New York Breakfast Recipes

NEW YORK BREAKFAST

Steps:

• Toast the bread and spread 1 1/2 teaspoons of cream cheese on top of each piece. Put a slice of smoked salmon, a couple of slices of onion, one or 2 slices of cucumber, and about 1 tablespoon of chopped tomato on top of that. Sprinkle with chives and season with salt and pepper.

BUTTERY BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 500 degrees. Spread croissants on a large baking sheet and toast, cut side up, until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes (watch carefully to see that they do not burn). Let cool, then tear into large bite-size pieces.
• In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add sliced scallions and sausage meat; cook, breaking up meat with a fork, until mixture is well browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in sage, and remove from heat.
• In a large bowl, toss together croissants and sausage mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cream, 1 1/2 cups cheese, salt and pepper.
• Lightly oil a 9- x 13-inch baking dish. Turn croissant mixture into pan, spreading it out evenly over the bottom. Pour custard into pan, pressing croissants down gently to help absorb the liquid. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
• When you're ready to bake the casserole, heat oven to 350 degrees. Scatter the remaining grated cheese over the top of the casserole. Transfer to oven and bake until casserole is golden brown and firm to the touch, 45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Garnish with sliced scallion tops before serving.

NEW YORK BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

Steps:

• The night before serving the casserole, spread one half of the bagel cubes in the bottom of a greased 9-by-13-inch pan.
• Dot with half of the Neufchatel cheese, and mix in the red onion and tomatoes.
• Make one more layer with the bagel cubes and Neufchatel cheese.
• Whisk eggs with milk, salt and pepper. Pour mixture over the bagels. Cover pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from the fridge, uncover and bake until casserole has puffed, turned golden brown and cooked through. (A knife inserted into the center of the casserole and rotated slightly should not release any liquid.) This will take about an hour. You may cover the pan with foil for the last 15-20 minutes if the top bagels are getting too brown for your liking.
• Let cool a few minutes, and serve in big scoops with a sprinkle of capers and a side of lox or bacon.