By Andy Bedwell
I have always enjoyed a brunch, both as a hostess and a guest. One reason I particularly enjoy having a brunch is that you can serve almost any food you prefer, from an egg and cheese dish to a tenderloin. When I begin thinking about which of my favorite dishes I usually prepare for this late-morning or noon-time gathering, I realized that I can serve a wide variety of selections. So this week, I decided to include the more traditional brunch dishes. Brunch also provides you with a perfect opportunity to serve a wide variety of jams and jellies, which I love to make. I enjoy going in these little quaint Southern shops and seeing the vast numbers of pickles and relishes that I am always dying to try.
The Best Breakfast
Casserole
4 slices of white bread
1 pound of Dean’s
mild sausage
8-ounces extra sharp
cheddar cheese, hand grated
6 eggs
2 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste
Tear four slices of white bread and place in a greased 9×13-inch Pyrex dish. Brown and drain Dean’s mild sausage. Spoon sausage over bread. Sprinkle with extra-sharp cheese. Beat eggs, milk and a little salt and dash of black pepper. Pour over mixture in baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until brown. You may have to increase temperature the last few minutes for it to brown.
Andy’s Note: Put this dish together the day before so it is ready to pop in the oven the next morning. I could de-finitely write a book about this recipe and all memories I have making it over and over through the years. When Doug and I first married, my mother made fried quail, milk gravy and angel biscuits every Christmas morning. Doug would fill a freezer with quail every season. When he quit hunting, we switched to this breakfast casserole, and my mother then baked it for years. I have so many wonderful memories of my Southern mother in her kitchen.
Peach Bread
3 cups all-purpose
flour or cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons
almond flavoring
1 1/4 cups pecans, chopped
2 cups chopped peaches
1 1/2 cups oil
3 eggs, beaten
Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl; add pecans and mix. Make a well in the center. Mix the rest and pour into the well. Stir enough to dampen all ingredients and then pour into a large greased and floured tube pan or two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
Andy’s Note: This is a sweet, moist bread that should be eaten immediately after cooking. This recipe can also be baked in muffin tins. If you decide to do it that way, they will bake a little more quickly. This is such a dainty, sweet treat that they can be called cup-cakes.
Carol Collin’s White
Raisin Oatmeal Cookies
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup Crisco Oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon water
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups 1 minute oatmeal
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups white raisins
Cream the sugar, brown sugar, Crisco oil, eggs, vanilla and water together. Sift flour, soda and salt together and add to cream mixture. Add oatmeal, pecans and white raisins to mixture.Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.
Andy’s Note: My sister, Mary Fielder, bakes these all of the time and says that these are the “ Best Oatmeal Cookie” that she has ever eaten. Of course, anyone who knows Carol knows that she is a fabulous cook! Thanks, Carol, for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Happy fall cooking, y’all!
Andy Bedwell
“Southern Cooking with Andy Bedwell” can be purchased at Alabama Gift Company in downtown Gadsden and The Messenger on Rainbow Drive.