Cold weather food

I tried out a new cold weather recipe tonight. My little guy loves sausage and my big guy loves beer, so I figured it couldn't miss.

Beer-braised sausages with warm potato salad (from Everyday Food magazine)

2 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 lbs sweet Italian sausages
1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
12 oz pale ale beer
1 1/2 lbs small red potatoes, halved
2 C water
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 TBSP red-wine vinegar
2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley

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

2. Transfer sausages to a serving platter and keep warm. In a large bowl, stir together 1 TBSP oil, vinegar and parsley. With a slotted spoon, transfer potato mixture to dressing (reserve cooking liquid) and toss to coat.

3. Return pot to high heat; boil cooking liquid until reduced to 1 cup, about 12 minutes. Return sausages to pot and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Place sausages and dressed potatoes on serving platter; drizzle half the sauce over top. Serve sausages and potatoes with remaining sauce alongside.

I used spicy Italian sausage because I like it better. My kid ate it, despite the spicy-ness. He actually ate a whole sausage. I would love to try it with a chicken sausage. I got the basic Johnsonville sausage at the store. If you can get slightly smaller sausages at the butcher or someplace like Trader Joe's, they might work better and be easier for more servings. I also didn't have parsley. (Does anyone keep fresh parsley around? Maybe I could grow some this summer.) This was a quick and tasty meal with some broccoli and green beans along side. Great for a cold night.