Timothy Zakrzewski

Winter in Colorado means nights that make you crave cozy, warm meals around the table. This Colorado-made lean German sausage dish pairs perfectly with the creamy parmesan polenta and caramelized butternut squash.

Pour a glass on wine, and enjoy cooking this rich and savory meal on a cold winter night!

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 cup polenta/cornmeal
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 cup diced butternut squash
• 1 package Boulder German Sausage
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Directions

• Sautee German sausage whole in a small amount of olive oil and set aside covered with the burner off.
• In a separate pan, sautee chopped butternut squash and set it aside.
• Bring water and salt to a boil in a large saucepan; pour polenta slowly into boiling water, whisking constantly until there are no lumps.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer, whisking often, until polenta starts to thicken, about 5 minutes. Polenta mixture should still be slightly loose. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, whisking every 5 to 6 minutes. When polenta is too thick to whisk, stir with a wooden spoon. Polenta is done when texture is creamy and the individual grains are tender.
• Turn off the heat and gently stir 2 tablespoons butter into polenta until the butter partially melts; mix 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into polenta until the cheese has melted. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes to thicken. Add the butternut squash and stir.
• Transfer to a serving bowl. Top polenta with remaining 1 tablespoon butter and about 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for garnish.
• Plate with warm sausages and dig into this Colorado-made lean pork dish!

Breakfast Strata | Brie Pinwheels | Cornbread Dressing

Cranberry Orange Sausage is a big fan favorite amongst the Boulder Sausage fanbase. The flavors compliment eachother perfectly and leave your taste buds wanting more!

These three recipies each carry their own weight as a breakfast, an appetizer and a side dish respectivley, the beauty being in how differntly these flavors can combine depending what other ingredients they are paired with.

For even more recipes head to our recipe page!

Breakfast Strata with Cranberry Orange Sausage

Ingredients:

• 2 packages of Boulder cranberry-orange sausage
• 12 cups of cubed stale french bread
• 1 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
• 8 eggs
• 1 1/2cups milk
• 3/4th cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

How to:

• Coat a 13×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Cook sausage over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked though and drain.
• Put half the cubed bread in the pan and top with half of the sausage, half of the cranberries. Make one more layer.
• Mix eggs, milk, sour cream, maple syrup, orange zest, salt and pepper with wire whisk until well blended; pour over mixture in pan. Cover and keep in refridgerator about 8-14 hours.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Bake covered 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 30ish more minutes then cut and serve warm.

Brie & Cranberry Orange Sausage Pinwheels

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg Boulder cranberry-orange sausage
• 1 pkg pastry
• 1 can jelled cranberries
• slices of brie cheese
• 2 choves diced garlic
• 1 tablesoon of rosemary chopped finely
• 1 tablespoon sage chopped finely
• 1 teaspoon thyme chopped finely
• egg wash

How to:

• Preheat oven to 400°F, and line two baking sheets each with a sheet of parchment.
• Thaw out the puff pastry dough.
• In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook the Boulder Sausage Cranberry Orange Sausage, with the garlic until cooked through.
• Add the chopped herbs and cook for two minutes more, stirring often. Drain and set aside
• Spread your egg wash onto the puff pastry then spread the jellied cranberry sauce onto the pastry.
• Top the cranberry sauce with sausage then a brie and roll the pastry up.
• Cut 10-12 slices, and place each slice on the baking dish. Add one more coat of egg wash and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Cornbread Dressing with Cranberry Orange Sausage

Ingredients:

• 1 large pan cornbread
• 2 cups pecans
• 3 chopped celery
• 1 small chopped onion
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 package of Boulder Sausage cranberry-orange sausage
• 2 cups cranberries
• 1 cup diced granny smith apples
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed fresh flat-leafed parsley leaves
• 2 cups chicken broth

How to:

• Preheat oven to 325° F.
• Cut corn bread into 1/2-inch cubes and bake on baking sheets for about 15-20 minutes until dry. Transfer corn bread from 1 pan to a large bowl and in pan toast pecans in oven until insides are golden, 10 to 20 minutes.
• Chop apples, onion and celery. In a 12-inch skillet cook the onions and celery in butter with salt and pepper to taste over moderately low heat until transparent.
• Add sausage to the pan and cook over medium heat, until sausage is cooked through.
• In a saucepan sautee the cranberries with sugar over high heat, stirring consistently. Chop parsley.
• Mix corn bread, sausage mixture, pecans,cranberries, parsley, broth, and salt and pepper to taste and toss together. Cool completely. Stuffing may be made up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring stuffing to room temperature before proceeding.\
• Bake for 1 hour. Keep covered for 45min and uncover the last 15.