Spicy Two-Sausage Sauce for Pasta


  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  1              pound  andouille sausage links
  1              pound  spicy breakfast sausage
  2              large  onions -- chopped
  1               head  garlic -- peeled and minced
  1                cup  Merlot
  4               cups  tomato sauce
  2                     bay leaves, whole

In a large heavy skillet, cook the andouille links over medium high heat
until the outsides are dark and crispy.  Remove andouille from pan and let
cool.  Cook the breakfast sausage in the skillet over medium heat until
done, crumbling with a spoon as it cooks.  Drain and set aside.

Dice the andouille sausage and return to frying pan.  Cook again, this time
over medium heat, until the sausage is thoroughly cooked and most of the oil
rendered out.  Remove sausage from pan, but do not pour off oil.

Cook onions and garlic in the sausage oil over medium heat until they become
translucent and then begin to brown slightly.

Add Merlot and tomato sauce and stir to combine thoroughly.  Add bay leaves
and stir very carefully (so as not to break the bay leaves -- they'll be
easier to remove if they're whole).

Simmer sauce uncovered for at least a half hour, or until sauce thickens to
desired consistency.  The longer you cook it, the more the flavor will
develop.  Remove bay leaves before serving.

The double-cooking of the andouille is necessary to give the exterior that
nice charred flavor, but still cook the excess fat out of the interior.