Breakfast Casserole Recipe

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Here’s a dish that is used great for a potluck, gathering, or your enjoyment at home. I love breakfast, and breakfast casseroles are always quick delicious meals to whip up. This recipe requires a two day process.

Ingredients

·      2 pounds of bulk sausage (Preferably Hot)

·      Whole baked sour dough bread (or 6-9 slices of white bread)

·      8 eggs

·      2 cups of milk

·      2 cups of shredded cheese (Cheddar-Jack, Co-Jack, or cheddar)

·      2 tsp. Dry Mustard

Coat a 9 by 13 baking dish using non-stick cooking spray. Heat your skillet on medium, brown your sausage until it is chopped, and fully cooked. While sausage is cooking, cube your bread in small chunks and place them evenly in the baking pan. When the sausage is done cooking, place them evenly on top of the bread. Take your shredded cheese and place them evenly on top of the sausage.

Crack eggs and whisk them in a large bowl until it’s a lemon color. Add your milk, dry mustard, and continue to mix them well.  Take the egg mixture and pour it evenly all over the bread/sausage. Tip: be sure to pour it evenly all over and not just one spot. Wrap it up with aluminum foil, refrigerate overnight, and allow the flavors to soak together.

Next Morning: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and place the dish in the oven uncovered for about an hour. When it’s ready, serve with your favorite side.

Substitutions: Ham can be substituted for sausage. You can also use ground turkey sausage as well. Bacon pieces can also be substituted. You may also add your choice of vegetables or potato chunks as well.

Enjoy

@RonaldAtkinson9

Recognizing Cooking as a Creation

Food lives in our family. We cook, we eat, we critique, and also explore new things.  When I was young, cooking was always something my family did which has been passing down from generation to generation going back decades. We would cook from smoked Bar-be-que meats to wedding cakes.  Everything was always homemade, made from scratch. Now that I am emerging into the future generation, I was often taught the skills of cooking in which I still learn to this day. Not only do I learn from family, but as young kid I was often fascinated with Food Network (The early years) with shows such as Emril Live, Mario Batali, Iron Chef Japan, Gordon Elliot, Oliver’s Twist, Alton Brown, Sarah Molton, Martha Stewart, Clarissa Dickson Wright, and Jennifer Paterson. To me that’s when I found my horizon to be open when experiencing something unique. So as a chef, our job is to try something new here and there within our cooking. Incorporating different techniques, spices, and styles within a dish that is created. As a food reviewer, our job is to critique in what can be improved upon within the dish. We can say it needs more seasoning, or perhaps why not try another technique. A lot of great chefs have so much experience that they often find themselves being critique by many food bloggers, journalists, celebrity chefs etc.. There are also a lot of amateur chefs in which they may not have the best training, but we can still critique them without being super hard on them. For example, the basic techniques of cleaning, and separating a chicken. Knowing the food item and the correct way of cooking it. How to also know your temperatures and time of cooking. Basically something that is very simple to know (hence “Food Network’s Worst Cooks).  

Is there a right technique to cook food? Yes. Is there a wrong way for creativity? No. Now I understand that we can critique someone’s dish based on preparation, flavor, and appearance. We can critique on whether or not if the food is freshly made, authentic, or frozen. However, what I’m trying to get at is this, we look at shows such as Chopped, or perhaps any show that is a competition based cooking show and realize that many of the chefs featured are aspiring chefs with the skills and knowledge. As a food critic, we often compare and judge another chef’s [creative] dish that is suitable to “our” likeness of our food comfort zone. We forget that just because it doesn’t suit our taste buds doesn’t mean it won’t suit someone else’s taste buds. So now what? Well that’s how we bring an aspiring chef’s creativity down. We bring their motivation down, and we bring their confidence down to the point that they aren’t good enough.  As chefs and food critics, we’re afraid to try something new. We also have to realize that even though we may have been spoiled with delicious food in our lifetime, we have to be fair and give another person a chance to shine. Just because a chef creates something the first time doesn’t mean the recipe will stay like that. They can always add and take away from it and switch it up in the future. To this day, I’m still learning to recognize food based on creativity and effort that is outside of my comfort zone. My parents always told me to give new things a try. Even when I cook, I experience different methods, spices, and flavors to incorporate into the dish. We can be extremely hard and judgmental, so why not instead of bashing, we should offer suggestions yet still give them credit for their effort and hard work. 

@RonaldAtkinson9 

Exploring Chinese Cuisine: A Video Documentary Blog

One of the biggest cuisines that is popular throughout the world is located in the East of Central Asia, China. The Asian culinary world is what brings an impact amongst other nations due to the fact immigrants, traditions, and other sorts of styles were incorporated throughout the years. We people in America always look at Chinese food the way it’s prepared in the restaurant assuming it has authenticity. We are accustomed to “American-Chinese” which is in fact American food “Chinese Style”, but we also forget that the Chinese cuisine and culture is far beyond the Mu Shu Pork, General Tso Chicken, Chicken Fried Rice, etc… The Tradition of Chinese cooking dates back centuries upon centuries stretching far back beyond 2000 B.C. As time build, more crops and food foundations started to develop for many chefs over the dynasty periods. Each specific cuisine within the Chinese culture has derived from The Cantonese cuisine, Szechaun cusisine, Anhui cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, Xiang (Hunan) cuisine, Zhejiang cuisine,  Xinjian cuisine, Mongolian cuisine, Tibetan cuisine, and much more. Each cuisine has a unique contribution to flavor, cooking, and skill.  These videos are from a series, one describing the different regions, and the other about twi chefs who are exploring them to incorporate them in cooking. Featuring Ken Hom, the godfather of Chinese cuisine, and Ching-He Huang who is the leading chef of the contemporary generation, reveal the food, people, history, and culture.  We can always learn about unique things from our past. We can always broaden our horizon to experience and learn something new. Also keep in mind that there are more world Chinese cuisines that exist throughout depending on the region.

Singaporean Chinese cuisine, Indonesian Chinese cuisine

Malaysian Chinese cuisine, Japanese Chinese cuisine

Korean Chinese cuisine, American Chinese cuisine, Canadian Chinese cuisine, Caribbean Chinese cuisine, Filipino Chinese cuisine, Indian Chinese cuisine

Pakistani Chinese cuisine, Puerto Rican Chinese cuisine, Chifa (Peruvian Chinese cuisine)  

These styles of Chinese cuisine were used by immigrants to modify, and adapt to the local tastes and ingredients.

We also can learn from the Chinese culture that it is therapy to heal our bodies. Dessert, Tea, etiquette, and customs are all incorporated that we can learn from.

I encourage you to watch these videos, and then learn more by looking up information in a book or the internet.

The Perfect Valentine's Dinner

I don’t know about you but I would always love to plan way in advance when it comes to the perfect date. Well gentlemen, Valentine’s day is one month away, and I’m sure some of you aren’t really thinking what exactly to do until the time comes. Well here’s a start. Let’s begin with the evening. Some of you will come home from work and school and won’t have much time in cooking, so let’s start with thinking ahead of the ball game. You may have an idea of what to do, but time and planning is always most important. Men, if you really want to make time during the Valentine’s day, take the entire day off.  This is YOUR event that you want to make sure it’s special and done right. Beginning now, make that call to your boss.

The Menu

This is the most important part of this blog. Many people would like to go out to dinner. Let’s start by thinking “the budget”… It maybe more expensive to go out to a fancy French bistro where the average cost of a meal consisting of appetizer, dinner, dessert, and a bottle of wine totals out to be a minimum of $96 plus tax or higher. What about doing something new for a change. Utilize this time to create something fancy and unforgettable.  You can do this one or two ways…Surprise her with your own meal, or ask what her preferences are.  What’s the one cuisine everyone loves to eat when it comes to a romantic dinner? Italian. When we think of Italian, we think of pasta, chicken parmigiana, pizza, and a garlic bread of some sort. But let’s try to modernize the cuisine a bit. Rather than usual Italian, think of adding an extra flair to it. Think beyond the ordinary and think more as if you’re a chef at Enoteca Pinchiorri. Now we have to look at suggestions on what to best prepare. You can always go online and someone will have a great recipe for a delicious dish. Since I’m not allowed to share or give any family recipes, I will make suggestions. Let’s start with the appetizer. If you want a seafood themed meal, have a seafood appetizer. A popular appetizer would be a salad with Italian dressing, but think more of a lite margherita pizza, Bruschetta, homemade Italian garlic bread, or perhaps a dip. Seafood suggestions will come later on.

Main Dishes: Red meat, White meat, or seafood.

Dinner suggestions can vary depending on your partner’s choice. If she doesn’t eat red meat, try fish. If she can’t eat fish, try poultry. If no meat is the thing, and you’re looking at vegetarian, do so. Italian cuisine holds all of that. But let’s be simple and not spend over a huge amount of money buying a rack of lamb unless you please to. Let’s begin with red meat. My preference of red meat would be veal. Veal is great for any European dish, and for Italian, try to create a veal parmigiana. Veal Parmigiana is exactly like chicken or eggplant parmigiana. Lightly fried veal with seasoned Italian breading topped with a tomato paste sauce and mozzarella cheese. If you want, you may stuff it with your choice of a filling such as vegetables, cheese, or any type of filling. Serve that with a side of pan-fried seasoned asparagus, and a side of pasta. Veal Piccatta is also a lightly fried (or pan fried) seasoned cutlet garnished in a white wine lemon-butter sauce. Serve it over a bed of angel hair pasta and mushrooms.

             For a delicious chicken dish, try a stuffed Chicken Marsala which is another simple easy dish using a Marsala wine to cook with. Seafood dishes can also be a great way to spice things up. Most seafood items that are typically used Italian dishes are muscles and clams, calamari, scallops, swordfish, and salmon to name a few. Try using a muscles and clams as your appetizer. Try them cold with a lemon sauce, or perhaps if you want to try something very simple, take a salad using the freshest spinach leaves and lettuce, and then top it with fruit, avocados, and jumbo scallops. Swordfish soup would be another ideal dish as an appetizer. For a main course, try a clam carbonara linguine pasta. What I would also suggest is a do is a homemade Alfredo sauce on fettuccine topped with a grilled smoked salmon.  DO NOT USE CANNED ALFREDO SAUCE. BE CREATIVE!! If you’re using tomato sauce from a can, season it well so that it’s semi-homeade.

My Ideal of “The Taste of Italy” Platter

-Veal Parmigiana

-Pasta and chicken carbonara

-Seasoned asparagus

-Garlic Buttered Mashed Potatoes

Side Dishes: Side dishes are to go with your meal. Each country cuisine is different and side dishes usually depends on the main course. You want to have a decent balance of sides and I don’t mean pasta, but everyone should have a select portion size of vegetables. I think asparagus goes great with any meal. Asparagus, spinach, artichokes, zucchini are some great green sides.

Dessert: My favorite Italian Dessert is perhaps any other’s favorite Italian dessert, Tiramisu. Tiramisu is a coffee-flavored dessert. Think of it as a dessert lasagna layered with lady finger cookies, and whipped, mascarpone, cocoa cream. What’s great about it this is, you can make it ahead of time, and save it in the fridge. If however you want another option, you can make a sorbet of any flavor of your choice.

French Cuisine

French Dishes can be complicated when it comes to creating the perfect meal. As a matter of fact, many French dishes usually vary by region. I want to go ahead and give some suggestions that Julia Child popularized in her show “ The French Chef”, and in her cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. So let’s be small and simple and begin with an appetizer. One thing that is popular that many of us are fond of is French onion soup.  Let’s also look at a simple French salad called Salad Nicoise. This is a simple salad consisting of lettuce, tomatoes, tuna, hard-boiled eggs, black olives, and fillet anchovies all topped with a vinaigrette. It’s important(according to Julia Child) that you dress the ingredients separately.  Now for the main dish, try to find a descent recipe to the dishes in which I’m about to share. Like many Americans, you can always go to the store and pick up a roasted chicken from the market. However, a roasted chicken is popular in French cooking. Usually depending on how it’s prepared, and what spices you are using. Another chicken dish would be great is “Coq au vin”, which is basically chicken braised with wine, garlic, onions, mushrooms, and lard. Serve this with a side of pan fried seasoned potatoes. A beef dish which is popular is beef bourguignon. This is a a signature dish also originating in the Burgundy region where you’re braising beef in wine just like Coq au vin. Regardless of what you cook, always find a descent green side dish. But in the French cuisine, you can find any vegetable that would work well. A potato goes great with any dish. Like I said, keep it simple. These are dishes where it requires you to cook everything in advance, and then throw it in a pot, and let it finish cooking.  Now let’s go with bread….I love croissants. Croissants are a huge hit, and just because it’s a breakfast type pastry doesn’t mean you can’t always have it for dinner. Another delicious bread dish is Gougere. Gougere is a pastry mixed in with variants of cheeses. For a good dessert, try a delicious apple tart.

Setting the mood

-Plan the event

-Plan the menu (surprise your woman)

-Set the mood so it fits perfect.

-Set your music play list.

            Italian music with Italian food. French music with French food. Anything that is Mediterranean style themed music.

-White table cloth, candles, and a proper table set-up.

Pre-set your dishes, clean as soon as you’re done cooking, and make sure everything is in order and it looks perfect with nothing out of place.  Remember, you have the entire day to set things in order so the last thing you have to do is clean, dress up, and pick up your date.

Below are some good links to look at that can help guide you on your cooking.

Academia Barilla

Mario Batali

Best wishes

@RonaldAtkinson9

"I think careful cooking is love, don't you? The loveliest thing you can cook for someone who's close to you is about as nice a Valentine as you can give."-Julia Child

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner: The History of Dinner

Continued on with this series, here is the history of dinner. It's interesting how dinner reflected more upon presenting yourself or a entertainment. Dinner is something that shouldn't lose the tradition of spending time with loved ones sitting down. Not only look at how dinner was presented, but how the food also plays an affect. As Julia Child would say "Bon Appetit"

-@RonaldAtkinson9

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner : The History of Lunch

One of the few things I have learned in this video is that we humans see lunch as a "fill-up" meal to help us rejuvenate during the working period. I do believe we kind of lost that tradition to be able to "enjoy" our lunch. We forget how to be satisfied more so on the food but have become focused more so on the nourishment of the body. For me, the summer time is the only season out of the entire year where I can sit down and enjoy a perfect filling lunch, just as much as I do breakfast. Perhaps the main ingredient I like to eat during the summer time is chicken, and with that said, I think a chicken salad is always a delicious summer time lunch with fresh added berries. What is your favorite "ideal" lunch that is beyond quick and easy? Enjoy what it was like for people back in the early times of what lunch was. This is Part two: The History of Lunch.

-@RonaldAtkinson9 

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner : The History Of Breakfast

Everyday you learn something new. I always find interesting documentaries on international foods and all of a sudden, I came across this series Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. This series is a great educational source that often times, we don't necessarily talk about. This gives the history of the food we eat, and how some of these foods become so popular in our culture, as well as other cultures. Even though we teach children why Breakfast is important when it comes to eating and our health, we should also teach exactly where it comes from, how things were cooked back in the past centuries, and how it has impacted society. With breakfast being my most favorite meal( or favorite foods), I thought this was quite fascinating.

-@RonaldAtkinson9