Sunday Breakfast For My Honey

Michael had been talking about (hinting) that he would love to have Sausage Gravy and Biscuits. I don't quite know what started him on this idea,if he saw them on TV or where it came from. He likes his breakfast but it is usually just bacon or sausage patties with sunny side up eggs and toast, he's a dipper and I like my egg right on top of my toast. Sausage Gravy is also known in the south as Sawmill Gravy .

In moving from Florida to NC a year ago I have had a hard time adjusting to the grocery stores up here. I really miss my Publix and Sweet Bay stores! In searching for "loose" ground sausage, I have had a had a hard time finding any. I have had to resort to buying links and removing the casings, really a pain and messy. Then I came across it by accident last week and you would have thought I found gold! The first thing I thought about was this recipe.

So my DH was so excited, his hinting had paid off this past Sunday morning when I started making the breakfast he had been talking about for weeks. I must say this is such a simple yet satisfying breakfast. Perfect on a cool fall morning. Add one fried egg on top and bliss.

Give it a try and you're sure to become a fan. Michael said he hasn't had this dish in years and that it was the best he has ever had. I used a mild Italian sausage but it is to your liking if you'd like to use plain, mild or hot sausage. And the biscuits are of your choice as well.

Michael and Carla

End of Summer's Fresh Local Produce

As I promised. Today I did have a "light" lunch. Well, sort of. Let me explain.


It all started out like this. I have one of my email accounts set up to receive only emails from food recipe sites (Food Network, Martha Stewart, Food and Wine, etc...). So, a few weeks ago I received one from Martha Stewart Living with recipes for about 30 different types of cold soups for summer. Well wouldn't you know I must have saved about half of them to try in the near future. Then I started looking around the web and found this one from Emeril Lagasse Cold Cucmber Soup which is not to say that I didn't want to make one of Martha Stewarts its just that the ones for her cucmber soups all had avocado added to the mix, which didn't hit my fancy at the time. So, I headed out to our local farmers market and picked up some of the most beautiful locally grown North Carolina cucmbers I'd seen.













I did use only one of the two required jalapeno peppers. Don't get me wrong I like heat in some foods in moderation like in a cold soup, and I like more heat in somethings like Buffalo Hot Wings or certain types of ethnic recipes when called for. My hubby likes firehouse hot, for him the hotter the better. I guess I am a wimp. Oh well. Anyway, he is not a "cold" soup fan. In fact he's not really much of a soup or stew fan hence the "meat and potatoes" kind a guy thing.
Well I made the soup and took half over to my mother who was sceptical about a "cold' soup. She loved it as I did. In cutting the jalapeno down to only one she agreed with me that it had just the right amount of "bite" to it. All in all it was light, delicious and on the healthy side. However I am certain it was not so light on the caloric side of the food groups. =)
Michael and Carla

Michael Symons Deep Fried Brussels Sprouts and My Adobo Chicken

I must start out with a confession: I am totally addicted to any type of food related television program as well as my food magazine subscriptions and my cookbooks. My DH will tell you I am obsessed. Which is where the appetizer for tonights dinner came from; Food Network TV. I have been tevo-ing (is that even a real word?) the latest show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate". If you haven't seen it, it is about the FN Chefs favorite things, pizza, fried foods, breakfasts, etc. After watching the "fried food favorites in which Aaron Sanchez talks about Michael Symons Deep Fried Brussels Sprouts from Symons restaurant Lolita in Cleveland, I knew I just had to try them as I have always loved brussel sprouts roasted in EVOO with a little salt and pepper to finish. My DH is not a brussel sprout fan at all. Well I must say if you like brussel sprouts even just a wee little bit, then you will absolutely LOVE these.

Then there was the entree. We had 2 chicken leg quarters defrosting in the fridge from the night before. We decided to marinate and roast it in the oven as opposed to firing up the grill (we have been having a lot of rain here lately).

So for the marinade:

1/4 c EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

1/4 cup of fresh orange juice

2 Tblsps white wine vinegar

2 Tblsps Adobo seasoning

1/4 c spanish onion, finely minced

1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped

4 sage leaves, chopped

1-4 inch sprig fresh rosemary, chopped
Let marinate for 2 hours.

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 40 minutes, turning oven up to 450 degrees for the last 10 minutes to crisp up skin.

Serve with rice cooked in chicken stock with chopped fresh mushrooms and 1/4 tsp of onion powder. Add New Orleans Spicy Red Beans and wha-la a perfectly wonderful palate pleasing dinner. I must say we were both quite satisfied.

However, tomorrow I think I will have to have a light breakfast and lunch.
Michael and Carla

I Know, I Know...

I know, I said in my last post (almost 2 months ago) that I thought I was getting the hang of this. However we have had a lot of things going on, 1) Dad went into the hospital and his healing didn't go very well in the beginning, he is doing just fine now. 2) Our computer had to go to the "Computer Trauma Center" who fixed it and then it caught a VIRUS that killed it so we had a brand new HP Computer sent to the house. Hubby has finally restored all of my settings and we now have a few "new" programs that we are getting used to; Picasa 3 being one of them, so computer is doing just fine now. And 3) We went on a weeks vacation to Ocala, Florida, yay! So... I am finally back up and running.

In any case I just thought I would share one of my new favorite breakfasts with you. I ran into this recipe for Poached Eggs Caprese on allrecipes.com and have been making it frequently as our tomato plants have and still are giving us plenty of tomatoes this season. I do use a store bought pesto mix as we have only 1 large parsley plant (container gardeners) and can't fathom chopping it up for pesto,:o since we use it almost everyday. However this recipe is luxurious and if you have never tried it I recommend that you do so soon. It just might become one of your favorite breakfasts too. Especially since we have the Fall/Autumn season upon us.

Hope everyone is starting to cool down from the heat. I know we are here in N.C. and we are certainly enjoying the cooler evenings.

Michael and Carla