Bar Food 101 - Spicy Pork Sausages with Cremini Mushroom and Lots of Garlic

Two mini iron cast pans were recently added to my kitchenware collection. I was holding down my urge to test out the pans immediately. Instead, I washed the pans and let them air dried overnight. If you ever used iron cast pans, you'll know what was the shocking view the next morning - two rusty iron cast pans with gloomy orange spots all over!!

That's right, it's my first time using a true iron cast kitchenware that's not coated with enamel. Quickly googled the solutions then I realized that uncoated iron cast pans are very vulnerable when in contact with moisture. Basically it gets rusty easily. So easily that you might even have to leave the cookware over fire to dry out any remaining liquid before storage.

So I followed the steps and reseasoned the pans with oil, made sure they're 100% dried, wiped with a kitchen towel, and finally store them away. So much work for these two mini pans!

After restoring the iron cast pans back to its "healthy" stage, it's time to put them to work!

Spicy pork sausages with cremini mushroom and lots of garlic -

Ingredients?

• 1 spicy Italian pork sausage (use two if the sausage is on the smaller side)
• 1 jalapeño pork sausage (use two if the sausage is on the smaller side)
• 10 cremini mushroom
• 8 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon of bacon fat or olive oil
• Small pinch of salt
• Some red pepper flakes
• Some flat-leaf parsley (optional)

How?

Chorizo actually works the best for this recipe. However, I was at Whole Foods and one chorizo costs almost $10!! To be a more budget sensitive shopper, other types of spicy sausages should do the tricks just as well. They have to.

Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves. Quarter the mushroom. Cut the sausages into bite size pieces. They don't have to be chopped perfectly. In fact, rough edges fit better with this whole bar food theme, and my rusty iron cast pans.

Pour the bacon fat or olive oil into the iron cast pan and turn to medium high heat. Add in chopped garlic and sprinkle some salt then give it a quick stir. Cook till the edges of the garlic turns slightly browned.

Add in the sausages and cook till about 70% doneness. Add in the mushroom and cook for another minute or two, or till the sausages are about to get burned on the edges. Mushroom should shrink by half by the time this dish is ready.

Garnish with some chopped parsley if desired. I only use red chili flakes here to pump up the heat. You can also add some halved cherry tomatoes together with the mushroom, it'll add a nice acidity to the dish.