egg and sausage casserole

For my roommate’s birthday brunch in July I made a white wine sangria that was well received, and for the meal I tinkered with an egg casserole dish.  As I’m not much of a breakfast person, I had never made one before.  It was super simple and also got high marks, so I made it again this week when I had my friend Leigh over for breakfast for dinner.

Egg and Sausage Casserole

INGREDIENTS

2 slices whole wheat bread

5 hot Italian sausages, chopped into bite-size pieces

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

8 eggs

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Prepare a 7"x7" casserole dish or 8"x8" pan by coating with non-stick baking spray, and set aside.

In medium skillet or 10" omelet pan, cook sausage, minced garlic and bell pepper together over medium-low heat for 7-8 minutes, or until sausage is cooked through.  The fat from the sausages should be enough to grease the pan, but stir often.  For the last minute, turn up heat to medium and brown (but don’t burn) the contents of the skillet.

Meanwhile, cube the bread and spread in the bottom of the baking pan.  When sausage mixture is done, spread evenly atop the bread.  In medium bowl, whisk eggs together until blended.  Pour slowly over the meat and bread.  Using a fork or spoon, press contents of pan down under the egg mixture until all is coated, but do not stir.  Let sit for 5 minutes.

Place pan in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until center of casserole is firm to touch.  Yields 4-6 servings.

The first time I made this casserole I made two large (9"x13") pans worth, and I used ground sausage and onions.  That incarnation tasted delicious, but I wanted a bite of spiciness in this one, and that’s why I changed it up.  You could also add cheese… really, it’s open to interpretation.  And good news, it’s delicious heated up the day after for lunch!

Recommended for: fans of egg dishes, brunch experiments, breakfast for dinner (accompanied by pancakes!), and anyone who likes a little bit of a bite to their morning dishes.

Interested in other food-related posts?  Check out Beth Fish Reads’ Weekend Cooking.

enchanted glass

I should know by now not to mind the terrible covers on Diana Wynne Jones books.  That said, if there’s one thing I know about my bookish self, it’s that I’m incredibly snobby about cover art.  So, even though I trust her storytelling implicitly (and explicitly, for that matter), I was put off by this ugly cover and didn't read Enchanted Glass right away.  I now wish I had, because in this middle grade fantasy Diana has created a marvelous story, characters and place, and I can see that I’ll be returning to visit its magic again and again.

Something is rotten in the village of Melstone.

Aidan Cain has had the worst week of his life. Creepy, sinister beings want him dead. What's a boy to do? With danger nipping at his heels, Aidan flees to Melstone, a village teeming with magic of its own. There he is taken in by Andrew Hope, the new master of Melstone House, who has some supernatural troubles too. Someone is stealing power from the area—mingling magics—and chaos is swiftly rising. Are Aidan's and Andrew's magical dilemmas connected somehow? And will they be able to unite their powers and unlock the secrets of Melstone before the countryside comes apart at the seams?

Have you read Diana Wynne Jones?  She’s famous (and rightfully so) for writing fantastical stories about worlds tilted just enough off the reality axis to make strange happenings normal, and to make off-kilter responses to those happenings absolutely necessary.  Did that make sense?  Let me try again.  DWJ is a genius, and she’ll show you magic in a way that is completely new, and sideways, and just-as-it-should-be, all at the same time.  Stumbling into one of her worlds only becomes, as Alice said of Wonderland, ‘curioser and curiouser.’

Is it quite clear that I loved this book?  I’ll tell you why, then.  Enchanted Glass is a double story: it follows thirty year-old professor Andrew Hope and a quite young (12? 13?) Aidan Cain.  Andrew has been given a task, but isn’t quite sure what it entails.  Aidan is being chased by dangerous not-humans.  They each have magic, and they are each drawn to Melstone House… But what are they to do about Aidan’s predicament, and what is Andrew’s inheritance that he can’t find or remember?  Unraveling these mysteries will take all of the courage, concentration and luck that both Andrew and Aidan can muster.  It is a challenge that will change Melstone, and their lives, forever.

What that summary doesn’t convey is the charm and wit and rightness of Jones’ writing.  While there’s always a ‘something large and potentially world threatening’ going on in the background, the characters live very much in the moment, and their actions feel real and justified.  Those characters are also authentic: if they’re smart, they’re often blind to a particular problem.  If they seem simple, there is something hiding beneath the surface.  And even the side characters are never, ever extraneous to the story.  That is why a story about a small, magical village feels important and true and beautiful, and why I love Diana Wynne Jones’ writing.

If I must find something to pick over, it’s that there aren’t any female main characters in this story.  But there is generational diversity (old, young, in-between!) and species diversity, and most importantly, the end result is a magical tale masterfully told.

Recommended for: all ages, fans of fantasy, fans of Diana Wynne Jones, and anyone who liked J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

top ten books on my fall to-be-read list

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where we all get to exercise our OCD tendencies and come up with bookish lists.  If you’d like to play along, check out this post.

Top Ten Books On My Fall TBR List

1. The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente – This one has been on my wishlist ever since I read Valente’s first wonderful Fairyland adventure.  I look forward to having my heart handed to me by another gorgeous story.

2. Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan – Ms. Brennan writes hilarious and poignant prose, and I say ‘yes’ to whatever she wants to give us readers.  That this one also has a gorgeous cover doesn’t hurt anyone.

3. Riveted by Meljean Brook – I love steampunk (see: Steampunk Week in September!), and I love what Meljean Brook has done in her Iron Seas series.  I can’t wait to read this latest installment.

4. The City’s Son by Tom Pollock – I have heard Pollock’s debut compared to Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, and there’s nothing I love so much as Neil Gaiman read-alikes.  I have this one, just need to clear time in my schedule to read it!

5. Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz – Gothic thriller meets puppetry, magic and a Dickensian plot.  Need I say more?

6. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake – I’ve been hearing good things about this title for over a year now, and I bought a copy to read on my phone.  Sounds like just the thing for some Halloween chills.

7. The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand – Another middle grade title gets my attention with a combination of creepy, clever and just a hint of bizarre humor.  Should be right up my alley.

8. Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter – Zombies?  Check.  Retelling?  Check.  Unlimited fun?  Guaranteed.

9. Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Barnhill – I do love a story that promises brave-hearted heroines, dragons, and has a beautiful cover to go with it.

10. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater – I changed my mind about Stiefvater after I fell in love with The Scorpio Races last year.  I can’t wait to see what else she has cooked up.

How about you – what books are on your radar for fall?

dirty shirley

This weekend marks the ‘end’ of summer – our pool closes for the year on Monday.  Baseball postseason is right around the corner, and kids across the country are heading back to school.  Even so, it will be hot in Washington, DC for another month at least.  Until it cools down for good, refreshing beverages are a must.  When my friend Greta suggested a Dirty Shirley, I knew I’d have to try it out.  After all, I drank Shirley Temples for years at special occasion family dinners (and at least 6 of them at my grandmother’s 2nd wedding! those maraschino cherries… yum!).

Dirty Shirley

INGREDIENTS

1 ounce vodka

6-7 ounces Sprite (or other lemon-lime soda)

dash of grenadine

1-2 maraschino cherries, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Pour vodka over ice in glass, and fill to the top with Sprite.  Add grenadine and garnish with cherries to finish.

Note: If you love cherry flavor, add another splash of grenadine to your drink – it’ll make your day. 

Recommended for: those looking to try a childhood favorite turned adult beverage, fans of cherry flavored drinks, and any event that would be livened up by a tasty red number.

Interested in other food-related posts?  Check out Beth Fish Reads’ Weekend Cooking.