Retro food alert!  I was planning brunch the other day and remembered this easy recipe that I think originally came from the wrapper of Jimmy Dean sausage.  It is easy and makes a tasty addition to a brunch buffet or can be just as good as an appetizer or game snack.  Read more…

We’re always on the lookout for new breakfast dishes—we are a family of dedicated breakfast eaters.  Here is a quick and easy way to make a special egg dish, adapted from an old recipe my mother used to use.  We had this last weekend as part of a Sunday brunch—and served it with cinnamon toast and blueberries topped with vanilla yogurt and granola.  This is a good recipe to play with—the ham could be changed to bacon or any kind of sausage, and for a change of cheese—I’m going to try Gouda or Gruyère.

Ham and Egg Gratin

Serves 4

Preparation Time:  10 minutes
Cook Time:  25 minutes

Ingredients

2 teaspoons butter
2 ¾ ounces cooked ham, diced
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk, heated just to the boil
Salt and pepper
2/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease 4 small ramekins with the butter.  Crack the eggs into a small mixing bowl.   Whisk them well.  Stir in the ham and then gradually add the hot milk, stirring the mixture constantly.  Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Pour the mixture into the ramekins and sprinkle each with equal parts of the cheese.  Place on a baking sheet and cook in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until set.  Let cool for 5 minutes and then serve.

Yesterday, we started thinking about our St. Patrick’s Day menu, and decided we had a craving for some rich, dense Irish Soda Bread, slathered with good salted butter and a dollop of blackberry preserves.

I was pressed for time so I turned to my also busy husband and asked if he would like to make today’s recipe.  I argued that bread making is very close to pasta making and since he makes first-rate, world-class homemade pasta without batting an eye or using a recipe—this would be a walk in the park and he could do it much faster than I could.  He agreed and this is what he made.  Still warm, we sampled our first piece as imagined.  Delicious.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all!

Irish Soda Bread

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
3 cups whole-wheat flour
¼ cup brown sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons shortening or unsalted butter
1/3 cup rolled oats
2 cups buttermilk

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Grease a baking sheet with spray or butter.

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix together the flours, sugar, baking soda salt and the oats.  Add the shortening or butter in small pieces and cut in until the butter is reduced to very small pieces.  Add the buttermilk and stir until the mixture comes together in a thick dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it comes together.  Shape the dough into a round, and cut an X into the top with a knife.

Bake the bread for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 and continue baking until the loaf is brown and firm, about 40 more minutes.  Transfer to rack and cool.

Here is a wonderful little something that is delicious to eat as part of a Sunday brunch, or as a dessert anytime that you have nice sweet blueberries in your market.  The tartness of the blueberries combines well with the sweetness of the batter and topping in this easy, three-layer dish.  If you’re making it for breakfast, you can make the batter and the crumble topping in advance and keep them in the refrigerator overnight—and wash the berries and put it all together quickly in the morning.

Although delicious just as it is, at breakfast time, you could top this with a spoonful of vanilla yogurt or a splash of cream.  As a dessert, this pairs nicely with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

Blueberry Buckle
Adapted from a recipe by Chefs Melissa Kelly and Price Kushner

Serves 8

Ingredients for the batter:

4 tablespoons butter, softened
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup buttermilk

To prepare the batter:

Beat the butter with the sugar until well combined.  Add the egg and continue to beat.  Stir the flour and the baking soda together.  Add the flour mixture to the butter, sugar and egg mixture and beat until well combined.  Add the buttermilk and beat just to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Ingredients for the filling:

4 cups blueberries, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

To prepare the filling:

Stir together the blueberries, lemon juice, flour and sugar—coating the blueberries well.

Ingredients for the crumble topping:

¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
½ cup all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into small pieces

To prepare the crumble topping:

Put all of the ingredients in a small bowl and work them together with fingers until it is well blended and “crumbly”.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

To put it all together:

Grease eight 6-ounce ramekins or one 9-inch glass or ceramic pie pan.  Add ¼ cup of batter to each ramekin, smoothing the mixture with a spoon or spatula.  Spoon ½ cup of the blueberry mixture over the batter.  Top the blueberries with ¼ cup crumble each.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the crumble topping is nicely browned and the blueberries are bubbling at the edges.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

One of our family traditions is a big Sunday breakfast.  All of us love to laze around on Sunday mornings and then eat late in the morning.  That’s our meal until dinner—and so we usually make it pretty substantial.

Most everyone I know has a version of this casserole in their repertoire, and because it is easy to make, and very satisfying, this makes an appearance at our Sunday breakfast table several times a year.  It’s a great basic recipe and can be embellished and changed with great result.  The bread can be plain white, sourdough, or leftover baguette…the sausage can be mild or spicy or a mixture…the cheese can be cheddar, white cheddar, or just about any kind you like…and vegetables can be layered in too…think tomato, onion, and peppers…whatever you add, it comes out wonderfully—this recipe is nearly impossible to mess up.

Serve it alone or like I did yesterday, with cinnamon toast and fresh pineapple alongside.

Breakfast Casserole

8 to 10 Servings

8 slices of bread cut into cubes
1 pound sausage, casings removed and cooked
8 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded
6 eggs
4 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dry mustard
A dash or two of hot sauce (optional)

Butter a 9” x 13” rectangular or oval baking dish.  Place the bread cubes in an even layer on the bottom of the dish.  Evenly layer the cooked sausage and then the cheese over the bread.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk and then add the milk, salt, pepper, dry mustard and hot sauce (if using) and whisk until the mixture is well combined.  Pour the mixture evenly over the bread, sausage and cheese.  Cover the dish and refrigerate it overnight.

An hour before you’re ready to cook, remove the casserole from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cook the casserole for one hour.  Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 or 10 minutes before serving.

Yesterday, we had time to make a nice brunch, –but we wanted something different from our usual pancakes or French toast.  I’ve made a cake before with this mascarpone cream as the filling between two layers of vanilla cake, and I thought it would be delicious as a crepe filling.  It is.   The crepes and the cream and the berries can all be made a few hours ahead of time and refrigerated.  Bring all to room temperature before assembling.  If you don’t have a lot of time and you do have a few extra dollars, you can sometimes buy prepared crepes in your market—not quite as good, but you can put mascarpone cream and berries on a roof tile and it will taste pretty delicious.

Crepes with Mixed Berries and Mascarpone Cream

Makes 12 Crepes

Time:  30 minutes to make the crepes
10 minutes to prepare the berries
10 minutes to make the cream
plus assembly time
Total Time:  1 hour

Ingredients:

Crepe Batter:

1 ½ cups flour
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Mixed Berries:

½ cup dry Sherry (optional)
½ cup sugar
4 cups mixed berries, rinsed, dried and cut if large

Mascarpone Cream:

8 ounces Mascarpone
1 cup chilled heavy cream
¼ cup sugar

Preparation:

For the batter:  Blend the flour, eggs and egg yolks with a wire whisk.  Add the milk, sugar and salt and whisk together until all of the ingredients are well blended.  Heat a 6-inch non-stick skillet or crepe pan (if you have one) over medium heat.  Brush the pan with a little of the melted butter.  Quickly pour in 1-2 tablespoons of the crepe batter and swirl it immediately to coat the entire bottom of the skillet.  Cook the crepe just until the batter sets—this will probably take about 30 seconds.  Flip the crepe over and cook the other side until just golden.  Repeat this process until all of the crepes are cooked, stacking them on a plate.  If you are making them in advance, place pieces of waxed paper in between them so they won’t stick together.

For the fruit:  In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and the sherry together and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved.   Put the berries in a bowl and pour the hot syrup over them and stir gently so all of the berries are coated.  Let stand at least 15 minutes and up to 3 hours.   (If you don’t want to use the sherry, just toss the berries with the sugar without melting it first).

For the mascarpone cream:  Place the mascarpone, cream and sugar in a large bowl and beat together until the mixture just holds peaks (the consistency of a thick custard).

To assemble the dish:  Lay a crepe on a plate and put a generous tablespoon of the mascarpone cream on the lower right hand quarter of each crepe.  Top with a spoonful of berries.  Fold the crepe in half, then in half again to make a triangle.  Top with an additional small spoonful of cream and berries.

Notes:  The crepes and the cream and the berries can all be made a few hours ahead of time and refrigerated.  Bring all to room temperature before assembling.  If you don’t have a lot of time and you do have a few extra dollars, you can sometimes buy prepared crepes in your market—not quite as good, but you can put mascarpone cream and berries on a roof tile and it will taste pretty good.