Braised Sausages with Apple, Onion and Hard Cider Sauce

Are you turkey'd out?  Has the poultry eating peaked?  Has the waddle overstayed it's welcome?  Well then, let's switch to a different carnivorous fare:  Babe.  Wilbur.  You know of whom I speak.  Those adorable even-toed ungulates.  What?  Mmmmm....pork....
I've had this post in my drafts for weeks and just haven't had the time to clean it up.  It's a lovely dish for you, my fellow no-longer-fond-of-fowl-for-at-least-a-few-months-say-February friends. Braised sausages with apple, onion and hard cider sauce.  You can find the full recipe  here.  Oh yeah mama!  Sounds amazing, am I right?  Thank you very much Rachel Ray to whom I'm forever indebted for this recipe.

First you simmer the brats in a little bit of oil and water.  The following photo looks delicious!  And by delicious, I mean disgusting. (Two D words, easily confused and mistyped).
So just turn away, stifle the gag, and chop up some apples for pete's sake.  And some onions. 

Measure out the hard cider.  (Or apple juice if you'd rather.  What are ya?  Yeller?  You chicken-hearted yellow-bellied fraidy cat).  Actually, apple juice is all I've ever used and it's perfectly fine. 

Get yer mustard all ready.  I done never liked no mustard better'n this 'un.  You'll need brown sugar too.  Don't you adore sweet paired with savory?  It's so tasty.  So unexpected.  Oh, speaking of that, you must try Dandy's recipe for these.   A little bit of salt never tasted so good. Now this is starting to look more like delicious and less like disgusting.  Once all the water has boiled away, keep on cooking the brats so they get nicely browned.

Oh yeah!  Crispy carmelization is my dearest friend and confidante.  I've told it many secrets, not the least of them being that I crave it with abandon.  Others include that a)sometimes I neglect to remove my mascara at the end of the day to a sufficient degree, and b)I haven't scrubbed my shower since the summer solstice.

This is what's left once you take the brats out.  Is it gross?  Perhaps.  After all, it's fatty juice and fond from tubes of pork.  (I'm really sorry for saying that).  But oh my gosh, is it flavorful?  You bet!
Add the apples, onions and some salt and pepper right on top of that flavorful muck of questionable ickiness.

The apples begin to pick it up and you know the flavorful ickiness is being infused.  And that's what you want.  I'm sorry.  The adjectives are confusing here.  Sometimes stuff is icky, but when it's all prepared and roasty and savory, it doesn't matter anymore.  Like hot dogs.  Come on.  Hot dogs are seriously one of the creepiest food products ever.  Slap on a soft bun, some sweet relish and mustard and it's one of life's most enjoyable experiences.  Cheez Whiz?  Uh, it's processed yellow food dye paste in a jar.  Yeeee-ah....Put it in a cute little crock pot with a stick of butter and a cup of cooking sherry and I'll be fondue-ing little cubes of sourdough bread all night long!  See?  So fatty juice from tubes of pork on crispy granny smiths=really yummy. Add the mustard, cider, brown sugar and put the brats back in.  Just simmer to your heart's content.  The apples and onions get more and more tender and the flavors get more and more concentrated.  Here's the result:

 It's goooood. Geed. It's real geeeeeed. 

It's some good eats, ya'll.  Can I get an amen?

Cafe Madeleine – San Francisco

Cafe Madeleine is located on O’Farrell and is as cozy as you might hope your morning coffee destination to be.

There’s an incredible display case of pastries, over which I agonized and salivated.

Deliciousness abounds in this cafe

as does the comforting aroma of coffee.

The mocha comes topped with a spectacular chocolate whipped cream made fresh daily.

Jeff got the French Roast and I needed a toasted bagel to start the day.

I’m one to get overly excited about food, even a common, everyday bagel.

I couldn’t wait to crunch into my toasty breakfast.

Yum!

But the excitement was only getting started! See what I mean:

The Cassis.

Feast your eyes on this beauty. Layers of spongecake and passion fruit mousse topped with a layer of berry mousse, black currant glaze, and fresh fruit.

It was a heavenly treat.

So early in the morning. What a way to start the day.

Cable Cars – San Fransisco

So. If you’re going to ride the cable cars in San Francisco at night, you should be properly attired. Meaning, dressed warmly.

A certain someone’s husband forgot a certain neccessity. So we suited up at Macy’s. And I, of course, documented the activity.

Yep. It fits.

It was a beautiful, misty evening.

But I, unfortunately, had a headache.

The sights, the lights,

the cold breeze, and the thrill

of vintage transportation didn’t make my headache go away.

But it sure was fun.

The next day, I hopped back on the cable car

to ride to the Cable Car Museum.

I still don’t fully understand how it all works.

But that’s why some of us are engineers and some of us are bloggers.

Two Walkers

Ballerinas

Joggers

Pajamas from Grandma Judy & Papa

Bex: "Hi Grandma & Papa!

I'm posing for you!

Thanks for the jammies!"

Bex: "Seriously, Sis. What is your deal?" Bex: "She's gone off the deep end folks". Dee (after she had composed herself): "Oh Big Brother...I remember a time in the not-so-distant past when you felt the same way..." "See?"