Breakfast casserole on the stovetop?
I planned poorly: I have 2 recipes I need to bake tomorrow morning for a brunch, but they require different temperatures -- and I only have one oven! (I do have a warming oven that I've never used, though.) One recipe is for sticky buns at 400 degrees for 30 min. The other is for a breakfast casserole (eggs, buttered bread cubes, browned sausage, cheddar, milk) which bakes at 350 degrees for 45 min. So, I have 3 ideas, and would like your advice about which one I should go with.
1. I could bake the casserole at 400 for less than 45 min (like, maybe 30-35 min?). I could put it on the upper-middle rack so that the bottom will be less likely to over-brown. However, I'm not sure if the center would be adequately cooked when the edges and top are plenty brown. I could loosely tent the top with foil to slow down the browning, but the edges may still overbrown. OR...
2. I could just cook the casserole in a cast-iron skillet on the stovetop, without even baking it in the oven. (I have a gas range.) Maybe I could pre-heat the skillet before putting the raw mixture in, then cook it, covered, on low or meium-low. I don't know if this would work; it might overcook on the bottom and undercook on the top. Also, the top probably wouldn't develop that pretty puffed-up, slightly-blistered crust (although I could put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes. OR...
3. I could bake the sticky buns first and while they're cooling down enough to be edible without burning your mouth I could bake the casserole. However, they would cool down a little too much in 45 minutes, so I could put the sticky buns into the warming oven. I'm not very familiar with it (we just moved into this house), and I'm worried that they might dry out or that the caramel might scorch if they're in there for 45 min.
Okay, what do you think? What would you do?
2 Comments
Then bake them in oven, and at the same time start the casserole stovetop in a cast iron covered pan at medium to low heat, so it won't burn and you take advantage of the pan's heat conductivity.
Serve the sticky buns, turn off heat at stovetop just short of doneness, but leave on burner to keep warm.
When you're almost ready to serve casserole, put it under grill jn oven for a few minutes uncovered and watched, to finish cooking and give you nice browned, crisp top.
Enjoy your party...:)