (32 oz) container full-cream natural Greek yogurt
½ cup heavy whipping cream
1 lemon, zested and juiced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated
Small sprig rosemary, finely chopped
Sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped and lightly bruised
1 tsp salt

In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, cream, lemon zest and juice, garlic, fresh herbs and salt. Place a piece of cheesecloth or muslin (or a fine clean tea towel or napkin) in a sieve and place it over a bowl.

Place the yogurt combination on top of the cloth. Refrigerate for two or three days, until the yogurt reaches the creamy consistency you desire.

Come back in a few days to see The Results- Part 2!