Christmas Breakfast Additions...
...sweet potato biscuits with ham & a cheesy grits casserole
Good morning, everyone! Today we’re talking about a couple of yummy additions to your Christmas breakfast.
Last year’s Christmas breakfast newsletter edition included recipes for hashbrown casserole, berry scones, and sausage balls, and musings about how it turns out I’m not a brunch girl. You can find it here!
This year, I decided to continue on with ideas to answer that “what should we have for breakfast on Christmas morning?” question. (And you know me, also asking “can I make it ahead?”)
So, here we are with a couple of Southern favorites (and personal favorites!), and yes, you can make them ahead. (All recipes below.)
The Sweet Potato Biscuits (which I adapted to my taste from a Martha Stewart recipe) are perfect on their own with maybe a little pat of butter and a drizzle of honey, but tuck some shaved ham in there with a smidge of apricot preserves? Perfect bite. If you’re having a holiday party, I’ll probably show up with a basket of these little sandwiches. A couple of notes - We have a specialty store, The Hamery, that has the best shaved ham, but if I can’t get there, I’ll use thinly sliced Black Forest ham from the grocery deli. For the apricot preserves, just a dab will do you, otherwise it overpowers those wonderful biscuits!
And then we have the Cheesy Grits Casserole. Oh, grits, how do I love thee? As the perfect pairing with an over-easy egg and piece of toast or as a bed for buttery sauteed shrimp they’ve always a top choice when it comes to comfort food. (In fact, when I had my wisdom teeth removed as a teenager, grits were the soft food I requested. I’m a weirdo, I know. But guess what - tiny little grits and massive new holes in your mouth from removed teeth don’t mix. Don’t do that. Lesson learned, but I still love my grits.)
Here, the grits are cooked in a combination of milk and water to make them ultra creamy. Your cheese of choice is stirred in until melty and smooth - I recommend a sharp cheddar or gruyere, but a more mild cheese works as well. Then a beaten egg is added to the mix, to keep it light when the casserole is baked.
Both the sweet potato biscuits and the grits include directions for making them ahead, just pop them in the oven on Christmas morning. Add in some fresh fruit and my giant cup of coffee, and I’m good to go. Let the unwrapping begin.
Newsletter notes for the next two weeks - The next two Wednesdays are Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. I don’t expect I’ll get the newsletter out on time (and I bet you won’t be looking for it at 6am on those days either), so maybe Thursday or Friday on those weeks? Grace and flexiblity are the name of the game!
MONDAY - Chicken Piccata and Angel Hair Pasta
The Kiddo said this was one of his favorites last week, so I said let’s put it on the menu next week! Pan fried chicken cutlets, a quick lemon-caper sauce, and a side of garlicky angel hair pasta!
TUESDAY - Fried Rice, Dumplings, Egg Rolls
I’ll throw some rice in the rice cooker on Monday so it’s cold and ready to go (cold rice works better for fried rice). As always, my best friends - frozen dumplings and egg rolls to complete the at-home takeout!
WEDNESDAY - Patty Melts, Frozen Tots
I’ll make a ground beef mixture similar to my skillet sliders, but then press the patties flat for the perfect patty melts complete with gooey cheese, sauteed onions, and toasted bread.
THURSDAY - Chicken Noodle Soup, Bacon Cheddar Biscuits
Doesn’t get any cozier than classic chicken noodle! And I have bacon cheddar biscuits all ready to bake off tucked away in the freezer. Maybe salad or fruit on the side. Maybe not. I always have good intentions to slice up those two apples that have been in my fridge, but then I either forget or we all decide, nah, just soup sounds good.
FRIDAY - Christmas Dinner at Dad’s!
My brother and “the Girls” (my sister-in-law and nieces) will be in for family Christmas! Friday night we’ll do our Christmas dinner with a standing beef roast, potatoes, and all the extras! I’m planning on making this gingerbread cake from Smitten Kitchen for dessert!
SATURDAY - Who knows!
Going without a plan - totally unlike me, I know. But it’s the holidays, and I’m learning to be flexible! Not sure what time my brother and family will have to head back out - maybe dinner with them at dad’s again, maybe dinner at Yaya’s as that side of the family rolls into town, or maybe we’ll take a quiet night for ourselves at home and grab some take out!
SUNDAY - Dinner at Yaya’s! (the in-laws)
More family in town for the week ahead! She took a page from my playbook and planned out all the meals for the week to make life easier. I think Sunday is steak and baked potato night…yes please!
LUNCHES for this week -
I’m going to make a batch of smashed chickpea salad to eat all week long. It’s kind of like a variation of chicken salad or tuna salad, but uses chickpeas, and it’s great as an open faced sandwich on some grainy bread. I like to do my own thing, but this recipe is a good guide.
EXTRAS for this week
Ha! There’s a whole list of Christmas cooking things that need to be done. More cookies and treats, homemade rolls for Christmas Eve party sandwiches, big batch fun drinks, and that aforementioned gingerbread cake!
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Makes about 18 biscuits
· 1 ¾ cup All-Purpose Flour
· 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
· 2 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
· ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
· ¼ teaspoon ground Cinnamon
· 1 teaspoon kosher Salt (Morton or other store brand)
· 6 tablespoons cold Butter, cut into small cubes
· ¾ cup Sweet Potato Puree, cold (see note below)
· 1/3 cup Heavy Cream, plus 2 tablespoons for brushing tops
In a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, pulse together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add in cold butter cubes and pulse 12-15 times until mixture looks mealy with just a few “pea sized” pieces.
Move flour-butter mixture to a large bowl.
Stir in sweet potato puree and heavy cream, mixing until just combined and no dry ingredients remain in the bottom of your bowl. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, sprinkle the top with a little more flour, and roll or pat to an even thickness of about ½ - ¾ of an inch.
Use a floured 2-inch biscuit cutter or cookie cutter to cut the biscuit rounds and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Re-roll the scraps to cut a few extra biscuits. Brush the tops of each biscuit with a little extra heavy cream. Move the baking sheet to the freezer for at least one hour. Frozen biscuits can be stored in a freezer bag until ready to bake.
To bake – preheat the oven to 400 and arrange a rack in the upper third. Place the desired number of biscuits 1-inch apart on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 17-20 minutes until golden brown.
NOTES – To make sweet potato puree, roast one large sweet potato (whole, not cut, not peeled) on a foil lined pan at 400 for about an hour, until very soft. Cool enough to handle, split it open, scoop the inside into your food processor and process until smooth. I usually go ahead and do several sweet potatoes and freeze the extra puree in ¾ cup portions for later batches of biscuits. I prefer roasting fresh potatoes, but in a pinch, you can process canned sweet potatoes – just make sure to drain them well.
Cheesy Grits Casserole
Makes 8-10 servings
· 3 cups Whole Milk
· 3 cups Water
· ¾ teaspoon kosher Salt (Morton or other store brand)
· 1 ½ cups Old Fashioned Grits (not quick-cook)
· 1 ½ cups shredded Cheese (sharp cheddar, gruyere, or smoked gouda are good choices)
· 1 large Egg, beaten
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, bring milk, water, and salt to a boil. Quickly whisk in grits, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring very frequently, until thickened and smooth. (Don’t stray too far from your pot, the milk mixture has a tendency to want to bubble over.)
Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let it rest for 10 minutes to continue to thicken.
Stir in the cheese, mixing until melted and smooth. Cool, uncovered, for another 10 minutes.
Quickly whisk in the beaten egg, mixing well.
Pour the grits into a medium sized baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.
To bake right away (while grits are still warm) – preheat the oven to 350 and arrange a rack in the upper third. Bake the grits casserole, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes until starting to brown around the edges.
To bake later (after refrigerating) – preheat the oven to 350 and arrange a rack in the middle position. Bake the casserole, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes until starting to brown around the edges.
That’s all for now, thanks for reading! See you back here next week!
(Don’t forget you can see all of the past newsletters and recipes at the archive link below!)
All recipes categorized by type can be found in the index!