This savory French sausage recipe is great as it is, but when you pair it up with a sweet orange pepper cream sauce, well just write me a note as to how many people fall in love with you after one bite. This dish is dedicated to my mother who would have been 90 this week, and was a great inspiration to me with her teachings in the kitchen at home and in the family restaurants. Sausage was one of her favorites (as pork is very popular in French cuisine) and she dearly loved sweet pepper, so I put them together in a way that is unforgettable. Je t’aime Maman. Je t’aime.

The Recipe!

The Sausage;
~ 1 1/2 lbs of fresh ground pork (about 20 % fat)
~ 3/4 cup of sour cream
~ 1/2 lb of mushrooms chopped fine
~ 4 shallots, chopped fine
~ 1 level tablespoon of Sea salt and lots of fresh cracked pepper!
~ 1 cup of pistachios

Sauté mushrooms and shallots in a tablespoon of butter and extra-virgin olive oil until golden in color.  Combine all of the ingredients well and place on a sheet of aluminum foil in a cylindrical shape, rolling the sausage meat tightly in the foil. Place in the freezer for a few hours so that it can be sliced easily into 3/4 inch rounds. You can keep it in the freezer for a few months as well, until you are ready for a quick and amazing meal. Just let it thaw a bit prior to slicing.
Brown both sides on a medium fire in a pan with 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter.

The Sweet Orange Pepper Cream Sauce;

~ 3 large orange sweet peppers, diced
~ 1-2 large shallots, diced
~ 2 heaping tablespoons of cream cheese
~ 1 cup of heavy cream
~ Several grinds of fresh cracked pepper (I do about 15!!)
~ One teaspoon of sugar or a tablespoon of honey

~deglazing liquids (1/2 cup of white wine)

Sauté peppers and shallots with 2 teaspoons of butter, 2 of extra-virgin olive oil until golden in color in a large sauté pan. 
Move pepper and shallots in a small-medium sauce pot and remainder of ingredients on a low fire. Deglaze first pan with 1/2 cup of white wine and place this with remainder of ingredients. Blend until very smooth with an immersion blender. (Get one NOW if you don’t have one. They have been in French homes for decades, and we are known for our killer sauces……just sayin’……)

Melangé Printanier (Quickly Sautéed Spring Mix Salad)
~ 6 oz of spring salad mix or mesclun.
~2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
~ 2 tablespoons of truffle oil
~ 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil (if not using truffle oil, use 3 of olive oil)
~ lots of fresh cracked pepper!!!
~ 1 tablespoon of butter

Heat large pan on medium heat with butter. When hot and bubbling, shut off heat and add all of the ingredients, tossing until mixed. SERVE IMMEDIATELY – So do this dish when everything else is done.