The Best Breakfast Casserole

Inspiration:
My sister Ellen made this over Thanksgiving, and we made it again for Christmas morning. It's hands down the best baked breakfast we've ever had. You must try it!
Recipe from Johnsonville.


Ingredients:

• 1 package (12 oz.) Johnsonville® breakfast sausage links
• 6 English muffins, cut into 1-in. cubes
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped onion (omitted)
• 1/2 cup chopped red pepper (omitted)
• 12 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 cup bacon bits (omitted)
  

Instructions:

1. Cook sausage according to package directions. Cool slightly; cut into ¼-in. slices.
2. In a greased 13in. x 9 in. baking dish, layer half the English muffin cubes and half the cooked sausage. Repeat layers.
3. Drizzle with butter and top with the cheese, onion and red pepper.

   In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour over casserole. Sprinkle with bacon. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.
   
5. Uncover and bake at 350˚F for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Let stand 5 minutes.

Liz's Rating: 10/10
Tim's Rating: 10/10

White Beans with Onion Confit

Inspiration:
Food & Wine


Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 10 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 scant tablespoon chopped rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• Two 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions, garlic, rosemary and crushed red pepper and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and lightly caramelized, about 15 minutes longer. Stir in the beans, parsley and water and simmer until stewy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe Notes: The cooked white beans can be refrigerated overnight. Serve with crusty bread.

My Notes: This was really easy, and really good. Use good Parmesan! I think it would be a nice side dish for a winter dinner party as you can assemble it beforehand.


Tim's Rating: 9/10
Liz's Rating: 9.5/10

Ellen's Eclair Ring

Inspiration:
My sister Ellen made this for us over the holidays using the recipe of a family friend.


Ingredients:

Dough

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup flour
  
• 4 eggs

Filling

• 2 3-oz packages instant French vanilla pudding
• 1 9-oz Cool Whip
• 1 t vanilla
• 2.5 cups milk

Topping

• 2 squares semi-sweet chocolate (melted)
• 2 T butter
• 2 T milk
• 1 c powdered sugar
• 1 t vanilla

Instructions:

1. Make dough-- heat butter and water to rolling boil. Stir in flour at once over low heat. Beat until ball is formed, and take off heat. Beat in eggs one at a time with mixer. Spoon onto a cool pizza pan to form circular shape with a hole in the middle. Bake at 400 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Cool away from drafts.
2. When cool, split horizontally and fill with filling. Place top layer on filling and spread with topping.

Notes: This is an impressive dessert for parties, and it isn't too hard to make. (Easy for me to say... I didn't make it this time!)

I'd love to figure out a way to make a vanilla custard filling that doesn't use pudding mix or Cool Whip. I'll be working on it, but if you figure it out, let me know!

Ellen and I were also discussing adding fresh raspberries to the filling, which would be a nice addition.


Tim's Rating: 9.75/10
Liz's Rating: 9.5/10

Low-Country Seafood Boil

Inspiration:
A fall get-together with friends, including our co-host and friend Eric
and
Captain Jim Lemke and Patrick Nolan's recipe, promoted by Bobby Flay


Ingredients:

• 4 to 6 ounces crab boil spices
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 3 to 4 whole garlic cloves
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• 3 pounds mushrooms, cleaned
• 3 to 4 scallions
• 2 to 3 peeled whole onions
• 9 ounces hot sauce
• 10 pounds smoked hot sausage
• 5 pounds tiny whole potatoes
• 25 to 30 ears corn
• 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 7 to 10 pounds mussels
• 15 to 25 pounds medium or large shrimp

Instructions:

1. Start with a 20-quart pot filled over 1/3 with fresh cold water. In the pot add crab boil mix to the water. Squeeze juice from 2 of the lemon quarters into the water, and drop in the rinds. Add the garlic cloves, red and green pepper slices, mushrooms, scallions, whole onions, and hot sauce into the water. Bring to a boil, and then add sausage and potatoes. Bring to a second boil, and continue cooking for 5 to 10 minutes, or until potatoes start to get soft. Add the corn, chopped garlic, and start a count of 5 minutes. Do not wait until water boils. At 5 minutes, add mussels. 3 minutes later, add shrimp. Boil for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Drain immediately.

2. Serve with plenty of napkins.

Recipe Notes:
Serves 25-30. For different variations, any seafood could be added to the pot.


My Notes:

• I don't think it could be much easier for a party planner than choosing a menu that involves only one pot!
• We had 10 guests and scaled down the recipe to include 2.5lbs sausage, 3lbs potatoes, 10 ears corn, 3lbs mussels, 3lbs shrimp, and 2.5oz Old Bay. We probably had enough to serve 12-15 people.
• We had a smaller pot for our vegetarian friends, with all ingredients except sausage and seafood. Our friend brought veggie sausage, which was a nice addition.
  
• Luckily our friend Eric has a big (16 gallon) pot, and a spoon with a really long handle. Plan on borrowing some large pots if you aren't so lucky!
  
• This was a fun event that will likely become an annual experience.

Menu:
Seafood Boil
Cornbread and Collard Greens, brought by a guest
Peach and Pear Custard Pies, brought by a guest
Beer!

Heirloom Tomato Tart in a Parmesan Crust

Inspiration:
Heirloom tomatoes from my garden
and
101 Cookbooks


Ingredients:

• 6 perfect, colorful, medium-sized heirloom tomatoes - washed and sliced 1/6-inch thick

• 1 t. fine-grain sea salt
  

• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

• 1/2 cup unsalted organic butter, well chilled + cut into 1/4-inch cubes

• 4-ounce chunk of good fresh Parmesan, microplane-grated (you should end up with about 2 cups loosely packed grated cheese. Save any leftover grated cheese for sprinkling on the crusts when they come out of the oven.)

• 2 T. ice cold water
  

• 2T. best quality extra virgin olive oil
  

• 1/4 cup slivered basil

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

2. Prep the tomatoes:
   To avoid a soggy crust later on, you need to rid the tomatoes of some of their liquid. Clear a space on your counter and put down a double layer of absorbent paper towels. Place the tomatoes in a single layer on the paper towels and sprinkle them with about 1 teaspoon fine-grained sea salt. Top the tomatoes with another layer of paper towels and press gently. Let the tomatoes sit here until you are ready to use them.

3. Make the tart crust(s):
   Place both flours, butter, and Parmesan in a food processor and pulse quickly about 25 times. You are looking for a sandy textured blend, punctuated with pea-sized pieces of butter. With a few more pulses, blend in the 2T of ice water. The dough should stick together when your pinch it between two fingers. Pour the dough into the tart pan. Working quickly, press the dough uniformly into the pan by pressing across the bottom and working towards the sides and up to form a rim. Place in the refrigerator and chill for 15 minutes.

4. Bake the tart crust:
   Pull the tarts out of the refrigerator and poke each a few times with the tongs of a fork. Cover the tart with a square of aluminum foil and fill generously with pie weights. Place on a baking sheet and slide the tart onto the middle rack in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, pull the shell out of the oven and very gently peel back and remove the tinfoil containing the pie weights. Place the uncovered tart back in the oven, weight free, and allow to cook for another 10 minutes, or until it is a deep golden brown in color. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with a little shredded Parmesan (this will act as another barrier to the tomato liquid). Let cool to room temperature before filling.

5. Assembling the tart: Just before serving, arrange tomato slices in a concentric pattern inside the tart shell. Drizzle with your best quality extra-virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with the slivered basil. Serve at room temperature.

Recipe Notes:
This recipe will make one 9 or 10-inch tart OR five 4 1/2-inch tarts.


My Notes:
WOW! This was fantastic. The tart shell tastes so good-- like a nuttier Parmesan. Make this now, while heirlooms are still in season! It will not be close to as good with pale winter tomatoes.
I used Hungarian Heart and Yellow Pear tomatoes from my garden.
This is perfect for a light lunch. Serve with salad tossed with vinaigrette.


Liz's Rating: 10/10

Ham and Gouda Strata

Inspiration:
Food & Wine

Ingredients:

• 8 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 4 cups Italian bread cubes (1 inch)
• 6 ounces Virginia ham, cut into 1/2-inch dice (1 1/2 cups)
• 6 ounces Gouda cheese, cut into 3/4-inch dice (1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup julienned sun-dried tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon snipped chives
• 1 cup coarsely grated Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk, salt and pepper. Stir in the bread until evenly moistened, then stir in the ham, Gouda cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and 1/4 cup of the chives.
   
   
2. Butter a 9-by-12-inch baking dish and pour in the strata mixture. Sprinkle the Cheddar cheese on top. Bake for about 20 minutes, until puffed and golden. Let cool slightly, sprinkle with the remaining chives and serve.

Notes: Easy to make ahead for when you have guests!

Tim's Rating: 8.5/10
Liz's Rating: 9/10

TWD: French Pear Tart

Inspiration:
My New Year's Resolutions are (1) to improve the quality of my baked goods that involve yeast and (2) to improve my pastries, cakes, and other desserts.

I have joined an online baking group, Tuesdays with Dorie, which bakes a recipe from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan each Tuesday. I love, love this book. The group has decided to refrain from posting the recipes so that Dorie Greenspan's book sales do not suffer.

This week, Dorie Greenspan herself chose the French Pear Tart from pp. 368-369. This was my first tart, and I think it was a success, even though I had to use an 8" tart pan when the recipe called for a 9" pan.

Liz's Rating: 9/10
Tim's Rating: 9/10

Next Week with TWD: Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins

Giada's Arugula Salad with Fried Gorgonzola

Inspiration:
CSA arugula and tomatoes and the lovely Giada

Ingredients:

• 7 ounces Gorgonzola
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• 3/4 cup dried Italian bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for deep-frying
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 12 cups coarsely torn arugula (about 10 ounces)

Instructions:

1. Blend the Gorgonzola in a food processor until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the work bowl occasionally. Using 1 rounded teaspoon of cheese for each, form the cheese into 18 (1-inch) balls. Working in batches, roll balls and flatten into patties, coat the patties with the egg then with the bread crumbs. Repeat coating the patties in the egg and bread crumbs. Arrange the patties on a small baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours or overnight.

2. Whisk the lemon juice, garlic, and lemon peel in a medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in 1/3 cup oil. Season the dressing, to taste, with salt and pepper. Set the dressing aside.

3. Add enough oil to a heavy small saucepan to come 2 inches up the sides of the pan. Heat the oil over medium heat. At this point, remove the refrigerated Gorgonzola patties from the refrigerator. Working in batches, add the cold balls to the hot oil and fry just until golden brown, about 20 seconds. (It is essential that the Gorgonzola patties be cold when they go into the oil, otherwise they will fall apart in the oil. If they start to warm up at any point, return them to the refrigerator to firm back up.) Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried patties to paper towels to drain.

4. Toss the arugula in a large bowl with enough dressing to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper. Mound the salad on plates. Top the salads with the hot fried Gorgonzola patties and serve immediately.

Notes:
Wow. I can't believe I made this. It's amazing! The dressing, the combination of the arugula and the gorgonzola- delicious. Tip: make sure that your oil is hot enough before you fry the patties.


Tim's Rating: 10/10 ("Best salad I've ever had.")
Liz's Rating: 10/10