Spiced Pear Sausage and Apricot Rosemary Bars

What crazy weather we’ve had lately, wet and balmy for a day or two and tonight, cold howling wind and a chance of snow. When it’s blustery outside, I enjoy cooking even more. I especially like recipes that let me crank up the oven. Any extra warmth is just lovely.

For my brunch treat on my day off earlier this week, I made roasted potatoes with Pine Street Market spiced pear sausage. I like to pair a rich dish like it with something green and crunchy. The collard plants in the backyard have been yielding some nice tender harvest. Each fall, I plant a bunch of plants close together and harvest just the leaves or the tops. I get about two or three harvest throughout the cool season. Even when the plants bolt as the weather warms, the flower shoots make a lovely addition to salads. For this occasion, I shredded the young leaves lightly and steamed them in the microwave.

For the potato dish, I start with cubed russet potatoes and onions. I leave the peel on the potatoes. The vegetables are tossed lightly with olive oil and some thyme in an ovenproof skillet. Put that in a 400F oven for about 20 minutes till the vegetables are tender but not browned. At this point, I add the sausage to the skillet. Back in the oven it goes, turning the sausages after about 15 minutes. Continue baking till the sausages are done, onions caramelized and potatoes brown and crispy. This should take another 15 minutes or so. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley before serving. Any other fresh green herb you have handy will work here. Parsley happens to be flourishing in the backyard right now. It is quite happy with the current weather. I rounded off the brunch with some toasted sourdough served with homemade kiwi jam and salted butter, and a big pot of tea with milk.

After the lovely brunch, I decided to take on a little baking. It’s been a good while since I made Apricot Rosemary Bars from Baked Explorations. I bought just the right type of apricots a few months ago and stashed them in the freezer and unlike my first couple of attempts, I now have a proper 9 inch square baking pan that Raleigh got me for Christmas as specified in the recipe. For this batch, my only deviation was using rum instead of brandy since that is what I had on hand. The special ingredient that went into the recipe was homegrown local honey from Curt’s bees that live in Kathy’s garden, what a special treat.


I don’t tend to have cooking spray around the house so I usually butter pans with a pastry brush instead before proceeding with the recipe. Because the apricots I used were the unsulfured variety, it yielded the most delicious puree. The apricot flavor is definitely more pronounced.

When I baked these bars last in September, I used Amaretto. The rum worked well in the bars this time but I think the amaretto complimented the apricots much more. I will have to make another batch soon with Amaretto.



The bars turned out wonderfully and I had enough for a birthday present and “lunch favors” the next day at Cardamom Hill. I will definitely be making these more often now that I have the right size pan. I hope everyone is keeping warm. Turning on the oven and baking a treat is definitely my favorite way to do so.