Chef Chuck's Sausage Strata

A strata for breakfast is the perfect way to start your day, assemble the night before and then bake in the morning. I use my focaccia recipe for the bread cubes and hot Italian sausage. Soaking all evening in eggs, whole milk and parmigiana, guarantees a fluffy light breakfast.


Sausage Strata


8 organic eggs
2-3 hot Italian sausage links
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup parmigiana cheese, grated
2 cups whole milk
2-3 cups bread cubes
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

Open sausage links and break up, cook in olive oil till brown. Drain and set aside. In same pan saute onions, season with salt and pepper cook about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute another minute, return sausage to pan. Whisk eggs, cheese and milk together. Use a 9x12 baking dish, butter bottom and sides. Place bread cubes in pan then sausage and onions, and pour egg mixture over the top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or over night. Bake uncovered 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Cut in square servings.

Chef Chuck's Baked Sausage and Potatoes

Salsiccia e Patate al Forno

A comfort dish for tonight, baked sausage, potatoes, onions and red roasted peppers, baked in just a half hour. The aromas were intriguing, the taste was sweet, spicy and hot, and those crispy potatoes were delicious.

Baked Sausage and Potatoes


2 hot sausage links
4 potatoes, sliced thin
2 large onions, sliced thin
red roasted peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
plus 1 tablespoon butter for pan
salt and pepper
parmigiana cheese, grated


Saute onions in 1 tablespoon olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter until golden brown. Butter an oven proof pan, layer potatoes on bottom and sides overlapping . Remove casings, layer sausage on top of potatoes. Next layer is the onions, then slices of peppers. Arrange a top layer of potatoes, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle a generous amount of cheese, salt and pepper. Bake at 450 degrees for 25 minutes. Serves 2

Chef Chuck's Orecchiette with Sausage

Orecchiette con Salsiccia


The shape of Orecchiette pasta, meaning small ear, holds onto all these wonderful flavors of sausage, garden vegetables, white wine and red hot pepper flakes. A simple combination of unique shaped pasta with garden fresh onions, zucchini and garlic makes this recipe a summer special.


Orecchiette with Sausage
1 pound orecchiette pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
4 Italian sausage links
3 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
1 small white onion
4 baby zucchini
1 cup white wine
salt and pepper
red hot pepper flakes
sprig of rosemary
parmigiano cheese, grated


In a large pot heat water, add salt cook pasta till al dente. In a large frying pan heat olive oil, add garlic and remove sausage casings and brown sausage. Stir and cook about 3 - 5 minutes, move sausage to side of pan and discard garlic. Add onions, and saute till translucent then add zucchini, white wine, salt, pepper. Bruise rosemary stem by hitting it with the back of a knife, this will release the aromas. Mix and simmer an additional 3 minutes, remove rosemary and discard. Add pasta to this mixture with a little pasta water stir and add red hot pepper flakes. Grate parmigiano cheese on pasta.

Chef Chuck's Sausage and Peppers

Salsiccia e Peperoni


An old favorite family recipe, sausage and peppers. Pan grilled hot or sweet Italian sausage combined with onions and peppers is a great blend. This dish is also delicious with tomato sauce added and served on a sandwich.


Sausage and Peppers
6 hot or sweet
Italian sausage links
2 large onions, sliced
2 green bell peppers, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste


Grill or pan fry sausage till browned, internal temperature should be 140-145 degrees. In a large sauce pan heat olive oil add peppers, oregano, salt and pepper cook for about 5 minutes. Then add onions and saute till they are translucent. Add sausage to onions and peppers, drizzle with olive oil. Serves 4 - 6.

Chef Chuck's Sausage and Red Pepper Risotto

Salsiccia e Peperoni Risotto

Sausage and red pepper risotto, is a supreme comfort food on a chilly evening. Pull up a chair and sit for 20-25 minutes to make this meal in one pan. Risotto needs your constant attention to achieve a creamy smooth consistency. The wait is well worth it.

Sausage and Red Pepper Risotto

1 cup arborio rice

3 hot Italian sausage links

4 cups beef broth

1 onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup parmigiano cheese, grated

2 teaspoons dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Cut open the sausage to remove the meat, in a large frying pan heat olive oil and butter add onions and peppers for about 3 minutes. Add sausage and brown the meat. If needed add a little olive oil then add rice and toast for 2 minutes, stirring. Slowly add broth a little at a time till all is absorbed, add oregano. Sprinkle the cheese over the risotto and salt and pepper to taste.

Chef Chuck's Sausage Pepper Poppers

Peperoni Salsiccia Piccola

The tiny italian palumbo peppers just picked from the garden stuffed with my homemade Italian sausage, sauted onions and parmigiano cheese are a one bite popper. Packed with many intense flavors this recipe is the perfect appetizer. These particular peppers are grown from seeds we bought in Italy, easy to grow and are not hot, similar to a baby bell pepper.


Sausage Pepper Peppers
12 Palumbo peppers or
any small pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin
olive oil
3 Italian sausage links
1/2 onion, diced small
1 teaspoon dry oregano
2 tablespoon parmigiano cheese, grated


Wash and cut tops off peppers clean out insides. Boil for 15 minutes, set aside. In a large frying pan heat olive oil and remove sausage from it's casing and brown. Cook onions in same pan with the sausage for a few minutes, add oregano and cheese. Stuff each pepper, place in a pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with parmigiano cheese and serve.

Chef Chuck's Baked Sausage and Bread

Salsicce con Pane al Forno


An Italian sausage and bread dish baked with soffritto, herbs, eggs and chicken broth. I made my own hot Italian sausage for this recipe, sweet sausage works well too. The bread seems to harbor all the flavors. A great meal for this cool evening!


Baked Sausage and Bread
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, minced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 1/4 pound hot Italian sausage
2 cups focaccia bread, cubed
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon sage, chopped
2 eggs, beat
1 cup organic chicken broth
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon butter


In a large frying pan brown the soffritto ( onion, celery and carrot), for about 5 minutes. Add sausage till golden then remove and slice into pieces. Put back in pan with bread cubes, parsley, sage, salt, pepper and butter. Add broth over the dish then beat eggs and pour over entire dish, cover with foil and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Chef Chuck's Homemade Sausage, Broccoli Rabe and Pasta

Pasta broccoli e salsiccia

Homemade sausage made with pork butt, Chianti wine, fennel and a plethora of spices is a wonderful addition to this pasta dish. I used strozzapreti pasta which grabs all the flavors. The broccoli rabe is similar to broccoli, it is an Italian green leafy vegetable, slightly bitter and so healthy. The combination of all these flavors makes Sunday pasta night a real treat.

Homemade Sausage 5 pounds pork butt
1 cup of your favorite Chianti wine
2 1/4 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons fennel
2 tablespoons black pepper
1/3 teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups pecorino cheese, grated

Mix all spices together add wine. Ground meat then mix in spice mixture and then ground again, put in casings. Makes about 12 to 16 links.


Sausage, Broccoli Rabe and Pasta

3 sausage links
1 pound broccoli rabe
1/2 pound pasta
1/2 red onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup pecorino cheese, grated
red hot pepper flakes, optional


In a large pot of salted boiling water cook pasta al dente. In a large frying pan heat olive oil and brown sausage, remove and slice. To the same pan add onions and cook till translucent, then add garlic for 1 minute, add sausage. Steam broccoli rabe then add to onions and sausage. When pasta is done add to onion mixture along with salt, pepper, and cheese.

Chef Chuck' Sausage Potato Bread

Pane  con Salsiccia e patate


A savory and flavorful bread, perfect for Sunday dinner. I decided to try something new today, so I used hot Italian sausage, thin slices of sauteed potato and sweet red onion. Imagine dunking your bread into the leftover sauce on your plate, and there you have my creation.

Bread
1 cup warm water

1/2 tablespoon dry yeast
1/2 tablespoon sugar

2-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon salt

Add 1/2 tablespoon of yeast to warm water and sugar, stir. Let sit for 7 minutes (until foamy). Pour into mixer bowl, set to a medium speed, add olive oil. Mix in one cup of flour at a time with salt until it forms into ball of dough. Dust a cutting board with flour and knead dough for 3 minutes. Transfer to large bowl, lightly coat with olive oil, cover with plastic wrap and layer small towel on top. Let rise in a warm area for 1 hour 30 minutes - 2 hours. When dough becomes 2-3 times it's original size, take out and spread onto flour dusted cutting board and form into about 10"x14".

Sausage filling:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 hot Italian sausage links
1 small potato, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
pecorino cheese, shaved

In a frying pan add olive oil and brown sausage, remove and set aside. Cook potatoes and onions for 3 minutes, add sausage. Spread mixture on half of dough then fold over and seal by pinching edges. Brush on egg whites and bake at 475 degrees on a stone or baking sheet for about 15 minutes. Dough may be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in refrigerator up to 2 days.

Sicilian Sausage and Potatoes

Salsiccia e patate alla Siciliana
I fell into this dish on the magical island of, Sicily. Guess where, a gas station! I have found some original recipes in the most wild places. The helpful man behind the counter offered me a taste, well that was it, I had fulfilled my every need! I talked to him about this simple recipe, and I found it was very close to my sausage and pepper dish. The difference was adding potatoes. The spicy Italian sausage has a way with the sweet onions and bell peppers. Well, of course a piece of focaccia bread goes great with this dish. This plate is a recorded richness in my heart!


Sicilian Sausage and Potatoes
6 Italian sweet or hot sausage links cut in 1 inch
3 large potatoes cubed
1 red bell pepper 1/2 inch slice
1 green bell pepper 1/2 inch slice
1 large red onion chopped
3 cloves garlic diced
3 cups tomato sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons dry oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup water


In a large frying pan on medium heat add olive oil and butter brown sausage for 3 minutes. Add potatoes onions and peppers and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic, sauce, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes, and water simmer with lid on for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.