Blueberries, Bagels, and One Big Biscuit

Most out-of-town houseguests at
That Old House get New Jersey bagels
for breakfast -- at least for their first breakfast here.

Sometimes there's a cookie.
But usually not.  Don't get your hopes up.

Alida and Josh, our daughter and son-in-law, were no exceptions to the

Bagel Rule when they visited us from the end of June to July 3rd.

They live in Los Angeles, where the bagels

can best be described in one word --  feh!

Whereas New Jersey bagels, and their twins

from across the river in New York, are Mmmm Mmmm Good.

Bagels, warm and waiting in a brown paper bag.

On Alida and Josh's last morning with us, this past Tuesday, I got creative.

Inspired by a recipe on the blog Noble Pig, but realizing that

I didn't have the right ingredients (oh, eggs and bacon, where are you

when I need you?) and being both too lazy to go shop for them,

and too lazy to go out for fresh bagels, I improvised.

Instead of making Noble Pig's recipe for a giant oven pancake

studded with bacon, I made a giant oven biscuit studded with

breakfast sausage, and a warm fresh blueberry sauce to accompany it.

Above, the big biscuit, after being turned out

of the cast iron frying pan and onto a large plate.

Below, the blueberry sauce.

Anne volunteered to take pictures of her plate.

She wisely put her blueberry sauce on the side,

so as to make the biscuit and sausage slice look better.

Now that does look pretty, doesn't it? Bits of sausage, and
crunchy baked brown sugar edges on crumbly biscuit?

I, on the other hand, put my blueberries right on top of my slice

of the biscuit cake, thereby making my breakfast look like

a big pile of . . . you fill in the blank.

This is why I had children; they are smarter than me.
Or is it "smarter than I?"  Me?  I?
I think it is "I" but that sounds dopey.

Recipe?  So simple it's stupid.

***Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

***Mix up a batch of the shortcake biscuit recipe from the Bisquick box.

***Nuke a box of your favorite breakfast sausages,

and cut 'em into wee teeny bits.

***Melt some butter in the bottom of a cast iron fry pan, add the

sausage bits, and spread them around.  Sprinkle on some brown sugar.

***Spread the biscuit batter in the pan; it's sticky but you can do it.  I have faith.

***Put it in the oven, and bake till done -- and here's the thing; I can't remember how long it took.

I think around 35 or 40 minutes.  Keep poking at it, you'll know when it's done.

***Let it rest and catch its breath for 15 minutes, before you turn it out upside-down onto a big plate

or platter. (By the way, that's when you'll know if you melted enough butter in the bottom of your pan.)

***As for the blueberries, just wash them and fish out those annoying little stems,

then put the berries into a small saucepan with about a heaping soup spoon's

worth of sugar and a couple of good squirts of fresh lemon.

***Cook until the mess begins to bubble and the berries start cracking open.

***Sprinkle on a small amount of flour, and cook that into the berries and juice.

It will thicken a bit, and look all glossy and alluring and irresistible.

Then eat.  I recommend black coffee with it,

but then I recommend that with almost everything except pizza.

It's Friday, friends!  May your weekend be full of fun,

and awesome breakfasts.  -- Cass

Visit Michael Lee West at Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday.

I promise you won't regret it!   Click here.


And click here for the Thursday post from That Old House . . .
about tomatoes!