guinness-braised bratwursts w/ apple onion sauerkraut & spicy yam fries

it was the perfect start to a fall morning...grabbing a coffee and heading to the local farmer's market w/ my oregon girl.  we immediately visit our "sausage guy" (who wasn't there, unfortunately), but fortunately, his sausages were.  after considerable thought, we collectively decided to go with some nice, original bratwursts.  cool, now off to grab a baguette from the bakery to make a nice home for our bratwursts, and we were almost done w/ our shopping...until we saw these gorgeous yellow and red heirloom tomatoes.  we bought one of each, a pineapple pie tomato (the yellow one) and a celebrity (the red one)...caprese salad perhaps?!  we were already looking forward to our game day grub!  we were preparing a "big" game day...i'm talking oregon state (ranked 11th) versus stanford (ranked 13th).  

it went a little something along these lines...we decided to start w/ a fresh, caprese salad and a couple of cold brews.

recipe: serves 2

caprese salad ingredients

2 big heirloom tomatoes

fresh mozzarella

pesto

fresh basil (cut w/ kitchen shears to avoid bruising)

evoo

s & p

cut tomatoes and fresh mozzarella in chunks.  

add remaining ingredients and toss gently.  bon appetite!

next up, brats and yams...talk about 2 happy girls!

yam fries ingredients (you'll want to make these 1st b/c they take the longest)
2 yams
cayenne pepper
paprika
evoo
s & p
fresh garlic, minced
ketchup + hot sauce = the perfect dipping sauce for spicy yam fries

cut yams lengthwise into fries.  toss w/ remaining ingredients and bake @ 375 degrees for 45 min or until desired crispiness.  add garlic just before serving. (this is the way my oregon girl does it!)

brat & kraut ingredients
2 bratwursts
guinness beer
baguette
cabbage
granny smith apple
sweet onion
fresh garlic
brown sugar
dry mustard
apple cider vinegar (we used cinnamon-pear flavored vinegar from michigan...whoa)
evoo
s & p

prepare kraut first:
saute cabbage, apple, onion and garlic in evvo until tender.  add other ingredients, incorporating each w/ every addition.  turn on low and cover to allow thickening to occur.

braise brats in guinness for 8-10 minutes.  grill until slightly charred along w/ the baguettes (this takes only a few minutes).

fix up a plate and grab an ice-cold cold brew...

sadly, the beavers lost...but we still had a grand time...mucho mucho love for oregon!

p.s. there may have been a shot (or 2) of pendleton whiskey consumed...