Caraway brats , chocolate bread, and homemade, scrapple (!!!)

   Apologies for the lag since the last posts, busy life stuff going on.  Since then, a few updates... Caraway brats inspired by some readings on the Thuriner Rostbratwurst which includes that very spice.   You may reconize it from such famous breads as German Rye, a perfect counterpart to the brat with mustard and sauerkraut (amazing).  it's darn tasty in the sausage as well, btw.  on a related note, I just dug into an urn of sauerkraut which I started after harvest in the fall.  the head of cabbage came from the mother-in-law with the wonderfully robust garden and the 6-9 lb heads of cabbage.   The kraut was, needless to say, rather ripe.  It has gotten very tender and increased in sourness quite a bit.  Funky on the nose, but very pleasant stuff, and quite nice raw.
  The last thing I did which really excited my taste buds was to follow this recipe, rather inapproximately as per the usual.  I believe i got results very consistent with the writer of the page and must urge you pressingly to TRY THIS RECIPE!!  The bread nearly made me cry.  Tonight we're having it toasted with butter for dessert, sheesh. here's mine....
http://www.applepiepatispate.com/bread/pane-al-cioccolato-italian-chocolate/

  One more thing,  following in the footsteps of my Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry and even the more specific footsteps of my great grandfather, John, I made PA Dutch Scrapple from scratch (not scraps) for the first time.  I will be working to derive a new recipe to replace the one which he took to his grave with him and continue the lineage of scrapple producing Tice butchers.  cool right?  well I'm excited.  I'd share the recipe but it's not done yet.  Anyway, here's a photo of the frist attempt with which I was very, but not perfectly, pleased.  Not quite organ-y enough if you know what I mean....

new "wandering buffalo" sausage

  I was really short on ideas this week but was self-tasked with the duty of producing a new buffalo sausage recipe utilizing Great Range Bison Meat (http://www.greatrangebison.com/index.html)  .  It was a bit of a struggle to come up with a concept for another buffalo concept and the thinking which followed was, "Must there be a concept?"  Following that line of thought (which turned out to be just another well disguised "concept", I just added spices that I thought would compliment the nature of the meat and let it speak for itself.   We thought of calling it the "uninspired buffalo sausage" but it just didn't have much of a ring.  Regardless, the results were quite tasty and still show the nature of the meat: clean, and lean with crisp minerally flavors from the blood with little to no fat in between.  That was somewhat remedied by the addition of pork.
  The spice bill includes the usual salt, pepper and garlic as well as onion flake, thyme, mustard powder and died ancho chile.  The spices add a slight mid-western flavor to the meat without being overt or masking the meat entirrely.  They should go with a decent variety of foods, but I'll probably have mine in an omelet.  Get your bison on:)

new spice elements from Gryffon Ridge

  We at the market recently acquired some new products from Gryffon Ridge Spice Merchants of Dresden, ME.  While making introductions with the owners we discussed some products I've been after and which they offer.. terrific.  Namely, organic citrus zest.  In this week are organic, granulated orange, lime and lemon zest which quickly found their way into the newest sausage, the Chicken with Citrus and Herbs Sausage.  This recipe includes the aforementioned citrus zests (all of them) as well as healthy fistfuls of fresh parsley and cilantro and a touch of dried dill.  That's not to mention the requisite salt, pepper and garlic which form the base of nearly every sausage in my arsenal.
  It's yet another refreshing and bright tube of meat which recalls the sunny months for those who would prefer to rest in their cozy abodes and await the spring than venture out into the mid-winter cold for snowy recreation.  Yes, we long for lovely weather.  Hate me for loving May Flowers, bring on the April Showers!!  Have some chicken sausage in a fajita and reminisce the sunny beaches and summer barbeques with me, won't you?
  Oh, and find these folks and support their awesome products :)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gryffon-Ridge-Spice-Merchants/159500617427973?sk=wall#!/photo.php?fbid=300838439960856&set=a.159502577427777.34034.159500617427973&type=3&theater