In Amazing Graceland: Amarillis Kroon

Showing posts with label Amarillis Kroon. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

A Portrait ~ My Early Birthday Gift

Look what the UPS man delivered on Tuesday!

This oil painting was an early birthday gift from Patrick. I had been wanting a portrait of our 2 babies for some time, so we asked NY artist Amarillis Kroon if she would do us the honors. These photos don't even do it justice. I currently have the portrait in our bedroom so I can lay in bed and enjoy it. (Dogs on the bed with me~dogs on the wall!) I can't believe how well she captured Hootie and Baby Rocket Dog's personalities. I'm thrilled. If anyone is interested in commissioning Ami to do a portrait her website is www.amikroon.com . If you are a dog-blogger you will recognize Ami as Asta, the Wirehaired Fox Terrier's mama. Thanks Ami. We will enjoy this painting of the pooches forever.

Jess' Breakfast Casserole Recipe

This is a simple and hearty dish which I(Jessica) love to make for guests because there is little mess to clean, freeing up the rest of the morning to chat and relax. It also tastes great as left overs as well!

The following are my favorite ingredients but I often add or subtract other things such as spinach and meats depending on my mood and what I have on hand. If you want to go veg just skip the ham and add an extra layer of tomatoes. It's pretty much impossible to mess it up:

Bread (I use sourdough wheat)
Ham (Canadian or even the thick sliced kind for sandwiches is great)
Chives
Basil
Dried Rosemary
Tomatoes
Butter
Shredded Mozzarella
Chevre Goat Cheese (I prefer the herbed kind)
Eggs
Milk (I use rice milk)
Salt and Pepper to taste

I place chopped bread, ham, chives, basil, sliced tomatoes, and chevre next to the baking dish. I butter the dish and begin layering the ingredients: scatter the bread on the bottom, add a layer of cut up ham, layer of chevre chunks, sliced chives, and torn basil. I whisk together the milk and eggs and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary. I then pour the eggs over the dish. It always aggravates David that I don't know how many eggs I use but it just depends on how many layers of other foods I add and the size of the dish. Ideally, you should have enough eggs to just barely cover all the layers thus far. Like between 8-11 eggs? I top this with tomato slices and pop it in the oven. I bake it at 350 for 30 minutes. Then I sprinkle the casserole with shredded mozzarella, chives, and basil and cook for another ten minutes unitl it is puffy and golden.

Buen provecho!

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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

A Portrait ~ My Early Birthday Gift

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A look at the finished basement patio.