le food brunch

Here is the first of four brunch dishes that I’d like to share with you from our New Year’s Eve Brunch. Since I wasn’t the one cooking any of these, there will only be one picture… no preparation photos. And in some cases, as with this one, I even forgot to take the picture myself and had to ask the creator of the dish to email me the photo taken from the leftovers they brought back home – thanks for this one, Mary!  Oh, one more thing – This is my 800th Post! Wow 800!

Mary’s Sausage and Egg Casserole with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Mozzarella

1 pound Italian sweet sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
5 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 cup half and half
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.

Sauté sausage in a medium skillet over medium heat until brown and cooked through, breaking up with a spatula into small pieces, about 10 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of the parsley; stir for 1 minute. Spread sausage mixture in the prepared dish. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Whisk eggs, egg yolks, half and half, whipping cream, 1  1/2 cups of the cheese, and salt in a large bowl to blend well. Pour egg mixture over sausage mixture in dish.

Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheese and 2 tablespoons parsley over. Bake until the top of the casserole is golden brown and the knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 8