Ugh... Honey, did you just blog in the kitchen?

Or something like that... came the call from the other room, barely audible above whirring motor. 

"What dear? No, I'm making us dinner," I yelled back with a devilsh grin. "I'd thought you'd be excited, I'm using one of our wedding presents..." 

While doing our wedding registry at Macy's Cellar, I snuck off with the registry gun and added a meat grinder to our list, along with a few other things (I'm still hoping someone will pony up for the deli slicer). 

Right now, I'd like to send an extra thank you to Lang, Brooke's best friend who went ahead and purchased that meat grinder for us. Lang, I never could have done this without you.

So anyway, today marked my first batch of homemade merguez sausage. Beautifully simple to make (especially for those fortunate to have their own sausage maker) there are only three ingredients: lamb meat, fat and harissa. I got a great recipe from Chef Chris Gesualdi and did a little tweeking:

Harissa:

6 Tbsp Sriracha

2 Tbsp cumin, ground

2 Tbsp coriander, ground

1 Tbsp caraway seed, ground

2 Tbsp garlic, grated

3 Tbsp paprika

1 Tbsp turmeric

2 tsp cayenne

1/8 tsp cinnamon

6 Tbsp olive oil

Blend all ingredients into a paste.

For the sausage:

1 lb. lamb meat, trimmed

5 oz. lamb fat

1 Tbsp Harissa

2 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients until well combined and marinate overnight. Grind and make patties or stuff into casings.

So the sausage is made, next comes the recipe for dinner: Merguez with shaved red onions, mint and feta with watercress.

Check back for that recipe soon.

Next on my list- apples, bacon and cheddar cheese. I'm obsessed with these ingredients right now and working on some new recipes...