Antipasto Chicken Sausage Skewers

Yes please, fantasticness on a stick.

Yes please, fantasticness on a stick.

The chicken sausage in these was the biggest surprise. For whatever reason, I previously had somewhat of an aversion to Italian sausages. I picked up the fabulous Trader Joe’s chicken version for this dish and was super happy with it. I will definitely be using it again in another dish soon.

Serving these at room temperature makes them easy to make ahead and allows all the flavors to meld together before guests dig in. I made mine about 4 hours before hand and then took them out of the fridge an hour before the party. Perfect!

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Brown the sausage just to give it a bit more flavor. It should already be cooked, but make sure to read the package please.

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Clearly not as pretty, but equally tasty! Rinse them gently for sand before you use them.

Clearly not as pretty, but equally tasty! Rinse them gently for sand before you use them.

Makes about 24 skewers

Ingredients::

  • Cooking spray
  • 12 ounces fully cooked Italian-style poultry sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil
  • 1 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained, rinsed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces if large
  • 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

Directions::

  1. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat; mist with cooking spray. Add the sausage; cook, turning 2 or 3 times, until warmed through and browned, about 8 minutes.
  2. Thread 1 small or 1/2 large basil leaf onto a small wooden skewer. Add a piece of roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomato, artichoke and sausage, arranging them on the skewer so that it can stand up on the sausage end. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make about two-dozen skewers.

Cocktail Party? I’ve got you covered.

Cocktail Party Week on Sugar & Butter has started! This week, I’ll post three recipes that  you can make for your next get-together. And I promise they’ll be hits. By the time you’re done with me on Friday, you’ll know how to make:: 

  • Antipasto Chicken Sausage Skewers with Basil, Roasted Red Peppers, and Sun-dried Tomatoes
  • Chocolate Cheesecake Thumbprints
  • Smashed Pea & Mint spread on Crostini

No one will realize that you didn’t have the party catered, you’ll save a chunk of change, and none of these recipes is that hard at all. Are you ready for this?

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Yeah, I know…I’m excited too. Come back tomorrow y’all!

Easy Peasy Tomato Salad

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Well, my parentals came to visit this weekend. It was a super fun time and it gave me a great opportunity to try out some new recipes! I made Tyler Florence’s roasted short ribs and stroganoff for dinner but really needed something light to balance out the heavy cream and noodles. 

Enter Easy Peasy Tomato Salad!

This is super simple. Here’s what you do:: 

1. Pick up a 16 oz container of heirloom tomatoes. This will give you shape, size, and color variety. You can pair the tomatoes with arugula, but personally, I love baby spinach (about 7 oz.) so that’s what I got. 

2. Slice the larger tomatoes in the container into halves. Leave the pear tomatoes whole since they’re so cute and tiny already. Lay them on one half of serving dish. 

3. Salt and pepper the tomatoes. Add greens to the other half of the plate.

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4. For the dressing, whisk together 3 TBS red wine vinegar and 3 TBS olive oil

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5. Pour the dressing all over the tomatoes and spinach. 

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Difficult? Puh-lease. Super delish? Absolutely.