John I can't remember what the recipe was, but a while back I made something that had fried sage as a garnish. In googling just now there's a bunch out there that calls for fried sage both as a garnish and as a snack for dipping. That might be a way to work through a bunch.

Fried sage leaves! Such a treat. Lovely tossed on ravioli, pasta or like us, just a snack.
A nice garnish on so many things....grilled chicken, steak.
It does freeze really well for fall and thanksgiving dishes. Pack in zip-lock with little air as possible, (or food saver). Just freeze it as is...leaves fresh from the plant.

To fry i have just heated a bit of olive oil and crisp with salt. I do like a yogurt/egg white slurry, then tossed in a flour/salt/pepper/cayenne and pan sear in olive oil.

Google 'fried sage leaves' and you will see endless possibilities.

Over the 4th holiday i chopped mixed fresh herbs with garlic salt pepper and rolled a plain log of goat cheese in the mix for a pre bbq snack with flatbreads.

And herb butter...two stick of butter, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt/pepper, mix with chopped herbs in a food processor, chill a bit in fridge, then roll into a log shape in parchment, zip-lock and freeze. Lasts a long time and take slices to top chicken,veggies, etc all winter long

You can dry your sage for later use - it is one of the best herbs for drying, as it maintains a very similar flavor after being dried.

You can make a sauce for pasta just by sauteing some sage very briefly in butter. Then add the pasta to the saute pan. Serve with Romano or Parmesan cheese (I prefer Romano for this one).

"Sage" is part of the word "sausage", and for me, sage is the primarly flavoring. I don't have a recipe for this, as I just throw ingredients together when I make it. If you do it this way, you may want to cook a small bit for tasting before you cook the whole batch. I also use quite a bit of sage when I make stuffing for turkey or chicken. Here's how I make it with grits, although I frequently use cornbread instead:

Grits Faux Cornbread Stuffing

2 tbsp vegetable oil or grape seed oil
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 cups finely chopped celery
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth (or water)
1 tbsp soup base, mushroom, chicken, vegetable, or a combination
1/8 tsp cayenne or hot sauce
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried sage (1-2 Tbsp fresh sage)
3/4 cup quick grits (be sure not to use "instant") - can substitute polenta
2 eggs
2 tbsp water
2 cups dry bread, in small cubes

In a large saucepan, heat the vegetable oil and add the butter. When the butter is melted, add the onion, celery, and garlic, and sauté for a few minutes, or until the onions begin to be translucent. The celery must stay crunchy. Add the water (or broth, if you have it), soup base, cayenne, and herbs, and stir to combine. Take the pan off heat, and add the quick grits slowly while stirring. Stir for one minute off heat, and return to low heat. Cover and cook five minutes more (for a total of six minutes), stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 350ð. Beat the eggs with the 2 tbsp water, and then combine with the bread cubes. Transfer the bread to a 9x9 baking dish, add the cooked grits, and stir to combine.

Bake covered for about 10 minutes - longer if the grits have been made ahead and have cooled. If you like it less moist, you can bake it uncovered.

Lars

I used fresh sage from our garden last week to make some pasta in a simple brown butter sage sauce. There are lots of variations if you google it.

I agree; fry it. I find it a very strong herb and seldom use it, but fried crispy it is absolutely addictive!

I love it in crispy, pan sauteed gnocchi.

When we grill I usually throw a handful of sage leaves on the fire; especially good with chicken.

I always dry lots of sage, but some uses for fresh sage....

-Mince fresh leaves and use them in the breading for fried chicken.

-Lay fresh sage leaves on a pork roast before cooking. Or make slits in the roast and insert the fresh sage leaves.

-Deep-fried sage leaves can be used as a garnish for roast meats.

-The smaller leaves are mild enough to mince and add to a salad.

-Grainlady

Here is my sage advice. :-)

Dehydrate sage, and turn it into sage powder.

Wonderful to sprinkle on any food.

dcarch

I will try some of these ideas, definitely! Thanks.

Funny thing about herb gardens. Turns out that they produce a lot more herbs than you (I) can use.

Lars said I would've said, dry it. Or give it away.

I love sage sprinkled into marsala sauce, it's a good counterbalance. Don't remember whose recipe it was, but thank you!

The good thing is, no one will ever tell you to cut back on the chives or take rosemary out of your diet, like everything else. So enjoy the bounty while you can johnliu!

Make sage pesto. I made some one year. Freeze it in individual pockets of an ice cube tray and after frozen you can pop them out and put them in another freezer container. Then you can pull a couple out whenever you want sagey goodness. Could be used to top chicken or pork, since I know you don't do much pasta. Also in a pilaf and some soups, like squash soup, etc.

Hi Lp! :-) Nice surprise...

Good to see you, LP.! Sage pesto sounds good. Frozen nuggets of sage-a wonderful idea

Hi Lpink!

Sage pesto - cool, I've never thought of that! Just like basil pesto but replace basil with sage?