Holy moly, we're almost at the end of 2013! Can you believe it? This year went by so fast! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I spent Xmas with Mr.S.'s family. They do a big Christmas dinner at Mr.S.'s, everyone brings a few dishes and his parents make a delicious ham. This year I was in charge of lemon bars, sausage balls and green bean casserole (that last dish wasn't by my choice, it was requested). I was excited about making the sausage balls. I found the recipe last year in a magazine while at the hospital. It was a recipe submitted by the Voltaggio brothers (of Top Chef fame) for a Thanksgiving issue. It sounded intriguing so I took a photo with my phone and looked it up online later on. The recipe is quite easy to make (just a handful of ingredients), can be prepared ahead of time (just pop them in the oven right before guests arrive) and perfect for a holiday party finger food. I found that the sausage balls taste great when paired with a dipping sauce (honey-mustard, sweet chili, or even an aioli goes great with these). Also, the leftovers are fantastic when used in an egg strata the next day (just sub in the sausage balls for the bread and cook as usual). I threw in some leftover ham and cheese from the previous night's dinner when I made ours. Mr.S . and Kidlet #1 loved the sausage ball-strata.
Holiday Sausage Balls (adapted from Redbook Magazine)
Ingredients
3 cups Bisquick pancake mix
1 lb. bulk country or breakfast sausage (not in casing, crumbled)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
fresh out of the oven
Instructions
1. Heat oven to 400°F.
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper so that the sausage balls don't stick.
3. Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a large stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment and mix everything thoroughly.
4. Use your hands to form 1 1/2 inch balls and place on the parchment paper. Make sure the sausage balls are spaced out evenly.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes until they are puffed and a golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack or platter and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
with mine I use a block of cream cheese instead of butter. :)
AND...I make two batches. One batch of regular and one batch with the "spicy hot" sausage. That's MY batch.
Yum! That sounds good, Cyndi! The country sausage I used had a little bit of heat but wasn't too hot.