Sausages...and "us" time

I woke up this morning set on making sausage. I got kind of a late start, right at the time of day when Sophie is really getting bored out of her mind (which is almost all the time). So we made sausage together. It is probably the first time we have really cooked something complicated together. Sophie was responsible for picking the thyme, pressing the garlic, and manning the "stuffer", forcing the meat into the grinder on the KitchenAid. She was thrilled.

We made a traditional garlic sausage out of the book Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman, the current bible on the subject. I read this book and dream about all the yummy, porky things I am probably never going to make. Despite my passion, I cannot seem to find a dedicated space in my house with a 60 degree constant temperature and 70% relative humidity, suitable for curing large pieces of meat. Some wackos I see on line dedicate extra refrigerators in spare rooms to meat preservation. I don't think these guys are married...or employed.

So, my dreams of being a charcuterie master are probably just that at the moment. For today, however, sausage served as a means to be close with my daughter. It could have been apple pie making, pottery, bug hunting, pumpkin carving, or bike riding...but today it was sausage. Whatever...it was nice.