Sausage sandwiches

Good sausage doesn't need much help to be delicious, as it's already prepared with tasty meat and a variety of herbs and spices. This sandwich takes advantage of those flavors by pairing them with tangy marmalade and sweet mustard which complement the flavors in the sausage rather than competing with them.

Sausage Sandwich with Red-Onion Marmalade
This is a pretty basic sandwich. The trick is to find the right combination of flavors. I used the honey oatmeal bread from a recipe in the book that came with my Kitchenaid mixer for the toast; any hearty and sweet bread should be fine. If you prefer a very strong bread flavor, a rye or pumpernickel might be appropriate as well, but you'd risk overpowering the sausage flavors.

• 2 slices hearty sweet bread, toasted


• 1 high-quality savory sausage, broiled and sliced into medallions


• 2 tsp. stone-ground mustard, to taste (alternative: use purchased pesto instead)


• 2 tsp. red-onion marmalade, to taste (recipe below)


• A few sweetened dried cranberries

Spread mustard on one slice of bread and marmalade on the other. Arrange slices of sausage to cover one slice. Sprinkle on cranberries. Serve open-faced or as a conventional sandwich.

Red-Onion Marmalade

• 1 tbsp. olive oil


• 1 red onion, diced coarsely


• 2 tsp. (~2 cloves) minced garlic


• 1/4 c. port wine


• 2 tbsp. marsala wine


• 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar


• 1 c. red table wine


• 2 tbsp. honey


• 1 orange, juice


• 1 orange, zest

Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Add onion and garlic and cook until caramelized, stirring frequently. Add port wine and simmer about ten minutes. Add remaining liquid ingredients and simmer until reduced to marmalade consistency (about fifteen minute), stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and fold in orange zest. Store in refrigerator and serve cold.