Sunday Supper "Italian Sausage and Wild Mushroom Risotto"

I must admit the inspiration for this recipe was from the fine folks over at The Steel Fork in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania where I had earlier in the week purchased two pounds of their handmade whole hog sausage. I grew up eating whole hog sausage and it definitely is not your packaged grocery store bought "log" sausage.

Ben and Kate stated in the kind personalized note, "We raise Berkshire (black) pigs in a woodsy pasture. Besides grass, bugs, and acorns they eat leftover milk from the cows that are milked every morning."

With that said this sausage absolutely does deliver in flavor and I thankfully tried it alone before it was mixed with all of the other ingredients. This risotto recipe will over power the flavor of the sausage because of the earthiness of the mushrooms and the complexity of the Madeira wine. In no way does this mean there was anything wrong with the recipe just happy to say I have another pound of sausage that I can simply grill or pair with a recipe where the sausage is the star!

One recipe change was a substitute of Italian Piave Vecchio for the Asiago cheese which fit the bill just fine.

This is a very elegant, rich, and creamy meal. If you have not made risotto before, you must be patient adding the liquid and gently stirring until you have the right al dente texture. The take away here is: give whole hog sausage a try and if not readily available in your area take a visit over at The Steel Fork.

E.A.T. local E.A.T. well