Monday, April 25, 2011

Easter Brunch

For Easter brunch I made my family's traditional holiday sausage egg casserole, according to my mother's instructions:

MAKE-AHEAD THE NIGHT BEFORE:
1) Brown one pound bulk sausage, drain. (I used sweet Italian sausage packaged without the casing and added red pepper flakes - my addition._
2) Trim crusts from 5-6 pieces good white bread (my mother uses challah but I got a good dense pain de mie from our neighborhood bakery), cut into one inch cubes and lay on a 13" by 9" buttered pyrex dish.
3.) Crumble sausage over bread.
4.) Grate 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese (I use sharp, and let's be frank, I'm generous with the quantity here,) and sprinkle over top of the bread and sausage in the dish.
5.) Beat 9 eggs, 3 cups of milk (2%), one tsp salt, a good sprinkle of cayenne and nutmeg, and one tsp dry mustard.
6.) Pour liquid over bread/cheese/sausage. Cover with plastic wrap and refridgerate overnight.
IN THE MORNING:
7.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake 30-40 minutes. (Note the meat-free portion:)


Along with the casserole we of course dyed hard-boiled eggs, had my family's traditional kielbasa, ham, and horseradish, mimosas, pastries from Clear Flour bakery, and a truly epic fruit salad I made with pineapple, mango, orange, grapefruit, banana, strawberries, kiwi, pear, passionfruit, and lime juice. Here was our table spread:

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