Grilled Sausage and Peppers on Naan

Sausage and peppers is one of my all time favorite things to eat. I’m a sucker for it and usually can’t resist it. So I don’t! And the smell of the peppers and onions cooking along with the sausages…it’s almost intoxicating to me. And it screams summer.

A while back, I was contacted by Kayem. Kazimierz Monkiewicz started his handmade sausage business in 1909, in Chelsea MA. He would deliver them using a horse drawn wagon. Ninety nine years later, their product line includes hot dogs, Italian sausages, deli meats and all natural chicken sausage marketed under the Kayem, al fresco, Triple M, Genoa Sausage, Schonland's and Meisterchef brands. Kayem is the #1 brand of franks in New England, and al fresco is the #1 brand of chicken sausage in the total U.S. To this day, Kayem is a local company owned by the same family, employing almost six hundred people.

Growing up, we always had Kayem franks and sausages in the house. Fenway Franks-of course! When I was a kid, my grandmother’s house was right next to the local Schonland’s place. Literally--it was next door! On some days, when they were cooking up huge batches of franks, it was all I could do not to run over there and beg for a hot dog. It smelled like they were roasting hotdogs over a campfire. Try to resist that!

To be clear, the sausages were not cooked in the basket, but right on the grill, separate from the onions and peppers.

The folks at Kayem sent me a box o’ meat. Seriously--that’s what it said on the side of the box! It was filled with a variety of their brands including lots of dogs, Italian sausages, kielbasa, and some al fresco chicken sausages. Oh, and chicken sausage patties! We’ve enjoyed all of it this past month in various ways, but mostly grilled.

I decided to take some of the Al Fresco Fresh (not fully cooked) Chicken Italian Sausages and use them in my favorite way--grilled with vinegary onions and peppers. Instead of having them on buns, we used Naan, a delicious flatbread.

Grilled Sausage and Peppers on Naan

Serves 4

4 pieces of Naan or other sturdy flatbread
4-5 Al Fresco Fresh Chicken Italian Sausage
5-6 sweet bell peppers, I like a mix of red, yellow or orange
2-3 sweet onions
4 large garlic cloves
Vinegar (white wine or plain white)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Cotija Cheese is optional, but so delicious over the top
Yellow Mustard, also optional, but I love it with this

Get your coals going and grill heated up.

Slice the peppers and onions, not too small since you'll be grilling them. We grill them in a basket, but if you don't have one, quarter the peppers and thickly slice the onions. Smash the garlic cloves, but keep them large so they don't fall out of the basket. If you don't have a basket, you can leave the garlic out entirely, and toss the vegetables with some olive oil, vinegar and a bit of salt and pepper.

When the grill is hot, get the peppers, onions and garlic (if using) on there. Drizzle them with vinegar a couple of times, preferably  by moving the basket away from the hot coals. Do this a couple of times. The vinegar is really key here, and it gives the cooked vegetables such a nice tangy flavor. Add the sausages next and grill until done. Don't poke the sausages or you'll lose all of the natural juices and flavor!

When the vegetables and sausages are done, move to the side of the grill to keep warm or remove altogether and set aside. Brush the naan with olive oil and put it on the grill, oil side down. Let it get nice and toasty on one side, brush with more oil, then flip the bread and grill it till it’s nice and toasty.

To assemble, put some peppers and onions on the naan, then slice up the sausage and top the vegetables. Crumble some of the cheese over the top. If you want mustard, and I usually do, put it on the naan before you add the vegetables.

• I use the ready made Naan that I can find at my local grocery store. Feel free to use homemade if you want.
• Obviously, if you can’t find Kayem brand sausage, you an use another, but if you can find it, it’s one of our favorites. You won’t be disappointed!
• If you wanted to, you could cut the grilled naan into smaller pieces and serve little bites with the sliced sausages and vegetables.
• These are a nice alternative to the usual burgers that we all tend to make for cookouts!
• To be clear, we used precooked naan and toasted it on the grill. I didn’t use raw dough and grill it, though I’m sure that would be delicious, too--and a subject for a whole other post!

Disclaimer: I was given the samples at no charge, and was not paid for my opinion, which is my own. 

Breaking Bread: Italian Deli Focaccia

I love bread. Especially when it’s fresh and warm (or steaming hot!) from the oven. Focaccia is one of those breads that is so versatile. You have the basic dough, and then as far as toppings, they sky is the limit--do you want savory, sweet, herby, cheesy, meaty, or veggie? Use your imagination!

That’s just what I did when Shulie of Food Wanderings asked me if I’d like to join the Bread Baking Society. They want to (from Lora’s site) “inspire you to bake more bread in your kitchen. We want you to bake along with us every month and break bread with your family and friends. We want to spark a bread baking passion across the nation and the world around.” There are three founders--Shulie, Lora of Cake Duchess, and Marnely of Cooking with Books.  Please see Lora’s site, Cake Duchess for the info on the BBS!

When Shulie asked me to join in, she said she couldn’t wait to see my twist on a focaccia. Uh oh...a twist. Hmmmm… “I’d better make it something good,” I thought. I’m so happy that she put it that way, because it really got me thinking! While talking to Billy about what I could top it with, the idea slammed right into my head. Italian deli sandwich. I could take my favorite things from one of those and top off this bread! I couldn’t put everything on it, of course--that would be too much. But I pulled some of the most flavorful aspects from the sandwich to use here.

Salty hard salami, sharp Provolone, sweet red onion, and tender tomatoes. And how could I not use vinegar, oil and some flavor packed dried herbs? I also picked up a jar of sliced deli peppers to use--and forgot to add them. Gah! Next time.

For the bread, I went with pretty much my bread baking usual, the Artisan Bread in Five method. In a busy home with six people, this bread baking method has changed my life! It takes literally five minutes to mix up the dough, and there’s no kneading. Just let it rise in the container for 2 hours at room temp, then toss it in the fridge. Want bread? Take some of the dough, shape it, let it rest 20 minutes, and bake. EASY. And you can bake any kind of bread your heart desires! If you’re still on the fence about trying it, I urge you to please give it a try.

I used the Master Recipe from Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day. If you like pizza and other flatbreads (and who doesn’t?) you need to give this book a try. Whip up the dough and you can be having a pizza party in no time. Your family and friends will love you for it!

Italian Deli Focaccia

Makes one Focaccia, roughly 17 x 12 inches

• Prepare the Artisan Pizza and Flatbread Master Recipe, found here. Just the water, oil, yeast, salt and flour, not the toppings. You’ll have half the dough left, so you can make another focaccia or some pizza!
• Let it rise for 2 hours at room temp, and for easier handling, chill it in the fridge for a bit

Toppings:

6 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp freshly minced garlic (one clove)
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
pinch of kosher salt and cracked black pepper

Sliced Hard Salami, cut in strips (about 1/2 cup total)
Sliced Provolone cheese, also cut in strips
Thinly sliced red onion
About 1 cup of grape tomatoes, halved

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line an 18x13 inch (or roughly the same size) baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly brush it with olive oil, set aside.

Whisk the oil, vinegar, garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper in a small bowl, set aside.

Sprinkle the dough in the container with a bit of flour. With a serrated knife, cut the dough in half, and using floured hands, pull half of it out. Quickly shape it into a ball and set it on your lined baking sheet. Flatten it with your hands and keep gently pressing and dimpling it with your fingertips until it's filled most of the sheet.

Brush it with the oil and vinegar mixture. I used all of it, being sure to get most of the garlic and herbs on the dough, and also--brush the oil all the way to the edges of the dough.

Gently press the tomatoes on the dough, and then sprinkle the other toppings over. Let it rest for 20 minutes.

After the 20 minutes, dimple the entire focaccia again with your fingertips. This helps the toppings stay on during baking.

Place the sheet on the middle rack in your oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Check it after 15 minutes to see if it's browning too quickly. If it is, turn the pan around.

Remove from the oven when done, and place the focaccia on a rack to cool for a few minutes. Then pig out like we did! OINK!

• This is great as is, but we made open faced sandwiches with it for dinner. I took squares of the focaccia, topped them with a slice of salami and a slice of provolone, and heated them under the broiler to melt the cheese.
• Don’t feel limited to these toppings--use what you like! And don’t forget the peppers, like I did.
• Picnic season is upon us! This would be fabulous at any outdoor gathering. 

Fresh Summer Salad

This salad is one of the easiest things to make, ever. It's amazing to me (Yes, still. I'm terribly easy to please.) how you can take a few simple, common ingredients, and turn them into something that tastes so incredibly good.

That's what this salad is. I made it the other day, and not for the first time, I've made it plenty of times--and my husband and I stood at the kitchen island almost inhaling it like we had been wandering in the desert without food for two weeks. He had picked up a soft, squishy loaf of fresh italian bread earlier in the day, and we were ripping off hunks of bread like savages and eating them with the salad. And by the way...there's a lot to be said for eating something like this with the one you love. It's drippy with olive oil and juice from the tomatoes...embarrassing to have oil dripping down your chin? No--just the opposite--it's a very sensual eating experience...and what were we talking about? hehehe.

Serve this with any number of things--it's so versatile! It's great with the hummus (ous) and some feta on wedges of pita bread, or as a fresh side dish, or, like my husband and I had some of it, right out of the bowl you made it in along with some fresh bread. I found this recipe online somewhere years ago, but it's been so long that I don't remember where. Thank you, whoever you are! oh, and even if you don't have garden tomatoes, which we don't have yet, obviously--it's SO worth splurging on a few vine ripened tomatoes from your grocery store to make this. It's a burst of summer while it's still...let me check...43 degrees outside, with snow on the ground.

Fresh Summer Salad

4 cucumbers, peeled or not, up to you--seeded and cut into chunks
4 tomatoes, seeded or deglopped, as my friend Jane says, and cut into chunks
1/2 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3-4 TBSP olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coarsely ground pepper

Toss all ingredients together and chill. Or don't bother to put it away, just stand there with some bread and eat. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

And here it is with some of the Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, some feta and some pita bread wedges:

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