Italian Gyros With Yogurt and Tomato

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My next cookbook recipe came from a show that many of you may…or may not have watched, but more than likely have heard of on the Food Network... It is called "Chopped"... The point of this cookbook according to the producers and chefs of this show, is to offer its readers an opportunity to create meals using unusual ingredients that you might not put together, like you would see on "Chopped." The difference is…that their goal is for us to use ingredients that we can find in our pantry, unlike the crazy things they come up with on “Chopped.” The concept sounded nice, and when I thumbed through the cookbook, it looked interesting enough to purchase it. As I decided to choose my first recipe to make with this cookbook, my eyes fell upon a recipe for a gyro sandwich. I actually love eating this sandwiches. However…in this case… Instead of lamb being the main ingredient, it calls for sweet Italian sausage. The Food Network chefs and producers assume that most American’s have a package of this sausage in their refrigerator/freezer. If not… It is easily attainable at any grocery store. Making it is pretty simple. It calls to peel the casing from the sausage after cutting it in half, which was very simple to do. Then you flatten the sausage into an oblong patty. It also required a mixture of two parts cumin, to one part oregano. Then you apply a part of the mixture to the top of the patty, and fried it seasoned down in extra-virgin olive oil, for three minutes on each side. I took a little bite, and surprisingly the sausage was pretty dang tasty by itself…after adding the mixture. It called for flatbread, but I could not find what I wanted, so I ended up using some soft thin pita bread, that ended up working out just fine. Instead of putting the meat inside the pita bread, I placed it on the outside, and folded it over like you would a gyro sandwich. Then there was a Greek yogurt sauce that included harissa seasoning. It is a North African condiment that is found in a tube, or jar. Well… I personally could not find it. Maybe I did not look hard enough. I don’t know… So apparently… Since I have never used this ingredient…I was ignorant as to where to find it, or maybe not all the ingredients are ready assessible in our pantry as the cookbook says. But do not let that discourage you, because I found a good substitute. What I did find was a liquid in a package that had a Moroccan twist to it. It said that the heat level was medium, but to be quite frank with you…I did not notice any heat. I have often wonder if my body is just getting used to heating hotter things now. Many years ago I was not able to eat anything that even had a slight tingle to my tongue. Now… I can eat jalapeno’s and habaneros, as long as the seeds are not in them. For as you may, or may not know…it is the seeds in the peppers that makes the products hot. Nevertheless… I ended up adding more than what the recipe required because it was a liquid, so I could get the flavor to come through. After adding the rest of the ingredients, and putting the sauce together…I added it to the Italian sausage, and pita bread…and the sandwich ended up being a might tasty dish. In fact… I had a second sandwich later that evening, and found the sauce was more flavorful than the first go round, once it had time to marinate a while. So… This recipe is a definite keeper, and one to try for those of you who are not particularly fond of eating lamb; or just want to change up your dinner menu.