Make Ahead Breakfast Caserole

This is a great dish for the holidays or if you have guests staying over. Make it anytime the day before, refrigerate overnight and simply bake it in the oven while hanging out with friends of family. What's also great about this dish is you can change the vegetables and seasonings. I like to start with a egg, bacon, and potato base and then change up the toppings. You could do a country style like I did with peppers and onions or go for a vegetarian version without the bacon and adding in broccoli and mushrooms. 

Ingredients:
1 lbs. bacon, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, seed removed and finely diced
12 large eggs
1 cup milk
3 cups frozen diced potatoes (no need to thaw or cook the potatoes)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
salt and pepper
2 green onions, chopped 

Directions:

1. In a large skillet cook bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook until crispy. Remove bacon to a paper lined towel. 

2. While bacon cooks, whisk eggs and milk in a large bowl. Add in 1 cup of the cheese, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, and half of chopped green onions and whisk to combine. 

3. Drain bacon fat from skillet but leave 1 tsp. in pan. Add onion and bell pepper. Season with a small sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender and slightly charred, about 4 minutes. Turn off heat and set vegetables aside. 

4. Thinly coat a large baking pan or casserole with butter. Add potatoes evenly to the pan. Top potatoes with the cooked vegetables. Add a thin layer using half of the bacon bits. Top everything with egg mixture. Gently stir everything in the pan with a fork to make sure everything is evenly distributed and coated with the egg mixture. Top with the remaining cheese. 

5. At this point you can either cover the casserole over night until ready to bake or bake it right away. If refrigerating, make sure to cover the top of the casserole directly with plastic wrap. Then cover with aluminum foil. 

6. When ready to cook the casserole, preheat the oven to 350. Cook in the oven, uncovered for 20 minutes until the eggs start to set. Carefully add remaining bacon to the top of the casserole. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until the eggs are firm and the top is slightly golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm. 

Lobster Salad Crostini

I was given an afternoon off from work so I decided to spend it cooking! I had some lobster tails in the freezer and I wanted to come up with an upscale appetizer to utilize them. I decided to combine a basic lobster salad and top it on a garlic crostini. The biggest tip for this appetizer is to make sure not to overcook the lobster, it will get tough and rubbery. 

Ingredients:

1 large Lobster tail
Baguette - cut into 1/4 in slices, enough for 8 pieces
1 tbsp Mayo
2 tsp lemon juice, divided
1 tbsp chopped parsley, divided
2 tsp finely diced shallot 
1 garlic clove, peeled and left whole
2 tbsp butter 
Salt and pepper

Directions: 

1. Cook lobster tail. Boil a large pot of salted water. Boil lobster for 3 minutes (a little longer if it’s a larger lobster tail) the key here is to not over cook it or it will get tough and rubbery. Remove cooked tail to a cutting board to cool. Once cool enough to handle, cut lobster into large chunks. 
 
2. Make shallot and Mayo mixture. In a small bowl combine diced shallot and 1 tsp. lemon juice. Allow to sit for 5 minutes to “cook” shallots. Add Mayo, 1 tsp of parsley and salt and pepper. Stir to combine. 
 
3. Make crostini. Toast baguette slices under a preheated broiler until lightly browned. Rub garlic clove over toasted bread. Top crostini with a spread of butter. 
 
4. Assemble crostini. Add chopped lobster into Mayo mix. Stir until combined. You want a lot of lobster with a small amount of Mayo just holding it together. Taste mix for salt and pepper and add more if needed. Top crostini with a small mound of lobster mix. Top with a fresh squeeze of lemon juice and chopped parsley to garnish. Serve immediately 
  

 

Latkes

It's Hanukkah and all of these posts about latkes was making me crave them. I'd never made them before but I love potato so I knew it was going to turn out fine. This recipe is from Ina Garten. I think my favorite part of the latkes (besides the crispy delicious potato) was the fun of topping them. I know it's not very traditional but topping them with sour cream, bacon bits, and green onion was incredibly delicious. 

Ingredients:
2 large baking potatoes (russets)
3 tbsp grated onion
1 large egg, whisked
3 tbsp flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp pepper
canola or avocado oil

Directions:

1. Peel the potatoes and grate them on a box grater. Wrap the grated potatoes in a kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Combine the potatoes in a bowl with the grated onion, egg, flour, salt and pepper. Mix well. 

2. Add a light coating of oil in a large saute pan. Heat over medium high heat until oil shimmers. Place a tablespoon of the potato mixture into the pan. Form pancakes around the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. Turn the pancakes over and cook for another 2 minutes until second side is crispy as well. 

3. Place cooked pancakes on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil. Make sure to season with a small pinch of salt as soon as they are cooked to season them. Serve warm.