Bacon and Egg Casserole - Perfect for a Pink Ribbon Breakfast Fund Raiser

May is Pink Ribbon "Awareness of Breast Cancer" Month
Helen and I hosted a Special Breakfast for a Group of very generous Friends

Helen worked really hard on getting heaps of prizes for Raffles and The Silent Auction
So many generous Friends

I was quite excited to be cooking as I had seen a recipe for a Bacon and Egg Casserole on the Epicurious Site, which would be perfect and it was

So if you have a brunch coming up, this generously feeds 8.
More if you have lots of other food
Which we did

 I also made my simple tomato sauce to serve on the side

As you see we also had fabulous Fresh Croissants, with some Sliced Emmenthal Cheese and Tomato or some Jam, for those with the sweet tooth

Carrot Cup Cakes, Cinnamon Rolls, Fresh Fruit, Rose Bubbles

A veritable Feast. Yumo

Tomato Sauce to serve with Casserole
2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
1 tin crushed tomatoes
 Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
Slosh of vinegar (white or red wine, cider or rice wine you choose)

On a medium heat add olive oil and garlic
Just cook for about 2 minutes to get the garlic going, (Oooh that divine aroma)
Add the tin of Tomatoes, rinse out the tin with a little water, no waste please
Season with Salt, Pepper and Sugar
Simmer for about 10 minutes, longer if you have time but not really necessary
Add Vinegar
That worked well


So to make the Casserole 
There is quite a bit of prep but the beauty of this dish… you can prepare it the day before and finish off in the morning Easy Peasy 
Feeds 8 - 10  

 2 sheets Flaky Pastry I used Edmonds Frozen sheets
already rolled and easy to cut into strips

14 large eggs, divided
9 strips bacon (about 8 ounces)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
8 ounces Gruyère, coarsely grated (about 2 1/2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
 2 cups plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream, divided
 2 medium Yukon Gold potato cut into 1/2" cubes
Olive Oil for roasting potato
Bag of baby spinach

I large ovenproof dish
Preheat oven to 175C

Cut the pastry sheets into 1 cm wide strips
You probably will only use 1 1/2 sheets
Pop them into the fridge till you need them

Peel and cut potatoes into cubes
Par boil in salted water till just tender
Drain
Toss in Olive oil and roast till golden about 15 -20 minutes
Drain and set aside

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.  
Add 6 eggs, cover, and cook 7 minutes.
Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and let cool completely.
Peel eggs.

As there was quite a lot of bacon I cooked it in the oven while the potatoes were cooking
Took about 5 minutes 
Drain on a rack sitting on paper towels
When cool coarsely chop
Save the bacon fat. use it to grease the casserole dish

In a pan add some olive oil, saute onions till translucent about 5-7 minutes
Set aside

Meanwhile grate Cheese
Now everything is ready to assemble

Grease the Dish well  with Bacon Fat
Whisk 8 eggs in a large bowl.
Add cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and 2 cups cream and whisk to combine.

In dish spread out spinach,

layer with potatoes, onions and bacon 

Pour egg mixture over the top and mix in well...
Cut cooked eggs in half lengthwise and arrange over filling,
then press down so top edge of egg is even with top of filling.

So at this stage you can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night
as you can see I doubled the recipe

In the morning I got up early and let the casserole come to room temperature
Also defrosted the pastry and cut into strips

So I made a nice lattice pattern on top of the casserole and lightly brushed with cream
Bake casserole, rotating pan halfway through,
until pastry is deep golden brown and
cooked through, 50–55 minutes.
Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

We actually let it come to room temperature before we served
and that worked really well

My other contribution was Cinnamon Rolls
Now I have made these before from a recipe by Paula Deen
To get that recipe Click here
But of course as usual I tried out another recipe that  hadn't made before
Phew... it worked and was excellent
From The Epicurious Site
This is a lovely dough to work with. Rolled out  so easily
A pleasure 

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast
1/3 cup sugar
       
2 large eggs, room temperature, beaten
1 cup whole milk
56 gms unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Vegetable-oil cooking spray

   
For the filling:
3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
85 gms unsalted butter, room temperature 85 gms
1 cup chopped, lightly toasted pecans
1 cup Craisins
 
For the glaze:
1 cup icing sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch sea salt
   
Special equipment:
2 x  9-inch round cake pans

N.B. Rolls can be assembled, arranged in pans,
covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerated for several hours or overnight.
If refrigerated, allow to come to room temperature for about 2 hours,
watch for second rise (rolls should almost double in volume), and then bake.
These are not too sweet, coulod be a good idea to make 1 1./2 batches of the glaze if you fancy a little more sweetness

Preparation
Make the dough:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment,
add flour, yeast, and sugar.
Mix on low speed until well combined.
Add eggs and mix on low to combine.
In a small pot, heat milk, butter, and cinnamon over medium-low heat until butter is melted and mixture is between 120 and 130°F (use a thermometer). Hand hot
      
Add warm milk mixture and salt to stand mixer.
Beat on low speed 2 to 3 minutes, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl with a spatula.
Beat on medium speed until smooth and elastic, 2 to 3 minutes.
Dough will be very sticky.
       
Lightly oil a large bowl with cooking spray.
Form dough into ball and transfer to bowl, turning to coat. 

Cover bowl with plastic wrap then kitchen towel.
Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
       
While dough rises, cut 2 pieces of parchment to fit 2 9-inch round cake pans.
Butter pans, line with parchment, and butter parchment.
   
Make the filling:
Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in medium bowl.

Assemble     

Punch down dough and transfer to floured work surface.
Roll out to 16-by-12-inch rectangle.
Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border on the long sides.

Sprinkle filling mixture evenly over butter, then add Pecans and Craisins.

Starting at a long edge, roll dough toward you into a log,
pinching gently to keep it rolled tightly. With seam side down,

cut dough crosswise with a thin sharp knife into 16 equal slices.
Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up; rolls will be touching after they have risen

Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap then kitchen towel.
Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.
Preheat to 375°F and position rack in centre of oven. 

Bake rolls until tops are golden, 18 to 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack.

Make the glaze:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the icing sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt.
Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.
Drizzle glaze over rolls and serve