Bangers and (Sweet Potato) Mash with Guinness Gravy

This is just something I kind of improvised on the fly when we weren't sure what to have for dinner one day. I came out really nicely, so I figured it was worth recording in case we ever want to make it again.

Beef Bangers (aka Beef Sausages)
4 beef sausages (~1 lb.)
1 bay leaf
6 peppercorns
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/4-1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/4-1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. dried parsley
15 turns freshly ground black pepper
pinch of granulated garlic
a few shakes of dehydrated onion

1. Add all the ingredients to the pan along with enough water to almost cover the sausages.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until water is almost gone and sausages are cooked. Flip and rotate sausages as necessary during cooking.
3. Remove sausages from pan and keep warm while you make the sauce.

Guinness Gravy
Cooking water from Beef Bangers
1 onion, chopped
1 shallot, minced
1/4 c. Guinness
flour

1. Add onion and shallot to pan and cook until browned.
2. Deglaze pan with Guinness and 3/4 c. water.
3. Make a slurry of flour and water (~1 Tbsp. flour to 5 Tbsp. water) and stir this into the sauce.*
4. Cook, stirring, until reduced to desired consistency.

* Next time I would consider replacing the flour slurry with a roux.

Sweet Potato Mash
sweet potatoes
milk
butter
salt
pepper

1. Peel and boil your sweet potatoes.
2. Drain and mash adding butter and milk. (As far as I can tell, the secret to really good mashed potatoes -- sweet or otherwise -- is to add half again as much butter as you think you need.)
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper.