Lamb Sausage + Buttery Bun with Mint & Harissa

It's whats for dinner!

Many of you may have noticed, but I get a lot of cooking inspiration from friends. I’m lucky to have a lot of friends who cook and eat really well! Last weekend we went to a friend’s house (she’s so much more that word doesn't do it justice) for lunch. She put out a beautiful spread of food (no surprise there)  but the main event really surprised me in it’s simplicity but serious deliciousness. It was a build-your-own grilled pain au lait bun, grilled lamb sausage, harissa mayonnaise & mint leaves situation. Like you’ve read from me plenty of times: It’s all about the quality. It was simple but each element was really good quality. The milk buns from Trader Joes, the sausages from D’Artagnan, mayo was Whole Foods brand, and the mint was super fresh. So I recreated it for dinner this week alongside a kale caesar salad. My mother-in-law is in town and we’d had a really tasty kale caesar salad at a restaurant earlier in the week. We were all craving it again. I wish I had more in detail photos for you but honestly, that dinner was a whirlwind: very close timing to bedtime, Grandma in town, Grandpa visiting for dinner, a new monster truck toy, general pre-natal discomfort (fun!) , so photos got the short straw. But trust me. Make this and I bet it will become part of your rotation too. 

The Sausage: 

I’ve been a big fan of D’Artagnan for a long time. They are staple in the high end/specialty food scene. Their products are very good quality and even if meat isn't specifically “Organic” or “Pasture Raised” I have a lot of trust in the product to be harvested the right way. You can buy their products at lots of different stores but I was really busy this week and I ordered right off their website. It is a $50 minimum so I was forced (ahem) to add some Truffle Pâté and a Duck Confit Leg to my order. Boo Hoo. It came in 1 day and their packaging was also a great surprise. The foam lining the box dissolved in water!! 

The Spread:

*I don’t have a grill at the new house or else I would have grilled. 

• Pain au Lait OR Brioche Hot Dog Buns that I toasted in a pan with butter. 

• Dartagnan Merguez Lamb Sausages broiled in the oven

• Harissa Mayo

• Fresh Mint

The Salad

• Caesar dressing THE REAL WAY: (grated garlic + anchovy paste + a raw egg yolk + pepper + olive oil + lemon juice) I go back and forth about dijon. 

• Chopped Lacinato Kale (remove those thick ribs)

• Lots of shaved parm with a G not with an S  (the good stuff)

• Cubed sourdough bread that I toasted in olive oil in a pan a.k.a croutons

• … more pepper.

Dessert:

I made the famed layered parfait with Graham Cracker Crumbs + Chai Spiced Applesauce + Whipped Cream from 2 weeks ago. Because it’s easy, make ahead, really low in sugar and because I love it. Subscribers can still access that Chai Spiced Applesauce. Another perk of being a paid subscriber, you can access the whole archive of past recipes. 

What I’m Loving This Week:

1. LIV Breads: Have I written about this place before? Maybe. Unfortunately it’s only relative if you live in the area. BUT if you find yourself anywhere in the proximity to Millburn NJ, PLEASE do yourself a favor and go there. It’s a modern Israeli bakery that will blow your socks off. Everything they make is extremely high quality and done with care but for me the standout is their Chocolate Rugelach. They are nothing like the dry squares you get in a plastic clamshell at the grocery store. These are hard to explain how good they are. The owner’s are a really great husband and wife who I’ve become friendly with and they told me this morning that their next location is in Englewood NJ. and who am I kidding? I don’t love them just this week, I love them every week.

2. Pears: I feel like pears tend to get overlooked. I don’t see a lot of people going crazy for them this time of year like apples or winter squash. I think because the likelihood of them being really good is a lot lower than an apple.  But a perfectly ripe pear is something to savor. I’ve been getting some good ones this week. If any of my loved ones are reading this, I would very much love a delivery of pears from Frog Hollow Farms. It’s such a good gift for anyone who appreciates quality produce. 

3. Trader Joe's Cotswolds Cheese: Maybe you already know and love the cheese dept at TJs. The prices are unbeatable for the same stuff you get at Whole Foods. One of the cheeses that has been on our rotation is the Cotswolds cheese. It’s a soft cheddar that has minced chives running through it. Not only is it delicious to snack on with hmmmm PEARS! But it’s really versatile: melted on a burger, melted into scrambled eggs, could be an interesting addition to mac n’ cheese.. 

We’re headed to DC this weekend to do some eating and spa-ing… yes, I’m insanely excited. Follow along on Instagram to see what we find. And if anyone here has eaten some amazing things in DC please comment, I’d love it! Until next week.. XO LIV