Sausage, Pepper and Onion Snakes (Sausage, Pepper and Onion Roll)

Cook’s Illustrated. – July 2008

I took the cooks illustrated recipe for Sausage and onion and modified it to make the snakes. Red is my revisions (I also crossed off anything that didn’t apply to my version)

Sausage, Pepper and Onion Snakes
Why this recipe works:
We wanted a foolproof grilled sausage recipe that would produce nicely browned links with juicy interiors, accompanied by tender, well-cooked vegetables. As a first step, we started the vegetables, then layered the raw sausages over the hot vegetables in a disposable roasting pan. Cooking the sausages and vegetables together in the oven, covered, before browning the sausages directly on the grill and uncovering the pan to allow the vegetables to caramelize completed our perfect grilled sausage and vegetables recipe.

This recipe will work with any raw, uncooked sausage. Serve sausages as is or in toasted buns.

Serves 4

Ingredients
  • 2 large onions , halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices (I used ~1.25)
  • 4 large red bell peppers
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/2teaspoon table salt
  • 1/4teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 13- by 9-inch disposable aluminum roasting pan
  • 2 pounds hot or sweet Italian sausages (8 to 12 links) (I used hot turkey)
  • 2 – Italian dough (10 oz each)

Instructions
  1. 1. Turn all burners to medium-high and heating grill with lid down until very hot, about 15 minutes. Scrape grate clean with grill brush.
  2. Peel skin off sausage.
  3. Cut peppers into quarters (from top to bottom) – remove seeds and stuff
  4.  Meanwhile, combine onions, thyme, salt, and pepper in medium microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high power until onions begin to soften and tips turn slightly translucent, 4 to 6 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking (be careful of steam). Transfer onions to disposable roasting pan. Place sausages in single layer over onions and wrap roasting pan tightly with foil.
  5. On the side next to onions and sausage (in the roasting pan) put the (as flat as possible.)
  6. Place roasting pan in center of grill, cover grill, and cook 15 minutes. Move pan to one side of grill and carefully remove foil cover. Using tongs, place sausages directly on grate. Grill sausages, with grill lid down, turning every 1 to 2 minutes, until golden brown on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer sausages to platter and loosely tent with foil.
  7. Take peppers out of time to cook directly on grate until well browned.
  8. Crumble the sausage in the tin with the onions.
  9. Cover grill and continue cooking onions (and crumbled sausage), stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and onions begin to brown, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Serve sausages, passing onions separately. I threw the tin into the broiler to brown the meat a little and dry the mixture
  10. Once slightly cooled chop everything up (add the peppers to the onion and sausage)
  11. Roll Italian dough into a long thin strip. Fill sausage, peppers and onions and close it up.
  12. Bake about 10 minutes about 500 until well browned.

Roasted Roach Dip (Walnut Dip with Garlic)

Roasted Roach Dip (Walnut Dip with Garlic)
Divine Dinner Party

Ingredients:
3 slices of whole wheat bread, well toasted
1/4 C. walnut pieces
4 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3/4 C. water
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions: 1. In food processor (or by hand), crumble the toast into fine crumbs.

2. In food processor or blender, combine walnuts, garlic, and crumbs until all is finely ground.

3. Add lemon, oil, and parsley. Process until smooth. Add water as needed until desired consistency.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. This is one of those gross recipes for Halloween that’s easy to make ahead of time. As it sits in the fridge, it gets a little darker– a good thing for cockroach puree. The parsley may darken a bit and begin to look like bits of “cockroach skin”.

6. Serve up in a bowl labeled “Cockroach Puree,” “Roasted Roach Dip,” etc.

Pumpkin Cake Doughnuts

Pumpkin Cake Doughnuts
King Arthur Flour
Hands-on time: 15 mins. to 20 mins.
Baking time: 15 mins. to 18 mins.
Total time: 30 mins. to 38 mins.
Doughnuts:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups pumpkin purée (canned pumpkin)
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, or 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus heaping 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour*
*See tips, below, to substitute King Arthur Unbleached Self-Rising Flour.
Coating:
3 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar
1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans. If you don’t have doughnut pans, you can bake these in a standard muffin tin; they just won’t be doughnuts.
2) Beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt, and baking powder until smooth.
3) Add the flour, stirring just until smooth.
4) Fill the wells of the doughnut pans about 3/4 full; use a scant 1/4 cup of batter in each well. If you’re making muffins, fill each well about 3/4 full; the recipe makes about 15, so you’ll need to bake in two batches (unless you have two muffin pans).
5) Bake the doughnuts for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. If you’re making muffins, they’ll need to bake for 23 to 25 minutes.
6) Remove the doughnuts from the oven, and after about 5 minutes, loosen their edges, and transfer them to a rack to cool.
7) While the doughnuts are still warm (but no longer fragile), gently shake them in a bag with the cinnamon-sugar. If you’ve made muffins, sprinkle their tops heavily with cinnamon-sugar.
8) Cool completely, and store (not wrapped tight) at room temperature for several days.
Yield: 12 doughnuts or 15 muffins.
Tips from our bakers:
Want to make these doughnuts with King Arthur Unbleached Self-Rising Flour? Reduce the salt to 1/2 teaspoon; omit the baking powder, and substitute 2 cups (8 ounces) self-rising flour for the all-purpose flour. Bake the doughnuts for about 18 minutes.
Don’t wrap leftover doughnuts tightly in plastic; they’ll become soggy. If you’re not going to consume all of the doughnuts at one sitting, add the final coating of cinnamon-sugar only to those you’ll eat; store the rest, without their sugar, on a plate covered with a cake cover; or in a plastic bag that’s not fastened shut. Add cinnamon-sugar coating just before serving.