Let's just say that sausage night wasn't my favorite. I felt a little...well...let's go with green...throughout the whole night. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the process of learning how to make sausages, but I just didn't get a lot of the dishes we made. I promise you, I will never make a lot of these dishes again. Don't be in fear of coming to my house and getting pate or a block-o-meat also known as a terrine...that just won't happen. I also found the sausage casings to be chewy and kind of nasty and well just in general the night kind of grossed me out. However, it was the second to last class so of course I had to embrace sausage night with a great deal of enthusiasm!!!

I just don't even know where to start...all of it was just so...interesting.

Let's start with the galantine...also known as chicken with all of the bones removed while keeping the bird intact. I think this was the highlight of my night...also known as the thing that made me want to vomit on my shoes the most.

It was very cool to watch the instructor take all of the bones out of the chicken while still keeping the chicken in one piece...skin and all...but for some reason it really grossed me out.

Chicken bones...sorry if I have to be grossed out so do you...that is just how I role

We named our chicken "Matt" for obvious reasons. I know you aren't supposed to name the animals that you plan on eating, but sometimes it just happens. Kind of like how the guys I date end up with nicknames instead of real names...."Abercrombie and Fitch" you were way cute...just sayin'.


The chicken was then stuffed and rolled into cheese cloth and made to look like a tamale...minus the yummy filling and the awesome corn mixture. And sewn closed.

Sewing the chicken. I don't even hem my own pants let alone sew a chicken.

Chicken in broth

It was then simmered in chicken broth forever....um ok...cool....I am never making this again.

Finished giant chicken tamale...minus the tamale...this is the boneless stuffed chicken....um yum...not

The next thing I found to be a little odd was the terrine, which to me looked like a giant meat blob. I get the idea is to make decorative meat...ya know a layer of meat, decorative vegetable and meat filling and more meat...so when it is cut it looks pretty. But again....hmmm yeah...not making this again either.

Chicken with ground meat mixture

Ground meat and carrot surrounded by more raw meat

Ground meat, carrot and spinach with more raw meat

Finished terrine-still looks like hunk of raw meat

I did truly enjoy learning how to make sausage, however I was a bit disappointed with the whole casing thing. To begin with let's be honest here they look like used condoms and that visual just really makes it challenging to go from that place to,"hmmm yum I want to put that in my mouth and chew it." So although I really enjoyed the sausage...we made three kinds...Italian, turkey and seafood...I had a really hard time getting over the texture of the casings.


Did you know, however, that hog casings are sold in what is called a "hank" and they hold 25lbs of mixture per hank? Just because they are always sold as individuals I just kind of assumed that was the way they are made, however they are made in long tubes and then cut to make individual sausages.


I also learned that there are 4 different types of casings that are normally used. Lamb casings, which are used for breakfast links. Hog casings which are the most common sausage casings. Beef casings which are used for fatter sausage like salami. And synthetic casings which are used for kosher foods.

I also learned that you never cook your sausages the same day that they are made, which we did, for the sake of the class, and that cook have been part of our chewy casing problem.


As you know I am constantly enthralled with the kitchen accoutrements I get to learn about, so when I saw this contraption sitting on the table with a plastic bag over it, I was enthralled. I was so excited for the unveiling that I could barley contain myself. I was bracing myself when they were about to reveal the name of it, thinking it would be some cool French name...yeah well it is known as the "sausage stuffer," not quite as sophisticated as I expected...but it definitely describes it's purpose.

Sausage Stuffer...I know what this looks like...let's not go there

So I was responsible for the seafood sausage, which was a combination of salmon, shrimp and white fish. It also had fresh herbs such as basil, chives and dill. In addition, it contained eggs, heavy cream and some random seasonings. First we made the mixture in a food processor.

Next we used the "sausage stuffer." And yes it is really hard to get your mind out of the gutter while stuffing sausages...

Yes, I know what this looks like I just had more class to actually say it

The sausages were then blanched in boiling water for 5 minutes.

And grilled.


We served them with spaghetti squash and a roasted red pepper sauce. Once I got past the casing thing they were pretty good...still probably won't make them again...but good flavor.


We also made pate, which I am really not quite a fan of. It is basically ground up meats. We did do something kind of cool as we made individual servings wrapped in bacon. Although, as you know, I truly believe that bacon makes everything better, this was even a stretch for me. They looked cool, but I would have liked my bacon crispier. However, we were told that if we crisped the bacon we would over cook the pate. In my opinion, I didn't think that was such a bad thing, thought maybe it would make it taste decent, but I wasn't the one calling the pate shots last night. Again, this will not be served at my house.

Grinding the meat for the pate

Mixing the meat for the pate

Cute individual pates with bacon

Finished pate with bacon

And just so I don't cause you all to have nightmares...here is a beautiful mixed berry cobbler for you all to envision as you drift off to dreamland. Good night and cheers!!

Before Baking

After Baking

Hope everyone is having an amazing week and tomorrow I plan on making a chorizo pasta that I am sure you will hear about. And I am so excited to be using a sausage that someone else had to stuff. Yay me!!!