Breakfast Strata With Pesto And Sausage

I love a breakfast casserole.  Anyone who knows me at all knows I'm not a morning person.  The greatness of a breakfast strata is that it's prepared the night before and refrigerated.  The only effort required to turn it into a brunch treat the next day is to remove it from the fridge and pop it into the oven.  Winning!!!  I also have childhood issues with eggs, namely runny yolks, so I particularly love a breakfast casserole that disguises the eggs amongst a myriad of ingredients.

I wanted to make a slightly healthier version of the traditional breakfast strata.  I used 100% whole wheat bread instead of the traditional white French bread.  I used low fat milk and part-skim mozzarella.  I would have used a lower-fat turkey Italian sausage if I had it on hand, but since I didn't I used traditional pork Italian sausage this time.  I mixed chopped spinach with the pesto.  Sneaky Mommy Alert:  If you have a picky kiddo who doesn't like veggies but does like pesto, you can hide all kinds of chopped or grated green veggies in pesto!  Tricking your kids into eating veggies is fun!

For the dry bread cubes you can cube bread that has sat open for a day to dry out or cube fresh bread and dry it in a 250 degree oven for 30-45 minutes.

Recipe For Breakfast Strata With Pesto And Sausage

6 cups dry bread cubes
1 lb. Italian sausage, mild or spicy
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups packed baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup pesto, homemade or store-bought
8 eggs
4 cups milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Brown, drain, cool, and crumble the sausage.  Pat with paper towels if necessary to remove excess grease.


While the sausage is browning, chop the spinach in a food processor and then combine well with the pesto.


Butter or Misto spray a 9-by-13 baking dish.  Place the bread in the dish.  Sprinkle with the cheese.  Dot with the pesto mixture.  Sprinkle the sausage evenly.


In a very large bowl wisk the eggs, then wisk in the milk, dry mustard, salt, onion powder, and pepper.  Gently pour the egg mixture over the other ingredients.

Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.


In the morning remove the strata from the fridge.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Remove the plastic wrap from the strata and allow it to come to room temperature while the oven preheats.


Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan cheese.


Bake uncovered 40-45 minutes or until strata is puffy and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Sprinkle with additional grated Parmesan if desired for serving.

Canning Homemade Dark Beer Mustard To Share

Two pints of mustard to supply us for a while and eight half-pints to share!

Now that we know how yummy our Homemade Dark Beer Mustard is, I wanted to can a big batch of it to share.  I quadrupled the original recipe, to make 12 cups of mustard, plenty for our use and sharing with family and friends.

Canning high-acid food like mustard is easy using the waterbath canning method.  Ball's website, FreshPreserving.com, provides all the info you need about the equipment and procedure.  Here's a quick link to their simple step-by-step instructions for waterbath canning.

There are several steps, but none of them difficult. The hardest part is waiting 3 to 4 weeks for the mustard to be ready to eat!  Just familiarize yourself with the instructions, get your supplies together, and set aside a morning or afternoon to cook and can.


Filled jars, waiting to be lidded and processed.

Love Shack Denton ... Completing The Trifecta

I'm a big fan of local celeb chef Tim Love.  You've probably seen him all over Food Network, Top Chef, really anywhere that there's a camera.  Hubby and I were fortunate enough to enjoy New Year's Eve dinner at his Lonesome Dove restaurant in Fort Worth a couple of years ago.  We've been to the original Love Shack in the Fort Worth Stockyards, we've been to the Love Shack So 7 on Fort Worth's West 7th Street, and today I completed the Love Shack trifecta.  I had a morning deposition on the north side of the square in Denton that concluded just in time for lunch and so I had an excuse to visit (alone, sadly) the newest Love Shack, located just east of the square.

I ordered my Love Shack fav, the single dirty love burger, along with an order of onion rings and an iced tea.  The burger was yummy, although I think it was cooked slightly short of the medium doneness described on the menu, just a touch too pink for my taste, but very enjoyable nonetheless.  Love Shack burger patties are made from a 50/50 combination of ground sirloin and brisket, and the dirty love burger is dressed with crispy bacon, melted cheese, a quail egg, the signature Love sauce, and the usual hamburger condiments.

The onion rings are the superthin kind that I love, well seasoned, and enough for an entire family.  I took home the leftovers and snacked on them all afternoon.  Although I'll never complain about an all-day onion ring snack, an individual serving size would be a nice menu addition.

Service and atmosphere are very friendly and Denton cool ... think Austin lite ... since it was weekday lunchtime I wasn't too out of place despite my dearth of ink and body piercings.  When I asked for the check, my server offered a to-go iced tea.  I know it's sort of a simple thing, but I love that considerate touch, when my server at lunch on a business day offers some carry-out caffeine to keep me awake through the afternoon.



Feel free to express yourself in the ladies room ...



Here's your chalk ...

Quirky and fun at this location is the graffiti-friendly bathroom wall.  The lower portion of the wall is tile, but the upper portion is chalkboard and there's a box of sidewalk chalk in the bathroom so you can leave your "for a good time call" or "Kearby was here" on the wall without guilt.

Ensalada De Nochebuena (Mexican Christmas Eve Salad)

Forgot the camera, so here's an iPhone pic of this yummy salad.

In many Latin American countries, the most festive Christmas celebrations occur on Nochebuena, or Christmas Eve (literally "Good Night").  Ensalada de Nochebuena is a traditional Mexican Christmas Eve salad.  It's a great mixture of colors, flavors, and textures for Christmas Eve or any festive meal.

For The Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Mexican or Salvadorean crema (you can substitute sour cream if crema isn't available)
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Juice of one lime
3 teaspoons chili powder
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
Pinch of salt

Mix well, taste, and adjust seasonings to your taste.  This recipe will yield enough dressing to dress a Nochebuena salad and have some left over to dress another fruit salad.

For The Salad:
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (to taste)
1/4 cup roasted salted peanuts, chopped
Seeds of one pomegranate
Salad greens for presentation (optional)

And use any combination of the following ingredients, according to your taste:
2 tangerines or oranges, peeled, segmented, deseeded, and cut into bite-size pieces
1 medium jicama, peeled and julienned
20 oz. can of pineapple tidbits or chunks
2 bananas, sliced
2 medium-size cooked beets, peeled, cut in half, and sliced into "half moons"
2 small apples, cored and chopped
6-8 radishes, sliced thin

Toss together your choice of salad ingredients with the chopped cilantro.  Drizzle enough dressing onto salad to lightly coat and mix well.  If desired, line serving platter with salad greens.  Spoon salad onto platter.  Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and pomegranate seeds and serve.

Jonathon Erdeljac's Beer-and-Cheddar Soup

I'm anxious to visit Jonathon Erdeljac's new Oak Cliff restaurant, Jonathon's Oak Cliff.  In the meantime, I made his Beer-and-Cheddar Soup recipe, which has received the stamp of approval from my family.  My version of this soup doesn't make the prettiest picture, as I sacrificed vanity in favor of flavor and used my favorite Cabot extra sharp white cheddar instead of yellow cheddar.  I think this recipe has the perfect ratio of broth to cheese to beer, very savory, not cloyingly cheesy, no overpowering elements.  We try to limit our simple carbs, so we didn't serve the soup with the garlic-rubbed toasts as the recipe calls for, but that would certainly be a great textural addition.  And I didn't have a jalapeno handy, so I used a couple of pinches of cayenne pepper instead. 


Jonathon Erdeljac's Beer-and-Cheddar Soup

2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 celery rib, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Garlic-rubbed toasts, for serving
1 tablespoon chopped thyme
1 large jalapeño, seeded and chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
One 12-ounce bottle lager or pilsner
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 pound piece of slab bacon, sliced 1/3 inch thick and cut into 1/3-inch dice
About 2 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 pound sharp yellow cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded
4 ounces smoked cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded

1.  In a large saucepan, cook the bacon over moderate heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp, 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a bowl. Add the celery, onion, jalapeño, garlic and thyme to the saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, 8 minutes. Add half of the beer and cook until reduced by half, 5 minutes. Add 2 1/4 cups of chicken broth and bring to a simmer.

2.  In a small skillet, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Whisk this roux into the soup until incorporated and bring to a simmer.  Cook until thickened, about 8 minutes. Add the heavy cream, cheddar cheeses and the remaining beer and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and creamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the bacon and season with salt and pepper. Add a few tablespoons of broth if the soup is too thick. Serve the soup with garlic toasts.

Make Ahead:  The cheddar soup can be refrigerated overnight. Rewarm gently and thin with additional broth.

Pernil (Roasted Pork Shoulder) For Christmas Eve

Pernil is the centerpiece of the traditional Puerto Rican Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) meal.  It's a delicious alternative to turkey or ham.  Pernil takes a bit of planning and a long cooking time; however, it's easy to make and doesn't require much hands-on prep time and it's made with budget-friendly bone-in pork shoulder.  Be sure to cook more than you need for the holiday meal so you can make Cuban sandwiches later. 

Recipe For Pernil (Roasted Pork Shoulder)

8-10 lb. bone-in pork shoulder (you may also see the word picnic on the label)

For the marinade:
15 black peppercorns
18 cloves garlic, peeled
1 1/2 tablespoon dry oregano
4-5 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt for each pound of meat
Optional:  I had some naranjas agrias (sour oranges), so I added some juice from them as well

Crush and mix the marinade ingredients in a pilon (mortar and pestle) or in a blender.  Allow the flavors to marry while you prepare the pork.

Lightly score the surface of the pork skin in a criss-cross pattern, as you would an Easter ham.

Using a very sharp knife, carefully separate the skin from the top of the pork shoulder, starting at the large end, peeling it back toward the small bony end of the shoulder, stopping before you completely separate the skin from the bony end.


Use your sharp knife to jab deep holes into the meat all over, turning the knife to make the holes larger.

Reserve a bit of marinade for the surface of the skin.  Rub the remainder of the marinade all over the pork, using your fingers to work it deep into the knife holes.  Carefully re-position the skin back into place and use butcher's twine to tie it securely.  Rub reserved marinade into the skin.

Place in ziptop bag.  Either double-bag or put a tray underneath in case of drips.  Refrigerate at least overnight and up to 2 days.


Perniles resting in the fridge, marinating for the big day.  We made two Perniles so there'd be plenty of leftovers for Cuban sandwiches ... yummy!

One hour before cooking, remove the pork from the refrigerator, remove it from the bags, place it on a rack in a roasting pan, skin side up, and cover with foil.  While pork is coming to room temperature, preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place pork shoulder in oven and bake for 30 minutes per pound.  Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees, remove the foil, and roast until the skin is brown and crispy, about an hour.  When done, the skin will literally sound crunchy if you tap it.  While roasting keep an eye on the Pernil to avoid burning the skin.

Although the USDA now says pork is safe if cooked to 145 degrees, this cut needs to be cooked low and slow to allow the fat to tenderize the meat and I recommend a finished internal temperature of 160 to 180 degrees.

Remove the Pernil from the oven and let it rest for 15 to 30 minutes, tented with foil.  Remove the butcher's twine and separate the skin from the meat.  Carve and shred the meat.  Cut/break the crunchy skin into bite-sized pieces.  Serve the meat on a platter with the crunchy skin on the side.

Homemade Dark Beer Mustard




This mustard is malty from the vinegar and beer, spicy from the horseradish, and with every bite the mustard seeds pop, flooding your mouth with their savory flavor.

1 cup malt vinegar
1 cup dark beer (a dark ale or stout works well)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup brown or black mustard seed, toasted in a skillet until very fragrant
1 tablespoon caraway seed, crushed and toasted in a skillet until very fragrant
2 tablespoons freshly grated horseradish
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
pinch cayenne pepper
pinch cardamom
pinch ground mace
pinch nutmeg
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
4 teaspoons Steen's Pure Cane Syrup
4 tablespoons Colman's mustard powder

This recipe will make about 3 cups of mustard.

Sterilize a canning jar and lid.

Bring the vinegar, beer, and garlic to a boil in a small saucepan. Turn off the heat and let steep for 15 to 20 minutes, then strain the mixture and discard the solids. Bring back to a boil, then add the mustard seeds and caraway, turn off the heat, and let steep for 30 minutes.

Combine the vinegar/mustard mixture with the horseradish, coriander, cayenne, cardamom, mace, nutmeg, salt, and cane syrup. Whisk in the mustard powder.

Pour into the sterilized jar, put the lid on, and process in a water bath for 15 minutes. When cool, tighten the lid and make sure the jar is sealed. Place in a cool, dark place and let mature for 3 to 4 weeks before using to allow the flavors to marry and mellow.

Refrigerate after opening.