Anyone who knows me well will also know that I love a good sausage. I know there are healthier, more exotic meats out there but I can't help it. There is just something about sausages that turns me on!
Be it your humble New York hot dog, a spicy chorizo sausage or the traditional British Cumberland, they all make it onto my list of fave foods. Even veggie sausages make the cut: on a taste and texture level they aren't too bad, and they are undoubtedly much healthier than the animal equivalent.
One of the things I like about sausages is that you can do so many things with them. They go we with pretty much any vegetable, can be cooked in a variety of sauces (mustard, garlic, tomato, mushroom...) and are delicious when accompanied by fruits and sugary ingredients, making it the ideal meat to try out sweet and savoury dishes. I especially like adding a bit of honey to my sausage casseroles, as well as a chopped apple which helps to balance out what can otherwise be a salty dish.
In my opinion, nothing beats simple, however, when it comes to making a sublime sausage: good quality sausages roasted in the oven, some seasonal vegetables from the market. I chose sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts, but parnsips and turnips work well too. Top the lot off with some warm Bisto gravy and you have yourself a tasty winter supper.
Greedy tip: Buy the best quality sausages you can afford. They will be less fatty, tastier, and healthier. It's better to eat good quality sausages once a month than budget quality every week. And vary the types: chipolata, merguez, garlic and herb...the possibilities are endless!
A big thank you to my good friend for inviting Cheri and I to dinner last Saturday. After a week's recuperation where I did little else than change my ice packs and mope around in the thirty degree heat (note to self: listen to the dentist when she tells you not to get teeth taken out over summer) I was both excited and apprehensive at the thought of my first real meal in a week as my poor mouth was still a bit tender and there are quite a lot of restrictions as to what you can and can't eat post-operation.
I needn't have been worried as ma copine had thought of everything! For nibbles we had ripe melon from the garden cut into tiny pieces that just melted in the mouth and some crabsticks with a homemade chive and cream dip. I must say at this point that crabsticks are one of my guilty pleasures as I know there is loads of rubbish in them but I just can't help myself, I love them!
Starter was a nice creamy vegetable soup, admittedly not a seasonal choice as it is pretty warm outside but it felt so good just sliding down with no chewing required.
Main course arrived and I was ecstatic to see we were eating some meat as this is one if the things I missed over the week. Lots of things can be mixed and liquidised to be suitable for post dental surgery diets but meat is just not one of them. I did buy some rilletes which filled a bit of the meaty void but nothing could compare to the delicious sausage meat casserole that was set down before me. Anyone who knows me well knows I am a fan of sausage in all its forms and so there couldn't really have been a more welcome ingredient! Combined with courgettes and tomatoes from the garden, slowly stewed until they became almost melting, this is a perfect summer dish. Only regret is that the sausage meat is a bit salty when prepared like this as it breaks down during the long cooking time. As a helpful gourmande I advised mon ami to put a raw potato cut in half in to the casserole dish the next time as this would absorb the extra salt.
Dessert didn't disappoint either. My mate excelled herself and dished up a bowl of egg custard, which I absolutely LOVE, served with homemade vanilla cream. This was always my favourite food as a baby and then even as a teenager I would sometimes allow myself to buy a pot of egg custard with rice baby food..Mmmm heaven!
Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me to document my return to real eating as the anaeasthetic has made me a bit dozy this week and I forgot it.
