I was at a loss for what to have for dinner this week so I turned to an old stand-by, breakfast for dinner.
Menu
4 batches of Alton Brown’s “Instant Pancakes”
2# thick-cut bacon
2# breakfast sausages
Veggie sausage patties
Homemade blueberry syrup plus real maple syrup and “pancake” syrup
Strawberry Trifle with Chocolate Chip Tea Cake
Notes
There were 13 for dinner (9 adults; 4 children).
The 4 batches of pancake batter made ~60 pancakes. I can make 8 at a time on the stove top griddle using a “large” disher as a measure. I keep the cooked ones warm in a 200°F oven with a clean dish towel over the top and paper towels between layers.
It was hot out so we used the grill to cook both the sausages, and the bacon! For the sausages I used a 13″x9″ glass baking dish, laying the sausages out in a in single layer. I added enough water to come up about 1/2 way on the sausages and covered the dish in foil. Our grill has 4 burners so I turned the far left and far right ones on low; this heats the grill up to ~350°F. I placed the sausages in the center over the not-on burners. About 20 minutes later the sausages were cooked through, though pale. I transferred them to the griddle after cooking the pancakes to get a quick brown on them.
I laid the bacon out on foil covered 1/2 sheet pans and placed those on top of the dish with the sausages in the grill. After 20 minutes the bacon was fairly well rendered. When I took the sausages off the grill I placed the sheet pans directly over the burners. After 5 minutes I drained the bacon fat (saving it for a future use) and turned over each strip to allow it to crisp further. 5 minutes later I had tasty bacon, not too soft, not so crisp to be brittle. I’m very happy with how it turned out.
The trifle came together in about 10 minutes. Ted hulled, sliced and sugared the berries earlier. I cubed a store bought tea cake while Ted whipped cream. I layered about a quarter of the cake, then strawberries, then whipped cream and repeated that 4 times. It was pretty darn tasty, especially with the random chocolate chips.
Afterlife Cafe 