Beer-Glazed Sausages with Charred Onions and Polenta

A few weeks ago, Emily's friends from Vienna were in town, visiting New York. They spent the week walking around the city, shopping and dining, clubbing and drinking. Whenever they were around the apartment, I naturally inquired about Viennese cuisine -- its pastries, its savories, its sweets. As the week progressed, I began craving German food, though I had rarely -- if ever -- had during my life. I proposed that on their last night I make everyone dinner to satisfy my craving, which had manifested itself in a craving for sausage.

I came up with this recipe for a sausage meal, which I think seems to be a marriage of German food (with the sausages and beer) and Mediterranean cuisine (with the polenta and roasted tomato. In keeping with this Austro-Mediterranean theme, we served the meal with a rich Catena Malbec wine instead of beer, which paired rather well with the buttery sausage and the charred onions. But to top off our meal, the Austrians pulled out some strong vodka, which we served with a Sour Cherry Tart from Silver Moon Bakery, and a lesson in key German phrases.

Somehow, the beer "sauce" that I originally intended to make came out as more of a glaze, perhaps because of the high yeast content of the beer I used. The result was deliciously thick, salty, and a bit sweet: a perfect last meal with new friends to say auf wiedersehen, a bittersweet goodbye.

BEER-GLAZED SAUSAGES WITH CHARRED ONIONS AND POLENTA

Serves 4-6

Six uncooked sausages, bought from butcher
1 small yellow Onion, cut into quarter-circle slices
½ cup Dark German Ale
2-3 vine tomatoes, cut in half
Fresh thyme
Olive oil

1 cup Polenta corn meal
2 cups water
½ cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Pinch of salt and pepper

Turn on broiler to high.

Cut tomatoes in half along their width. On a small dish, pour a circle of olive oil, add a sprinkling of salt, pepper, and fresh thyme leaves. Rub tomatoes, on the cut side down, in olive oil and herb mixture (these will be the tops of the tomatoes that face up in the broiler). Sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese on top of oiled tomatoes. Arrange tomatoes in a broiler pan, and put under broiler. Cook all the way through, until soft. Remove from oven and let cool.

While tomatoes are under broiler, heat a large sauté pan on high. Add oil to pan, turn down to medium heat, and add sausages. Begin cooking sausages by browning on all sides. Add onions and fresh thyme leaves to sausages. Turn sausages occasionally to cook through on all sides. When onions begin to brown, cut sausages in half length-wise and then in half across, keeping links in pan to continue cooking. Sauté sausages, cut side down, adding ale. Turn town heat to let mixture simmer, cover, and cook sausages all the way through, allowing onions to char.

In a medium-sized pot, bring two cups water to a low boil. Add polenta in a thin stream, stirring mixture with the other hand. Turn down heat to a simmer and stir polenta slowly. As the mixture begins to thicken, add parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Turn off heat, stir occasionally.

Keep an eye on the sausages to be sure that the meat cooks all the way through. When onions turn black and begin to char and the beer turns to a thick glaze, the dish should be ready.

Spoon a helping of polenta on a plate, arranging sausages and onion on top. Set one half of a roasted tomato on the side. Garnish with a sprinkling of fresh thyme leaves.

Guten appetit!

Risotto with Mushroom and Thyme Ragù

Risotto is one of my all-time favorite dishes. When I was asked to prepare it for my "nanny family," I was absolutely thrilled. When they requested mushroom risotto, I was elated.

Risotto is a dish that many people tend to eat in the colder seasons because it is such a substantial and comforting meal. It was perfect for last week's weather in New York, when rainy cold Autumn days suddenly interrupted our August heat, which was then promptly restored over the weekend at 100*.

Risotto is, however, a very versatile dish that can be prepared for any season if the right ingredients are used. It is a meal that can showcase the produce of the season. Wintertime root vegetables are excellent for a comforting meal of Risotto with Butternut Squash and Sage. In the spring, welcome the new season with Risotto with Shrimp and Spring Asparagus Tips. Take advantage of summertime tomatoes with a Sweet Tomato and Basil Risotto with Peas. In the fall, take through the woods under changing foliage to collect mushrooms for this Mushroom Risotto with Thyme.




RISOTTO WITH MUSHROOM AND THYME RAGÙ


For the Risotto:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup fennel, finely diced
3 small cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup carrot, finely diced
1/2 cup diced Portobello mushroom
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups Arborio Rice (risotto rice)
6 cups fluid: 2 cups vegetable stock, 2 cups mushroom stock, 2 cups water (kept warm in a small pot on stove)
1 cup grated Parmesean cheese

For the Mushroom Ragù*:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup fennel, finely diced
2 small cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup carrot, finely diced
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 cup sliced Crimini mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced Shitake mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced Portobello mushrooms
1/2 cup small Oyster mushrooms, whole
1/2 cup Black Trumpet mushrooms
1/4 cup dry white wine
Salt and pepper, to taste

* Vary the types and quantity of mushrooms you use, depending on taste and availability. If using dried mushrooms, re-hydrate for minimum 2hr before cooking in warm water, and retain mushroom water to use as mushroom broth in risotto.



Heat oil in a large, heavy sauce pan. Add diced onions and sauté until they just become transparent. Add fennel, garlic and carrot, and thyme, and sauté mixture until vegetables just become soft. Sauté in mushrooms until they soften, and add 1/2 cup dry white wine to de-glaze pan.

Once wine has mostly evaporated, add rice. Sauté and stir mixture gently, about 1 minute, being careful not to brown or burn rice. When rice becomes fragrant, add remaining cup of dry white wine, stirring slowly and often until liquid has been absorbed by the rice.

Add 1 cup hot broth, and simmer until broth is just nearly absorbed by the rice, stirring slowly and often (about 4-5 mins). Add more broth, 1 cup at a time: each cup should be absorbed before continuing to the next. This allows the rice to become tender and creamy, instead of bloated and sticky. Continue until rice is thick and creamy, about 20-30mins.

While risotto is simmering, heat a sauté pan with olive oil to begin preparing the mushroom ragù. Just like the risotto, add diced onions and sauté until they just become transparent. Add fennel, garlic and carrot, and thyme, and sauté mixture until vegetables just become soft. Sauté in mushrooms until they soften, and add remaining 1/2 cup dry white wine to de-glaze pan. Cook until mushrooms are cooked, crisping the edges. Set aside.

In the risotto pot, add parmesean cheese and stir in completely. If you are making this risotto ahead of time, stir in cheese before serving to avoid binding the rice. To loosen rice, add more warm water and a touch of olive oil.

To be sure risotto is done, try this old trick: if the wooden spoon can stand straight when plunged into the risotto, it's done.

Serve risotto in a large, shallow bowl. Spoon a portion of risotto in a mound in the center, sprinkle generously with mushroom ragù on top, and a light dusting of fresh thyme leaves. If available, drizzle truffle oil across the top for a rich, woodsy flavor.

Serve warm and enjoy. Buon appetito!