Here’s another recipe from the nice folk at Better Homes and Gardens, and their 2013 Grill It! magazine. Rich wasn’t quite as happy with it as he and our dinner guests were with the rosemary steaks and roasted garlic & Kalamata mayonnaise, but I thought them pretty nice, and mebbe just in need of a dab o’ that tasty spiced mayonnaise, a touch more direct grilling time, and, I am thinkin’, spicy garlic sausage in place of the sage sausage called for.
Still and all, I’d make these again.
INGREDIENTS
•6 medium onions
•16 oz sage sausage (try linguiça)
•2 cups Granny Smith apple (about 2)
•1 cup coarse panko
•1/2 cup (2 oz) crumbled blue cheese
•2 tbsp diced fresh sage
•12 fresh sage leaves
Note: the BH&G folk specified sweet onions, but I preferred the look of these white onions at the market the day I was shopping; you do what you like.
Cut about a half inch from the top of each onion, then remove the peel. If needed, cut a bit off the bottom of the onions so they sit flat.
Scoop out the center of each onion (a one tablespoon stainless steel scoop works a treat for this). Be careful to keep the sides and bottom of the onion intact – about 1/4 inch should do it. Hint: if you do scoop out the onion bottom, you can usually pop that bit right back into the shell like a plug.
Mince the scooped out onion bits and measure out 2/3 cup. Reserve the remaining bits for another use.
Cook the minced onion with the sausage over medium-high heat until the sausage is nicely browned and the onion tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper – I also added a good dab o’ Gateway to the North Maple Seasoning. Drain off any fat and return to the pan.
Add the diced and peeled Granny Smith apple and cook until tender – about eight minutes – then set aside to cool slightly.
Stir in the panko, blue cheese, and diced sage, then spoon into each scooped out onion shell – I packed mine in tightly.
Place two sage leaves in the center of a 12 inch square of heavy-duty aluminum foil and place a stuffed onion directly on top.
Fold the foil up and over the onion, sealing the packet, but leaving room at the top for steam to gather.
The BH&G folk recommended heating the grill to medium (350º to 375º) and placing the foil-wrapped onions directly on the rack for 20 minutes with the grill cover closed, then opening the top of each foil packet and grilling for another fifteen minutes. We did all that, then removed the onions entirely from the packets and placed them directly on the grill for another ten minutes.
We had ours with a bit of freshly grilled garlic bread and thought it a fine meal, except that next time I will certainly try a spicier sausage, and Rich will probably remove the onion from the foil a bit earlier and grill them directly on the racks a bit longer. Oh, and mebbe serve ’em with a bit of that roasted garlic Kalamata olive mayonnaise.