Brunch Quiche

Always a winner and you can change it up each time so your guests always think it is a new recipe!

Preheat oven to 350.

Version WITH MEAT:

Fry 1 pkg of bacon (or sausage or ham) in a skillet.

While it's frying, chop 1 yellow onion. When you remove the bacon from the pan, add 1 TBSP of oil to the bacon grease plus 2 shakes of your favorite seasoning (I use Slap Ya Mama, of course). Saute the onions until they are soft.

Version WITHOUT MEAT (which I actually make most often)

Chop 1 large yellow onion and 1 red bell pepper. Saute in butter plus 2 shakes of your favorite seasoning (I use Slap Ya Mama, of course) until they are soft.

In the meantime, grease a baking dish (I use a large round one) and place 1/2 cup of shredded cheese (you pick the flavor) on the bottom of the pan (spread it out).

Place the bacon/onion/pepper combo on top of the cheese in the baking pan.

In a mixing bowl- combine 1/cup of milk, 1 cup of sour cream, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup (I use a BIT more!)jm, of shredded cheese, 1/2 cup of flour and 1 tsp of baking powder. Mix these together and then add another shake of your favorite seasoning.

Pour this mixture on top of the bacon/onions/peppers and then bake.

Bake for about 40 minutes until the middle of the quiche is set. Do not overcook.

Slice like a pie to serve.

Fruit Pizza

This one is an oldie, but a goodie! In fact, I have not made it since I moved to Denmark, but my daughter called me about it because she planned to serve it at a baby shower she was hosting. When I sent her the directions, I remembered how yummy it is! So whether you need something to serve at a shower or a brunch, or just a YUMMY treat for yourself, this dish is perfect!

When I lived in the US, I cheated on this recipe and used the "Pillsbury Refrigerated Sugar Cookie" dough as my crust, but my life in Denmark has forced me to make just about everything from scratch... but honestly, if we ever move back to the US, I am certain that I will keep doing things this way! They just taste better!

Step 1--Make your pizza "crust". (My suggestion is that you do this the night before you plan to serve the pizza so that it has plenty of time to cool before you complete steps 2 and 3.)

Step 2--Make your pizza "sauce".

Step 3--Add your pizza "toppings".

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The Pizza "Crust" Instructions:

Melt 2 sticks of butter. Add 1 cup of sugar, 1 TBSP of milk, and 1 egg. Mix until well-blended. Add 1 tsp of baking powder, 1/4 tsp of salt, and 3 cups of flour. Beat this mixture until it begins to pull away from the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap each half in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Remove from the fridge when you are ready to bake. Sprinkle the area where you plan to roll out the dough with POWDERED SUGAR (NOT flour!) Also, coat your rolling pin with powdered sugar. Roll out the dough to fit your baking pan (I use a round pizza stone.), adding a bit more powdered sugar as needed. The goal is that your crust is about 1/4 inch thick. Grease your pan slightly. Don't forget this step or else your beautiful pizza will stick when you are trying to cut it the next day!

Bake 14-18 minutes at 375...or until the crust is golden.

Cool and then cover until the next day.

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The Pizza "Sauce" Instructions:

Soften 2 packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese.

Mix with one package of powdered sugar (16 oz). Add 1 tsp of vanilla and mix until smooth.

Spread evenly on your cooled sugar cookie crust.

For an extra flair, sprinkle your "sauce" with poppy seeds just before you go on to step 3.

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The Pizza "Toppings" Instructions:

Choose your favorite COLORFUL fruits. I like to use strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, and mandarin oranges (1 can, drained). Slice your strawberries as well as your kiwi. Now you are ready to place your toppings on your pizza. Be creative and arrange the fruits so that the pizza looks as colorful as possible.

Set in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes before you serve.

Slice with a Pizza Cutter and serve!

Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

I have several different biscuit recipes, but I admit that most are a bit "heavy"....which is not a bad thing! However if you want biscuits that are 1) QUICK and EASY to make and 2) light enough to use to make Sausage Biscuits, this is the recipe for you! (And yes, using a whole stick of butter can still make LIGHT biscuits!)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 TBSP sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 stick + 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 425.
2. Melt the stick of butter and let it cool.
3. Mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
4. Add the buttermilk to the melted butter and stir until clumps form.
5. Stir the buttermilk/butter mixture into the dry ingredients, just enough until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
6. LIGHTLY grease a baking pan--I use my Pampered Chef Pizza stone and it works GREAT!
7. Drop balls of dough onto the baking sheet with a large spoon. (grease the spoon before and it keeps the dough from sticking)
8. Bake until the tops are golden brown, 12- 14 minutes.
9. While they are cooling on a wire rack, melt the remaining 2 TBSP of butter and brush the tops of the biscuits with the butter just before serving.

Use these in the normal way with yummy jam or jelly...

or after you put on a layer of jelly, add some breakfast sausage for a sausage biscuit that puts McD's to shame!

MY version of Jimmy Dean Sausage

I live in the land of pork, but for 3.5 years I have suffered in silence about the LACK of REAL BREAKFAST SAUSAGE here. Danes don't eat hot meats for breakfast, so I am sure they don't realize they are LACKING in this department!

However after visiting my friend Lisa in Prague last weekend, I found out that I no longer have to suffer.... it IS possible to make your own "Jimmy Dean" pan sausage! And so this morning I did!

The best part is that EVERY SINGLE ingredient can be found in Denmark!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of ground pork (which in DK is available at ALLLL grocery stores every day of the week!)
• 2 TBSP dried sage (salvie på dansk)
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves (nellike på dansk)
• 2 tsp salt
• 2-3 TBSP of Slap Ya Mama (Here is where you can use your favorite cooking spice -- some recipes call for a tsp of black pepper plus a tsp of red pepper flakes, etc...you decide) But you need a little "kick" in your recipe so that is why I use SYM.

First step is to blend all the spices together in a small bowl so that they can be more evenly distributed throughout the pork. Set aside.

Use your hands to really mix the pork...break up any lumps and try to get it as smooshy as possible. Then sprinkle about 1/3 of your dry mix into the pork and keep smooshing... sprinkle another 1/3....and repeat. This will ensure that each bite of sausage has the same yummy flavors.

Form the meat into balls and flatten before putting in your skillet to fry. You do not need any oil or grease to fry them...they make their own which is just enough to keep them from sticking to the pan. Cook them on a low heat because you don't want the outside to cook faster than the inside. Flip, continue cooking, and most likely flip again.

This morning I served them with buttermilk pancakes and when I dipped them in that maple syrup, I thought I had died and gone to heaven...

Tomorrow's breakfast will be sausage biscuits for the road because we are going to Århus and then I have plenty in a freezer bag to save for the next time I want biscuits and gravy!

Bon Appetite!

Shrimp Cocktail

Buy the shrimp that are already peeled but still have the tails on them. Boil.... Chill....and serve in a bowl of ice.

Cocktail Sauce-- Make the night before.

1 large jar of salsa (make sure it's GOOD Salsa....NOT something that has a BBQ flavor!)

1 large bottle of ketchup

1 bottle of Tabasco sauce

Mix the first two together until well-blended.

Start shaking in the Tabasco....3 or 4 shakes at a time. Blend well.

Taste... not hot enough?

Shake in 3 or 4 more. Blend again.

Taste.... you decide! Keep shaking??

I say YES!

Once it is to your HOTNESS specifications, put in the fridge and chill overnight. Serve in a cute bowl in the middle of your iced down shrimp!

So easy but SO good!

Crawfish Bread

a YUMMY appetizer!

Another item from Mads' Cajun Birthday Blowout!

Ingredients:

1 loaf of French bread (sliced in half, horizontally)

2 cups crawfish tails

1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped red bell peppers
1 TBSP minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese

Slice the French bread in half lengthwise and scoop out the inside of the loaf (but not all the way to the bottom. Leave about half of it there.) Butter the bread and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over a medium heat. Sauté crawfish, and the Holy Trinity (onions, celery, bell peppers) and garlic until the veggies are soft. Remove from the heat and blend in the mustard and mayonnaise. Add cheeses and blend until the cheese begin to melt a bit.

Spread this crawfish mixture inside each of the bread halves. Wrap each half in foil and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Cut bread into slices and serve hot.

Your guests will love you and will most likely be too full to eat dinner if this is your appetizer!

Bourbon Street Praline Cake

I wanted to do something really yummy and really unique for Mads' birthday cake this year! Especially since I am throwing him a "Mardi Gras" themed Cajun Birthday party.... so I poked around the websites of some of my favorite cooks, and used some of their ideas to create my own version of what I am calling the "Bourbon St. Praline Cake".

I made a trial run of this cake a couple of weeks ago for Mads to try..he LOVED it. In fact, he took some of it to the office and 2 of the ladies said it was (and I quote), "the best cake I have ever eaten"! It's not the kind of cake you can eat once a week... but it is definitely something you want to experience at least once!

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks of butter
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup baker's cocoa
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1/2 cup of bourbon
• 1/2 cup of buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups of flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Grease a Bundt pan and preheat the oven to 350. In a small saucepan heat the butter, cocoa and water, stirring constantly until the butter melts and the cocoa is well-blended. Remove from heat and while it is cooling, add the following ingredients to a large bowl: buttermilk, bourbon, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Add the cooled butter/cocoa mixture and mix until well-blended. Add the sugar and mix well. Then gradually add the rest of the dry ingredients, mixing as you go.

Pour into the greased Bundt pan and bake 25 minutes (or until an inserted toothpick is clean). Cool completely on a wire wrack and then remove from pan.

Once the cake is cooled, you are ready to make your Praline Frosting.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of cream
• 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups of chopped pecans

Place the first three items in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring often. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Stir in pecans and stir for about 2 minutes--be careful that it does not harden too quickly. As soon as your pecans are blended in, you are ready to frost the cake.