Breakfast Sausage

* Warning: the following post may cause readers to embrace vegetarianism *

Dave loves to make his own sausage! It takes some of the mystery out of the mystery meat when you see what goes in it, and makes it much more enjoyable to eat!


Ingredients:

• 2 pounds pork butt (2 1/2 pounds with bone), diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound fat back, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
  
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

Combine diced pork with all other ingredients and chill for 1 hour. Using the fine blade of a grinder, grind the pork. Form into 1-inch rounds. Refrigerate and use within 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months. For immediate use, saute patties over medium-low heat in a non-stick pan. Saute until brown and cooked through, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

Recipe Courtesy of Alton Brown, Foodnetwork.com

Cheese Blintz and Raspberry-Honey Syrup

We can't have a White family reunion without Ruth's famous Cheese Blintzes. An alteration on a traditional cheese blintz, these are super easy to make, relatively healthy (before all the toppings that is) and a fan favorite.

Cheese Blintzes

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup flour

Directions:

In a medium size bowl, beat eggs with a fork. Add cottage cheese and yogurt, blend well. Add dry ingredients and mix until belended. Cook like pancakes, center should remain cheesey.

* And, to be perfectly honest, i just dump everything in the bowl and mix it all at once, and it always turns out fine :-)


Raspberry-Honey Syrup

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 10 ounce package frozen raspberries (can substitute other berries as well) thawed or 1 pint fresh cleaned and sliced
  

Directions:

Melt butter and berries in microwave, mix with a fork and add honey to taste.

Swedish Pancakes

This recipe comes from Grandma Frankman, who got it from her mother, a native to Sweden. I first started making these when I was 7 years old. Along the way I have learned a few things. I find that I like thin ones better (better sugar to pancake ratio). Increasing the amount of milk makes the batter and thus the pancakes thinner. The nutmeg is a new discovery that I added to the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3 c Milk + extra for correct consistency
  
• 3 c Flour
• 6 Eggs
• 1 t Vanilla Extract
• 1 T Sugar
• 1/8 t Salt
• 1 t Freshly Grated Nutmeg
  

Directions:

Put all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and blend them together. I use my kitchen aid. Don't mix the batter too quickly or too long or the batter will become too frothy. It is better to have a few small lumps than to have frothy (and gluten filled) pancakes.

I take a cube of frozen butter from the freezer and rub it on a non-stick frying pan over medium to medium high heat (after removing most of the wrapper on the butter). Then I pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan while I rotate the pan to make the pancake as thin as possible. When the pancake is nearly dry on the top, I use a spatula to flip it and I butter the cooked side.

They can be served with a little (or a lot) sugar. My favorite is either brown sugar or powdered sugar with lemon juice. Others insist on whipped cream and strawberries.

Pop-Eye Eggs (German Pancakes)

Growing up, this was the traditional "kid" breakfast at the White House, the ones that the kids could make all by themselves. And, slathered in syrup and powdered sugar, it's pretty kid-friendly :-).



Ingredients:

• 3-6 Tablespoons Butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

• Place butter in a 9x13 pan and put in oven while it is preheating to 425 F. While oven is preheating, mix eggs, flour, milk and salt. Once butter is melted, spread butter around the bottom of the pan. Whip air into batter and then immediately pour into pan. Cook 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown and puffy. Serve immediately with syrup and/or powdered sugar.
  

Cheese Souffle

This is an exciting thing to have for breakfast on a Saturday morning (it will be kind of a late breakfast). The basic strategy of this recipe is to make a bechamel sauce, combine it with egg yolks and fold that after cooling into the whipped egg whites. We did use medium cheddar rather than sharp. We learned that Alton likes his cheese strong in his mac and cheese recipe.

The texture of this recipe is superb with a fluffy yet granular texture that is quite pleasing on the palate. We enjoy ours with a glass of OJ.


Ingredients:

• Butter, room temperature, for greasing the souffle
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/3 cups milk, hot
• 4 large egg yolks (2 1/2 ounces by weight)
• 6 ounces sharp Cheddar
• 5 egg whites plus 1 tablespoon water (5 1/2 ounces by weight plus 1/2 ounce water)
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

Use room temperature butter to grease an 8-inch souffle mold. Add the grated Parmesan and roll around the mold to cover the sides. Cover with plastic wrap and place into the freezer for 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a small saucepan, heat the butter. Allow all of the water to cook out. In a separate bowl combine the flour, dry mustard, garlic powder, and kosher salt. Whisk this mixture into the melted butter. Cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the hot milk and turn the heat to high. Once the mixture reaches a boil, remove from the heat. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks to a creamy consistency. Temper the yolks into the milk mixture, constantly whisking. Remove from the heat and add the cheese. Whisk until incorporated. In a separate bowl, using a hand mixer, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until glossy and firm. Add 1/4 of the mixture to the base. Continue to add the whites by thirds, folding very gently. Pour the mixture into the souffle. Fill the souffle to 1/2-inch from the top. Place on an aluminum pie pan. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

Recipe Courtesy of Alton Brown, FoodNetwork.com

Breakfast Pizza

A hearty breakfast and a favorite from Allyson's childhood: Breakfast pizza.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Sheet Pan
  
• Crust (we use the breadstick recipe to make the crust, but any bread will do)
• 1/2 Onion
• 1/2 Bell Pepper
• Southern Style Hashbrowns
• Salt & Pepper
• 4-6 oz of Bacon (chopped into small pieces)
  
• Cheddar cheese
• 7 eggs (beaten)

This is pretty simple. Roll out the crust. Cook the bacon bits, while the bacon is cooking, drain off some of the fat and sweat the onions and peppers. Spread the onions and peppers on the bottom of the crust, then the hashbrowns, salt & pepper, bacon, cheddar cheese and pour the eggs over the top. Cook at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes (until eggs are cooked in the center). Serve immediately, we love it topped with Louisiana Hot Sauce.