ONE POT WONDERS

Someplace in between a harried working mom having to stress herself to the max trying to put a home-cooked-from-scratch meal on the table, and her resorting to grabbing some form of take-out on the way home, lies the one-pot-wonder. Something made with "real" food, but with very few ingredients other that what you already have in your pantry and fridge; something which may take a little while to cook, but which doesn't keep you tied to the stove the entire time; something which doesn't dirty every pan and utensil you own. I think the new one I tried this week, from Martha Stewart via friend Susan Albert, fills that bill nicely. 

Beer-Braised Sausages with Warm Potato Salad

(serves four)

2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1-1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausages (I subbed Tecumseh Farms organic Polish uncured chicken sausage)
1 med. yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
12 oz. pale ale beer
1-1/2 lbs. small red potatoes, halved
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 T. red-wine vinegar
2 T. chopped fresh parsley

1. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat 1 T. oil over med-high. Add sausages and cook until brown on all sides, about 8 min. Add onion and cook until softened, about 7 min. Add beer, potatoes, and 2 cups water. Season with salt and pepper and press to submerge potatoes in cooking liquid. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to med., and cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Transfer sausages to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm. In a large bowl, stir together remaining 1 T. oil, vinegar, and parsley. (I added a squirt of spicy mustard, which goes well with Polish sausage. Probably not a good idea if you use Italian.) With a slotted spoon, transfer potato mixture to dressing (leave cooking liquid in pot) and toss to combine.

3. Return pot to high heat; boil cooking liquid until reduced to 1 cup, about 12 minutes (mine boiled down much faster than that!). Return sausages to pot and cook until heated through, 2 minutes. Place sausages and dressed potatoes on serving platter; drizzle half the sauce over top. Serve sausages and potatoes with remaining sauce on the side.

Happy Fall, y'all!