Gettin' Sauced

The end of the month means it's again time for
 The Royal Foodie Joust hosted by the Leftover Queen.




Our jousting ingredients this month are:
Tomato Paste       Honey      Local Wine or Beer

Well, I was ~~hiccup~~ all over the local beer.  This one ingredient inspired me to use several other local ingredients as well.  I had a lot of fun not only working on the recipe for the Joust--Creole "Sauced" Sausage Po Boys, but working on adding local products to the whole meal.  So you'll get the recipe for the Joust challenge as well as lagniappe (that's a little something extra, ya'll)!

And cher, baby, it turned out goood.  I mean, wow, I pulled this outta my *@! but I'm making it again good.

These are the Louisiana products I decided to use in the meal.

The Abita Amber (Abita Springs, LA) satisfies 33.3333% of the Joust requirements

and 100% of me...yes, there's already a bottle missing

When I thought about the beer, I immediately thought about this fresh green onion pork sausage I've been wanting to try.  The sausage comes from Poche's Market in Breaux Bridge, LA.  This business serves plate lunches daily and also sells fresh and smoked sausage, stuffed chicken, marinated cuts of pork, and many other items. 

I also wanted to use two of my favorite Louisiana condiments:

Louisiana Hot Sauce (aka Red Dot Sauce from New Iberia, LA)--I know, I know, Tabasco is all the rage.  I'm not afraid to speak out and say it's not for me.  All I taste is spicy vinegar in Tabasco.  I'm a Red Dot girl all the way.

I'm also a huge fan of Zatarain's Creole Mustard (New Orleans, LA).  When a recipe calls for Dijon, I use Creole instead.

I figured since I'm surrounding myself with all this good ole Louisiana love, my Joust recipe should showcase some good ole Louisiana food.

Some people say life's too short to drink bad wine.  Some say life's too short to drink bad coffee.  I once saw a bumper sticker reminding me that life's too short to dance with ugly men.  I say life's too short to eat boring sandwiches!

I'm a sandwich snob because I grew up eating Po Boys.  Po Boys are one of my favorite regional foods so that seemed like the thing to make...an easy decision!

But sausage Po Boys can be plain.  Some type of sausage (usually smoked) on french bread, dressed with tomato, lettuce, & mayo.  They can be divine with just the right locally made and smoked sausage.  But still a bit plain.

The 3 Joust ingredients really came through--giving me the makings for a nice Creole-ish sauce to dress the Po Boys with.  There's the usual cast of Creole characters: onion, bell pepper, celery, w/ a tomato base.  I also added beer to the sauce as well as honey.  I was glad honey was one of our required ingredients since it took the edge off of the beer, which is darker than I normally drink.  The sauce turned out to be a rich, velvety contrast to the crusty french bread and crisp sausage casing. 

Come meet me out on the deck.  Still 5 4 bottles left!

Printer Friendly recipe

Creole “Sauced” Sausage Po Boys

from Ms. enPlace

1 lb fresh green onion pork sausage (4 links)

1 bottle Abita Amber beer

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped small

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped small

1 rib celery, chopped small

2 large garlic cloves, chopped

3 Tbsp tomato paste

1 1/2 Tbsp honey

hot sauce, to taste

shredded lettuce

sliced tomato

french bread for 4 Po Boys, cut to fit the sausage links, toasted if desired

Place sausage links and the entire bottle of beer in a pot. Simmer 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic and saute until tender. If the vegetable mixture starts to stick, add 1-2 Tbsp of beer from the sausage. Add tomato paste to the onion mixture and cook, stirring, 3-4 minutes longer.

When sausage is cooked through, remove from pot and allow to rest 5-8 minutes. Prep the lettuce and tomato while you wait. Slice the sausage links lengthwise.

You should have about 3/4-1 cup of beer remaining after cooking the sausage. Add the beer to the onion mixture and stir in the honey. Add the sliced sausage to the skillet and simmer until the sauce thickens.

Spread a light coating of sauce on the bottom pieces of bread. Add two halves of sausage to each then divide the sauce among the Po Boys. Shake on some hot sauce, if desired. Top with shredded lettuce, tomato slices, and bread tops. Serve right away because you won’t want to wait.

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I promised lagniappe and here it is: Roasted Potato Salad.

Sometimes don't you get tired of mayo heavy potato salads?

I sure do.
This "salad" is really just roasted potatoes and red onions that are dressed with a lighter Dijon mustard-lemon juice dressing instead of mayo. 

Only I use Creole mustard because it's spicier and I always have it in the fridge.  Always.

Printer Friendly recipe

Roasted Potato Salad

from Ms. enPlace

1 1/2-2 lbs red potatoes, skins on and cut into roughly 1" pieces

1 large red onion, cut into wedges

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

for dressing:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp Creole or Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 425. Place potatoes and onions on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss again. Roast for 20 minutes then toss potatoes and onions with a spatula. Roast 10-15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

While the potatoes roast, mix 1 Tbsp olive oil, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard until smooth. Pour over potatoes and onions. Toss to coat. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I'm submitting this to Kahakai Kitchen for the weekly

Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays roundup.