When I was in high school we occasionally had sausages at home. I liked spicy sausages and sweet Italian sausages. Though two flavours, there was only one brand I would buy: Bella Donna.
Okay, I’ll admit it. My adolescent humour thought it was hilarious to eat something with that brand name. But in fact, they were very tasty. I wouldn’t have bought them (or had my dad buy them, rather) if they weren’t good!
But eventually someone caught on that ‘Bella Donna’ could be something more sinister than just the Italian phrase for ‘pretty girl’. The brand disappeared from the shelves.
The other day I bought Johnsonville Sweet Italian sausages. Had one a couple of nights ago, and a cold one for breakfast yesterday. I’ve just heated and consumed a third. Not bad, but no Bella Donna! I think Bella Donna’s secret was the liberal use of caraway seeds in their mixture. I love it when I’m eating a sausage and bite into a caraway seed. Tasty.
So what’s a good mass-market brand of sweet Italian sausages that I might find at a supermarket chain in the PNW? One with lots of caraway? (Erm… Caraway in the sausages, not necessarily the supermarket!)
Johnny, maybe I’m thinking about the wrong poster, but it seems to me you’re a pretty accomplished cook (if I’m remembering threads correctly) - have you considered making your own sausage?? There are TONS of recipes - I just googled a passle of 'em.
That’s fennel–the licorice-y one. Have you checked the butcher’s case at some larger grocery chains. Around here every grocery seems to have a selection of sausages in the case where they keep the choicer steaks and such. I know they make several kinds at Henry’s/Wild Oats. Trader Joe’s usually has a pretty good selection, too.
Indeed, I do like to cook. (The downside is that I can’t seem to cook for one. The upside is that I have leftovers for days. With Christmas coming, I’ll be eating roast prime rib and Yorkshire pudding for a week!) But I don’t have a meat grinder or a sausage stuffer. Not having checked the recipes, it seems like a lot of work.
[sub]Hey, look! There’s shrimp in the freezer! And garlic and some wine in the fridge! And some capers! Hm… I wonder if I’ll get round to making scampi today?[/sub]
It is. But the good news is that sausages freeze very well. So what my family does (in a tradition going back at least to my grandmother) is to make a big old batch of 'em around Christmas time then divide them up into small packages and freeze them. Then we have a supply of delicious home-made sausages for the next year.
The last time we made them, I got together with my father and father-in-law to make them. Not only did we end up with our year’s supplies of sausages, we had a nice time visiting while we we putting them together. Perhaps you can get some family or friends together for a similar project.
And having made them, I can attest that the previous posters are correct. The seeds are definately fennel.
Oh, man. Now I’m missing the pastrami sandwiches at Sorrento Italian Market in Culver City.
I do now. Hadn’t thought of it before.
I didn’t make scampi tonight. Long day filming last night, and I only slept for five hours. (Got light out an’ shite.) So I had some Shin Ramyun ramen with some green beans I found in the freezer.
We have an excellent brand of Sweet Italian Sausage. My favorite meal is parboiling them for 15 minutes and then grills them until browned. I would rather eat these then candy and they reheat in the microwave very well, especially on a bed of crisp string beans with lots of garlic.