Roasted Red Pepper, Sausage, & Asparagus Egg Bake

Holy cow!  It's December?  The 10th, you say?  How did that happen?  I don't know.  What I do know, however, is that nothing beats an egg bake for breakfast.  (Except, perhaps, for these.)  So, in honor of December whizzing by (or maybe just because I like eggs...), here is:

Roasted Red Pepper, Sausage, & Asparagus Egg Bake

Enough slices of baguette or crusty french bread to line the bottom of a casserole dish (about 6)

1 lb. ground sweet Italian sausage

1/2 bunch of slim asaparagus stalks, trimmed and cut into 1 - 1 1/2" pieces

1 1/2 c. grated Italian blend cheeses (parmesan, pecorino romano, fontina...)

3/4 c. diced and drained roasted red peppers (from 12 oz. jar)

6 large eggs

1 c. half and half

1 c. milk

salt and pepper

1) Place baguette slices in bottom of greased casserole.

2) Heat skillet over medium-high heat, add sausage.  Saute until cooked through, about 7 minutes.  Meanwhile, parboil asparagus, about 3 min.

3) In a medium bowl, combine asparagus, sausage, 1 c. cheese, and peppers.  Spread sausage mixture on top of the baguette slices.

4) Whisk eggs in a medium bowl.  Whisk in half and half, milk, and salt & pepper.  Pour over sausage mixture.  Sprinkle remaining 1/2 c. cheese over the eggs.

5) Refrigerate overnight or bake immediately at 425 for 50-55 minutes.

ENJOY!

**We enjoyed our egg bake with leftover mashed potato patties.  (Whisk one egg into leftover mashed potatoes.  Season with garlic, rosemary, sage, salt & pepper.  Form into patties and fry in melted butter over medium high heat.  Let cook completely on the bottom before attempting to flip them.  Flip back and forth a few times to heat completely.  Amazingly delicious for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.)

Thanksgiving - The Sequel

If you love Thanksgiving like I love Thanksgiving, then you know that it's ok, nay, encouraged to enjoy Thanksgiving flavors at other times during the year.  Here is a wonderful and amazing link for some Thanksgiving-esque foods.  Visit. Read. Drool. Make. Eat. Enjoy!

Cookie Bars & A [Somewhat] Related Story

Let me tell you a story.  I once had a roommate.  A wonderful, beautiful roommate.  Her name was Emily.  We became great friends.  We enjoyed dancing around in our living room; cleaning our kitchen with our Swiffer Wet Jet; watching episodes of Grey's Anatomy; and having discussions over a mixing bowl of brownie batter.  In those days, the brownies were out of a box.  There is nothing wrong with a good ol' boxed brownie mix, but if we had known that the recipe I'm about to share with you existed, we may never have stuck a spoon into boxed brownie batter ever again.  As many of you know, I have a new roommate.  His name is Dan.  He married me in June of 2009.  We occasionally dance around our living room; we use our Swiffer Wet Jet, but we don't have any inside jokes about it; we generally prefer TV comedies to medical dramas; and Dan has a serious thing for peanut butter and chocolate.  This is awesome because I, too, have a serious thing for peanut butter and chocolate.  What's that?  You don't?  Get out of my blog.  Seriously, doesn't everyone love peanut butter and chocolate?  This is why they make Reese's Peanut Butter Chips.  And that is where my story truly begins.  On the back of the bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips is a recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies.  I stirred up a batch last night.  I'm lazy when it comes to cookies, though, and I don't enjoy making 12 at a time.  So instead of scooping the dough into cookies, I spread the dough in a bar pan and made cookie bars.  Oh yes.  Ohhhh yesssss.

Want one? Of course you do.  Here's how you can accomplish chocolate, peanut butter bliss:

Beat 1-1/4 c. softened butter and 2 c. sugar until fluffy.  Add 2 eggs and 2 t. vanilla.  Beat well.

In a small bowl, mix 2 c. flour, 3/4 c. cocoa powder, 1 t. baking soda, and 1/2 t. salt.  Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture.  Stir in one package of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips.

Spread batter into a bar pan.  (If you don't live in the midwest, you might call this a "jelly-roll pan".) It would be prudent of you to try *at least* a few spoonfuls of the dough.  You never know, something could have gone terribly awry in your baking process... ;)  Your roommates/friends/neighbors/significant others might like to try a few spoonfuls of the dough as well.  I'm just sayin'...

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  The goal here is to underbake them slightly so that they stay incredibly chewy.  Chewy = awesome.

I dare you not to try these.

ENJOY!!

Fudgy Liquory Yum-ness

Sometimes, there are only three words: Fudgy. Liquory. Yumness.

If you have a "La Madeleine" restaurant near you, you should go there now.  NOW!

That is a shot glass filled with layers of chocolate mousse and booze-soaked chocolate cake.

It had me at hello.

Enjoy your weekend!

Coconut Macaroons

In case you were worried about where I have been or what I have been up to since my last post, I am here to allay your many concerns: I am in the Twin Cities!  (You were worried, right?!)  Visiting family, seeing friends, having lunch dates, seeing a flash mob.... You know, the usual.  (Don't know what a flash mob is? Click here.)  I'm not here to tell you about flash mobs though.  I am dropping in to tell you that if you are in Minneapolis, you should run (not walk) to the

The Salty Tart bakery is in the Midtown Global Market on Lake Street.

You can eat these:

Those, dear friends, are coconut macaroons.  They are warm, buttery, and chewy.  Are you not yet sold?  You can have them dipped in dark chocolate.  If you are still not sold, you are probably a robot - please power down.  Seriously, I had one and it moved me to tears. 

I could probably make these....stay tuned!