Sausage and Grapes: Cheap, Easy, WOW

Has everyone tried this already? It's been on my "to try" list for years, but I always seem to eat my grapes and never have any left for the dish. I first saw a recipe in this book, though I am sure Italians have been making it for years.


Yesterday, in a moment of harmonic convergence, I realized that some grapes were getting a bit long in the tooth. Plus I had some sausage in the freezer. I looked on line, because I couldn't find the cookbook (Yes--too many, but I did eventually find it). Of course, the first thing that popped up was Ina Garten's riff on the recipe: she adds a bit of balsamic vinegar and wine.

I didn't want to mess with my oven (plus the stovetop to oven to stovetop technique annoys me), so I used this recipe by Lidia Bastianich, which has the virtue of being the simplest.

Sausages in the Skillet with Grapes
Salsicca all'Uva
serves: 6 servings

The Umbrian town of Norcia is, among other distinctions, so famous for the skill of its pork butchers and the quality of their products that the term norcineria throughout Italy designates a shop that purveys pork and pork specialties of the highest quality-and nothing else. This is one of the memorable pork dishes that I discovered in Umbria recently. And though there are no sausages better than those made by an Umbrian Norcino in his hometown, this will be wonderful with any good-quality sweet sausage available in yours. The name-Sausages in the Skillet with Grapes-describes the ingredients and cooking method perfectly. Just keep in mind that the cooking here is slow and gentle, not high-temperature grilling as one usually does with sausages.

ingredients
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
2½ pounds sweet Italian sausages, preferably without fennel seeds
½ teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste
1¼ pounds seedles green grapes, picked from the stem and washed, (about 3 cups)

directions



Pour the olive oil into a large skillet, toss in the garlic cloves, and set it over low heat. When the garlic is sizzling, lay in all the sausages in one layer, and cover the pan. Cook the sausages slowly, turning and moving them around the skillet occasionally; after 10 minutes or so, sprinkle the peperoncino in between the sausages. Continue low and slow cooking for 25 to 30 minutes in all, until the sausages are cooked through and nicely browned all over. Remove the pan from the burner, tilt it, and carefully spoon out excess fat.

Set the skillet back over low heat, and scatter in the grapes. Stir and tumble them in the pan bottom, moistening them with meat juices. Cover, and cook for 10 minutes or so, until the grapes begin to soften, wrinkle, and release their own juices. Remove the cover, turn the heat to high, and boil the pan juices to concentrate them to a syrupy consistency, stirring and turning the sausages and grapes frequently to glaze them.

To serve family-style: arrange the sausages on a warm platter, topped with the grapes and pan juices. Or serve them right from the pan (cut in half, if large), spooning grapes and thickened juices over each portion.

Cucina Simpatica recommends mashed potatoes on the side. So I obeyed. We also had some bitter greens from our garden.

Have you had this? Or anything similar?

"Teaching Thrift"

The Wall Street Journal has a brief essay on Teaching Thrift to kids. the essay itself is kinda blah, but check out the comments.

Seldom have I seen so many frugal soulmates gathered together! I spent a blissful 20 minutes or so reading through the comments. 121 at last count.

How to Upgrade: Decluttering Books

As usual, I am trying to get control of my books. Since many books come my way--owing to the biz I am in, not to mention my love of thrift stores--this is an ongoing process.

Adding to the problem: my recently self-diagnosed ADHD. I keep reading the books as I declutter! To wit: Nora Ephron's erstwhile best seller on her neck-hatred. I was planning to donate this, but I started reading and decided to keep it. (I know: BAD). In addition to an amusing essay on the cookbooks in her life, I loved a piece on books called "On Rapture." She says the most rapture-inducing book of her adult life is The Woman in White. Which I've been meaning to read for a zillion years. Which I knew I had somewhere. But WHERE?


I resumed my book clearing. As I looked at the decluttered shelves, I realized--yet once more--that the best way to UPGRADE is not by buying more stuff, but by getting rid of the lower-level stuff. My shelves were now filled with books I am likely to read.

It's not that the books in my DONATION/USED BOOKSTORE bags are bad: they are just in genres I tend not to read. So no, I will probably never read a tome called Life in Egypt under Roman Rule.

I'm sure you can see this coming. Guess what??? I found The Woman in White.

So, I now have 5 grocery bags of books-to-go, plus the book I wanted to read (thanks, Nora, for the recommendation), which, of course, saves me the time of getting it from the library, not that I would remember anyway.

Here's the problem. I discovered (via that Amazon link) that the Egypt book is a veritable CLASSIC. Reader, I retrieved it. And put it back on the shelf. I swear it's the only one.

Anyway, I am happy to report that my books are indeed upgraded. Getting rid of the lower-end stuff (whether because it is lower end or because you don't need it) does have the magical effect of leaving you with an upgraded collection.

Are you decluttering/upgrading? How's it going?

Paula's Sunscreen 60% Off (through Friday)

Just in time. Paula Begoun's wonderful sunscreens are 60% off. Miss Em and I are stocking up, you can be sure.

Check them out.

Hovering? or Helping? and the Frugal Family

So much has been written on the helicopter parents who oversee every aspect of their children's lives: from sports, to college applications, to the college experience. Being lazy and rebellious, I was pretty nonchalant in my parenting and so assumed I was not a helicopter, hovering over my children.

Every now and then, though, I wonder. For instance, I read a blog post (could not find it again, so if you know what the source is, let me know, so I can link) a little while ago by a mom who works at Drew university. Her daughter, a student at the same school, emailed or texted something along the lines of "I need tampax and shampoo!" To which Mom replied "I do too!" This exchange was lauded as a NON-HELICOPTER moment, since Mom did not rush out and buy daughter said items.

Am I a helicopter mom? I wonder this as a prepare to visit Miss Em this weekend. Last time, I brought her some toothpaste and oat groats. I did not make a special trip. I pick up items as I see them on sale. I got the toothpaste for under a dollar. If Miss Em had to rush out to get the stuff, it would take her a good bit of time, not to mention at least a few dollars. I'd rather she save her money where she can so she can use it where she wants.

On this visit, we will probably bring things back, as she approaches the end of the semester. Still, we plan to bring her a treat in freezer bags: some red beans and rice. Is that hovering?

Sometimes I think I am out of step with American culture because I subscribe to a more Asian (so says Frugal Son) idea of family. As I write I am wearing a new-to-me Eileen Fisher linen and cotton sweater. This was picked up by Miss Em on a thrifting jaunt. It was a sacrifice because Miss Em likes the sweater. She gave it to me because she knows I love Eileen Fisher and only buy a piece or two a year: even on sale, the prices are high.

Thanks Miss Em, my helicopter daughter. In the same spirit, instead of mom and daughter going off to buy their own toiletries--requiring two trips to the drugstore--I would like to see one say, "I'll pick up some for you." Maybe next time, the other one will do the same.

So, am I fooling myself? How much do you do for your kids. And how much do they do for you?

Rummage Sale! What to Do with Linen Panels?

Since I go to thrift stores all too much (though only on my regular errand route...usually), I have sworn off rummage and yard sales. The only exception is the Episcopal Church a few minutes away (on foot) whose members are the wealthy of my little town.

When there I see our children's pediatrician, who seems to be a frugal fellow and devotes a lot of time to medical missionary work. Lucky for me, because I bought 2 table lamps (they were on my "list") and 4 curtain panels that were too big to carry.

Mr FS and I got there about 5 minutes after opening and all the good stuff seemed gone. Mr FS bought a few CDs and left. I then spotted the lamps and panels. The panels (somewhat dirty and marked at 50 cents) were nice quality, I thought. When I got home, I discovered that I was right: they are Libeco linen from Restoration Hardware, 50 X 84.

The kind doctor dropped me at home. We gave him some greens from our garden (he doesn't seem too familiar with greens). We also arranged to buy some eggs from the chickens his children raise in their small backyard.

What do you think I should do? Have them cleaned and wait for the right set of windows? Or should I cut off the linen and use for something else? If I did that, could I wash them?

Do You Get What You Pay For? AND Alligator Belt Karma

Sort of a double post. Really, one post with two topics.

FIRST: The hackneyed sentence You get what you pay for! Many--even in the frugality corner of the blogosphere--believe in the truth of the statement. Sadly, I generally do not. If it were as simple as that, it would be easy to make purchasing decisions.

Recent Case in Point: a Colehaan Alligator belt. The night before Frugal Son went off for his year in France, he announced that he didn't have a belt. Ergh. He is so disorganized (inherited from me). Luckily, I have a small assortment of belts for such emergencies, so we didn't have to run to Walmart or worse in the middle of the night. There to buy a low quality belt.

No, I had not one but two Colehaan alligator belts that I had acquired for very cheap, as is my wont. They were in Mr FS's closet. Of course, they had never been worn (either by the first owner, or by Mr FS, who likes to age his clothing).

Naturally, Frugal Son picked an alligator over some plainer belts. He does have an eye for luxury. His favorite sweaters are cashmere.

A few weeks ago, he emailed and mentioned that the belt was falling apart! I don't know if CH makes these anymore, but alligator belts cost upwards of $200. Was the belt worth $200--no.

Second part of the tale: how I got the belts at Goodwill. A LONG time ago, Funny About Money pined for a Brighton belt in her blog. I spied one from afar at GW and rushed over. I thought it would be so neat if I could send a fave blogger a present. Alas, though it was a Brighton belt, it was in very poor shape.

But picking it up to inspect its condition uncovered the two unused alligator belts. Mr FS and Frugal Son are always having belt emergencies, so I acquire extras where I can.

Thanks, Funny for the beautiful belts!

So, have you experienced any karma lately?