fennel sausage Archives • The Traveling Epicurean

Gourmet Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

These gourmet sausage stuffed mushrooms are literally the easiest appetizer ever. Wipe the mushrooms off with a damp paper towel or mushroom brush, add your favorite sausage and bake for 15-20 minutes! There is no need for chopping or sauteing. You remove the sausage meat out of the casing it comes in, fill the mushroom caps and viola! In this recipe I used two pork sausages Italian garlic herb, and a chorizo sausage made with spices like chili and paprika. I also used two chicken sausages one made with jalapeño, fennel and cilantro and the other with feta and spinach that I bought at Whole Foods Markets.

There are so many specialty sausages to choose from out there that you can’t go wrong stuffing these baby bells! All the work is done for you so take advantage of these gourmet sausage products and stuff these mushrooms for an incredibly scrumptious appetizer that will continue to get raves from your guests.

Mushrooms are probably one of my favorite vegetables to eat. Give me Chanterelle mushrooms in a brandy cream sauce and I am in complete heaven. But here all you need is a simple button shaped mushroom with some room under the cap for filling.You can use a white button mushroom for these gourmet sausage stuffed mushrooms but what I prefer are Baby Bells because they are packed with flavor.

Another great specialty meat product called D’Artagnan offers many different sausages. One in particular is a mix of pork, duck, duck liver and egg white and is out of this world! This type of sausage is called Boudin and is very popular in New Orleans. It has distinct flavors that you might just start to crave after you have tried it. I really like D’Artagnan and I have found that Bishops Orchards Market in Guilford, CT carries a wide variety of their products. This brand offers a lot of duck products which Bishops also carries. Anything with duck or goose whether it be breast or liver is a no brainer in my book…YUM!

Ingredients – Makes 20-24 Stuffed Mushrooms:

2 pkgs of baby bella mushrooms (2- 8 oz. pkgs. will get you 20 and 2-10 oz. will get you 24)

1 lb. – a variety of your favorite flavored sausages

Sprinkle of salt and pepper- (for after the mushrooms come out of the oven)

Fresh shaved Reggiano Parmesano

Fresh chopped chives for garnish

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400º

Clean your baby Bella mushrooms off with either a damp paper towel or a mushroom brush … you should NEVER wash your mushrooms or submerse them in water because mushrooms are porous.

Pop out the mushroom stems

Drizzle 2-3 Tbsp olive oil across a cookie sheet and rub it with your hands or use a brush to smear all of the olive oil across the baking sheet

Place all of the baby bella mushroom caps on the olive oil and roll them around lightly coating mushrooms then make sure they are all open side up on cookie tray

Slice open the sausage casings to get the sausage meat out and place on a small dish

Begin to gently fill mushroom caps with approximately 1 1/2 Tbsp of sausage per mushroom (some may be smaller and only need 1 Tbsp)

Do not pack in sausage just lightly stuff mushroom caps

Bake for 15-20 minutes til slightly crispy on the edges

DO NOT SALT the mushrooms before you bake them because all the water will release from the mushrooms and they will steam instead of baking

When you take the mushrooms out of the oven THEN you can sprinkle a little salt

The mushrooms will be juicy when you take them out of the oven so before you place them on a serving dish tilt them a little over the cookie tray that way some of the juice can drain out onto the tray and not on the serving platter

Shave a little Parmesan and chives on the mushrooms and serve

Pasta Sauce 101

Pasta sauce is such an essential part of any kitchen that I want to share with you my basic pasta sauce that I use for so many things. What I don’t use right away I freeze in small pint-like containers for futures uses. A basic slow cooked pasta sauce can be used for virtually anything from plain pasta’s to lasagna, manicotti, stuffed shells, vodka sauce, sausage and peppers, curry sauces and the list goes on.

When making an authentic slow cooked pasta sauce it’s important that one of the base layers of flavors come from some kind of meat like sausages, pork chops, meatballs or braciole, thin cut flank steaks rolled and stuffed with herbs and parmesan and then sauteed like the sausages. This method is something my family has been doing for generations. I happen to love the homemade fennel sausages from Liuzzi Cheese, an Italian delicatessen located in North Haven, CT. If you haven’t been there yet you really should check it out especially for their homemade cheeses like ricotta, mozzarella, and my favorite scamorza. Scamorza is an Italian cow’s milk cheese similar to mozzarella but dryer and a little saltier with better melting qualities…my kids love it! Liuzzi also has homemade pasta’s and their own delicious line of canned tomatoes and olive oils.

One of the best things about making this sauce is that your kitchen will smell amazing all day long. It would be wise to keep a crusty loaf of Italian or sourdough bread for dunking every now and then…you know, just to check and make sure every thing is going well! An appetizer dish that goes great with pasta and sauce is zucchini torta, baked asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto, baked coconut shrimp,wrapped, smoked salmon with cream cheese-caper spread on crostinis, clam puffs, or how about a roasted beet salad with mint and feta, or a refreshing fennel and citrus salad with tangerine dressing. Then there always dessert to plan for like a fresh fruit pavlova, or chocolate-avocado mousse.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. fennel sausage (your favorite) my favorite is Liuzzi in North Haven, CT
5 28 oz. cans of whole peeled tomatoes
1 cup red wine
3 Tbsp olive oil
6 lg. garlic cloves (crushed)
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp black pepper
2 Tsp Italian seasonings (ground in spice grinder)
1/4 cup grated Reggiano Parmesan
3 slices pesto butter log or handful of fresh basil leaves

Directions:

Slice up the sausage links into 3″ pieces
Smash the garlic cloves with a large knife to release the cloves from it’s wrapper
Add 3 Tbsp olive oil and 6 smashed garlic cloves to a large pan (this will be your sauce pan)
Put the heat on low and sauté garlic til lightly golden … This will take about 7-10 minutes
When the garlic is slightly golden remove from pan and set aside
Add in sliced sausage links to the same sauce pan and turn heat up to medium/high
Sauté sausage links turning every 5 minutes or so until they become golden on all sides…this will take about 20-30 minutes
Put the 1/2 of the whole peeled tomatoes into a food processor (this will take 2 rounds with this large can) and then add the golden sauteed garlic cloves
Puree for 40 seconds and add to the sautéed sausages
Add the rest of the whole peeled tomatoes and puree for another 40 seconds and again add to the pot of sauce
Add in the 2 cans of crushed tomatoes to the sauce pan (no need to purée these) and the cup of red wine
Add in all the spices and turn heat to medium to bring to a simmer
Cover the pan, leaving a little opening at the edge to let condensation escape during the cooking process
Turn down right away to low heat and keep a low simmer for 2 1/2 hours
When you take the pan cover off to check on sauce be sure to NOT let all this condensation drip back into the sauce from the inside of the lid
Stir every 45 minutes or so to make sure bottom isn’t burning
Towards the end oil will accumulate from the sausages on the top layer of the sauce so just skim this off with a spoon
Serve and take off stove to let cool
Put into frig or into container for the freezer