Posts Tagged ‘eggs’

Breakfast Casserole

Sunday, January 2nd, 2011

breakfast casserole

Youth is when you’re allowed to stay up late on New Year’s Eve.  Middle age is when you’re forced to.  ~Bill Vaughn

I can’t drink as much as I used to. Well, I can drink all the wine I want; but, the misery I live through the next day depletes all of the fun of doing it. Wow, when did I become responsible and mature? Unfortunately, I have to think about every slice of cheese and french fry that crosses my lips because pounds add up on a daily basis now like they never did before. I used to be able to eat anything and never gain an inch around my waist. I am turning 40 in a couple of weeks; and yes, along with the above mentioned limitations, it is getting difficult for me to stay up past midnight. I remember when staying up late was so exciting. Now, I am more thrilled with lying in bed late into the morning or sneaking in a nap. So, with New Year’s Eve around the corner, I have to start planning ahead and my planning always involves food.

We generally spend New Year’s Eve with the kids. Our friends love this because this gives them a place to bring their kids. We love it because watching the kid’s enthusiasm is contagious. Also,  I know in a few years, they won’t want to spend it with us. I am taking advantage of it while I can. It’s a lot of fun spending it with the kids. We watch movies and play games. I make a big festive dinner. Everyone discusses their resolutions. Then, at midnight we sip champagne and hug and kiss. The kids drink Martinelli’s sparkling apple juice, of course. We all head to bed sometime around 1 a.m.

Although I am no good at staying up late anymore, I am really looking forward to turning forty. For some odd reason, I have always believed that my forties are going to be fantastic. I know this is going to be a great decade for me. Just the thought of the kids being a bit older (but still at home), being happily married for over a decade, feeling comfortable in my own skin, and especially realizing that I don’t know as much as I used to believe I knew, feels happy to me. I’m feeling more peaceful. So, I am fine with being a wimpy drinker and going to bed earlier then my younger sisters or most of my friends. I get made fun of a lot. Oh well. I’m at the age where I can be comfortable with this.

Knowing that waking up early to make everyone breakfast after staying up late would be difficult, I thought it would be a good idea to come up with a recipe which could be prepared the night before and then popped into the oven on New Year’s Day. This way, whether you are going to bed shortly after 1 or many hours later, you won’t have to put too much effort into breakfast.

This recipe doesn’t include meat; but, sausage or bacon could easily be added to this dish. I actually made this Christmas morning at my mom’s house last Saturday.

It’s perfect because it only takes five minutes to prepare and then one hour in the oven. You could put it in the oven and crawl back in bed for another hour.

We put it into the oven and then watched the kids open their gifts. Once it came out of the oven, it was a great gift to the adults.

This casserole is fluffy and cheesy. It is really delicious and perfect if you had a bit too much to drink the night before. It is not low fat, that is for certain. It includes several cups of cheese, lots of milk and cream, twelve eggs, and bread. However, it could be your last hurrah before that diet starts, if you are thinking about dieting. I don’t recommend it…dieting, that is. I have been thinking about New Year’s resolutions. For me, I would like to get to my yoga class more often, take more long walks with Claud and the kids, stress less, read more, take more bubble baths, be a good mother and wife and friend and boss. I want to think less about money and weight and concentrate more on love, laughing, and time with family. Finally, I want to learn how to make so much more delicious food to share with everyone I love. I recommend waking up on New Year’s Day, putting this casserole into the oven, placing the “Love Actually “DVD into your DVD player. Then, watch “Love Actually” while eating this casserole in bed. This would definitely start your year off right. Happy New Year!

New Year’s Day Breakfast Casserole
Serves: 8
Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

6 slices bread, toasted and cubed
4 cups shredded cheese
12 eggs
3 cups milk
2 cups cream
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoon mustard
6 pieces bacon or sausage (optional)
2 tomatoes, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a casserole dish. Place the bread cubes into the dish. Whisk together the eggs and milk. Whisk the salt and pepper into the egg mixture. Whisk in the mustard. Pour this over the bread. Sprinkle on the meat if you are adding meat. You can leave the dish in the refrigerator until the morning when you are ready to bake it. Bake in the oven for one hour. After thirty minutes, place tomato slices on top. Continue to bake for thirty minutes more.

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Deviled Eggs

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Spring is in full force and the days are getting warmer and longer. Isnt it beautiful? People are spending more time outside soaking in the sun and appreciating this gorgeous spring. Gardens are being tilled and planted. The fishing season has begun and people are gathering at the lakeside beaches and grilling food outdoors. You know what that means? We have to have snack ideas. I am a serious snacker. I love to eat snacks and I snack all day long. I like to start dinners with an appetizer of chips and guacamole or to go to a picnic with several treats of cheese and crackers, or other munchies. I never make a road trip without a bag of goodies of some sort. When I am going to a picnic at the beach, or to grill at someones house or to a potluck, I make one thing that I know people will lovedeviled eggs.

I was interested to learn that they are called stuffed eggs, Russian eggs, picnic eggs and deviled eggs depending upon where you eat them. The concept of creating a mixture out of the yolk of an egg and placing it back into the whites originated in ancient Rome. The term deviled began in the 18th century and was used to describe food which is dark, rich, zesty, or spicy. I dont quite get the reference to the devil because dark, rich, zesty and spicy are heavenly to me. In this case, deviled means zesty. At least, that is how I like to prepare my eggs. I dont like them too spicy because I am usually making them for a group of people and there are always some people who cant handle spicy. I do like to add a touch of Tabasco to liven it up; but, not so much as to overpower them with spiciness. My recipe has developed over the years and I like to add very finely chopped onion and celery to give them a bit of a crunchy bite. I think this adds intensity to the texture of the egg.

Making eggs this time of the year makes sense. The egg is a symbol of the rebirth of earth in celebration of spring and they symbolize all of the new life blossoming around us. Legend has it that you can balance an egg on end during the spring equinox. Apparently, when day and night are close to being equal in length and the tilt of the earth towards the sun is at a certain degree, an egg can be balanced on end. I havent tried it yet; but, it sounds interesting.

One thing I know for certain, whenever I make these deviled eggs, there is never an egg left on the plate and they usually disappear very quickly. People devour the deviled eggs every time. Grownups and children seem to enjoy them. So, these are perfect to bring to any gathering. I try not to let my family know when I am making them because they will eat them all before the guests arrive or until we get to our destination. They are too difficult to resist.

Deviled Eggs

7 eggs

C. mayonnaise

2 Tbsp. spicy brown mustard

1 tsp. white wine vinegar

1/3 C. celery, finely chopped

C. purple onion, finely chopped

tsp. Tabasco

tsp. salt

tsp. pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

tsp. paprika

Fill a pot with enough water to cover all seven of the eggs. Bring water to a boil. Add the eggs and boil for fifteen minutes. While the eggs boil, chop the celery and onions and mince the garlic. Take the boiled eggs and pour out the hot water and fill the pot with cold water. Crack the shell of the eggs and peel the shells off. Cut the eggs in half and scoop the yolk into a bowl. Mix in the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, celery, onion, Tabasco, salt, pepper and garlic. Blend everything together very well (especially the garlic). You dont want to get a big chunk of garlic in one egg. Pour the mixture into one corner of a plastic bag and cut the tip of this corner with scissors (creating a pastry bagor, use a pastry bag if you have one). Squeeze the mixture into the egg halves. It is nice to set the eggs on a bed of lettuce to make it look pretty. Sprinkle the paprika over the eggs. Enjoy.

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Tortilla Espanola

Friday, October 16th, 2009

tortillaGwyneth Paltrow has a website at www.Goop.com. If you go to this site, you can subscribe to her newsletter. In the newsletter, she writes about things to do, things to buy and…things to cook. Today, she wrote about one of my favorites: what she calls a Tortilla Espanola. We call it a Spanish Omelett. Claud makes these for us all of the time. Gwyneth makes a pretty simple one in her newsletter. When we make it, we add extra veggies: peppers, mushrooms, and whatever you have handy. Either way, it is delicious. Oh, another thing, we always add a dollup of sour cream and a drizzle of balsamic vinigar to the top. Oh, and fresh tomato slices on the side. It is so delicious. Here is her recipe.

http://goop.com/newsletter/52/

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