Breakfast Bowl

When I first ran across this recipe by Garth Brooks I thought if he can cook as well as he sings,it should be a very good recipe. It really turned out to be true. I have made the Breakfast Bowl several times and it has always recieved rave reviews. Just yesterday I had unexpected company and quickly made up a breakfast bowl without all of the ingredients and I substituted Jiternice (Czech sausage) for the regular pork sausage and it was delicious and still recieved good feedback. I hope all of my readers enjoy this recipe as much as I have.

Breakfast Bowl

2 tablespoons butter
8 large eggs
1 16-ounch bag frozen tater tots or hash browns
1 pound pork sausage
1 pound bacon
1 9-ounce package cheese or cheese and roasted garlic tortellini
10 ounces sharp cheddar cheese grated about two and a half cups.

In a large skillet, melt the butter and scramble the eggs.
In a separate large skillet, cook the hash broowns according to package direction.
In a third large skillet, break up the sausage with a wooden spoon and cook until browned. Drain off the excess fat. Transfer the sausage to a bowl. Cook the bacon in the same skillet. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Cook the tortellini according to the package directions. Layer a large bowl with hash browns, sausage, bacon, tortellini, eggs and cheese.
I have taken many liberties with this recipe and it always works out well. So feel free to be creative and come up with your own way to put it together.

Doggie Bag Omelets

I cannot tell you how many times I brought food home from a restaurant only to have the food hang out in the refrigerator until it was spoiled, or sometimes restaurant food just doesn't look very appetizing the next day. What a terrible waste of good food!
About 3 years ago The Princess came to Arizona to visit. One morning she made breakfast, a wonderful omelet made with leftovers. A Sonoran Hotdog (that will be another story), left over pasta, etc. She chopped everything including the bun and sauteed it all, added eggs and topped it off with tomatoes and cheese.
Since then I have made dozens of omelets using doggie bag leftovers. Everything can be used, all beef products, steak, hamburgers are very good choices. Another favorite is Mexican food of all kinds. Everything can be chopped, sauteed and be made into a delicious omelet. Sausages such as Italian, regular breakfast sausage or any kind of smoked sausage make excellent omelets.
Just recently, two friends and I went to a deli and I had a really good muffaleta sandwich, I ordered a quarter of a full sandwich, it was still too large to eat at one sitting. The next morning I chopped everything including the foccacia bread and did the usual omelet using some nice Provolone for the cheese topper. The Count said it was the best omelet ever.
I like to mix cheeses together, goat cheese added to chopped provolone, mozzarella, or Swiss makes a very nice mixture. This is a good way to use small amounts of food and make a delicious dish. Omelets are nice for lunch or dinner. Add a fresh fruit salad and a good bread to complete a hearty and satisfying meal.
The sky is the limit, you can try anything, it always turns out well. So far I have not had a failure. So be creative, you will be surprised at the good combination's you will come up with.

Reunion Make Ahead Sandwiches

2 (8oz) blocks cream cheese
4 tablespoons milk
8 to 10 cut up sun-dried tomatoes, or to taste
pepper
garlic
basil
fresh spinach
smoked turkey
focaccia bread

Soften cream cheese with milk. Add tomatoes (diced fine), pepper, and garlic. Cut bread in half so you have 2 layers. Spread cream cheese on both layers. Press spinach on one spread side and cover with smoked turkey. Press one leaf or more to taste of basil on the other layer. Put two layers together and press slightly. Wrap with saran wrap and refrigerate several hours before serving.

I use the sun dried tomatoes that are packed in olive oil with Italian seasonings. Some brands might say fine herbs. Either one is fine.
If I can find it I like to use the mesquite flavored turkey, this seems to give it a little zip. For the reunion I used a combination of regular smoked turkey and the mesquite in each sandwich.
I use fresh garlic, two good size cloves minced fine. Or to your taste.
You may use white or black pepper. One time I forgot to use it and I realized it does need a couple of shakes.
You don't have to use focaccia, other breads work well. For the reunion I used what the Quality Bakery in Northfield called "finger rolls".
This cream cheese mixture makes a wonderful dip for pita chips and small crispy bread rounds.
I think you could make some really nice little dainty sandwiches for a tea or for bite size appetizers.
In a pinch I have used dried basil I mixed into the cream cheese mixture.

Panini

When we lived in italy the kids and I liked to go to the beach for the morning or afternoon we would stop at the local Alimentari (an old world C-store) and order a panini. It was a long narrow loaf of freshly baked Italian bread filled with ham, cheese and butter. Every little village had an Alimentari,you could buy several different kinds of fresh bread, fresh mozzarella, this was very,very fresh and other cheeses. Also assorted cookies, candies, bulk local wine, bottled water and small tanks of propane for our cooking stove. This was called a "bambala" and it would be delivered to our house in a small red wagon. This was my introduction to panini. Now in later years Panini's have become very popular. About 3 years ago I bought a very nice panini press, it was on sale for a good price, I didn't know if I would use it and was afraid it would end up in the kitchen gadget cupboard never to see daylight again. But I did buy it, brought it home and it didn't work! So my husband (the Count) took it apart and fixed it. I made grilled cheese sandwiches with it a few times, it worked really well and I loved the grooves on the sandwich. Gradually I started adding other ingredients and pretty soon I am making gigantic panini's that only Paul Bunyan could eat. I have learned a few things about making good panini's along the way. Start with a good bread, some options include a good dense Italian bread, sourdough bread and the best of all is homemade bread. I make bread in a bread machine adding bottled garlic and Italian seasoning to the batter. This makes the best panini. Also a good focaccia works well. I like to use a nice balance of strong and mild flavored foods for the panini. Some mild foods are turkey, gouda cheese, mozarella cheese, provolone cheese, swiss cheese, goat cheese. You can jazz up the goat cheesee with fresh basil, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. You can make it as mild or as strong as you like. Some of the full flavor foods are cooked bacon, grilled or sauteed peppers, roasted red peppers, pesto mixed with mayo,and sharp cheddar. Fresh basil and mint leaves are a good combination. Any chip or cracker dip works well to zip up the flavor a notch. Fresh mozzarella and fresh basil leaves make a wonderful caprese panini. The sky is the limit. Happy Panini Cooking, thecountess

TWO SPAM NEWS FLASHES!

In the last week or so I have noted two interesting articles about Spam in the Star Tribune. First Spam Balls were new this year at the state fair and they earned a four star rating! That means they sold them by the carloads. I so wish I could have made it to the fair to taste them. The same stand also sold Spamburgers, they also sound good. The other article, featured on the front page of the business section was headlined "Spam minus a can? Can Do" They now sell spam in one serving pouches. I suppose if tuna and salmon can do it, why not spam? So if you are in the grocery store and have a SPAM ATTACK you can act on it. Just pick up a pouch of spam and eat it, or open the loaf of bread in your cart and make a real sandwich out it. You might carry a plastic knife in you purse in case you have mayo or butter in your cart, same goes for mustard. You can eat on the way to the checkout counter or even in the car or on the trip out to the car. I would think any of these would be acceptable. So for those of you who have missed these two important articles, this is the latest news from Minnesota, the land of Spam, wild rice, Boundary Waters, Guthrie Theater, St. Olaf Choir, and oh yes I almost forgot 15,000 lakes. The Countess of Cuisine

Blogger: Musings from the Countess of Cuisine - Manage Posts

Blogger: Musings from the Countess of Cuisine - Manage Posts

DENVER OMELET BAKE

I had a few ladies over the other morning and I served this dish. Two of my friends had sent me a Bisquick egg bake recipe in Tucson, it's a great recipe and I made a few additions and changes and I am calling it the Denver omelet bake.

1 stick butter melted
1 1/2 cups half and half
1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper
green, red, and or yellow peppers chopped
green or regular onions chopped
fresh or canned mushrooms chopped
1/2 cup bisquik mix
1 cup Swiss cheese grated
1/4 cup chopped ham, diced bacon, etc.
4 eggs

Pour some olive oil into a frying pan, add peppers and onions; stir well and add salt, saute until almost done, add mushrooms and sprinkle with a little more salt, saute until soft. If using bacon, dice, fry well and set aside.
Combine butter, half and half, salt, pepper, vegetables, and bisquick. Blend well with an electric mixer. Pour into a greased 10 inch pie plate, sprinkle with cheese and meat and push down to cover with batter. Beat eggs in the same bowl and pour over the batter. Bake 40 minutes, let sit at room temperature 10 minutes before serving.
I didn't have Swiss cheese so I grated some provolone, very good substitute.
This serves 8 people nicely.
Enjoy! The Countess