Rosie Makes Her Easy Like Sunday Morning Breakfast Casserole.

 

 

It's Sunday morning and I'm making a breakfast casserole.

All my favorites poured into one baking dish - grits, sausage, eggs, buttah, and cheeses.

 

 

 

And it's easy like Sunday morning. 

Here's what we have:

a base of cheesy, buttery grits 

a layer of crumbled, browned sausage

onions, tomatoes, and basil

little pockets for the eggs

top layer grated Parm

Everything baked just until the whites are cooked and the yolks are still nice and runny.

Note:  Your ingredient amounts can vary.  I'm just giving you a starting point here.

First, start on the grits.  Do NOT use instant grits.  Gotta have time to give the grits some lovin'.

 

For the grits:

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups cream

heaping 1/2 cup grits

kosher salt, to taste

2 TB butter

2/3 cup packed grated Gouda cheese (I used honey clover Gouda.  Use whatever cheese you like - smoked Gouda would be good.)

Combine water, cream, about 1/2 tsp salt, and grits.  Bring to simmer, stirring occasionally, scraping up from bottom and sides to keep from sticking.  Cooking time depends on your grits.  Stone ground will take anywhere from 30 minutes - 45 minutes.  Taste test.  You want them nice and creamy, not runny and not too thick.  Add more salt if needed.  When cooked, stir in the butter and cheese until melted.  Remove from heat.

 

 Next up, the sausage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I put a little butter in my skillet, then added 8 oz. Jimmy Dean sausage.

Break it up with a wooden spatula.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halfway through cooking the sausage add in about 1/4 cup chopped onion.

 

 

Keep cooking and stirring until sausage is nicely browned.

Drain off any excess fat.

Assembly:

Pour grits into buttered

casserole dish.

Add sausage.

Spread out evenly.

Chopped tomatoes

and chopped onions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I realized I had basil growing outside and decided to chop some up and sprinkle that on top.

 

 Make a depression in the sausage for each egg.

Carefully crack the eggs into the holes.

A little kosher salt and freshly ground pepper on top of each egg.

 

Next, some

grated Parmesan.

Bake at 350° until egg whites are just set and yolks are still runny - about 15 minutes.

 

 

To serve, carefully scoop out a whole egg with the grits and sausage.

And, yes.  This tastes better if baked in a Corningware dish with the blue cornflower on it.

My favorite part -  the violation of the egg.

Oh so good.

Enjoy.

Rosie Fries Shrimp. Again.

 

 

 Today, I'm frying shrimp.  Again.  This one is a bit different from the previous two fries I posted.  These shrimp have a lighter batter.

There are all sorts of ways to fry shrimp and this is just one more to add to the mix.

If you'd like to check on previous fries, 

 here's a panko and cracker-battered shrimp with stir fried vegetables

 

 

and here's my coconut fried shrimp, which is pretty much my all-time favorite.

 

 I'm making a quick fried shrimp and serving it in a fried tortilla on a bed of apple-laced coleslaw along with two dipping sauces.  The first is a regular cocktail sauce; the second a Thai sweet chili sauce.  I didn't take copious notes on the amounts of every ingredient.  I'm just cooking on the fly here and inviting you to come along for the ride.

First, I made the coleslaw.  I wanted quick, simple, and easy, so only three ingredients in the slaw part - cabbage, apple, and red bell pepper.  Shred, chop, and dice.  Do you need amounts?  Maybe two cups cabbage, 1/2 an apple, 1/4 sweet red bell.  Then the dressing:  mayo, cider vinegar, buttermilk, sugar, kosher salt, freshly ground pepper.  Amounts again???  Hmmm...  1/4 cup mayo, tablespoon each vinegar and buttermilk, if that much, teaspoon sugar.  Just taste test and go with your instincts and taste buds. Refrigerate the slaw to let the flavors meld.

Next, I made the dipping sauces.

Cocktail sauce:  ketchup, horseradish, Lea & Perrins, lemon juice.  That's it.  Do not stir this and make a homogeneous mixture.  I prefer to lightly swirl parts of it around, leaving "pockets of flavor."  Amounts again are up to you.  If I had to guess, I'd go with 1/4 cup ketchup, tablespoon horseradish, and teaspoon plus each of L&P and lemon.

Sweet Sauce:  Thai Style Sweet Chili Sauce with a few squirts of sriracha hot chili sauce in it.  Again, you want "pockets of flavor."

 

For the frying:

I'm using pot 4 inches deep, 6 inch-diameter at bottom, and 8 inch-diameter at top.  Pour at least 2 inches of oil in it.  Heat oil (I use peanut oil.) to about 375°. 

For the tortillas:

Drop one tortilla into the hot oil, using tongs to keep it submerged and sort of folded in the middle. Taco-like.  Lightly brown both sides.  I usually manipulate the taco with the tongs to fry 1/2 a side at a time.  Drain on paper towels, open end down.

 

  I'm going with a light shrimp batter, not a heavy, breaded batter, and this one is perfect.  

 

NOTE:   This particular batter is not going to brown or turn golden like other fried batters, so do not overcook the shrimp, thinking it will get darker.  It won't.

Batter:  

3/4 cup rice flour

1/4 cup corn starch

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 egg yolk

1 10-oz bottle club soda  NOTE:  You won't be using the whole bottle.

Combine all dry ingredients, then whisk in yolk and enough of the soda until you get a thin, not thick, batter.

Drop in peeled, large shrimp and coat with batter.

 

To fry shrimp:

Drop shrimp in hot oil one at a time, frying in batches - no more than 5 or 6 shrimp.  Fry about 75  seconds.  These are large shrimp.  Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Let oil come back to temperature before continuing. 

To serve: 

Make a bed of cole slaw inside the fried tortillas/tacos and stuff with the fried shrimp.  Serve the dipping sauces on the side.  A squeeze of lime or lemon would be welcome here too.

 

Enjoy.