CK's Kitchen: This summer sausage skillet dish checks every box

I set out to find a go-to cookout recipe and instead landed on a winner: a summer sausage skillet with andouille that felt like an easy, flavorful upgrade. After scrolling through Pinterest overload — lists like "55 Cookout Recipes" or "27 Easy Side Dishes" — I hit my limit. Each promised a rabbit hole of at least 10 minutes each, and that was browsing time I didn't have. What I needed was simple: something easy, fast, delicious and healthy — the four pillars of culinary perfection in my cookbook. This dish checked every box. It's loaded with fresh vegetables and herbs (a win for gut health and a nice balance after a weekend of dessert-heavy events like a grad party and baby shower), and the andouille sausage brings just the right amount of smoky heat. Honestly, who doesn't love that bold, spicy kick to end a Sunday fun day? Chasing ingredients This "simple" recipe turned out to be anything but simple when it came to gathering the ingredients. I managed to find almost everything at a wildly busy Aldi, except the andouille sausage and fresh basil. I'm convinced the chaos was sparked by a family pack of chicken on sale for about a dollar a pound. Next stop was Marc's, where I tracked down two varieties of andouille sausage, and then Heinen's, where I picked up a beautiful bouquet of living basil since it's still too early to harvest anything from my own garden. Can't wait for the herby days of summer! We rushed in after finishing yard work, scrubbed up, and got straight to it — chopping sausage and vegetables while I set a pot of jasmine rice to cook. 'Fancy stir-fry' Full disclosure: 99.9 percent of the time, I follow a recipe to the letter. I want to test its true ease and efficiency, and most of all, see if it lives up to the writer's promises. But if you've been reading this column over the past 20-plus years, you know I'm not a fan of creamy sauces. So the basil cilantro crema didn't make the cut, even though I bought everything for it. By the time I started cooking, it was close to 9 p.m., and I knew I wasn't going to go to the extra effort to make a sauce I wouldn't eat. We had just wrapped up a major landscaping push after a cycling mishap set us back at least an hour, and at that point, simplicity mattered more than strict adherence to the recipe. And no one missed it, I promise! From cutting board to plate, this took closer to an hour, not the 20 minutes promised in the recipe. The biggest time commitment was grilling the corn, which you could easily skip in favor of a less fussy vegetable. The flavor really comes from the ingredients themselves, with just a light touch of garlic salt, salt and pepper. My boyfriend, who stepped in as sous chef, gave it a 4.5 out of 5, while my daughter dubbed it a "fancy stir-fry." It doesn't yield a huge portion, so if you are feeding big appetites, consider scaling up the ingredients. I would absolutely make this again. Next time, I would add roasted tomatoes and maybe some yellow squash for even more summer flavor. Contact Chrissy Kadleck at ckadleck@sbcglobal.net. Summer Sausage Skillet with Andouille Sausage 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 13.5 oz Andouille Sausage, sliced about 1/2 in thick 1/3 cup diced red onion 1 red pepper, chopped 1 orange pepper, chopped 2 small to medium zucchini, sliced and quartered 1/2 tsp garlic salt 1/4 tsp sea salt 1/8 tsp fresh cracked black pepper 2 ears of corn Additional sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste For topping: 1/8 cup of basil and cilantro each Optional: Poblano or Jalapeno pepper for those who like a little more heat or spice. Basil Cilantro Crema 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup sour cream 1/3 cup basil, packed 1/4 cup cilantro, packed 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1/2 tsp garlic salt 1/4 tsp white pepper Juice from half a lime About 1/2 — 1 tbsp Blend the ingredients for the Basil Cilantro Crema in a food processor and set aside. Refrigerate if you are not going to be using it in about 10 minutes. For the sausage skillet, add the extra virgin olive oil to a pan over medium to high heat. When it is shimmering, add in the sausage. Cook for 3 minutes per side and then remove it from the pan. Meanwhile, preheat the grill or skillet and then when it is hot, add the corn cobs. Cook for 4 minute per side over medium heat. If you are cooking on an outdoor grill, cook right over an open flame and close the grill. Back in the skillet, do not wipe it out. Instead, just add in the red onion and cook for 3-5 minutes until it softens. Then add in the pepper and cook for another 3-5 minutes. To get the char on the vegetables, you want to keep the heat on a medium to high flame.Add in the zucchini, garlic salt, sea salt, and fresh cracked black pepper. Mix it all in and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Make sure the zucchini is touching the bottom of the pan to enable it to char a little. Stir regularly to keep it from overcooking. When the corn is done, cut it off the cob and add the corn and sausage to the skillet. Sauté for about 2 minutes. Then turn off the heat and remove the skillet from the burner. Allow to cool for about 3 minutes and add in the cilantro and basil. Serve alone with the Basil Cilantro Crema or serve over rice with the crema. Season with additional sea salt and fresh cracked pepper as desired. Source: www.sugarmaplefarmhouse.com/summer-sausage-skillet-with-andouille-sausage/?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=organic#recipe