DRUNKEN SAUSAGES AND PEPPERS WITH HERO ROLLS

Drunken Sausages and Peppers with Hero Rolls image

Provided by Dave Lieberman

Yield Makes 8 to 10 servings

Number Of Ingredients 6

2 pounds Italian sausage (I like them with fennel seeds)
6 small garlic cloves, pressed
1 each red, yellow, and green bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into thin strips
Salt
3 or 4 pinches crushed red pepper
3/4 cup (half a can) beer of your choice

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Heat a large, ovenproof, nonstick skillet (no plastic handles!) over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook them, turning once in a while, until they're nice and brown almost all over, about 10 minutes. (They'll curl up a little as they cook, so it'll be hard to brown them on all sides. Don't sweat it.) Poke each link 4 or 5 times with a fork as they cook to release some of their juices.
Remove the sausages from the pan and set aside. Press the garlic into the juices in the pan, stir it around until you can smell it, and then add the peppers. Season them lightly with salt and red pepper, and cook about 8 minutes, tossing them around until they're wilted and starting to brown. Add the sausages to the pan.
Pour the beer, bring it to a boil, and then put the pan in the oven. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated (you'll want a little to spoon on the sandwiches), the peppers are tender, and the parts of the sausages poking up are browned, 25 to 30 minutes. You can make the sausages and peppers before people come over and then heat them over low heat half an hour beore you're ready to serve. Serve hot along with a basket or plate of hero rolls, split open and ready for stuffing.