Linny's Kitchen: Fortuna's Sausage Bake

Monday, November 1, 2010

Fortuna's Sausage Bake

Welcome, November! The nights are coming earlier and the weather has gotten colder. When you step outside there is the smell of the fallen leaves and of chimney smoke lingering in the air. Warm comforting foods have taken the place of the summer salad and the last of the garden harvest are being brought in from the field.

A sausage bake is a flavorful and easy dish that takes minimal work and watching. It is perfect for those nights that you have book reports to work on, science projects to construct, and sports to practice. Just toss all the ingredients in a casserole dish or dutch oven put in the oven and let it go.

Fortuna's Sausage Bake

Serves 4

1.5 lbs of Fortuna's Sausage (Sweet, Hot, or Tuscano) cut into 2" pieces

4 Medium Potatoes (Red or White) Cut into 2" pieces

4 Ribs of Celery cut into 2" pieces

2 Medium Yellow Onions cut into 2" pieces

2 Green Peppers cut into 2" pieces

3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to Taste

Zest from 2 lemons (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large casserole dish or dutch oven combine all of the vegetables and toss with the seasoning and olive oil to coat evenly. Add the sausage on top cover and place in the oven to bake for 20- 25 minutes. After 20 - 25 remove the cover and toss the veggies also piercing the sausage with a fork or knife. Keep the cover off and bake for another 20 - 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 to ten minutes. Serve with warm bread and enjoy.

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Linny's Tip - Cooking and Storing Potatoes

Potatoes should be kept in a cool, dark place with good ventilation. The ideal storage temperature is 45 to 50ºF. At these temperatures, potatoes will keep for several
weeks. But don't store potatoes in the refrigerator! When kept below 40ºF, potatoes develop a sweet taste, due to the conversion of starch to sugar. This increased sugar causes potatoes to darken when cooked. If you store potatoes at room temperature, try to use them within a week or so.

Keep potatoes away from prolonged exposure to light, which causes them to turn green. This greening causes a bitter flavor. If potatoes develop green areas or start to sprout, just trim off these areas before using.

Always add potatoes to cold water to boil. This ensures that potatoes will cook evenly throughout.

Linny's Tip: Tomatoes

Did you know tomatoes are second in consumption to potatoes!

However, there is one important thing everyone should know about tomatoes and that is how to store them. Tomatoes do not like the cold at all. In fact when you keep them in the refrigerator they will become mealy and loose their robust flavor.

Instead store them in a cool dark place with their stem side down for ripe tomatoes. For those tomatoes that a not quite ripe leave them on a sunny window sill and soon they will turn bright red and juicy ready to honor any salad or BLT!