I was approached again by the company that worked with Johnsonville on their “Ville” advertisement campaign. Matt Rivera (no relation, that I know of), told me that he needed a minimum of 350 words for each recipe. This was a definite challenge for me since I’m not a great wordsmith. So I channeled my inner English class writing skills and came up with these to expand the 4-5 sentence directions that I normally use.  Honestly, if I was forced to do this on every recipe this blog wouldn’t be around much longer. It takes me longer to write these than it does to cook the food!

Deconstructed Brat (for the original post click here)

I recently had a Johnsonville Bratwurst cook off and I came up with this idea to deconstruct a Johnsonville bratwurst. I was thinking of ways I could keep all the same tastes that one would associate with a bratwurst but present it a little different. I had many ideas go through my head from molecular gastronomy, dehydration, smoothies (yuck), and finally decided that deconstruction was the best path for the task. It’s the easiest one to duplicate because the only hard part is taking the bratwurst out of the casing…..not hard at all!! So here is my attempt at a deconstructed bratwurst for this Johnsonville Bratwurst Cook Off.

Sometimes presenting food in a different manner can lead people to believe they’re about to eat something completely different than they were expecting. This lead me to brainstorm the idea for the deconstructed Johnsonville Bratwurst. If you read a menu at a restaurant and it said Deconstructed Johnsonville Bratwurst you may or may not be excited about it until you saw it being presented at a table then you would ask the waiter, “What is that?”. That’s the interesting thing about food. Sometimes it’s not about the food itself but the presentation will fool you into thinking it’s a little more than just a brat with a bun, when it’s not.

Here’s is a quick and easy way to dress up (or down) your Johnsonville Bratwurst.

First take two Johnsonville Bratwursts and remove them from their casing. Then, you will place them inside a cookie cutter and brush them with a little olive oil. Place them in the oven that you have pre-heated to 350F and cook it for about 2 minutes then flip and cook for another three minutes. The brat will shrink a little as it cooks but that is ok! After 5 minutes of cooking remove the bratwurst from the oven and let it rest on a plate for a minute or two. Take a bun and dice it to garnish it over the brat. Finally, take a brush and brush ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise over the plate to give it that restaurant flair.  You’re all done now. GO EAT!

Sir Johnsonville Wellington III (Click here for the original post)

Sir Johnsonville Wellington III

I recently made this for a Johnsonville Bratwurst Cook Off. My wife had mentioned to me that one of the things she’s excited about when I attend culinary school is for me to make her a Beef Wellington. When this cook off came up I knew I wouldn’t have enough time to pull off a traditional Wellington but I knew I could with a little help if I used some pre-made puff pastry.

Pre-made puff pastry is amazing and flexible in the kitchen. During the cook off I was actually considering on adding a few more recipes with the puff pastry but I didn’t want this to be a puff pastry cook off, this was a Johnsonville Bratwurst cook off (other ideas: Puff Pastry stuffed with ground Johnsonville Bratwursts, String the pastry around the bratwurst to make it look like a barber pole). You can find pre-made puff pastry at most grocery stores. If you’re having problems then shoot me an e-mail: ericriveracooks@gmail.com

Take a Johnsonville Bratwurst and grill it for 2 minutes then remove from the heat and let rest. Make sure your pre-made puff pastry is at room temperature then remove it from it’s packaging. Cut a 4 inch square from the puff pastry then wrap it around the bratwurst. Heat your oven to 375F.  Take a half stick of butter and place it in a bowl then melt it in your microwave. If you have a basting brush then get it because you’re going to baste the puff pastry with a little butter before you place it into the oven, this will help give you that golden color all those fancy pictures always have. Next, place the wrapped bratwursts on a cookie sheet then place in the oven for about 8-10 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden (I like gold!!).

Tip: If you want a little more golden color then you can baste the puff pastry with a little more butter half way through cooking. Don’t take a lot of time basting or your puff pastry will collapse.

Your Sir Johnsonville Wellington III is all done now and you are about to impress your friends and taste buds. Get ready for a buttery flaky bratwurst taste explosion. Stop reading this and go eat!

You’re such a brat! (Click here for original recipe)

I recently had a cook off using Johnsonville Bratwursts One of my favorite Johnsonville Bratwursts is their Cheddar Bratwurst so I picked up a pack and ran off to the drawing board trying to figure out the best way to highlight this better bratwurst!

I am constantly approached by people who want to eat healthier in their diets. I believe that the hardest part of a diet is actually going through the motions. I can tell you all the things that would be healthy but if you’re not going to do them for the rest of your life then what’s the point? Another trouble with dieting is that it requires a lot of change for the worse. Most people have to take away all the things they love to eat in order to comply to a “new” diet program. How do I give you something healthy that you would be willing to make for yourself? (Don’t let the name of this recipe think that I’m poking fun at you or anyone else. I have a friend that won’t eat hot dogs so this was my way to say, “FINE, HERE’S A SALAD!!”. She ate it).

A good salad for me is one that has a little meat in there, otherwise I feel like I’m hungry about 25 minutes later then I’m scrounging around the refrigerator for something. Problem solved.

I used a salad mix consisting of red leaf lettuce, butterhead lettuce, and arrugula, I chopped them all up then placed them in a bowl, remember to always wash your produce even if it is organic! Then I cooked up a Johnsonville Cheddar Bratwurst on the grill for about 6 minutes. After removing the Bratwurst from the grill I let it rest for a few minutes then diced it and placed it over the salad. I grated about 1 ounce of raw jalapeno goat cheese over the top (you can use any type of cheese). Then I took an orange sweet pepper and crushed it over the salad.

You’re probably thinking that’s it but I’m not done yet. You need a dressing for this!

Take 4 black cherries and pit them then place the cherries in a food processor. On the stove take 1 cup of balsamic vinegar then pour it in a small sauce pot then cook on medium heat until you get a slow simmer. Cook down the balsamic vinegar until you have about 1/2 a cup, this is called “reducing”. Once you have the balsamic vinegar reduced then place it in the refrigerator for an hour. Remove the balsamic vinegar from the refrigerator then add a little raspberry vinegar, about 4 tablespoons (optional). Take one lime and juice it into the food processor then add the rest of your ingredients along with a pinch of rosemary.  Pulse the food processor a few times then pour this Black Cherry Raspberry Lime Vinaigrette over your Johnsonville Salad and you’re done.  Go Eat!!

Lots of words there…….yikes.

Eric