Four Alarm Dinner

It's been a crazy summer of guests and travel. I had a birthday and got some fantastic kitchen equipment, some of which is still in boxes. I hope to try it all out soon. I got to use my new Shun chef's knife on this one. It comes from a cookbook put out as a fund raiser for The Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund. Terry Farrell was a New York City firefighter (and a volunteer firefighter out on Long Island) who perished in the September 11 attacks. His brother started The Terry Farrell Firefighters fund in his memory. It's mission is to help fire departments around the country get the equipment they need, either through grants or donations. My cousin is the director of the Pennsylvania branch and has helped move used, donated equipment from departments who are upgrading to departments in need. He also sold me the cookbook.

Sausage and Peppers (from California Firehouse Cookbook, by firefighter Vito Gioiello)

6 links Italian sweet or hot sausage
2 TBSP olive oil
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 C white wine

Place the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown on all sides. Remove sausage from the skillet, and slice.

Heat the oil in the skillet. Stir in the vegetables. Season with basil and oregano. Stir in the white wine. Continue to cook and stir until peppers and onions are tender.

Return sausage slices to skillet with the vegetables, Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, or until sausage is heated through. If you like pasta, mix the sausage with your favorite pasta for a great meal with some vino, if you are off-duty, of course.

This is very easy to make and delicious. You could easily scale this recipe down (it makes 6 servings) or up (if you have big enough pots). I would recommend letting the sausage brown as you slice the vegetable. Whole sausage takes a while to cook through and you can save yourself prep time. I tossed it all with rigatoni and made some take-and-bake bread to round out the meal. And, of course, some red wine. I was off-duty.