Breakfast…Such a Great Way to Get Ready for What’s Coming!
The weather is truly cold now. It calls for hot coffee or cocoa to kick off the morning, and something sturdy to eat before work and school, or projects and appointments, or sports and friends, or…complete the sentence your way. The point is, breakfast season’s upon us!
Accordingly, with the morning meal in mind, I sometimes stalk supermarket sales at night. There’s nothing like finding croissants at a 50¢ a pop at the end of the day, for instance. I’ll buy four or five, enough to make Melissa Clark’s breakfast casserole (below). She calls for Italian sausage. Sometimes I use breakfast sausage instead, or omit it entirely. It’s awesome whichever route you take.
I know most everyone has a breakfast casserole recipe they like and tend to rely on. Me, too. But I share for any of our readers out there that might not have this dish nailed yet. I’ve substituted whatever cheese I’ve had on hand for the Gruyere, by the way, with great success. This is something I appreciate about this recipe—it’s flexible—it can take a lot of adjusting. But I will say that the croissants are a touch I hate to fiddle with.
1 pound croissants (about 5 to 7), split in half lengthwise (day old are perfect choice)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, more for baking dish
1 bunch scallion (6 to 7), white and light green parts thinly sliced, greens reserved
12 ounces sweet Italian sausages
1 teaspoon sage
10 large eggs
3 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces Gruyère, grated (2 cups)
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
Then there are those breakfast choices we find in our local diners. For this, I get up a little early to have it ready for our crowd. You know what I’m talking about: biscuits and gravy, glorious muffins, veggie-filled omelets, etc.
But if an early rise-and-shine doesn’t work, then I opt for another favorite, an egg-in-a-hole (known in some circles as a Guy Kibbee). It’s easy to cut ½-cup-sized holes in whole grain bread slices (or get fancy and do hearts), toast them, then place them in a well-buttered frying pan. I crack an egg into each hole and slowly cook the whole thing on LOW. You want the egg white and yolk firmly set, but not so cooked that it’s like a hard-boiled egg. Delicious, especially with a few slices of bacon (but then, what isn’t delicious with a few slices of bacon?).
My point with all this blather? Simple. We want to recognize breakfast as a chance to do more than refuel. We want to use this opportune meal as a way to celebrate togetherness in advance of all the demands and hoopla that a wintery day can bring our way. Breakfast…such a great way to get ready for what’s coming!
Accordingly, with the morning meal in mind, I sometimes stalk supermarket sales at night. There’s nothing like finding croissants at a 50¢ a pop at the end of the day, for instance. I’ll buy four or five, enough to make Melissa Clark’s breakfast casserole (below). She calls for Italian sausage. Sometimes I use breakfast sausage instead, or omit it entirely. It’s awesome whichever route you take.
I know most everyone has a breakfast casserole recipe they like and tend to rely on. Me, too. But I share for any of our readers out there that might not have this dish nailed yet. I’ve substituted whatever cheese I’ve had on hand for the Gruyere, by the way, with great success. This is something I appreciate about this recipe—it’s flexible—it can take a lot of adjusting. But I will say that the croissants are a touch I hate to fiddle with.
Melissa Clark's Buttery Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients:
1 pound croissants (about 5 to 7), split in half lengthwise (day old are perfect choice)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, more for baking dish
1 bunch scallion (6 to 7), white and light green parts thinly sliced, greens reserved
12 ounces sweet Italian sausages
1 teaspoon sage
10 large eggs
3 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces Gruyère, grated (2 cups)
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spread croissants on a large baking sheet and toast, cut side up,
until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes (watch carefully to see that they do not burn). Let cool, then
tear into large bite-size pieces.
2. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add sliced scallions and
sausage meat; cook, breaking up meat with a fork, until mixture is well browned, about 5
minutes. Stir in sage, and remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl, toss together croissants and sausage mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk
together eggs, milk, cream, 1 1/2 cups cheese, salt and pepper.
4. Lightly oil a 10 x 14-inch baking dish. Turn croissant mixture into pan, spreading it out
evenly over the bottom. Pour custard into pan, pressing croissants down gently to help absorb the
liquid. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
5. When you’re ready to bake the casserole, heat oven to 350 degrees. Scatter the remaining
grated cheese over the top of the casserole. Transfer to oven and bake until casserole is golden
brown and firm to the touch, 45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Garnish with sliced scallion tops
before serving.
Another way to serve up a terrific breakfast is to make steel-cut oats in the rice cooker before bed
(I’ve done this in the slow cooker as well). To do this, combine 4 cups of water to 1 of oats, and
they’re ready to go in the morning, the machine resting on “warm.” Just add cream, or milk, or
butter, fruit, maple syrup, molasses, nuts. To get really daring, try crumbled bacon and a healthy
dollop of vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt.
until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes (watch carefully to see that they do not burn). Let cool, then
tear into large bite-size pieces.
2. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add sliced scallions and
sausage meat; cook, breaking up meat with a fork, until mixture is well browned, about 5
minutes. Stir in sage, and remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl, toss together croissants and sausage mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk
together eggs, milk, cream, 1 1/2 cups cheese, salt and pepper.
4. Lightly oil a 10 x 14-inch baking dish. Turn croissant mixture into pan, spreading it out
evenly over the bottom. Pour custard into pan, pressing croissants down gently to help absorb the
liquid. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
5. When you’re ready to bake the casserole, heat oven to 350 degrees. Scatter the remaining
grated cheese over the top of the casserole. Transfer to oven and bake until casserole is golden
brown and firm to the touch, 45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Garnish with sliced scallion tops
before serving.
Another way to serve up a terrific breakfast is to make steel-cut oats in the rice cooker before bed
(I’ve done this in the slow cooker as well). To do this, combine 4 cups of water to 1 of oats, and
they’re ready to go in the morning, the machine resting on “warm.” Just add cream, or milk, or
butter, fruit, maple syrup, molasses, nuts. To get really daring, try crumbled bacon and a healthy
dollop of vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Then there are those breakfast choices we find in our local diners. For this, I get up a little early to have it ready for our crowd. You know what I’m talking about: biscuits and gravy, glorious muffins, veggie-filled omelets, etc.
But if an early rise-and-shine doesn’t work, then I opt for another favorite, an egg-in-a-hole (known in some circles as a Guy Kibbee). It’s easy to cut ½-cup-sized holes in whole grain bread slices (or get fancy and do hearts), toast them, then place them in a well-buttered frying pan. I crack an egg into each hole and slowly cook the whole thing on LOW. You want the egg white and yolk firmly set, but not so cooked that it’s like a hard-boiled egg. Delicious, especially with a few slices of bacon (but then, what isn’t delicious with a few slices of bacon?).
My point with all this blather? Simple. We want to recognize breakfast as a chance to do more than refuel. We want to use this opportune meal as a way to celebrate togetherness in advance of all the demands and hoopla that a wintery day can bring our way. Breakfast…such a great way to get ready for what’s coming!
Sources:
www.the-best-wishes.com
www.chewingthefat.us.com
www.fivehearthome.com
www.myrecipes.com
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
