Sausage, Onions, and Potatoes with Apple Dumplings

This was quite more complicated than my usual fare. Thankfully Nathan fell asleep so there were minimal distractions. This is from the Farmhouse Cookbook that I talked about in my last post. The author says this recipe is from a farm wife in North Dakota, who is of Russian-German descent, and that she cooks like this every day, 3 meals a day. I just can't imagine what that would be like. Would it be nice, or extremely stressful? I don't know. This recipe was a LOT of work, but Steve loved it. It's made with bratwurst, which is a different kind of sausage than what we usually have. Consequently, Nathan and Emma didn't really like it. But, it was quite good. Anyway here is the recipe.

Sausage, Onions, and Potatoes with Apple Dumplings
1 lb bratwurst, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 small onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 pound Russet potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/8" slices
1 cup dry white wine (I used chicken broth)
2 cups water
1 tsp crumbled dried sage leaves
1/4 tsp dried thyme, or several sprigs of fresh
1 bay leaf
6 fresh parsley sprigs, coarsley chopped (I left these out)
3 allspice berries (I had to buy these, not too expensive, but there are like 427 berries in there...they look like peppercorns...it will probably be years and years before I use them all up, but oh well)
Salt and pepper
2 tsp lemon juice
2 small tart crisp apples, or 1 large Granny Smith apple
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cake flour (I don't have this, I used bread flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 large egg, beaten
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/3 cup buttermilk (you don't have to buy this, you can mix 1/3 cup of milk with 1/3 tsp lemon juice)
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley, for garnish (I left this out too...part of my parsley boycott)

Brown the bratwurst in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat, turning them frequently, about 5 minutes. When they are quite brown, remove them from the pan and add the onions. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions just begin to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the potatoes, chicken broth, and 1 cup of the water, the herbs, and allspice berries. Bring the mixture to a slow boil, increasing the heat slightly if necessary, and stir, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Return the sausages to the skillet, and season generously with salt and pepper (I will say at this point that I wouldn't add any salt...it was a bit too salty. Just let people add it if they want once it's on their plates). Cover and cook at a slow boil, reducing heat if necessary, until the potatoes are nearly tender, about 25 minutes. Gradually add remaining water, if necessary, to keep the mixture just submerged in liquid (I didn't have to add any more water...maybe that's for high altitude or something).

While the potato mixture is cooking, fill two small bowls with water and add 1 tsp lemon juice to each. Peel and core the apples. Slice half the apples into 1/4" thick slices, and place them in one bowl of acidulated (oooh big word) water. Dice the remaining half, and place them in the other bowl. Set aside.

Make the dumplings (are you getting tired yet??): sift both flours, the baking powder, baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt in a medium-sized bowl. Make a well in the center and add the egg, melted butter, and buttermilk. Working quickly, incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, using a fork to make a fairly soft dough. Drain the diced apple, and fold it into the batter so the pieces are well distributed.

When the potatoes are nearly cooked, drain the apple slices and add them to the skillet, stirring them in gently. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired (?? if I was comfortable doing that, I wouldn't be using your recipe, lady...just tell me what to do and I'll do it ha ha). Drop the dumpling batter in 6 equal spoonsful on top of the mixture. Cover and cook until the dumplings have risen to twice their size and are firm when you touch them, no longer than 12 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with the minced parsley. 6 servings.

PHEW!! I like needed to lay down after that one. So much work. But like I said, it was very very good. I think if you are making this you should get everything sliced and diced before you even start step one. I was frantically chopping etc trying to get everything ready before the next step and it was very stressful. Also don't add the extra salt while it's cooking the potatoes. I'm not sure how this would be with other sausage besides brats. This was my first time using them, and I thought it tasted a bit like spicy breakfast sausage. But the seasonings complemented it nicely, so I don't know about changing it. I guess I will keep this one, even though I'll have to wait a while to have it again, whilst I recover from this time. Oh, also, Emma reminded me that she doesn't like COOKED apples! But it was a good fall dish.