Pork chops with maple-bourbon glaze

Whipped this up for dinner the other night. Quite tasty; the glaze didn't reduce long enough but otherwise wonderful. Recipe reproduced below:














4 boneless center cut pork chops
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika [subbed chili powder, excellent choice - Z]
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken stock

Glaze:
3/4 cup bourbon (I used a cherry bourbon – yum!)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small saucepan, combine bourbon, sugar, maple syrup, garlic, worcestershire, vinegar and mustard. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then reduce to a simmer and let cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring every now and then. Remove from heat and let sit to thicken. [Leave on the lowest heat possible and continue simmering to reduce by about 1/2. - Z]

Pound pork chops with a meat tenderizer, then season on both sides with salt, pepper and paprika. Heat a cast iron (or oven-safe) skillet over medium-high heat. Brush with canola oil and once hot (I let my skillet heat for almost 5 full minutes), add pork chops. Sear on one side for 2-3 minutes, or until golden Flip and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Turn off heat, add chicken stock to skillet, then place in oven and bake for 15 minutes. My pork chops were about 1 inch thick, so if yours are a bit thicken they may need to bake a little longer.

Once finished, pour glaze over top and serve immediately.

(I served these with rice and peas; fantastic. - Z)

Sharp things

The weather seems to have finally broken - maybe, at least for a while - and I'm planning to dust off the grill for dinner tonight. My folks are coming over, and I stopped at the store on the way home last night to find the necessaries:
- a big slab of meat (3lb of top round)
- baby spinach and mixed greens
- bleu cheese crumbles
- asparagus

I went home and finally had an excuse to use those shiny new ceramic knives I got. DAY-UM, those things are sharp! The weight of the paring knife let it slice cleanly into the meat, no pressure required.

I cross-hatched the meat top and bottom and gave it a good shake of soy sauce, a dash of ground dinger, and a bit of minced garlic, then covered it and put it in the fridge to marinate overnight.

Tonight I'll sear it on the grill and slice it thin, then serve it with some bleu cheese and a greens salad with balsamic vinaigrette and grilled asparagus spears on the side.

And cheesecake for dessert.

Stupid Simple, Tasty, Healthy

How have I missed out on this for so long?

A couple years ago at an Appleseed, the host made us breakfast in the crockpot. It was a whole-grain hot cereal, but he wouldn't share his recipe.

I decided to take a whack at it today.

1/2c. soft white wheat berries
1/2c. hard red wheat berries
1c. whole oats
5c. water
dash salt
1t. sugar

Bring it all to a boil in a medium saucepan, then cover and simmer until done. 60-75 minutes is about right.

Drain.

Serve hot with ... anything. A dab of butter, a splash of milk, and either brown sugar or maple syrup is easy and tasty. Add fruit if you like. Or yogurt.

Put the leftovers in the fridge in a sealed container and reheat as needed.

I have a feeling this may become a regular breakfast for me - and the primary destination of whatever grains I buy.

Small World

I had mentioned that I needed to start putting away grain in quantity. I checked a few known suppliers for rough costs, and found that shipping anything resembling a quantity of grain was going to run into stupid money very quickly. (Stupid money: shipping costs significantly more than the grain.)

I've read that some Walmarts carry wheat berries, so I've checked those local to us. No joy. The local hippie market - which I have NEVER set foot into before - does carry wheat berries among other whole grains, to the tune of $1.50/lb or more. Not terrible, but a bit on the high side.

A bit more work found a local granary that supplies both the hippie mart and a local flour mill, and will sell directly to consumers. All their product is certified-organic, which I don't particularly care about either way, but even paying the premium for organic grains is cheaper than paying shipping from a larger mill.

Reading over their web site, I found that one of their suppliers is a farmer whose property I've hunted on nuisance tags for several years. When I went to pick up my order, MrsZ and the girl working turned out to have gone to college together - not close friends, but several classes together.

It's a scary-small world sometimes!

(For the curious: I bought 50# of hard red wheat and 25# of oats for about $75. They are out of soft white wheat until the next harvest, probably July or so. I will continue looking for local and hopefully less-expensive sources.)

Bean Soup (again)

I realize winter is coming to an end (although by yesterday's weather you'd not have known it), but there's still enough cold left to make bean soup a good thing.

I tossed this together last night. Like most of my cooking, no recipe involved, I just start adding stuff. This takes some time, but it makes a big pot and you'll have plenty of leftovers.

Ingredients:
1lb ground meat (I use a venison-plus-bacon-and-garlic that we love for just about anything)
1lb italian sausage, bulk or links
4c. dry beans (a mix of varieties is good, use what you like)
1qt chicken stock
2 medium onions, diced
1c. whole grain (wheat, barley, whatever)
1 can diced tomatoes
3T. minced garlic
olive oil
butter
sugar
salt
pepper
bay leaves
thyme


Rinse the beans well, put them in a large pot with a tablespoon of garlic, two or three bay leaves, and cover with water. Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and put over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stir well, and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer until tender - this can take 1-2 hours.

In a small saucepan: Add 2c. water to the 1c. of grain, a dash of salt, a teaspoon of sugar, and 1/2 tablespoon butter or olive oil. Cover, bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce to low, and simmer until tender but still chewy (45-50min for wheat berries).

In a large pot: brown the meat and sausage, then add chicken stock and tomatoes. Keep over low heat, covered.

In a skillet over medium heat: saute the onion and remaining garlic in 1-2 tablespoons of butter until the onion is just turning translucent. Put approximately 1/3 of the onions in the simmering beans and the remainder with the meat.

When the beans are cooked to taste, drain and rinse them, then add to the stock and meat. Add the cooked grains without draining. Stir well.

Add 2-4 cups of water to adjust consistency to taste, add salt and pepper to taste, and a pinch of thyme, cover, and simmer over low heat for 30-45 minutes.

Serve with a good crusty bread.

19/365

I'm behind by several days on 365. I know. I'll work on it. Maybe. :-)

Meantime, I blame Carteach0 for this:


One each done with raspberry vodka, dark rum, and brandy. And cherry wine.

Pulled Pork

Pulled pork, done right, is a damn fine meal.

Done wrong, it's a travesty.

Good thing is, it's pretty tough to really screw it up.

Start with a few onions. Skin 'em, cut in half, and then slice along the parallels. Toss 'em on the bottom of the crockpot. You want enough to make a thin layer.

Mince a couple cloves of garlic and toss that in too.

Add a cup or so of cider vinegar, or cider, and a tablespoon or two of brown sugar.



Get you a nice big hunk of pig. This one is about eleven pounds, and too big for the crockpot, so I cut it in half. Boneless butt is a good choice and is generally inexpensive.




Slap that bad boy into the crockpot, fat layer up if it has one.



Slather the top with the spice rub of your choice. (I'm a big fan of Dinosaur BBQ's "Cajun Foreplay".)



Put the cover on, and turn the crockpot on LOW. If you can do the ten-hour cook, by all means, do it!




When it's done, use a couple fork to pull it apart. Pick out the chunks of fat that come up. Pour on your sauce of choice. Be generous! Cover it up and let it simmer on low for another half hour.

Serve however you see fit. I love a pulled pork sandwich with a healthy spoonful of cole slaw on top!

Dangerous Foods

Whipped up a broccoli salad last night. This is good stuff - easy to make, tasty, filling. Makes a great side dish, or take it to a potluck.

However... If you are prone to flatulence, it's about the most epic food out there. Whether or not this is a bad thing is entirely up to you.

5-6c. broccoli florets, rinsed and drained (these need to be no bigger than bite-size)
12 strips bacon, cooked to crispy and chopped or crumbled
1 medium red onion, chopped
1c. large raisins
1c. roasted/unsalted sunflower seeds

Combine above in large bowl.

Dressing:
1c. mayonnaise
2T. sugar
2T. balsamic or cider vinegar

Beat together and pour over salad, toss until well coated. Serve.

Seriously, you're going to give Uncle Joe's "pull my finger" a run for its money.

Taking Lessons from Squirrels

We've been putting up a fair bit of food lately; getting things stocked up for the coming winter when a little taste of summer can come from a jar. We've been working through existing stocks of things and replenishing as needed, buying in bulk when possible, and generally staying ahead of things.

We went through ALL of our stored food Monday night and made a list of what we had.

The end result was staggering. Three hand-written pages of stuff, sorted by location, and covering all the food groups. We've quite a bit of venison from last fall that needs to get used up; stew and chili will be in the near future. Lots of rice. Lots of tomato products that MrsZ has put up from our farm share. Beans. Peas. Prepared stuff that we froze and tucked away for easy meals later on. Plenty of pasta. Tuna fish. Popcorn. Oil. Dry milk. Canned fruits and jams.

We could survive for quite some time without a trip to the store if we needed to, and that's a great feeling.

MrsZ has been making an effort to can more things lately, thereby saving our precious freezer space for the things that really don't can well (venison loin and steaks, bread products, and so forth). Tonight as I headed to work, she was just closing the pressure canner on seven quarts of stock. Good rich stuff, bits of chicken, lots of vegetables, some watermelon rind (seriously, this works - try it!)... there's probably another 7-10 quarts waiting to be canned, and I'll be making another 6-8 quarts from each of the chicken carcasses I roasted today.

Good stock is magical stuff; it outstrips bouillon or store-bought stock by orders of magnitude, and can be tweaked to your own tastes if you really like. It adds depth to soups and makes casseroles into amazing dishes. And it's not hard to make. Just throw a bunch of whatever you have around - bones, wilty vegetables, onions, carrots, celery, freezer-burned meat, etc - into a big pot of water and let it simmer for a while. Separate the solids from the liquid and freeze (or can) the liquid. Voila, stock!

Shoulder:Wheel

Well, vacation ended this morning (last night). Tossed the usual assortment of stuff in my bag and trundled back in to the office.

Truth be told, five weeks was a great break, but by the end of it I was beginning to get a little twitchy. I spent the first week or two turning my body back around to a daytime schedule, then we travelled for nearly two weeks, and I had intended to spend the last week or so finishing up projects around the house.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate. I don't handle hot weather well, and 90+ with accompanying humidity just kills me. I got a little bit done, but there's plenty remaining, and a fair bit is now time-sensitive as winter approaches. As if to reinforce the point, the sugar maple in our yard dropped its first few leaves this past week; a nice crimson counterpoint to the green grass they laid in.

Much as I enjoyed the respite from Other People's Problems, coming in to work tonight was also something of a relief. I enjoy what I do, and more than a month disconnected was a bit more than I was ready for. Next time ... four weeks, max. But it's over now...

Last fall, my parents gave us a gift certificate for a very nice local restaurant for our anniversary, and we decided to use it Friday night to celebrate the end of vacation, the end of summer, and just because. I called early in the afternoon and asked for a reservation at 8:00 or 8:30, and was told both were available. I opted for 8:00 and asked for a specific section; one that is graced with full-height windows overlooking a park and the lake.

We arrived a few minutes early and were directed to the bar; I ordered a Manhattan and MrsZ ordered a glass of red wine (Bresca?), which we took to the porch and rapidly gathering twilight. Our table was ready in short order, and eventually we got around to ordering our meal. This restaurant is the epitome of elegance in that regard: you are NEVER rushed. We browsed the menu, listened to the specials, nibbled on the sweet bread and butter, sipped our drinks, and when we closed our menus and looked up, the waitress appeared within moments to take our order.

A meal here is something of a prix fixe arrangement; each entree has a (different) price but all will include bread, appetizer, salad, entree, and dessert. I opted for the seafood bisque, garden salad, prime rib, and a blueberry crisp; MrsZ had a fondue, caesar salad, Frenched pork chop, and blackberry trifle.

We ate at our own pace, enjoyed our conversation, watched the dark outside (too dark to see the lake, sadly), and enjoyed coffee with our dessert. Two and a half hours after we got there, we strolled back out to the car, full, relaxed, and with a box of leftovers for an upcoming meal.

Now, I won't lie and tell you this meal was cheap. It wasn't, by any stretch of the imagination. The tab would have bought most of our groceries for a week, perhaps two.

However, what they offer is value. For the same amount of money, we could have gone to any chain restaurant two or three times, and had generic food with generic drinks. We could have sat in uncomfortable booths, stared at the TVs over the other's head, and tried to talk over the conversations and too-loud music around us.

For the money, I'd rather go out to one really nice meal every three months than a chain restaurant every month. It makes going out to eat a treat, instead of expensive calories because we didn't feel like cooking.

But now, it's shoulder to the wheel, to infinity and beyond!

Low and Slow

I'm a fan of barbecue. Ribs, especially. I know, folks will say we can't do BBQ in New York... and for the most part, they're right. There are a few good BBQ places up here. Usually small, and out of the way, and poorly marked. We had a GREAT place in our town about ten years ago; he closed up and moved away after changing to a "better" location and losing a lot of customers. There have been a few others that came and went; there's a decent place about ten minutes from me that does a good pulled (chopped) pork, decent brisket, and so-so ribs. Other than that, it's a two-hour drive to the Dinosaur, so I tend to save my time and money and do my ribs at home on the grill.

Doing good ribs on a grill without a smoker box is a bit tricky; you have to go low'n'slow to get them to tenderize and flavor properly, and that means controlling the heat carefully. I've gotten pretty good at getting the fire the right size and twitching the dampers just right, and I "wet smoke" my ribs. Wet smoking is no big secret - you put a pan of some kind of liquid under the meat to keep things moist and keep the fire a bit lower. Some people use water, I use cheap beer.

If you're doing ribs, do extra. Do a whole grill full - they go fast and leftovers aren't a bad thing. I stopped at the store yesterday and picked up four racks - about as much as my grill will comfortably hold without the smoker attachment.

Start the night before by cleaning the meat. Peel the membrane off the back of the ribs, rinse them under cold water, and pat them dry. Dust them liberally with your spice rub of choice. I love Dinosaur BBQ's Cajun Foreplay rub ... then I shake a good helping of dark brown sugar over that. Stack the racks together and stick them in the fridge overnight to season.



Put a couple good handfuls of your preferred wood chips (hickory, apple, cherry, and mesquite are always favorites) in a bowl and pour a can of cheap beer over them. Fill with cold water to just cover the chips and set aside overnight.



The next morning, take the ribs out and set them on the counter to start warming up. You don't want to put fridge-temp meat on a hot grill; it'll just stick. Go out and light your charcoal - use a charcoal chimney, not lighter fluid or match-light charcoal. That stuff just adds nasty flavors to the coals.

You'll want a SMALL pile of coals set to one side in the grill - no more than 1/4 of the grill area and not stacked deep. On the other side, pour two cans of cheap beer into a metal pan and set that under the grates for the meat.







Close the grill and let it burn for 15 or 20 minutes; long enough for the temperature to stabilize. If it's hot, close the damper some and open the chimney a touch. If it's cold, open the damper and the chimney. You want a steady temperature of 250-300F, no higher or lower.



Grab a handful of your soaked chips, shake out the excess water/beer, and put it on the edge of the coals. Stack the meat down the grates. Add a handful of dry wood chips to your charcoal and a few chunks of fresh charcoal to keep the heat up.



Set your timer for 30 minutes and go do something.

When the timer goes off, check the temperature, adjust dampers as necessary, and use a spray bottle full of 50/50 cider vinegar and canola oil to lightly spritz the ribs. You don't want them dripping or to wash off the rub, just keep them moist. Add a few pieces of charcoal and some wood chips as necessary, and close that baby back up.

Repeat...

Every hour or so, rotate the ribs through so they're all getting even time on the ends and getting cooked through. The LAST time you rotate them will be the time to baste them with sauce if you want to. I don't; I do dry ribs and then put a bottle of sauce on the table.

You're going to be babysitting these things for four to six hours, so make sure you've got time... and remember, if you're looking, you ain't cooking! Keep that lid closed unless you HAVE to open it.

When they're done (5-6 hours at 275-300ish), pull 'em off and put them in an oven-safe dish. Cover tightly with foil and throw those bad boys in the oven at 300 while you finish putting together side dishes; it'll keep them hot and let the flavors soak a bit longer.



Enjoy!

Cole slaw

I used to hate cole slaw. I don't know why, but as a child, it was on my "DO NOT WANT" list. Somewhere along the line, my tastes evolved, and now I will usually take some, and more if it's GOOD slaw. (KFC is NOT good slaw.)

I've been toying with recipes, and just put this together today:
1 medium head cabbage, shredded
3 carrots, shredded
1 medium onion, shredded
1/4c + 2T cider vinegar
1/4c + 2T canola oil
1/2c sugar
1 t. sea salt
1/2 t. celery seed
1T spice rub (Dinosaur BBQ "Cajun Foreplay" here)
1/3c mayonnaise

Combine the vegetables in a large bowl, stir.
In a food processor or blender, combine the remaining ingredients and blend well.
Pour over the vegetables and stir or toss until well-coated.
Chill, enjoy!

Blogshoot Booze Offer

It occurred to me that I live in the heart of one of the country's best wine regions. 'Tis true. Fingerlakes (NY) wines win national competitions on a regular basis. Don't ask me why, or what the tasting descriptions mean (initial scents of vanilla and grapefruit tingle the palate with a light fruity... wtf?), but we do have some good wines. And now, some good liquors...

I'm planning to hit Finger Lakes Distilling today or tomorrow for a quick tasting, and probably to supplement my own shelf. Specifically, I'm interested in their Rye - as noted, whiskey is my vice - but I intend to sample their vodka and gin as well.

The other excellent option is Six Mile Creek's Spirits by Battistella - a local vineyard that expanded into vodka, gin, etc. I haven't tried their vodka or gin yet, but speaking from experience, their Limoncella is *fantastic*. There's a bottle in our freezer right now, as a matter of fact.

If anyone attending the shoot would like me to bring them a bottle of something from our region, email me - zercool at gmail - and let me know.

Decent wines* can be had in the $10-15 range, the Six Mile spirits run about $25, and the FLD stuff seems to be about $30 for vodka or gin, and $45-50 for rye.

I'm not made of money, of course, but I can float anyone who's interested in one or two bottles until the shoot.

* - decent wine is a matter of taste, as we all know. Finger Lakes reds can be rather hit or miss (although "Tug Boat Red" is a consistently great easy-drinking red table wine), but our whites tend to be excellent. If you know a type you like and a price range, I can probably find something appropriate.

Cook. Eat.

Before anyone starts calling me names and accusing me of being a Dirty Hippy, let me throw this out there: I'll eat (almost) anything. I don't believe subsistence farming is The One True Way, but I do support small-scale commercial farming. I buy some meat from the grocery store, and I don't ask questions about how the Poor Widdle Chickens were raised. (Most of our meat is that which I hunt, kill, and butcher myself. I am in touch with my inner carnivore.)

We bought a share in our local Community Supported Agriculture two years ago and again this year. It's not cheap - a share runs about $500 annually - but it is usually a good value. Yes, it's a gamble. If the growing season goes T-U, the share won't produce much. A good (bad!) hailstorm could destroy half a season worth of crops; last year the area was hit with Tomato Blight and the harvest was minimal. On the plus side, we're supporting a local business, we get to pick what we want from the share each week, and there are several you-pick items that go to "take as much as you can" as the season wears on.

The season runs for 26 weeks; or about $20/week. The share varies, but as an example, today I picked up:
- two zucchini
- one cucumber
- a bunch of carrots
- a large handful of basil
- a head of cabbage
- three tomatoes
- a squash
- a large handful of kale
- an onion

The basil will turn into pesto, the cabbage and carrots will become cole slaw, the kale went into soup, the rest will become salads and sides. From the grocery store, that'd be a hefty bill for veggies, and I passed on the beets, head lettuce, swiss chard, and escarole that were also available. Neither did I pick any extra basil, or green beans, which are both you-pick. (Two years ago we put up about 15 quarts of canned beans and another 15-20 quart bags of frozen beans.)

On the way home from work, I picked up the rest of the ingredients I needed for a soup I was fed last year at Marko's place. (Mrs. Marko is a phenomenal cook, by the by. One of those people that says, "Oh, let me just whip up something," and then sets a gourmet meal in front of you.) This soup has been stuck in my head for a year, and I finally went looking for a recipe.

Sausage and Potato Soup (this is the base recipe I used, then modified)

Ingredients:
1lb sweet italian sausage (links)
2 medium onions, chopped
4 slices bacon, diced
2 T. minced garlic
3 chicken bouillon cubes
2 quarts water
3 large potatoes, cubed
bunch kale, stem removed, julienned
1 c. heavy cream
1 can beer (light beers work best)

Place the sausage in a baking pan in a 300F oven for twenty minutes while doing the chopping/dicing/cubing/mincing.

Cook the bacon and onion in a large skillet over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes more. (Add a splash of olive oil if necessary to keep onion from sticking.)

Put the water and bouillon cubes in a large stockpot, add potatoes, and bring to a simmer. Add the bacon/onion/garlic mix and keep at a simmer.

Pour the beer into the skillet the bacon and onion was cooked in, add the sausage links, and bring to a fast simmer over medium-high heat. Turn the sausage occasionally to cook through (~15 minutes). Remove from the beer and slice into bite-size pieces.

Add the sausage, cream, and kale to the broth mixture, stir well, and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until kale is just tender.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Brain Dump

The gutter company showed up around 4:30 this afternoon. I figured maybe they'd do some quick and easy pieces and come back tomorrow to finish. Nope. They did the whole house and the garage in a hair over three hours. Woo, we have gutters! Unfortunately, with that comes "writing the balance due check to the contractor". Ah well, it was worth it.
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I ordered a few things from Amazon early this week, and the first box arrived. One of those things was a spare flashlight in case my current EDC light goes toes-up. Leatherman no longer produces the Serac series (the S2 is my light), so I got the current iteration of it - the "Monarch 300". It's non-dimmable, single-AAA battery, with a claimed 16 lumens and 2-hour run time. I took it out of the box and the first thing that leaped out at me was "MADE IN CHINA". Damn.

Quality doesn't feel as good as the S2, either, although I can't pinpoint why. It feels bigger and clunkier, but when placed side-by-side, they are within about 1mm of each other in all dimensions.

Beam quality is good, with a faint green cast to it, and a much more focused hotspot than the S2.
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I've been having some issues with the Palm Pre lately. Specifically, when I turn on the mobile hotspot (my internet access at home) it drops the 2-3 bars of 3G service to two bars of 1X service. Not ok. On top of that, it gets hot enough to make touching it very uncomfortable. I went to the local Verizon store today and talked to a tech there. He nodded, said they had had a few reports of heat issues, and the phone was going to be replaced under warranty - and it should be here tomorrow. I am pleasantly surprised - I expected I'd have to argue. Nice.
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Stopped at Lowe's while downtown to speak with the manager. I've been in there a few times looking at doors and door-related stuff, and the guy I've talked to has always been attentive, pleasant, helpful, and not pushy. I know managers usually only hear complaints, but this guy was worth a compliment.
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Came home and made mac'n'cheese from scratch. Used this recipe, but up the cheese: 1/2lb each of sharp cheddar, pepper jack, and swiss, added 1/4c. butter, and a head of broccoli florets. The butter was unnecessary, but the swiss and broccoli were excellent. More bacon next time, too.

I think that wraps it up for tonight...

Chicken Curry

Simple dish, tasty and filling.

1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 large onions, halved and sliced
2 chicken breasts, cut in bite-size pieces
1 quart diced tomatoes
curry powder
olive oil

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and lightly brown. Add the onions and saute until just translucent. Add the chicken and reduce heat to medium. When the chicken is cooked through, add tomatoes, return to simmer. Add curry to taste (2-3 tablespoons is ideal). Stir well.

Simmer over medium heat until liquid is reduced to light gravy consistency.

Serve over rice.

Breakfast pastry

The day was chaotic and, while not entirely quiet, more subdued than years past have been. Mom had announced her intention of doing a "simple breakfast", which is a change from the usual multi-course holiday meal that starts around 8:00 and ends when the last person passes out. I decided to bring something to share, and made small pastries. But not the sweet donut/croissant/turnover kind. Oh no. I had to be difficult. Sausage and cheese pastries. They turned out AMAZINGLY WELL.

Night before: buy or prepare a package of phyllo dough. Crumble and brown 1lb of breakfast sausage. Drain the grease and put in fridge on a paper towel.

Morning of:
Preheat oven to 375F.

Place ~1T of sausage and a pinch of shredded cheese in the center of a 6x6" square of lightly oiled phyllo dough. Fold the corners in, wrap in another lightly oiled 6x6" square, and lightly brush the top with oil. Repeat until you run out of sausage.

Lightly grease a cookie sheet, evenly space the pastries on it, and bake for 10-15 minutes; the dough should be crisp and lightly browned.

Holy smokes, they were GOOD.