lazy eggs

Dear Mom,

Christmas was an especially lazy holiday for us this year.  For the past 8 years while living in Chicago, John and I would pack up the Honda-sleigh with Christmas gifts and the pup and cross the winter wonderland of Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania towards either Pittsburgh (John's hometown) or Rochester.  This year, between moving to New York and just a generally crazy year, we opted to stay in NY sans parents and siblings.  While at first this sounded great, we would sleep in as late as we wanted, veg in our PJs and eat what ever we wanted, when the day actually came after the presents were opened we found ourselves drumming our fingers and wondering what to do.  There is surprisingly little good TV on on Christmas day.  The day did start out pretty strong for us though, we had the traditional Christmas Breakfast Casserole and then opened presents, which got us to about 11am.  Then, due to a miscalculation of preparing dinner the night before, the boredom set in.  Next year we'll be heading back out for the holidays for sure.

breakfast casserole
(This doesn't have to be made on Christmas of course, but it works out quite well for that particular holiday because you have to prep it the night before and let it sit in the fridge over night.  Then in the morning it has to sit on the counter for an hour and then in the oven for an hour, so you can open presents in the two hours while its resting/cooking.)

1 lb. breakfast sausage
12 pieces of white bread, cubed with crusts removed
1-1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (not pre-shredded)
9 eggs
3 cups 2% milk
1-1/2 tsp. dry mustard
salt and pepper

Spray a 9x17 glass or ceramic casserole.  Brown the breakfast sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Remove sausage to a plate to cool.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs, milk, dry mustard and salt and pepper together.

In a large bowl toss together bread, cheese and cooled sausage.  Pour egg mixture over bread mixture and fold gently until combined.  Pour mixture into prepared casserole, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night. 

In the morning, remove the casserole from the refrigerator and let it sit on the kitchen counter for 1 hour.  Preheat the oven to 350, and bake the casserole for 1 hour, until browned on top. 

mom's big mistake

Dear Kristin,

Yes, it is definitely time to break out the winter-chill-chasing recipes. While I love summertime for all of the grilling we do, the fall and winter stews, pies and baked goods just make me all warm & fuzzy inside. We never had home-made soup when I was a kid - everything we had came out of those little red & white cans. I must admit, that although my mom was not the greatest of cooks, she could heat the heck out of a can of soup! Unlike some moms we know. Let me take you back a few years, to when you were just a tot and I was a harried working mom, just trying to get dinner on the table....

We came home from the day-care, and I was busily preparing one of my famous quick fix dinners of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup (from a can, of course). While I normally just blended the soup concentrate with all water or with half water and half milk, I decided that maybe you needed something a little more fortifying and used all milk instead. When I put the soup in front of you, you just kind of looked at it a bit skeptically, tilted your head, and asked "Mom, is the tomato soup supposed to be orange?"

"Yes, honey" I replied. I explained that using all milk made the soup a different color than what you were used to, but that it would be so much tastier and creamier. (Meanwhile I'm thinking - gheesh! the nerve of this kid, questioning her mom!) You seemed satisfied with this answer, knowing that, as always, Mom is always right, and could never, in her ultimate wisdom, ever serve her precious daughter anything less than a perfectly prepared meal. Imagine my surprise, then, when I heard this tiny voice a few minutes later, asking with just a tint of trepidation, "Mom, is the tomato soup supposed to be cold?" I was busted! even my four-year-old knew that soup is supposed to be hot! In my rush to get dinner on the table, I'd completely forgotten to heat up the soup!! Maybe that was the day you decided to become the culinary queen that you are - no more trusting Mom!

Well, I've come a long way since then. I rarely open a can of soup, unless it's an ingredient in something else like a casserole. And I must say that this recipe for potato soup came out wonderfully. I can't really call it baked potato soup, because unlike most similar recipes, the potatoes aren't baked - just allowed to simmer until they're tender. The beer & cheddar cheese add a nice tang, and the topping of bacon, cheddar & sour cream? Divine.















loaded potato soup

4 Tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 large ribs celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 c. flour
salt and pepper
3 c. chicken stock (more if necessary)
1 c. whole milk
1 (12 oz.) bottle of beer
4 large russet potatoes, peeled & chopped
2 c. grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Dash of hot sauce (optional)
1/2 to 1 lb. bacon, cooked crisp
sour cream for topping
chives for topping

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, carrot, celery & onions. Cook until the veggies begin to soften. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies & continue to cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes more, or until flour is toasted. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Gradually whisk in the stock, and then the milk and the beer. Add the potatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and continue to simmer until the potatoes are tender (about 20 minutes).

3. Remove the pan from the heat. Remove about 1 to 2 cups of potato chunks and reserve. Using an immersion blender, puree the rest of the soup until smooth. Return the soup to the stove, and turn heat to low. Add the reserved potatoes and a handful of bacon pieces.

4. Add one cup of  the cheddar cheese, a handful at a time, stirring and cooking until smooth after each handful. Add Worcestershire, hot sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.

4. Place soup in bowls and top with remaining cheddar, sour cream, bacon and chives.

risottolutions

Dear Mom,

I am officially making the resolution of getting back on track with this blog!  You and I originally planned that we would each post every other week, resulting in one post per week on our blog.  We have both become totally lazy with this, but I think I just won the lazy prize.  The last post you made was on the 9th of December, and it is now the 13th of January.  (Lola's birthday by-the-way, Happy Birthday Lola!)  Simply ridiculous...  I sincerely apologize and will not waste any time with excuses.

To kick off my New Year's resolution to write every other week, I am going to post another recipe for risotto.  Why you ask?  Because I cannot stress enough how wonderful it is knowing how to throw together a risotto at any time.  We all know that we get down in the dumps, especially in January.  Its cold, snowy and gray outside and we've got a long way to go until spring.  But have no fear, risotto is here!  If you've ever had a good risotto, you know that it has the creamy, sumptuous, warm, deliciousness, that you just want to dive into and take a nap.  Perfect for a cold, gloomy January day, with the small exception that the cooking method for risotto tends to intimidate a lot of people.  Well I challenge you all to look that box of arborio rice dead in the eye and say "No, I WILL make risotto!"  Make it your New Year's resolution to learn how to make it, I promise it will be one of the easiest and most rewarding resolutions to make!

The cooking method is easy, it just requires a little more of your undivided attention than some other recipes you may make.  On the clock, it will really only take about 45 minutes or so from start to finish (sometimes even less).  You will just need to stand-by stirring and shaking the pot frequently enough that you are sort of chained to the stove.  But just like puppies, children and husbands who require your undivided attention, love and devotion, it will be worth it.

broccoli and cheddar risotto

1 bunch broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
1 box low sodium chicken or veggie broth (4 cups)
2 large shallots, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine (I use pinot grigio)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp salt
pepper
1 cup shredded sharp (or extra sharp) cheddar

Preheat the oven to 400.

On a baking sheet toss the chopped broccoli with the 2 tbsp evoo and salt and pepper.  Spread broccoli out in an even layer and roast in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes.  Turn broccoli and return to oven for anther 8-10 minutes.  The broccoli should be slightly browned and a little crispy.

Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pan bring the chicken/veggie broth up to a simmer. 

Meanwhile, add the 1 tbsp evoo and minced onion & garlic to a separate medium saucepan and place over medium-high heat.  Saute the onions and garlic until translucent and fragrant, if they start to brown turn the heat down.  Add the 1 cup rice and stir.  Toast the rice for 5-7 minutes. Add the 1/2 cup white wine.  Stir frequently until wine is mostly absorbed by the rice.  Add about a 1/2 cup to a full cup of the simmering broth to the rice, stir frequently until most of the addition of broth is absorbed.  Once absorbed, add another 1/2-1 cup simmering broth, stir (or shake), keep repeating this process until all the broth is gone.  (You don't really need to stir constantly, go back to it every few minutes for a stir/shake.  What your basically doing is agitating the rice so that it releases its starches into the broth which will create that creaminess that makes risotto so yummy.)

Once all of the broth is absorbed, remove the rice from the heat, it should be slightly soupy in its consistency.  Add the parmesan, butter, 1 tsp salt and pepper to taste.  Beat these ingredients into the risotto some what vigorously until the butter is melted.  Add the 1 cup cheddar and stir until melted and combined.  Fold in the chopped, roasted broccoli.