Barbecued Sausages with Red Wine Sauce and Herbed Flavored Potatoes

So one of my favorite chefs on TV is Gordon Ramsay. People seem to only know him from "Hell's Kitchen" or "Kitchen Nightmares" where he is calling people donkeys or dropping the F-bomb. But if you ever see him on some older BBC shows or actually watch him on on the other shows. He is trying to teach people how either cook or be successful in running a restaurant. I brought a few of his cookbooks a few years ago but haven't really made anything out of them. So I found this one in his "Gordon Ramsay Makes it Easy". This has also allowed me to check out a new (at least new to me) Butcher shop...Village Butcher Shoppe (http://www.villagebutchershoppe.com/). This recipe require some Higher quality Sausage that you typically find at the grocery store. I am assuming that Ramsey uses Banger Sausages as he is English. This turned out great with fresh brats, but enough talk here is the recipe enjoy. And here is a picture after we made it and plated it to wet your appetite.

1lb 2oz good quality pork sausage (I used fresh brats), at room temperature, and don't prick them

Sauce

10 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and diced
3 Shallots, Thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
few thyme sprigs
2 C. Chianti or Similar Wine (I used Master's Red Blend from Sacred Stone out of California it was inexpensive wine but tasted good)
1Tbsp brown sugar
1tsp Dijon Mustard
Splash of balsamic vinegar
sea salt and pepper

Melt about 2 Tbsp of butter in a pan, and add shallots, garlic, and thyme. Cook over high heat for a few minutes, then add wine, and brown sugar and bring to boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Boil until reduced by half and discard sprigs of thyme

Remove from heat and whisk in the mustard and cold butter a piece at a time (this will prevent the butter and wine from separating as it cools). Add balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

Herbed Flavored Mashed Potatoes

12 small/medium Yukon Gold potatoes
Milk to texture
2 Tbsp of butter
6 sage leaves finely diced
2 tsp fresh thyme
2 basil leaves finely diced

Boil potatoes in salt water and drain when soft. Add Milk, butter (However you want it to be a little drier than normal mashed potatoes), and Herbs. Let sit for a few minutes covered so the flavor sits.

Cook the Sausage on the grill slowly over medium low heat until cooked throughout and colored right. Serve on a bed of Potatoes and topped with Wine Sauce.

Homemade Four Cheese Ravioli

It has been a while since we have made anything worth while to put on the blog. With My Back Surgery and Julie being 5 months Preganet we haven't done much in-depth cooking. It Sucked!!! But Julie found this recipe and it was worth the wait. Now it took us almost 4 hours in total but it was the first time we made ravioli. However a KitchenAid Stand Mixer and Pasta Roller saved a ton of time.

Ravioli Dough

2 C. All Purpose Flour
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp Olive Oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 Tbsp water

Mound the flour and salt together on a work surface and form a well. Beat the teaspoon of olive oil, 2 eggs, and water in a bowl. Pour half the egg mixture into the well. Begin mixing the egg with the flour with one hand; use your other hand to keep the flour mound steady. Add the remaining egg mixture and knead to form a dough.

Knead the dough until smooth, 8 to 10 minutes; add more flour if the dough is too sticky. Form the dough into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Ravioli Filling
8oz. Ricotta Cheese
4oz. Cream Cheese (softened)
1/2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 C. shredded provoline cheese
1 Egg
1 Tbsp italian herbs

While the dough is resting, prepare the ravioli filling. Combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, provolone cheese, egg, and italian herbs and mix well. Set the filling aside.

Pesto-Alfredo Cream Sauce

2Tbsp Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, Crushed
3 Tbsp Basil Pesto Sauce
2 C. Heavy Cream
3/4 C. Grated Parmesan cheese
24oz. Jar your favorite marinara sauce

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the crushed garlic and pesto sauce and cook for one minute. Pour in the heavy cream, raise the heat to high, and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir until the cheese melts. Remove the pan from the heat and keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, warm the marinara sauce over medium-low heat.

Egg Wash

1 Egg
1 Tbsp Water

Ravioli Assembly

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Beat the egg with the tablespoon of water to make the egg wash.

Roll out the pasta dough into thin sheets no thicker than a nickel. To assemble the ravioli, brush the egg wash over a sheet of pasta. Drop the filling mixture on the dough by teaspoonfuls about one inch apart. Cover the filling with the top sheet of pasta, pressing out the air from around each portion of filling. Press firmly around the filling to seal. Cut into individual ravioli with a knife or pizza cutter. Seal the edges.

Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir in the ravioli, and return to a boil. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the ravioli float to the top and the filling is hot, 4 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Grease a baking sheet. Place the cooked ravioli on the sheet pan and bake in the preheated oven until brown, about 4 minutes.

To serve the ravioli, divide them among four warmed serving bowls. Drizzle the marinara sauce over the ravioli and then top with the cream sauce.