Sausages with Condiments and Pasta with Spicy Tomato SauceWe took a smorgasbord approach to this video, since there are so many wonderful items to choose from on SavorCalifornia.com. We just had fun trying various combinations of the sausages and condiments. This would be a great way to host a party, letting people mix and match.

The two sausages from we served cold: Saucisson Sec, a dry, hard sausage, and traditional French-style Garlic Sausage. (Both are great for picnics.)

We put Mark Brashear, our videographer, in charge of grilling the other sausages. They were:

Two from Marcel et Henri: Saucisse aux Fruits de Mer (made with scallops, shrimp and snapper) and Saucisse Merguez d’Agneau (a spicy North African-style lamb sausage).

Sonoma Sausage’s Hawaiian Portuguese.

After Mark had grilled the sausages, Julie Simpson, Mark and I tried all the sausages with a variety of condiments. Among my group of friends, food experimentation is the better part of valor…..or something like that.

Serration's Menu’s The Sauce. This is really hot; anyone who likes hot food will love this sauce.

A Perfect Pear from Napa Valley. Spicy Ginger Pear Mustard. I particularly liked this mustard with the seafood sausage (but don’t let that influence your decision…).

Russian River Fine Foods, both their Roasted Garlic Teriyaki Sauce and their Smokey River BBQ Sauce. These are rich and thick and can be used as a marinade as well as a sauce. With a juicy hamburger anyone?

The three mustards from California Harvest were Green Olive & Lemon Mustard, Roasted Tomato & Balsamic Mustard, Chipotle Lime Mustard. Each of them paired naturally with at least one of the sausages. For instance, I liked the olive and lemon one with the chicken and artichoke sausage, and I liked the tomato balsamic one with the lamb sausage.

That same evening we had a Sonoma County dinner party at Julie Simpson’s, with Julie, Mark Brashear, Pam and Bob Sibley and Julies’ friend Sue. Mark grilled up some more sausages and we combined Francis Coppola’s Pasta with his Arrabbiata Pasta Sauce.

With the pasta we drank a bottle of McCray Ridge Winery’s Cabernet Sauvignon. The label was designed by Pam Sibley’s Paloma Design Group.

Chow, amici! Yummioso!

Thanks to Julie Simpson for inviting us to shoot this video at McCray Ridge Winery’s ranch in the hills west of Healdsburg, California.