When I was a college student, my Aunt Lucille invited me over for dinner. I was very fond of her and she was a good cook, so it was always a treat to visit. When I came in, I didn’t smell the aromas from her kitchen like I usually did. I shyly asked, “what’s for dinner” and she said, “I’m going to teach you how to make dinner tonight”. (In college, I didn’t live in the dorm, but instead lived in a duplex apartment, so I was on my own for meals.) And I was happy to add a new recipe to my repertoire.
We went into the kitchen and she only had a few things on the counter: Italian sausages, baking potatoes, yellow onion and a can of beer.
She told me exactly what to do– Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 12 baking dish with cooking spray. Lay the 5 -6 Italian sausages in the dish and poke each sausage with a fork several times (so they don’t explode in the oven and the juices can run out). Peel 2 large baking potatoes cut them into medium size chunks and scatter over the sausages. Cut an onion into medium size chunks and scatter it over the sausages. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and pour 8 – 12 ounces of beer over the mixture. Cover the dish with aluminum foil, pop in the oven and set the timer for one hour.
After I did all that, we moved to the living room to catch up on family gossip; how her 5 children were doing and how my grandmother was getting along. She even told me that my Mother was a “bit of a flirt” in high school, which I loved hearing. Soon into our conversation, I noticed the delicious aroma of the sausages cooking, and it smelled incredible. To this day, I love making this dish because of that intoxicating smell.
After an hour, I removed the aluminum foil and popped the sausage back in the oven for 15 minutes more. We made some green peas as the side vegetable and then sat at her kitchen table and enjoyed our dinner.
It was a meal I will never forget, and I am so grateful she taught me this easy, delicious dinner. It is a great meal to make after a busy day. If your Aunt is not there to chat with while it’s cooking, you can always help your children with their homework, have cocktails with your loved one or enjoy a relaxing bubble bath. AND enjoy the magnificent aromas coming from the kitchen.
Italian Sausage & Potatoes
Serves 4 -6
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:
5 – 6 Italian sausage, sweet, hot or a combination
2 large baking potatoes
1 yellow onion
8 – 12 ounces of beer
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9 x 12 dish with cooking spray.
- Place the sausages in the dish and poke each with a fork several times.
- Peel the potatoes, cut in large chunks and scatter over the sausages.
- Cut the onion in large chunks and scatter over the sausage.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, pour the beer over the mixture and cover with aluminum foil.
- Bake for one hour. Remove the foil and bake another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes.