which_chick | (no subject)

Here are directions for making a proper sausage sandwich like you get at the fair only cheaper.

1. Purchase hot italian sausage in links of the sort that you use to make sandwiches. In my grocery, these are sold in the meat section damn near all the time. I don't know if this is the case for persons who shop other places, but since I read recipes all the time that say things like "pick up some fresh tamarind and several stalks of lemongrass" without considering even once that these items might not be available in my world, I figure you're on your own for finding hot italian sausage.

2. Purchase rolls (if desired) or bread (if you're cheap) and also green peppers and white onions.

3. Start with a large cast-iron skillet (or some other kind of frying pan thing if you suck and do not have a lovely large cast-iron skillet) over medium-low heat. If your stove is electric and has numbers, somewhere around 3 is probably a good bet. If you have a gas stove, you can (once you stop sneering at me) set it somewhere that you think is medium-low.

4. Add two sausage links and also an entire sliced-up green pepper (cut in half, slice each half into strings) and half a big white onion, sliced into half-moons. (Everyone here knows how to cut up onions, right? You cut them in half top to bottom and then lay that piece on its side and slice up the half moons. There are instructions in The Joy of Cooking if you're confused.)

Also, if you have not done so yet, take a look at this this nice knife skills video so that you hold your knife the right way. It really does make cutting up things easier.

5. Cook the lot on low until the sausages are nicely browned and the peppers/onions are soft and carmelized. You should not need to add anything to the pan except for the sausages, peppers, and onions. The fat from the sausages is sufficient to cook the onions/peppers. This process does take time but not too much attention. I turn the sausages like four times and swish the peppers/onions around at the same time. You shouldn't need to stand over the thing like a hen with one chick.

6. When you deem the sausages done and the onion/peppers appropriately limp, put sausage in bread item, cover with a suitable amount of pepper/onion mix. Eat.

You may wish to accompany this meal with official fair-style lemonade. Fair-style lemonade costs between three and four bucks a serving, which is as much lemonade as you get from one lemon. At home, you can have the same thing only a lot cheaper. You'll need one lemon, a juicing thingie (mine is a Martha Stewart one of stainless steel), a liter plastic bottle with a wide mouth (I use recycled aquafina bottles), and enough syrup (sugar and water, roughly 1:1 ratio, heated to dissolve, then kept cold in the fridge in one of the aforementioned liter plastic bottles) to sweeten the stuff without the danger of grit. (This syrup works great for mojitos, too, but if you're too lame to have syrup in your fridge, you can just use sugar and shake a lot more.)

To assemble your lemonade, squeeze the lemon to make juice. Pour the juice into the bottle. Nearly fill the bottle with cold water, but leave a little room for shaking. Add a bit of syrup (or sugar). Put a lid on the bottle and shake it well. Taste. If it needs more sweet, add more sweet and shake again. (The syrup is heavy and will settle to the bottom if you don't shake.) Voila, lemonade! Just like the fair only cheaper and without crowds of sweaty rednecks.