I've devised a food day that will surely please my father on his 89th birthday. A long-retired butcher, my dad has marked many special occasions making and cooking sausage. From the family's paprika and garlicky Hungarian pork sausage, to grilled veal bratwurst and thuringer buried in sauerkraut, the man enjoys it all.
It's not difficult to enjoy the rich, flavorful indulgence of sausage all day long _ morning to night.
Start the day with a skillet breakfast with sliced sausages or whole browned sausages served alongside. For lunch, another one-skillet meal. The recipe here features farmers market cabbages, tangy sauerkraut and full-bodied kielbasa. After a stroll in the park, we'll sip a glass of wine while munching on peppered salami (remember, it's a sausage too) that's been crisped in a moderate oven.
Sausage, highly seasoned minced meat mixed with a bit of fat, typically gets stuffed into casings made from cleaned animal intestines. Occasionally, I make my own blend and unearth the sausage stuffer from the cabinet. Mostly, I simply cook the seasoned meat, sans added fat and casings, over moderately high heat to render it moist and delicious.
For dinner, a free-form, casing-free sausage made from freshly ground lamb, Kalamata olives and plenty of fresh herbs comes together quickly. Serve the lamb sausage with a robust tomato dipping sauce and a side of basmati rice. Or, remove the sausage from skewers and serve it wrapped in warm pitas topped with the tomato sauce and paper thin slices of cucumber.
It's a menu a dad could love.
