This is our typical Christmas breakfast. My grandma used to make the tea ring and decorate it with red and green cherries and I have made it every year since I have been a grown up. It has been served on this plate for years. We were trying to remember when my sister gave it to me the other day. It has been at least 12 , we think. It is one of the holiday traditions around here that pre-dates Steve and the boys.
Sadly, I really don’t eat much of it anymore. I can’t handle a low-protein, hi-carb breakfast. Thankfully I’ve a couple of savory recipes to balance it all out.
Breakfast Strata
Six slices of a nice homemade breadbread
1 pound mushrooms
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1 clove of garlic
2 cups of milk
6 eggs
The evening before cooking, slice the mushrooms and saute in butter and garlic. Arrange bread slices over the bottom of the glass dish. Sprinkle cheese over bread and mushrooms over the cheese. Whisk together the milk and eggs. Pour this mixture over the bread and cover dish. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning bake at 350 until golden brown on top. 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Sausage Rolls
1 pound pork sausage
2 Tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp ground rosemary
Mix the above ingredients the evening before and refrigerate in a covered container.
2 cups flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 cup diced butter
2-3 tablespoons ice water
These ingredients will be used to make a pastry. Mix the flour, mustard powder and salt, cut the butter into the dry mixture and mix in enough flour to make a roll-able dough. Roll the sausage mixture in logs the diameter of a quarter. Roll the pastry mixture into rectangles and wrap the pastry around the sausage logs. Slice and place on baking tray with the seam side on the tray. If you like you can use a milk or egg glaze to brown the rolls but I use a mixture of white whole wheat flour so I generally don’t bother with this step. Bake these at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until they seem cooked through. The meat will lose its pink color.
Alternately, you could make larger sausage rolls which would be more traditional, but we like our little bite-size nibblers.
Domestic Medicine 