Beverages with breakfast usually start by having that first cup of fresh brewed coffee, that seems to get us all jump started. I personally enjoy a good glass of iced with a slice of lemon or orange. And of course a refreshing glass of orange juice. Here are some of our favorite breakfast recipes and I hope you enjoy them too.
Julia's Buttermilk Biscuits with Sausage Gravy - love, love, love
2 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
2 Tbl. butter
2 Tbl. shortening
1 cup chilled buttermilk
Preheat oven to 450. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture resembles crumbs. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk. Stir until dough comes together and it will be sticky. Turn dough onto floured surface and gently fold dough over itself about 5 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round and cut biscuits out with a 2 inch cutter. Place biscuits on baking sheet and bake until lightly golden on top about 15 to 20 minutes. If you have extra dough left, cut out more biscuits. Serve with sausage gravy.
Julia's Simply Delicious Sausage Gravy – I don’t use a recipe for this so I'll walk you through it.
1 package Jimmy Dean sage sausage
1 medium onion, medium dice
Tabasco sauce
Ground sage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Flour
Milk
Heavy whipping cream
Scallions, thinly sliced including green part
In a large sauté pan, heat a small amount of oil, add sausage and brown. Do not break up into too small of pieces. Add onions and cook until translucent. When onions are cooked remove any excess oil. Add ground sage, and 3 heaping Tbl. of flour, stirring into the meat to cook out flour taste. Add about 1 cup of milk and keep whisking, adding more milk to reach desired consistency. I personally like my gravy a little thicker than most. Add about ½ cup of whipping cream and keep stirring. Taste and add salt, freshly ground black pepper and Tabasco sauce. To serve; place halved biscuits onto serving plate, ladle on gravy and sprinkle on some scallions if desired. Serve with fresh fruit, coffee and juice.
Eggs Benedict – Julia’s way (savory scones with sauteed vegetables, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce)
First we will start with the savory scones
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup cold butter
1 large egg
½ cup milk
Fresh herbs; parsley, rosemary, thyme about ½ tsp. each
Preheat oven to 400. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add the chopped fresh herbs and freshly ground pepper. Stir until blended. Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter until it has a coarse, crumbly texture. Beat the egg and milk in a small bowl. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just blended. Shape the scone dough into an 8-inch diameter circle about 1-inch thick and place on the prepared cookie sheet and cut into 8 wedges. Separate the wedges. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the scones are golden brown, remove from oven and place on wire cooling rack.
Poached Eggs; In a sauté pan add cold water and bring to a boil, once boiling turn down to a simmer, add about 4 Tbl. white vinegar. Crack your eggs (one at a time) into a bowl and gently slide into water. Cook your eggs about 4 minutes, remove with slotted spoon and place a paper towel under spoon to catch excess water.
Vegetables; In a sauté pan heat a little oil and add (sliced) mushrooms, onions, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes and chopped asparagus spears. Sauté until vegetables tender cooked through. Remove to bowl.
Hollandaise Sauce
½ cup butter
4 egg yolks
1 Tbl. water
1 Tbl. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Dash of salt and white pepper
Dash of cayenne
Cut butter into thirds. In a double boiler combine egg yolks and whisk. Add water, lemon juice, salt, pepper. Add a piece of butter. Make sure pan with egg mixture in bowl does not touch water. Cook whisking rapidly with a whisk until butter melts and sauce begins to thicken. Add remaining butter, one piece at a time stirring constantly until melted. Continue to cook until sauce thickens about 2 minutes. Add cayenne to taste. Remove from heat and if sauce is too thick whisk in 1 to 2 Tbl. of hot water.
Assembly; On each plate place 1 scone sliced in half. Add a spoonful of vegetables to each slice. Top each slice with a poached egg and spoon over hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle with freshly chopped Italian parsley.
Hash Browns
3 large russet potatoes – place in 400 degree preheated oven the night before and bake until potatoes are done - place in refrigerator
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Butter or canola oil
In the morning peel the baked potatoes and shred into a bowl, add salt and pepper. In a large skillet melt butter or heat oil which ever you prefer. Add potatoes to skillet and cook until bottom is crisp, stir potatoes and brown the other side. How easy is that?
Julia’s Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Rosemary Potatoes
Eggs (depending on how many you are serving)
Whipping cream
Butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Scallions, sliced use green part too
Smoked Salmon
Cream Cheese, cut in to small pieces
Tabasco Sauce
Fresh chives, chopped
In a large bowl break eggs and add a small amount of whipping cream, Tabasco, & season with salt and pepper. In sauté pan add butter and heat on medium heat. Add scallions and sauté about 1 minute add eggs, and lightly scramble. When they are almost done, add cream cheese then salmon. Do not break up salmon too much. You never want scrambled eggs overdone, when they are still soft remove to plates/platter as they will continue cooking a little. Garnish with snipped fresh chives. Serve with rosemary red potatoes and warm croissants.
Rosemary Red Potatoes: Baby red potatoes, washed and sliced in half or quarters, depending on size. Place potatoes in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and microwave until tender, about 4 minutes. Heat up a sauté pan; add butter and a little olive oil. Season potatoes with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook until nicely browned. Remove the leaves from fresh rosemary and chop, Add to sauté pan and cook for about 1 minute.
Brunch Egg Casserole – Almost everyone has some type of recipe for egg casserole or breakfast bake. The internet is filled with hundreds of them and here is my basic version.
8 slices good quality white bread, cut into 1-in. cubes
8 eggs, well beaten
3 cups milk
1 cup cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. dry mustard
2 cups cooked (cooled) chopped ham, sausage, bacon or a combo of each
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup sliced mushrooms, cooked and cooled with the ham, sausage or bacon
½ cup thinly sliced scallions, including green part
Mix all ingredients together, except cheese and refrigerate overnight in a buttered 9 x 13 glass casserole. In the morning sprinkle cheese over top and bake 350 for about 1 hour. Garnish with chopped chives or parsley. Serve with fresh fruit and hash browns. This is a great dish if you have guests.
German Pancakes (my friend Barb's - Keller, TX) Serves 4
3 eggs
½ cup sifted flour
½ tsp. salt
½ cup milk
6 Tbl. butter, melted
juice of ½ lemon
sifted powdered sugar
Blend eggs, flour, salt and milk in blender. Spread half of the melted butter in 12-inch cast iron skillet and pour in batter. Bake at 450 for 12 to 15 minutes until browned and puffed. Combine lemon juice with remaining butter and pour over pancakes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately.
Joe’s Special – some say this dish originated in the 1850’s by the miners in the infamous, Barbary Coast, a waterfront area of San Francisco in the years after the 1849 gold rush where gamblers, gangsters, prostitutes, and confidence men flourished, along with the brothels, saloons and disreputable boardinghouses.
2 Tbl. olive oil
1 lb. Ground beef (we use ground turkey)
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. oregano
1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry or 1/2 lb. fresh spinach, rinsed, stems removed and leaves chopped
8 large eggs, lightly beaten, add a little whipping cream
Italian parsley, chopped
Heat oil in large sauté pan over high heat. Fry beef and cook stirring until browned. Drain excess fat. Remove beef to side bowl. Add onions, garlic and mushrooms; reduce heat and cook until onions are softened. Add beef back to pan. Stir in nutmeg, salt, pepper, oregano and spinach; cook for about 5 minutes. Add beaten eggs, reduce heat and cook stirring until they are soft set. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and garnish with parsley.
Spinach Casserole -I love this, good for breakfast, lunch or dinner
2 (10 ½ oz) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed
6 Tbl. all-purpose flour
2 lbs. small curd low fat cottage cheese
½ lb. sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
½ cup butter, melted
6 eggs, well beaten
½ tsp. salt and fresh ground black pepper
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
Heat oven to 325. Squeeze spinach so all water comes out of it. Put spinach on paper towels and continue to press out moisture. In a large bowl, add cottage cheese and mix in flour, blending well. Combine with the rest of the ingredients. Lightly spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Pour in mixture and bake for about 1 ½ hours.
Very Berry Muffins
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
Zest of one orange
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups fresh raspberries, blackberries or blueberries (or mix them up)
Preheat oven to 375. Spray muffins cups (12) or use paper liners. In a large bowl whisk egg, buttermilk, oil and extract. In another large bowl combine four, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange zest. With a rubber spatula fold in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not over mix or muffins will be tough. Gently fold in berries. Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full. Bake about 20 minutes, stick toothpick in center of muffin and if it comes out clean remove from oven and transfer to wire cooling rack. Cool about 5 minutes before removing from pan. Makes 12 regular or 6 jumbo muffins.
Grits: A true southern favorite. Jerry and I took a great road trip traveling south through Texas into Louisiana (Baton Rouge) and up through Mississippi. This will be another blog, but along the way we had some great grits. First stop; breakfast in Baton Rouge where we had grits served with hot blackberries, it was fantastic! Driving on to Natchez which is about 90 miles north of Baton Rouge we stayed at the 1888 Wensel House B and B (proprietors, Ron and Mimi Miller) where every morning we were served a fabulous Southern Style Country Breakfast and Mimi made the best grits. Her secret, adding heavy whipping cream. When I eat grits I like lots of black pepper and Tabasco.
½ cup uncooked regular grits
1 tsp. salt
2 cups water
6 Tbl. butter, room temp.
¼ cup heavy cream
Bring water to a boil and add 4 Tbl. butter. Add the grits, and salt stirring for several minutes until combined. When the liquid just begins to bubble, cover, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the grits have thickened. Add up to 1/4 cup water, as needed, to keep the grits smooth. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the heavy cream, stirring to combine. Serve immediately, with a pat of butter in the middle. Heavenly!
Grits with hot blackberries; for each serving place frozen blackberries in a ramekin and heat in microwave. Pour blackberries over grits.
Bon Appetit
"The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines
brighter and brighter until the full day."
Proverbs 4:18
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