Chicken Sausage Pesto

A few months back, I discovered a variety of chicken sausage showing up at the grocery store.  We began to eat this on a regular basis, usually throwing them on the grill. Looking for new ways to make use of this staple, we began using it in soups and pasta dishes.  Today I share with you one of our favorite chicken sausage recipes.  The key to this recipe is roasted Brussels sprouts.  If you haven't tried them, you are really missing out.  If claim that you "hate Brussels sprouts," you need to grow up and try them.

Chicken Sausage Pesto

Chicken Sausage Pesto

1 lb chicken sausage
1/2 lb of Brussels sprouts
1/4 cup of Pesto
1 sm pack button mushrooms, sliced
6 Cremini mushrooms, sliced
8 oz Farfalle pasta (bow ties)
salt and pepper
olive oil
Parmesan cheese



1. Set your oven to 375 degrees.  Cut Brussels sprouts in half, place on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and dust with salt and pepper. Place in oven to roast for 25 minutes.

2. You will need your Farfalle cooked and ready by the time you are finished cooking the other ingredients.  I usually start the pot of water for cooking at the same time I put the Brussels sprout in the oven.  This will give the water time to heat up.  Notes: Add some salt to the water before cooking the pasta.  

3. With 10 minutes remaining on the Brussels sprouts, heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a pan over medium to medium-high heat.  If you chicken sausage is in links, you will need to squeeze it out in small clumps.  Add the chicken sausage to the pan.  As it is cooking, begin breaking the sausage into smaller pieces.  How small is your preference.  Once the chicken has been broken up, turn the pieces over (or just flip them using the pan). Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes.  

Step 5

4. Place the sliced mushrooms on top of the chicken and stir the mixture together.  Once the mushrooms have been coated by the oil and chicken goodness, dust with salt and pepper.  Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

5. Add the Brussels sprouts to the mixture and stir. Reduce heat to low.

6. Add the Pesto and stir thoroughly.  It should appear that you added too much pesto. You can always add more if you prefer.

7.  Add as much or as little pasta as you like and stir thoroughly until the pasta is completely coated in pesto.  I personally go heavy on the pest and on the pasta, but that is how we like it.

Step 6

8. Once mixed, spoon onto a plate or bowl and add Parmesan cheese to taste.


Follow up notes:

I. Save the left over pasta for your next meal.  I add  butter to them before putting it away and serve buttered noodles the next day.

II. Cremini mushrooms can be used exclusively if you wish.  I prefer them over standard button mushrooms because the provide a better consistency to the dish.  They are simply more firm when cooked and have a much more pronounced flavor.

III. Never use hot water from the tap to boil pasta as it may contain unwanted hard metals from your water heater.

IV. Pesto dishes tend not to heat up very well as the oil likes to separate in the microwave.  Make sure you shake your container half way through the re-heat to keep the pesto together.

V. This dish is also very tasty without the chicken sausage.

Top 10 Beer list: As of February 2012

When people first find out that I am a home brewer, I am often met with either an awkward look  (thanks in part to the recent buffalo wild wing's commercial) or sense of excitement.  I almost always admit that I still but beer at the liquor store as I typically only have one or two home brews available at a time.  This almost always is followed by the question, "What are your favorite beers?"

While the answer to this question often changes with the season, there are a select few beers that will almost always be found sitting on a shelf in my refrigerator.  Here are my current top 10 beers:

#10 Odell Brewing - Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout (Link)
     Great beer for cold winter days.  At 8.5% ABV, its a good thing this beer fills you up quickly. I recommend serving this to your wife or girlfriend (just saying) along with having one yourself.

#9 Paulaner -  Oktoberfest-Märzen (Link)
     I am personally a big fan of Oktoberfest beer.  This one is available year-round and never ceases to fulfill my needs. It has all the spice you expect from an Oktoberfest and goes down easy.

#8 Fort Collins Brewery - Chocolate Stout (Link)
     I discovered this beer last summer in Fort Collins (go figure) visiting with some of our favorite people (one of them happens to be a great photographer).  This is about as tasty a stout as you could ask for.  As with most stouts, I really prefer this in cold weather and have had a lot recently.

#7 Avery Brewing -  The Reverend (Link)
     One of the most complex beers I have ever experienced, the Reverend keeps me coming back for more.  It isn't cheap, but at 10% ABV, you really don't need more than one.  If you are looking for a really unique drinking experience, I would recommend giving this a go.

#6 New Belgium Brewery - Sunshine Wheat (Link)
     Most beer lovers think I'm crazy for liking this beer, but I just don't see how you can go wrong with it.  On a hot summer day, there is really nothing like a Sunshine Wheat.  Its a light, easy drinking beer with enough flavor to keep you interested.  Few beers actually quench my thirst; Sunshine Wheat delivers.

#5 Crazy Mountain Brewery - Cara de Luna (Link)

     Cara de Luna is a Black German Pale Ale.  I actually didn't believe that was a real thing when I first read it on the menu at Lucky Pie, but I found enough Google hits that I let it go.  After all, they can't put anything on the internet unless its true, right? This is probably the smoothest dark colored beer I have ever tasted.  Every time I get my hands on it, it turns out to be a great experience. Now if I could only get the local stores to carry it...

#4 New Belgium Brewery - 1554 (Link)
     How can you not love a beer whose recipe dates back (in part) to 1554?  This used to be #1 on my top 10 list (in my head) until I began to really enjoy hoppy beers.  One of the most unique beer drinking experiences you can have is the following:  Inhale, take a swig of 1554, then exhale through your nose.  I'm not kidding.

#3 Southern Sun/Mountain Sun  - Coconut Cream Stout
     Unfortunately, this beer is not available (to my knowledge) outside of Stout Month (February) and not outside of the Southern Sun/Mountain Sun brew pubs in Boulder, CO (Link).  If you do get a chance to experience it though, I promise you will not be disappointed.   This stout is as creamy as you could hope for, and has just the slightest hint of sweetness.  It is probably #3 right now because it is February and I've been enjoying it regularly.

#2 Odell Brewing  - Mountain Standard (60 IBU) (Link)
     Just writing about this beer puts a smile on my face.  For many years, I was really only into 'malty' beers (as little hops as possible).  Don't get me wrong, I always loved the smell of hops; I just didn't like them punching me in the face when I drank my beer.  That all changed when I first tried Mountain Standard.  A buddy of mine constantly reminds me that the IBU on this isn't as high as the 120+ IBU tongue numbing beers he enjoys, but it has all the bitterness you look for in an IPA.  I don't see this in the local liquor store nearly enough, but I do purchase it every chance I get. If I could shake the hand of the guy (or girl) that came up with this one, I would.

#1 Rogue Brewery  - Chocolate Stout (69 IBU) (Link)
     For as many good things as I had to say about Odell's Mountain Standard, I have even more to say about Rogue's Chocolate Stout.  This beer looks simply beautiful in a glass and has the taste of everything I love about beer.  When I first bought this beer, I was just trying out a variety of chocolate stouts.  It turned out to have all the flavor you expect from a chocolate stout and then surprised me with a fantastic hoppiness.  I have been drinking this beer every other night for the past few months and have no plans on stopping.

Just a few bonus mentions:

The beer I am most interested in trying is the Russian River Pliny the Younger.
The beer I must mention in the name of honor is Yuengling Lager (Link).  I don't know how I would have survived college without it.

Recipe: Dutch Oven Jambalaya

I was first introduced to 'true' Jambalaya during my years in Alabama.  There were several cajun style restaurants I liked to visit and I always made a point to sample their jambalaya.  Most versions had some combination of smoked spicy andouille sausage, fresh seafood, chicken, and rice. To be completely honest, most of them were way too spicy for my taste, but for lack of a better term, I am quite the wuss when it comes to spice.

With the birth of my first child, the amount of time I had available to prepare dinner greatly decreased.  As such I began searching for meals that involved limited preparation (ie. less than 20 minutes) and limited attention while cooking.  

One of my favorite tools for meals like this is the dutch oven (cast iron, thick walled, casserole pot). I personally use a Le Creuset "French oven."  These can be quite pricey, upwards of $275, so I recommend you make your way to a place like Marshall's and score one for $50 like I did.  I highly recommend owning a cast iron oven like this as they seem to make any casserole type dish that much better.  

This version of jambalaya does its best to incorporate everything I love about the dish, but in a time sensitive way.  It is my opinion that cooking is an art... which is my way of saying that I don't have exact amount of any of the following ingredients.

The ingredients:

3 cups of rice
6 cups of water
1-2 red sweet peppers, chopped
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 chicken breasts, cubed.
1 pound andouille sausage
2 tsp of cayenne pepper
3 bay leaves
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
optional ingredients (shrimp, scallops, etc.)


I. Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in dutch oven over medium-high heat.

II. Add chopped onion and sweet pepper.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, then add 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.  Continue cooking until soft (5 additional minutes).

III. Add andouille sausage and cook for 5 minutes.  As sausage is cooking, break up into small chunks.
Once sausage is sufficiently broken apart, add chicken and final 1 tsp of cayenne pepper.  Cook an additional 5 minutes until chicken is no longer visibly raw (It will have plenty of time to cook throughout).

IV. Add 3 cups of rice and stir until rice is coated.  Add the water to the pot and stir until everything is well mixed.  If adding seafood, place it into the water now.  I recommend shrimp and scallops or perhaps even fish such as salmon.

V. Seal the pot with its lid, reduce heat to medium low, and let cook for 35 minutes.  DO NOT lift the lid at any point.

VI. After 35 minutes, remove from heat and enjoy.

Note: If the cooking heat is a bit higher than it should have been, rice may start to burn on the bottom of the pan.  This won't ruin the dish, but you may want to avoid serving the bottom layer.

                            Sorry about the partially eaten dish.  We were too hungry to wait.