If you’re looking for a hearty spread to satiate your Super Bowl party, we’ve built the ultimate Sausage Platter to score points with hungry fans. West Wind Farms offers more than 25 varieties of bratwursts and sausages to build a platter that is not only impressive but delicious, and all brats and sausages are locally-raised, well-seasoned, and nitrate-free.

Choose from fresh sausages like the Hot Italian seasoned with fennel, coriander and nutmeg, or opt for smoked selections like the peppery Andouille that tastes fantastic when charred in the oven. Add a few jars of Jones Mill Farm’s handmade relishes, whole-grain mustard, and a warm ale and cheddar dip, and your West Wind Farms Sausage Platter will be rocking and rolling through the 4th quarter.

For this sausage platter, we chose a diverse selection of sweet, spicy, and savory from the West Wind Farms’ ample menu — the sweet Hawaiian-style pork sausage,  a Smoked Sweet Pepper and Onion, the fresh Classic Pork Brat, a spicy smoked Andouille, the Hot Italian sausage, and the gooey, earthy Mushroom and Swiss cheese Brat.

We like to simmer our brats in equal parts water and dark ale until they’re plump and juicy (about 20 minutes), and use the rest of the ale for a warm cheese dip to accompany our spread. These West Wind Farms brats are also tasty seared in a skillet or on a grill after they have been simmered. The choices are endless and all delicious.

For the smoked sausages, we opted to sear them in a hot cast-iron skillet and finish them in a 350 oven to roast. The outside of these sausages became crispy and delicious. When finished, slice the sausages into rounds or on the bias after they have fully rested for about 15 minutes to preserve the natural juices.

 

For the warm ale and cheddar dip, we simply combined butter with flour to produce a roux, then whisked in a dark ale and Hatcher Family Dairy milk. We added the sharp-tasting Kenny’s Farmhouse Ted that we found at the MoonShadow Farm booth (which is a bleu aged cheddar) to our yeasty béchamel,  along with yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, paprika, and salt and pepper. (note: The warm ale and cheddar dip does best when served in a chafing dish to keep it smooth and creamy.)

   

To round out our West Wind Farms Sausage Platter, we added the sweet and piquant Apple relish and Saurkraut from Jones Mill Farm. Slice your sausages, add a dollop of whole-grain mustard, and you’ll have a impressive platter of local sausages for some serious Super Bowl snacking.

 

West Wind Farms Sausage Platter

West Wind Farms Sausages (we chose Hawaiian-style, Hot Italian, Smoked Sweet Pepper and Onion, Mushroom and Swiss Cheese Brat, Classic Pork Brat, and Smoked Andouille)

2 cups dark ale for simmering

Jones Mill Farm Apple Relish

Jones Mill Farm Sauerkraut

Whole-grain mustard

Warm ale and cheddar dip

 

Warm Ale and Cheddar Dip

1 10 ounce package Kenny’s Farmhouse Ted cheese from MoonShadow Farm, grated

1 cup dark ale

1 cup whole or 2% Hatcher Family Dairy milk

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Hot Sauce to taste

1 teaspoon paprika

salt and pepper

 

 

This hearty Lamb Bolognese from the Franklin Farmers Market is thick, robust, and definitely not your momma’s spaghetti. We slow-simmered tender ground lamb from Hatcher Family Dairy with a minced mirepoix and fresh marinara from Alfresco Pasta to make a hearty ragú that sticks to your ribs during the freezing winter temperatures. Swirl this lamb Bolognese with wide Alfresco Pasta papparadelle noodles and top with Kenny’s Asiago Reserva from MoonShadow Farm booth, and you have a hearty classic Italian dish made with all local ingredients from the Franklin Farmers Market.

We began this lamb Bolognese by adding a finely minced mirepoix of carrots, celery, and onions with dried bay leaves to two tablespoons of olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat. We sauted the mirepoix for 5 to 10 minutes or until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally.

Next, we added 1 lb of Hatcher Family Dairy ground lamb and finely broke up the meat in the pan with a large wooden spoon. We cooked the lamb until no pink was left, and then added our garlic and 1 cup of red wine. Lamb Bolognese really benefits from the flavor of wine, but if a red is not on hand at your home, feel free to use a nice dry white. Simmer the wine until almost all the liquid has evaporated (about 10 minutes) before adding the tomato paste. Work the tomato paste into the meat until smooth and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring often.

For this sauce we used the fresh marinara sauce from Alfresco Pasta found at our farmers’ market. We love this marinara because it is made in small batches with fresh tomatoes and herbs, and we find it to have the fresh, bright tomato flavor that we like in a sauce. We added 3 defrosted tubs of the Alfresco Pasta marinara to our pan, including a 3-inch section of the rind of our Kenny’s Farmhouse Asiago Reserva cheese that we grabbed at the MoonShadow Farm booth, and simmered the sauce with the lid on for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce reduced beautifully, and what was left was a thick, hearty ragú with a sumptuous lamb flavor and tender texture.

Remove the rind and bay leave, and pour in 1/2 cup of Hatcher Family Dairy whole cream with a sprinkle of freshly ground nutmeg to finish.

For the noodles, we find Alfresco Pasta’s fresh spinach papparadelle that is flecked with bright green spinach to pair well with such a hearty sauce, but the myriad of pasta choices at the Alfresco Pasta booth would all work well. Simply add the frozen fresh pasta to a large pot of rapidly boiling salted water and stir immediately to separate. Cook until desired texture, drain, and combine with lamb Bolognese sauce.

Sprinkle with the perfectly nutty Kenny’s Asiago Reserva, place in chilly hands of your favorite person, and you’ve got a steamy bowl of hearty pasta to cuddle-up with on a blustery winter night.

Hearty Lamb Bolognese with Paparadelle

2 tablespoons olive oil (or 2 tablespoons fat from Italian pancetta)

1/2 medium yellow or white onion, minced

1 carrot, minced

1 stalk celery, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 dried bay leaves

1 Lb Hatcher Family Dairy ground lamb

1 cup red wine

1/2 can tomato paste

3 12oz tubs Alfresco Pasta marinara sauce

1/2 cup Hatcher Family Dairy whole cream

1 package Kenny’s Asiago Reserva cheese from MoonShadow Farm

1 package Alfresco Pasta spinach papparadelle

 

 

 

 

 

Ward off the chilly weather with this Bison Guinness Stew Recipe from Kayla Fioravanti of Red Cedar Bison Ranch. We absolutely love this premium grass-fed bison at the Franklin Farmers Market and enjoy using in some of our favorite slow-cooker-style recipes. Red Cedar Ranch Bison is raised here in middle Tennessee with no hormones, antibiotics, or GMOs, and is low in fat and calories with high levels of iron. This Bison Guinness Stew is an excellent  recipe for first-time bison buyers since it calls for a low-and-slow cooking method (the preferred method to cook bison), and also because bison has such a similar flavor to beef and can be easily substituted in many traditional beef recipes.

This Bison Guinness Stew recipe begins with a rainbow of fresh vegetables grown by our local farmers. We chose crunchy sweet carrots and red potatoes from Kirkview Farm, and since we have so many wonderful winter vegetables at the Franklin Farmers Market right now, we also decided to beef, er, bison up the veggie content with sweet golden turnips and rutabagas from Paradise Produce and earthy shitakes from Bloomin’ Shrooms, LLC.

Next, we visited the Red Cedar Bison booth to grab a 1lb bag of freshly frozen bison stew meat, plus a jar of Red Cedar Bison Bone Broth to boost the savory flavor of our bison Guinness stew. Once we purchased all our locally raised meat, bone broth, and fresh vegetables from our local farmers at the Franklin Farmers Market, we hurried home to get our stew on the stove.

We began by chopping our vegetables into a medium dice and mincing our herbs and garlic. We also ground mustard seeds into a fine powder to flavor our stew according to Kayla’s recipe.

We drained the bison stew meat and patted it dry with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture before we seared it in a hot pan. But before doing so, we added a hefty sprinkling of flour to our stew meat to ensure a nice brown crust. We added the stew meat to a pan of oil set on medium-high and browned the meat well on all sides. Then we added our vegetables and garlic and sautéed for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Then we added our herbs, spices, and flour, which added a great aroma to our stew before we slowly poured in the Red Cedar Bone Broth, stirring well.

Next came the fun part: the Guinness! We glugged 1 large can of Guinness beer, stirred well, then adjusted our seasonings to taste. We covered our skillet and cook for 45 minutes until the liquid reduced and the bison was tender and delicious.

Bison Guinness Stew by Kayla Fioravanti of Red Cedar Bison Ranch

Ingredients

• 1 tsp thyme finely chopped
• 1 tsp sage finely chopped
• 1 tsp rosemary finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tbsp Hungarian paprika
• 2 tbsp flour
• 14.9 oz Guinness beer can or bottle
• 16 oz Bison Bone Broth
• 1/2 tbsp mustard powder
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 red potatoes cut
• 1 carrot sliced
• 1 small onion
• 1 lb bison stew meat

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Brown the bison, add the onion, carrots, garlic and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
2. Add the herbs, spices, flour and chicken stock and stir well.
3. Slowly add in the Guinness beer.
4. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Reduce heat to a simmer. Continue to cook for about 45 minutes.
6. The liquid, when close to finishing, should have reduced in volume by 1/2 of what you started with and the meat should be fork tender.

Now that the holidays are over and we’re all working towards our Farm Fresh New Year’s Resolutions, how about preparing our Simple Slow-Cooker Pot Roast Recipe made with locally-raised grass-fed beef shoulder? A slow-simmered all-in-one meal sounds perfectly tantalizing after the fuss of the holidays, and using all local ingredients from our farmers’ market makes it a smart and healthier meal choice.

For this recipe, we chose a grass-fed Beaverdam Creek Farm beef shoulder roast that melted in our mouths after a morning in the slow-cooker. Beaverdam Creek Farm raises their cattle without antibiotics or growth stimulants and feeds them a diet of natural green grass, ensuring a happy herd and a healthful cut of meat for you and your family. Beaverdam Creek Farm offers a wide selection of freshly-harvested produce as well, so we grabbed a few sweet potatoes to accompany our hearty meal as a side dish.

To begin our pot roast, we started with two very important s’s — salt and searing! Liberally sprinkling salt and pepper to both sides of our shoulder roast and searing it in a hot skillet ensures beautiful browning and maximum flavor. This step can always be skipped, but why not go the extra mile when the remainder of the recipe is so simple?

While our roast browned, we turned to our vegetables.  We opted for staples such as bright orange carrots and tasty turnips from Colvin Family Farm and meaty shitake mushrooms from Bloomin’ Shrooms, LLC, that we sliced and added to really boost the earthiness of the roast.

Begin building your roast by slicing 1 large onion and adding it to the bottom of your slow-cooker, then place the Beaverdam Creek Farm shoulder roast on top. Next, nestle in the carrots and turnips, and top the whole shebang with shitake mushrooms.

Now comes the question of liquid. We prefer to add about 1 cup of liquid to our pot roasts, because — you guessed it — we love to make gravy! Adding a bit of liquid results in more juicy goodness that can be whisked into a roux and simmered down after the pot roast has finished. (We added 1/4 cup of red table wine and 3/4 cup of beef stock.)

Set your slow-cooker to 4-6 hours for a 2-3 pound roast and 8-10 hours for a 3-5 pounder. If possible, stir the contents in between once or twice to ensure the top of your roast and all those lovely shitakes so not dry out.

Once your pot roast is tender and succulent, remove the meat, carrots, turnips, and shitakes with a pair of tongs, and strain and reserve the juices. Create a pan gravy by cooking 1 tablespoon butter or vegetable oil with 1 tablespoon flour in a skillet and then whisking in the juices until a smooth glistening gravy comes together.

To accompany our pot roast, we thought we’d select one of the many green vegetables available right now during our winter market. Both Delvin Farms and Kirkview Farm have beautiful brussel sprouts that we pan-browned with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Instead of traditional mashed potatoes, we roasted our Beaverdam Creek sweet potatoes whole in the oven at 400 degrees for 1 hour until they were gooey and candy-like. We prefer to mash these gems as-is, but they’re delicious with a little Hatcher Family Dairy cream and brown sugar if you like them extra-sweet, or plenty of salt and pepper for a more savory sweet potato mash. Voila!

With every pot roast the question of leftovers arises, and with all the skilled bakers at the Franklin Farmers Market, a drippy, crusty sandwich is the way to go. We love to spoon our succulent pot roast and creamy pan gravy onto loaves of freshly-baked Jones Mill Farm Italian bread. Top with a wad of fried onions and chopped leftover brussel sprouts, and you’ve got a second delicious meal of leftovers that is just as savory as the first.

Simple Slow-Cooker Pot Roast Recipe

1 Beaverdam Creek Farm beef shoulder roast

2-3 Beaverdam Creek sweet potatoes

1 pint Delvin Farms or Kirkview Farm brussel sprouts

1 pound of mixed carrots and turnips from Colvin Family Farm

1 quart Bloomin’ Shrooms, LLC shitake mushrooms, sliced

1 large onion

1 loaf Jones Mill Farm Italian loaf

1/4 cup red wine (optional)

3/4 cup beef stock (optional)

1 tablespoon butter or oil for gravy

1 tablespoon flour for gravy

olive oil

salt and pepper