Sausage Bundles in Balsamic Glaze

Still working my way through the long list or promised recipes. Curious? Click here. 

I served these at an Irish Dinner Party that I donated to a silent auction for my son’s band. A local couple won the dinner (way back in October) and they had their party in March, which seems like forever-ago. (Did it really take this long to post this???)  My menu that evening was full of Irish goodness: fish stew, glazed corned beef, classic mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, cabbage, and for dessert, an over the top carrot cake.

I went pretty simple with the appetizers: cheese straws and these sausage bundles. The recipe for the cheese straws can be found here, on my other blog (Food Talk: Mlive). Believe me, when I insist that you add both of these to your appetizer collection.

Here’s what you need:

1 pound bulk pork sausage

1 egg

½ C Panko bread crumbs

½ t basil (or oregano or sage)

½ C water

½ C ketchup

2 T brown sugar

1 T soy sauce

1 T balsamic vinegar

Here’s what you do:

Mix the meat, egg, bread crumbs and basil well with a fork. Make small balls, about 1 inch in size. Patiently brown them in a tiny bit of oil over medium heat. Turn them delicately with a tongs. This is your only chance to get them nice and brown, so be patient.

Mix the ingredients for the glaze. Pour over the bundles and continue to cook, reducing the liquid till it’s almost gone. It’s nice and sticky. 

On another note: I sauteed an entire head of cabbage with a Granny Smith apple and a huge sweet onion for about an hour to create the BEST cabbage side dish. Sometimes I do this and serve it over plain egg noodles.... totally yum (if you are cabbage lovers, like we are :)) Look at those great colors!