WE’RE BACK!: Admit it: You missed us. Christmas is one of only
two holidays we take at The Era (the other is July 4) and since it
fell on a Friday we actually had two consecutive days of holiday.
Add in Sunday and it’s a pretty long time between editions. Glad to
be back.
SAUSAGE SEASON: We were among a handful of Bradford residents to
receive so-called Christmas sausage from Bob and Mimi Troha of St.
Marys.
Bob, who does some work with Bradfordians employed at Zippo,
also dropped off to us a package of this delicacy which dates back
to the “old days” of St. Marys which, even in 2009, is a
predominantly Catholic and German community.
The tasty treat came with an explanation:
“Making Christmas sausage in St. Marys is a tradition that was
started by the early German settlers years ago and has continued
down to this day.
“It is made on the farms in the area, in some homes and by the
markets that are still in the meat business in the true sense of
the word. While the basic ingredients of beef and pork (or venison,
when available) remain the same, the art of seasoning and hickory
smoking give the products a slightly different final taste as
prepared by the different sources.
“Needless to say, there is always much discussion as to just who
made the best Christmas sausage in a given year.
“We think just who makes the best is pretty much a matter of
personal taste, but we thought you might enjoy sampling some from
our batch this year. Whether you’ve tried our Christmas sausage
before or not, we hope that you enjoy it while you are having a
very joyous holiday season.”
The story goes on, “Christmas sausage can be enjoyed with any
meal, but is especially inviting with breakfast or evening
snacks.”
“Special ways of serving Christmas sausage include the
following: cooking with sauerkraut and pork; prepared with boiled
dinners; serving (after cooked and cold) as a sausage for pizza,
or, thinly sliced, as hors d’oeuvre.”
We were grateful for this special gift — now all consumed — and
hope we make the sausage list again next year. (Hint, hint.)
