Mess of Greens

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Breakfast and Brunch

Amped Up Tomato Gravy

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Tomato Gravy is definitely a southern breakfast thing. I’ve seen it on country-style and rural greasy spoon restaurants ALLLL over, from North Carolina to New Orleans. But, the thing is, I rarely order it because lots of time it takes like Chef Boyardee or thicker V8 Juice. Do you know what I mean? There’s nothing wrong with that but honestly, I LOVE BISCUITS SO MUCH why would I eff up a perfectly good one with fake-tomato goop with butter and a little jam works like a charm.

I’ve been testing recipes out of John Currence’s Big Bad Breakfast cookbook lately that my wonderful Mama-in-law gave me for Christmas, and ALL of the things in there are good…but THIS ONE is probably my favorite. It mixes a creole/cajun roux with bacon grease, FRESH tomatoes and then I replaced dried thyme with fresh basil. It takes a little time, but since I had my biscuit dough in the freezer already from a previous batch it was worth the effort…especially since we had it for supper instead of breakfast. A side of bacon or ham, and Oooooweee!

But tell me..where’s YOUR favorite tomato gravy and what makes it the best? I’d love to have a list of where my next roadtrip breakfast should be!


Amped Up Tomato Gravy
 
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Serves: 5 Cups
What You Need
  • 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½ Cup diced onion
  • 1 Tablespoon bacon grease
  • ¼ Cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 Cups cored, seeded, and dice tomatoes
  • salt and black pepper
  • 1 Cup canned crushed tomatoes
  • 4 leaves basil, minced
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1½ teaspoons lemon juice (fresh is best)
  • ½ Cup heavy cream
  • ¾ cup green onions, green part chopped only
What to Do
  1. Melt the butter in a saucepan
  2. Cook the onion until transparent
  3. Add the bacon grease/fat and cook until it melts.
  4. Put the flour in and whisk it constantly until a light golden roux forms. (I'm NOT an expert roux maker... my LSU grandmother and Louisiana aunt would frown if they knew). But this one is lighter and doesn't take so long(2 to 3 mins)...just get the flour lightly cooked.
  5. Stir in the fresh tomatoes, season with salt and pepper.
  6. Once the tomatoes begin to cook down, add the canned crushed tomatoes and the seasonings.
  7. Simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally until it thickens some.
  8. Once that happens, add the cream and lemon juice and simmer again, stirring it a lot until it thickens and "coats the back of a spoon".
  9. Take it off the heat and mix in the green onions.
  10. Serve over biscuits immediately, or keep it warm for a couple of hours over a double boiler.
  11. Die because it's so delicious.

 

Fig & Blueberry Coffee Cake

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So, this post is late as fig week has been over for awhile, but I can’t resist because this was the kind of cake that was super easy and so good that I kept sneaking back to slice just one more teeeeeeny sliver. But then I had slivered so much cake that there was only one full piece left, so my boys were pretty bent out of shape with me.

It’s also so simple that I after talking about the edits to the recipe that I’d made, I left baking in the hands of my honey and little dude. Brett doesn’t LOVE cooking (and I don’t think I’ve ever known him to bake ANYTHING) but Wagner does love being in the kitchen, so while I ran to the grocery store one weekend, they made this. I came home to a kitchen COVERED in flour and two worn out fellas. But y’all….usually it takes me way more than one try to get a recipe right, (especially baked stuff) but they NAILED it. Maybe I need to turn MoG over to my boys?

Anyway, for a (probably) first time baker and his toddler sous chef, this coffee cake was a hit. I LOVED it and thought it made the perfect just-sweet-enough coffee cake for midmorning (or afternoon…or after dinner…or instead of lunch) snack time. 😉 Let me know what you think!

BTW, This cake is based on one from Food & Wine but I replaced raspberries with local blueberries (since raspberries seem to like cooler weather than what we have in south MS) and lime zest/juice with orange. You could also probably sub lemon juice since lemons and blueberries go together like batman & robin.


Blueberry, Fig Coffee Cake
 
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Recipe type: Brunch, Dessert
Serves: 6-8
What You Need
  • ⅛ Cup flour, for dusting pan
  • ¼ Tablespoon butter, for dusting pan
  • 1½ cups granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
  • Finely grated zest of 1large oranges or 3 mini ones
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • Juice of 1 small orange or ¼ large one
  • ½ pint blueberries
  • 4 figs, cut into eighths, or additional ½ pint blueberries
  • Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
What to Do
  1. Preheat the oven to 350.
  2. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and coat with flour to keep the batter from sticking.
  3. In a mixer fitted with the batter attachment, beat the sugar and eggs at high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  4. Beat in the butter and two-thirds of the zest.
  5. At low speed, alternately beat in the flour and orange juice until almost incorporated, then fold with a spatula until it's smooth.
  6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.
  7. Gently press in the blueberries and figs.
  8. Bake the cake on the bottom third of the oven for 40ish minutes.
  9. Transfer to the upper third of the oven and continue baking for about 35 minutes more, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  10. Run a thin knife around the edge and release the springform and place the cake on a rack to cool.
  11. When you're ready to serve, dust the cake with confectioners' sugar and sprinkle with the remaining zest, then cut into wedges.

 

Sweet and Savory Fig Toasts

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Fig week 2k17 continues folks!

So I never really understood the “Toast” phenomenon. I mean, WHOLE restaurants dedicated to what is basically an open-faced sandwich?

But you know, I DO get that sometimes two pieces of bread is too much for your sandwich ingredients and other times the food is just too pretty to cover up. My Pregnant lady brunch (prunch?)– which is basically an extra meal between breakfast and lunch since my belly is waaaaaay too big for regular sized meals these days– the other day was both of those things. Pretty AND light. Two pieces of toast would have overwhelmed it all. What I loved about this (beyond how yummy honey, figs, burrata, and a sprinkle of kosher salt was) was that the only real cooking involved was toasting the french bread, so this could be a fancy breakfast, a light lunch, or a killer appetizer.


Sweet and Savory Fig Toasts
 
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Recipe type: Appetizer
Serves: 6-10
What You Need
  • ¼ or ½ loaf of French Bread, sliced into rounds
  • 4-8 Figs, sliced in half
  • 1-3 Pouches Burrata cheese, cut open
  • 2-4 basil leaves, Chiffonade (or cut into ribbons)
  • 3 Tablespoons (or more!) Honey
  • Kosher Salt or Sea Salt
What to Do
  1. Toast the French Bread rounds until crispy.
  2. Spread with creamy Burrata cheese.
  3. Top with sliced ripe figs and place on the cheese.
  4. Sprinkle Basil ribbons.
  5. Drizzle honey. Season with kosher salt or sea salt and devour!

Roasted Fig and Whiskey Puree’

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So, let’s dive into fig week 2017, shall we? In my opinion, during the summer (and in some parts of the world, fall), there are two kinds of people…. those folks with a fig tree or two in their backyard, and those without. If you HAVE a fig tree, then you get gallons of figs to eat, make into preserves, and do just about whatever you want with them until your sated and maybe a little too full. If you don’t (like me), well, then you have to rely on the kindness of friends with fig trees or farmer’s stands to get your fig-fix. Here’s something to know about keeping them as long as possible.

Once you’ve picked or bought them, DO NOT WASH THEM. Put them in an open tupperware container with a paper towel on the bottom to wick away moisture, and leave them in the fridge. I’ve learned the hard way that if you leave figs on the counter then they melt into goo VERY VERY fast, so don’t make that mistake of your summertime fruit-gold.

But then, once you have them (or if you have a zillion pounds of them) what do you do? I’ve got lots of ideas here, but this morning my little dude craved pancakes, so I pulled out a recipe and went to town. But instead of basic syrup or  powdered sugar, we made a super quick and easy roasted fig and bourbon puree’ and drizzled the pancakes with honey. It was DIVINE…sweet, rich, and made silver dollar pancakes seem so fancy with minimal effort. My little person didn’t get the puree’ (even though all but the whiskey flavor had cooked out in the oven), but the honey and fresh figs were a HIT. If pancakes aren’t on deck for you, try this mixed into vanilla or plain greek yogurt, over ice cream, or just in spoonfuls. It’ll keep in your fridge for just under a week.


Roasted Fig and Whiskey Puree'
 
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Serves: 4-6
What You Need
  • 20 to 25 Fresh figs, washed & cut in half
  • 3 Tablespoons Unsalted butter
  • 3 Tablespoons Honey (local is always better!)
  • 2 tsp lemon zest
  • 1.5 tablespoons whiskey (I used bourbon)
What to Do
  1. Preheat your oven to 375.
  2. Slice your figs in half and place them in a roasting pan or glass baking dish, spreading them out evenly.
  3. In a small saucepan, melt the butter.
  4. Add in the Honey and cook until they've combined.
  5. Add the whisky into the hot honey/butter mixture.
  6. Pour it all over your figs and lightly roll them in the mixture so all the sides are covered.
  7. Roast the figs for about 15 minutes or until they are bubbly and very soft.
  8. Let cool for a few minutes and then puree' with an emulsion blender or regular blender.
  9. Serve on top of pancakes for a very grownup breakfast, over ice cream, mixed into yogurt with granola, or just eat it by the spoonful.
  10. Store in a small tupperware container or in a jar in the refridgerator for just under a week.

 

Lemon Almond Buttermilk Scones

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I went to a bakery the other day and ordered a scone. It was SUPER dry and crumbly and kind of reminiscent of sawdust. Now, this place makes a mean cupcake, a delish brownie, and rad cinnamon rolls, so I thought maybe these scones had just seen better days.  I mentioned that the scone might be a little dry and ask to buy a newer, fresher one and the lady behind the counter said, “Um, scones are SUPPOSED to be dry. That batch was made today.”

Ok lovelies, just because YOU’VE only ever been served dry, crumbly scones DOES NOT MEAN that’s how they’re supposed to be. Y’all… scones are BISCUITS with delicious stuff mixed in. Do you expect your grandmother’s biscuits to be dry and awful? No. (Well, you may, but then your grandmother must not have this biscuit recipe, then.) Thankfully, John Currence agrees with me in his newest cookbook, Big Bad Breakfast: The most important cookbook of the day. I had a pretty good scone recipe from last spring, but thought I’d try a new one since I’d had this cookbook since Christmas (Thank You, Shirley!) but hadn’t had a chance to try anything from it. And obviously, if John Currence makes it it’s going to be gooooo–oood.

Currence calls for rum-raisin scones and orange juice in his version, but it’s HOT as HADES already down here and so I thought lemon-almond might feel springy and be something I can make for Easter breakfast.

Well, y’all.. They’re great. In fact, they’re so yummy I’ve already had 3…today. Mix in whatever you like: orange zest and cranberries, rosemary and lemon zest, black pepper and bacon… whatever your heart desires. The key, though, is to keep the ratio of liquid to flour mixture the same as the original recipe…if you stray away from lemon juice or orange juice, add in a little milk in it’s place.

What kind of scones are YOU making?


Lemon Almond Buttermilk Scones
 
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Serves: 9-18
What You Need
  • FOR SCONE DOUGH
  • 2½ Cups of All-purpose Flour
  • ¼ Cup white sugar
  • ½ Teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
  • ½ Cup Buttermilk
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ½ Cup (1 stick) grated or finely chopped COLD unsalted butter
  • Lemon zest from 1 lemon
  • ¼ Cup almonds, rough chopped
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • FOR GLAZE:
  • 8 Tablespoons confectioner's sugar
  • Juice of ½ lemon
What to Do
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (no parchment paper? That's ok. Just butter & flour the baking sheet.
  2. Grate your butter (I've found that the EASIEST way is to grate butter while it's been in the fridge... so not frozen but still cold. Then put it in the freezer to harden. You can also cut frozen butter into tiny pieces. The Cold butter expands as it bakes and causes the dough to rise and be fluffy. Same idea works in biscuits.
  3. Mix the dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) in a large bowl. Add in the butter and mix with your hands until it's a course meal, like little pea sized pieces of dough.
  4. Pour in your buttermilk, vanilla, egg yolk, and lemon zest and mix thoroughly with a fork.
  5. Mix in the lemon zest and almond pieces.
  6. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and press with your hands until it's in a flat square shape about 7"x7" Using a large knife, cut the square into smaller squares (Currence recommends 9) and then cut those squares along the diagonal to make triangles.
  7. Brush the tops with the egg white or melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
  8. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until brown.
  9. MAKE THE GLAZE
  10. Mix the powdered/confectioner's sugar and lemon juice together until you have a thick slurry. Drizzle over the slightly cooled Scones and serve.

 

Spiced Persimmon Pancakes

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My little person has started negotiating. Anytime he wants something, but thinks we’ll say no, he’ll say, “Mama, let’s make a deal.” For instance, “Mama, let’s make a deal. In the morning, let’s make pancakes.” He hasn’t quite got the concept down, because there’s never a second side to the deal. Like, “If you make pancakes, I’ll let you sleep all night because I’ll stay in my own bed.” or “I won’t fight you at bath time about washing my hair.” or “You won’t have to sing every sweet song ever written until I fall totally asleep.” There’s none of that. Just the first part of the deal…the part that works out for him.

Anyway, he woke up one morning asking to make a deal for pancakes. He won, but I also snuck in a bit of extra goodness by making our standard buttermilk pancake recipe and jazzing it up with persimmon puree. And they were DELICIOUS and tasted like the holidays. Forget pumpkin spice…persimmons are where the fall and winter flavor is….

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Fried Quail with Country Style Gravy and Grits

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Back when Jill & Ruffin got married, they sent us home with possibly the best party favors on the planet… 2 jars of honey from their beekeeping efforts and 22 frozen, cleaned quail that Ruffin had hunted earlier in the spring. Talk about hospitality! The first time I remember eating quail was around the holidays around my mother’s mother’s large, fancy, beautifully set dining table with all my aunts and uncles, so I mostly associate quail with feast days. It doesn’t HAVE to be that way. Quail are a very lean source of protein and have a lovely, mild, chicken-like flavor. Plus you can get them EASILY down south (For starters, you can get expensive ones in the grocery store, but then if you want to get more local, all over Texas, Alabama, & Louisiana people have set up quail hunting farms, and locally in Laurel, MS are some good folks raising, cleaning, and selling them straight to customers.)

…

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Old Fashioned Blueberry Doughnuts

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IMG_3553Once upon a time Shirley, my mother in law, baked amazing cakes and other delicious treats as a side hustle from her home, and now she just makes them for people she loves and on special occasions. Dubs had a gorgeous coconut cake for his first birthday, the Christmas cookie spread is INCREDIBLE at their house, (plus homemade beignets are a Christmas morning tradition!) and Saturday morning banana bread or sour dough bread toast is a thing that you just don’t want to miss.

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Comfort Hash

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IMG_3070After our vacation I should probably be sticking close to home, focusing on getting our house built, and only eating salads and juicing since none of my clothes fit anymore, but instead, I want to eat comforting foods and I want to share kindness and care with everyone I see because sometimes, we all need comfort food.

Sometimes the world goes sideways and upside down. I know it has this week. People I love and care about are afraid and anxious and worried about the future, and it is made worse because they’ve been terrified and nervous for almost as long as lots of them can remember.

My faith tells me that those who mourn will be comforted and those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness will receive heaven but damn, y’all. Damn.

Thankfully, I’m reminded by people all around me that we still have hope. We still have hope…and we can still reach out to those in need of comfort and care from wherever we are.

If there are people in your life who could use some good comfort food, add this Portland brunch hash that I recreated and amended to your list of things to eat and share with people you love, along with your hugs and words of comfort. And pray. Pray a lot.

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Bacon sauteed Cauliflower and Potato Harissa Hash
 
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Cuisine: Brunch
Serves: 2-4
What You Need
  • 1 Tablespoon Bacon grease (or vegetable oil/olive oil to make it vegetarian)
  • ¾ Head of Cauliflower, cut into small pieces
  • 6-8 small red potatoes, cut into fourths
  • 1½ cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1½ Tablespoons Harissa powder
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • salt and white pepper to taste
  • ¼ Cup feta cheese
  • 2-4 eggs or tofu (cooked however you like! I recommend sunny-side-up or scrambled)
  • 6 slices of crispy cooked bacon
  • 6-8 stems roughly chopped parsley
What to Do
  1. Boil the potatoes until you can put a fork in them easily.
  2. Toss the cauliflower and the potatoes in the harissa turmeric, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
  3. In a skillet, heat the bacon grease and sautee' the garlic. Once it's softened, add in the potatoes and cauliflower and sautee' until the cauliflower and potatoes are starting to turn brown. Turn the oven on broil at 400 degrees and finish browning the vegetables for about 5-10 minutes.
  4. While the vegetables are in the oven, fry or scramble your eggs.
  5. Once the cauliflower and potatoes are finished, add in the parsley, bacon, and feta cheese, add the egg on top, and serve.

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Free State Foraging: Mulberry Scones

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When I was a little girl, we lived in a little house in Laurel with the BIGGEST mulberry tree in the backyard. In the late spring, I’d gorge myself on the tart-sweet berries and stain my fingers reddish-purple. I also sat down in the ditch behind the house in my clothes and caught crawfish with nets, made up a very short lived and ill-fated “Recycler’s club” with the other neighborhood kids, and got my only two spankings for misbehaving in that yard.  Oh, Memories. 😉

I honestly hadn’t had a mulberry until this week when Joseph Hosey, also known as the Free State Forager, a member of Newt Knight’s #squad in the upcoming Matthew Mcconaughey movie, and founder of wild woods cuisine dropped a quart off by my folks’ house….

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