Johnsonville Big Taste of Sausage Cookbook

This is the type of friendly cookbook that, were it 1956, might come free inside a family-size package of breakfast patties. As much a commercial message for Johnsonville sausages as it is a guidebook for braising brats, the 125 or so recipes are penned by the owner's wife (Stayer, who also co-owns Sushi Samba restaurant in New York City) with help from a PBS cooking wiz (Biro of The Kitchens of Biro ). Each entry makes sure to mention that Johnsonville is the requisite piggy, be it the 19.76-ounce package of Original Bratwurst Links for a Cabbage and Brat Rouladen, or the Johnsonville Mild Cooked Italian Sausage for the Puff Pastry Sausage Turnovers. The company came of age in Wisconsin, and the Germanic heritage of that territory informs the best of the creations. There is an Oktoberfest Casserole that employs Granny Smith apples, sauerkraut and beer, and an inspired German Stuffed Beef Roast with Mustard Sauce. The use of sausage as a source of visual humor never goes out of style, as proven by retro photos from various Brat Day Parades of the 1950s. (June 13)