Sausage Lovers' Delight, From Bobby Flay

Bobby Flay has cooked with just about everything, literally from soup to nuts.

The Early Show's resident chef has used the inspiration of different places, techniques and ingredients and, on Thursday, he prepared all sorts of -- sausage dishes -- on the grill, of course!

From hot sausage to bratwurst, from souvlaki to sandwich, his menu had a little bit of everything for sausage lovers everywhere.

Flay was hot off winning a major award from Bon Appetit magazine, which named him Cooking Teacher of the Year.

Among the items Flay served up: bratwurst sandwiches. Bratwurst is a sausage composed of pork, beef, or veal. The name is German, derived from Old High German brätwurst, from brät, which is fine, chopped meat, and wurst, which is sausage.

He also made souvlaki with Merguez sausage, a red, spicy sausage from North Africa that's also popular in France, Morocco, Israel, Belgium, and the German state of Saarland. Merguez is made with lamb or beef, and flavored with a wide range of spices, such as sumac for tartness, and paprika, Cayenne pepper, or harissa, a hot chili paste that gives it a red color. It's traditionally made fresh, and eaten grilled or with couscous. Sun-dried merguez is used to add flavor to tagines. It is also eaten in sandwiches.

RECIPES

Souvlaki with Merguez Sausage and Piquillo Pepper Yogurt Sauce

Serves: 4-6

Piquillo Pepper Yogurt Sauce
2 cups thick Greek yogurt
4 piquillo peppers ( or 2 roasted red pepper)
6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and transfer to a small bowl.

Souvlaki
1 lb merguez sausage
Wooden skewers, soaked in water
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 pocket pita breads
Grilled onion, sliced
Grilled red pepper, sliced

1. Preheat grill. Grill the sausage until golden brown on all sides and just cooked through. Remove the sausage from the grill, let rest 5 minutes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Skewer the lamb and sausage onto the skewers and season with salt and pepper. Grill for 2 minutes per side or until the lamb is golden brown and cooked to medium-rare doneness.

2.Grill the pita on both sides for about 20 seconds to warm through and slice off 1-inch from the top. Fill the pita with the sausage, add onions and peppers and drizzle with some of the yogurt sauce.

Grilled Bratwurst with Caramelized Onions, Gruyere Cheese and Sweet and Hot Mustard with Thyme

Serves: 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large Spanish onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, drained
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound bratwurst
½ pound gruyere cheese, coarsely grated
4 hoagie rolls

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat, add the onions and cook until soft and caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

2. Whisk together the mustard, horseradish and thyme in a small bowl, let sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.

3. Heat grill to high. Brush sausages with the canola oil and grill until golden brown on all sides and cooked through, about 15 minutes total. Spread mustard on the rolls, top with sausages, onions and gruyere. Place back on the grill until the cheese just begins to melt.

Grilled Hot Sausage Panini with Fontina, Tomatoes, Balsamic and Arugula

Serves: 4

2 tablespoons canola oil, plus more for brushing on the bread
1 lb hot (or you can use sweet) Italian sausage links
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups baby arugula leaves
1/2 pound fontina, coarsely grated
ripe beefsteak tomatoes, sliced into ¼-inch thick slices
Italian bread, sliced into ¼-inch thick slices

1. Preheat grill to high. Brush sausages with oil and grill until golden brown on all sides and just cooked through, about 15 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes and slice.

2. Whisk together the vinegar, mustard and olive oil in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the arugula and toss to coat.

3. Place some of the fontina on 4 slices of the bread. Put some of the sausage, tomato and dressed arugula on top of the cheese. Place a little more cheese on top of the arugula then top with the remaining bread. Brush the top side of the bread with some canola oil and season with salt and pepper and place on the grill, oil-side down and grill until lightly golden brown. Brush the top of the bread facing up with some of the oil and season with salt and pepper and flip over and continue grilling until lightly golden brown and the cheese has melted.