We were driving between Athens, GA and Wisconsin on Jan 1 and 2 this year, so we didn't get a chance to make the traditional sausage balls and sauerkraut for New Year's. (We did, however, remember to take all of our candy canes off the tree and down to Georgia with us, so we didn't miss peppermint stick ice cream on New Year's Eve!) So, I decided tonight was better than never for blowing out the bad omens for the year, and I busted out some of the sauerkraut I made this past fall, bought some brat buns and some brats, and cooked it all up for sausage sandwiches. And the main point of this post is just to say oh man, what an amazing combination! (Like I said, a "duh" statement). Mmmm-mmmm!
I also made baked apples to go along with it, and tried something new for the filling. First, (I may have posted this before), but I've discovered that a melon baller is by far the best tool I've ever used for hollowing out the center of an apple. For the filling, I usually use mostly granola, with a little extra cinnamon, maybe a little brown sugar, and a bit of flour added in. Then I usually cut in some butter. On a whim, tonight I cut in a lot less butter but stirred in some almond butter too. The almond butter was on the dry side, so our filling was a little crumbly, but a more normal, wetter almond butter would probably hold things together better. It was pretty good - Aleks said it was like his own personal apple pie. I used about 2-3T almond butter for 6 large apples, and I think it was on the upper limit of what would be good. Any more would be over-powering. So, just a tip for anyone looking to increase protein content and decrease butter.
But, man, sausage and sauerkraut..! And now I think I probably have enough leftover sauerkraut and a few sausages to make a small dish of sausage balls in sauerkraut. Yay!
Happy New Year!
-Maggie
No comments:
Post a Comment