Apricot Sausage Food

APRICOT & SAUSAGE STUFFING

Steps:

• Peel and roughly chop the onions, wash the sage leaves in warm water.
• Place a large frying pan on a medium-high heat with the butter and 1 tablespoon of oil. Tear in most of the sage leaves, then add the onions, the clementine zest, a good grating of nutmeg and a pinch of black pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and fry for 5 to 10 minutes, until the onions start to soften.
• Meanwhile, trim the livers, if using, remove any sinews and roughly chop with the apricots, then stir into the pan. Once the time's up on the onions, pour in the Vin Santo, turn up the heat to medium-high and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and the alcohol has cooked away. Leave to cool completely.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Whiz the stale bread to crumbs in a food processor then stir into the pan along with the sausage meat.
• Use your hands to squash and squidge everything until well combined. Put half of the stuffing mixture (around 500g) aside to stuff the neck and legs of your turkey, then pack the rest into an oiled baking dish (15cm x 20cm). Flatten the stuffing down and use your hands to almost tuck the edges into the dish to create a mound in the middle.
• Scatter over the reserved sage leaves and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil then bake for 50 minutes, or until cooked through, golden and bubbling.

SAGE SAUSAGE BITES WITH BALSAMIC APRICOT DIP

Steps:

• Preheat a small pot over medium heat and the oven to 425 degrees F.
• To the pot, add oil and onion. Saute the onion for 1 minute.
• In a mixing bowl, combine sweet sausage and chopped sage.
• Next, add balsamic vinegar to onion and reduce by half, 1 minute. Remove vinegar from heat and combine with apricot all-fruit spread or preserves and spicy mustard. Stir until mustard is fully incorporated. Dip will be glossy and brown in color.
• Add 2 tablespoonfuls of apricot dip to bulk sausage and mix. Form meat into bite size nuggets, coat in bread crumbs then place on nonstick cookie sheet. Recipe will make 20 to 24 pieces. Bake 15 to 17 minutes, until evenly browned, turning occasionally. Drain, then serve with party picks for dipping with remaining balsamic apricot mustard dip.

GRILLED SAUSAGE WITH APRICOT MUSTARD GLAZE

Steps:

• HEAT broiler or outdoor grill. Combine preserves and mustard in small bowl; set aside. Cut pork sausage into two-inch pieces. Place sausage pieces on a tray under broiler or on grill.
• COOK 4 minutes; turn over and cook an additional 4 minutes. Remove from broiler or grill. Dip each piece in apricot mustard glaze; return to broiler or grill and cook an additional 2 minutes until lightly browned.
• SERVE with toothpicks and additional apricot mustard glaze for dipping.

"STUFFED" PORK CHOPS WITH SAUSAGE AND APRICOTS

Steps:

• Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Season chops with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil to hot skillet then add the chops and sear to caramelize the meat on each side, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer chops to a pan or casserole dish and add 1/2 cup chicken stock to help the meat remain moist while it finishes cooking ¿ just eyeball the amount. Loosely cover the dish or pan with foil before placing in the oven. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes as you make the stuffing.
• Return pan to the stove and add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. Add Italian sausage and crumble it as it browns. Add celery and onions and cook 2 or 3 minutes then add red bell pepper and apricots. Cook 2 minutes, then add parsley and sage and another 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Reduce heat and cook stuffing 5 or 6 minutes longer until apricots are tender and plump. Add a splash of chicken stock and 1/4 cup heavy cream to moisten stuffing.
• To serve, remove chops from oven. Place 4 chops on individual plates or on a platter. Mound sausage and vegetables on first chop, then top with second chop and pour gravy down over the top of stacked chops and filling. The pan drippings may also be added to the gravy to stretch the amount.

BAKED SUMMER SAUSAGE WITH APRICOT MUSTARD GLAZE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325F.
• Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a bowl, mix the apricot jam, Dijon mustard and brown sugar.
• Slice the summer sausage three quarters of the way through (accordion style) into 1/8-inch slices, so the slices are connected at the bottom.
• Put the summer sausage on a baking sheet and brush with half of the glaze. Get some of the glaze in between the slices by using a pastry brush or a spoon. Reserve the remaining glaze.
• Put the summer sausage in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
• Remove the summer sausage from the oven and brush with the remaining glaze. At this point, the spaces between the slices should have opened and it will be easy to get the glaze in between the slices.
• Put the summer sausage back in the oven and bake for 20 more minutes.
• Serve this glazed summer sausage warm (it can be reheated in a microwave if needed).

APRICOT SAUSAGE RECIPE

Steps:

• Place sausage in skillet, cover with water. Bring to a slow boil; boil for 10 minutes.
• Drain and return to heat.
• Add apricot jam and orange juice. Simmer for at least 1/2 hour, or until liquid has thickened. Keep a lid on skillet and turn sausage several times while cooking. Serve hot.
• Garnish with orange slices.

"STUFFED" PORK CHOPS WITH SAUSAGE AND APRICOTS

Steps:

• Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Season the chops with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of the EVOO to the hot skillet, then add the chops to sear and caramelize the meat on each side, a minute or two. Transfer the chops to a pan or casserole dish and add about 1/2 cup of the chicken stock to help the meat remain moist while it finishes cooking-just eyeball the amount. Loosely cover the dish or pan with foil before placing in the oven.
• Start the Sautéed Yellow Squash, page 146, then move back to the stuffing in this recipe.
• Return the skillet to the stove and add the remaining tablespoon of EVOO. Add the sausage and crumble it as it browns. Add the celery and onion and cook for 2 or 3 minutes, then add the bell pepper and apricots. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the parsley and sage and another 1/2 cup chicken broth. Reduce the heat and cook the stuffing for 5 or 6 minutes longer, until the apricots are tender and plump. Remove the stuffing to a small bowl, scraping the pan free of as much food as possible, then return the same skillet to moderate heat. Add the butter to the skillet. When the butter melts, add the flour and whisk. Cook the flour with the butter for 1 minute, then add the remaining cup of broth. Bring both to a bubble, then stir in the heavy cream-eyeball it. Bring the gravy to a bubble. Add a pinch of nutmeg and black pepper and simmer for 5 minutes to thicken a bit.
• To serve, remove the chops from oven. Place 4 chops on individual plates or on a platter. Mound the sausage and vegetables on the chops, then top each with a second chop and pour gravy down over the top of stacked chops and stuffing. The pan drippings may also be added to the gravy to stretch the amount.

APRICOT GLAZED SAUSAGES

Steps:

• Parboil sausages in a large saucepan 10 minutes.
• Drain sausages.
• Combine first 8 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil, simmer for 10 mins, if you require sauce a little thicker add some cornflour mixed with water at this stage.
• To serve you can either simmer some sliced sausages in the sauce to coat or otherwise grill the sausages brushing with the sauce while cooking.

BUTTERED PECAN, CRANBERRY AND APRICOT SAUSAGE STUFFING LOAF

Steps:

• For the topping: butter a 1kg (2 lb) loaf tin and line the base with greaseproof paper. Lay the four pecan halves and the bay leaves alternately in a line along the bottom of the tin. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas 5.
• For the stuffing: heat 50g of the butter for the stuffing in a large frying pan with the oil until the butter has melted. Add the onions and fry for 8-10 minutes until softened and starting to turn golden, stirring occasionally. Stir in the ground coriander and the rest of the butter and fry for another 3-4 minutes to soften and to caramelise the onions a bit more. Tip in the nuts and stir them around until they start to look toasty.
• Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the breadcrumbs, sausage meat, apricots, cranberries, orange zest, sage leaves, egg and some salt and pepper to season. When combined, spoon the stuffing into the tin and pack it down lightly. Cover with a piece of buttered greaseproof paper.
• Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the paper and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for a few minutes.
• Discard the paper, loosen the sides with a round-bladed knife and turn out the stuffing so the pecans and bay leaves are on the top. Slice to serve.

APRICOT, BACON & SAUSAGE SKEWERS

Steps:

• Run a knife along the length of the bacon rashers so they stretch a little, spread lightly with the mustard, then cut in half. Use the bacon to wrap a sausage and apricot together, then spear onto short skewers with bay leaves, allowing 2 rolls per person. Roast skewers in the oven with the turkey for 30-40 mins until golden. Serve on the platter alongside the turkey.

TURKEY BREAST WITH APRICOT SAUSAGE STUFFING

Steps:

• Set oven to 350 degrees F.
• Prepare and butter a casserole dish just large enough to hold the breast.
• Crumble the sausage slightly,and brown in a skillet over medium heat with onion; drain any fat then place in a bowl.
• Combine the pork sausage with next 8 ingredients, then season with salt and pepper to taste; mix well to combine.
• Gently loosen the skin from turkey in the neck area to make a large "pocket" to stuff.
• Stuff in as much stuffing as you can with sausage mixture thensecure with toothpicks.
• Place the remaining sausage (if any) into a small baking dish, and during the last 30 minutes of the turkey breast baking time, bake the remaining stuffing for about 20-25 minutes, or until heated through.
• To cook the turkey breast: place the breast skin-side up on a rack in roasting pan.
• Brush with melted butter, and season with salt and pepper.
• Bake for about 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until a thermometer reaches 170 degrees F (I like to remove a little sooner as the temperature will rise after removing from the oven).
• Let stand for 15-20 minutes before slicing.