Grilled Chicken Sausage Sandwiches with Grilled Onion Chowchow

I have been looking for a yummy relish to put on grilled chicken sausages for awhile now. Originally I was searching for a mango salsa but when I came upon this while browsing recipe sites, I decided to give it a try. It was very good - a strong mustard taste (which I like, and Chuck doesn't like mustard but enjoyed this) combined with the charred onion and spicy jalapeno. I served this with Southwest Pasta Salad.

But don't limit yourself to chicken sausages with this - use on regular sausages, to top a steak, or even a regular hot dog. It would fit nicely in a topping bar at a BBQ as well.

I was making this in advance and I didn't want to turn on the grill just to make the onion/pepper skewers, so I simply coated my grill pan with olive oil and placed the individual pieces of onion as well as the whole jalapeno on the pan. Cook over high heat, turning occasionally, until you get that nice char all over the veggies. I also seeded my jalapeno to cut down on the spice.

Grilled Chicken Sausage Sandwiches with Grilled Onion Chowchow

adapted from Food & Wine

Makes about 4 servings

1 sweet onion, cut into 1/2" slices

1 jalapeno pepper

olive oil

1/4 cup cider vinegar

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 tablespoons grainy mustard

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon tumeric

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 teaspoon water

kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper

4 links chicken sausages, any flavor

4 hot dog/hoagie rolls

Heat the grill to high heat. Skewer the onion slices and whole jalapeno pepper. Brush the vegetables with olive oil and grill until charred but still crisp, about 10 minutes (or see above for stovetop directions).

Remove from heat and coarsely chop the onions. Remove the skin from the jalapeno (if possible), seed if desired, and finely chop.

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the cider vinegar, brown sugar, mustards, and tumeric and bring to a simmer. Add the onions and jalapenos and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sauce is slightly reduced, about 12 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Grill the sausages according the package directions. Serve the sausages on rolls topped with the chow chow.

I had to include a picture with the beautiful lilies Chuck bought me for my last day of school!