Friendly Eggs

There's this egg and sausage casserole Mom used to make on special occasions, which has now become a staple in my household.  I went to make it this morning, as Jed and his family were staying with us, and I almost cried when I saw the picture next to the recipe.  It's a snapshot of the Westfield gang - all Mom and Dad's best buds.  Friends they made, much like I have over the past eight years, from the newcomers group in Westfield.  Friends they have been blessed to have in their lives for over 40 years now. Some of whom we call Aunt and Uncle, some of whom have left this world all too soon, some of whom have moved away, all of whom I love dearly and have been part of my life from day one.

I looked at this picture, taken on the steps of Mom and Dad's house in Mantoloking, and I just relished in the smiling faces peering back at me.  They called themselves the End of Summer Group and would gather on a weekend at the end of September every year.  It was a weekend filled with lots of food, alcohol and antics.   I imagine it was comparable to The Big Chill, minus the pot smoking of course, and the stories that came out of these weekends were legendary.  Frankly, as a kid, these stories scared me because I just couldn't picture my parents racing lobsters across the kitchen floor or tossing someones bra onto a neighbor's roof, but that's for another blog.

As I studied the picture, I could just picture Mom waking up before the masses arose, stumbling down to the kitchen to make her cup of tea (how she raised six kids without ever consuming coffee is beyond me), and beginning to prepare a breakfast feast for her friends.  Once she got past all the dishes and glasses left from the night before, only because Aunt Fran got too tipsy to finish washing them all, she would set about to make this casserole.  I can picture these folks trickling down, one by one, grabbing a bite of Entemann's coffee cake, and waiting patiently for the egg casserole (dubbed Egg Shit by this crew).  I can picture them wandering around in their robes and sweats, fumbling for a Bufferin to ease that mild headache, picking at the bits of egg shit left in the casserole pan, reveling in stories of the night before and planning all sorts of activities for the day ahead.

I have wonderful friends in my life, and I am blessed.  We've gone through the births, disappointments of losing a pregnancy, difficulties managing the hectic lives we create for ourselves, husbands who work long hours, the fallout of the recession.  We have gotten ill, really ill, and we've made the meals, helped with the carpools, arranged the play dates.  We have only begun to see all that the End of Summer Group has seen and I can only hope, that when the time comes, I can sit in my kitchen making egg shit for all my friends.

Egg Shit

6 eggs

1 pint of small curd cottage cheese

1 lb grated cheddar cheese

1 C milk

1 stick melted butter

1 C Bisquick

1 lb breakfast sausage

Preheat oven to 350.  Brown sausage and drain.  Mix all ingredients, except sausage, and beat well.  Add sausage to mixture.  Pour into a greased 9x13 casserole dish.  Bake for 40 minutes to an hour, until slightly brown on top.  Serve with salsa, ketchup or hot sauce.