Once upon a time, multi-generational families all lived together under one roof. I don’t know if this was purely economical reasons, or if family ties were stronger than today.
One of the driving factors of the past no doubt was simple economics and labor. Multi-generational families (grandparents, parents and children) were essential on family farms or family-run businesses in the past. Without the safety nets of society today, it was a matter of shared resources. Besides, success was important for everyone. Family farms and family businesses were handed down from generation to generation. It was your pention fund so to speak.
Grandparents played a key roll in family development. Think of the Waltons – for them every day was Grandparents Day. Zeb and Ester Walton lived in the same house as their son, John, his wife Olivia and their seven children. Although fictional, their story was commonplace in the Appalachian Blue Ridge Mountains of West Virginia in the 1930s. As families began to separate, our need for that nostalgic memory of a family life we ourselves might never have known grew deeper. It’s part of why the Waltons continues in reruns today.
On the National Front, today is Grandparents Day. Some are fortunate enough to have known or continue to know their grandparents. For others Grandma’s house was the gathering place for Christmas and Easter – just the big Hallmark Holiday Moments. I wish those were my memories. They aren’t. But that doesn’t mean I don’t cherish the notion of Grandparents Day. And what better way is there to celebrate Grandparents Day than with an amazing Down Home American Breakfast just the way Grandpa would have made.
All American Breakfast
3 frozen Hash Brown Patties
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
6 Okie or other large Breakfast Link Sausages
6 slices Applewood Smoked Bacon
6 large Eggs
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange frozen hash brown patties on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the heated oven to bake for 14 minutes, flipping over half-way through. Transfer to a serving platter. Shut oven off, place platter in the oven to hold hash browns until ready to serve.
In a small skillet with a snug fitting lid arrange sausage links with a little water. Cook over medium heat, covered, until the water has evaporated. Increase heat to medium-high, continue to cook until the sausage has begun to brown and blister, turning as needed. Hold in the oven with the hash browns.
In a large skillet fry bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels, hold in the oven.
Add more oil to the now empty skillet used to fry the bacon. Crack eggs one at a time into a small bowl, then place is the skillet to fry. Cook undisturbed until the whites have begun to set. Season with salt and pepper, baste with hot oil until the whites are fully cooked while the yolks remain runny.
Place the eggs on individual warmed plates. Serve alongside the platter of hash browns, sausage and bacon. Coffee and juice are always a nice touch to this All American hardy breakfast just like our grandparents ate.
Whoever wishes for vengeance
Will find vengeance from the Lord,
And He will surely be attentive to his sins
Forgive your neighbor, if he has harmed you
And then your sins will be forgiven you when you pray.
Sirach 27:1-2
Welcome to Rosemarie's Kitchen 