This past weekend we had some of the best April weather I can remember.  Matt and I took advantage of the sunny, 70 degree temperatures by spending what seemed like the entire weekend outside.  We reseeded our lawn (Bailey’s sliding tennis ball grabs and tight turns take their toll on the grass!) and I planted moonflowers, morning glory, mint, marjoram, chives, marigolds, zinnias and dahlias.  We also enjoyed a 4 ½ mile hike in the Woodlawn Trustees Wildlife Refuge in Northern Delaware (I’ll post more about that later) and still managed to find some time to sit back and enjoy the wonderful fragrance of our blooming viburnum bushes, crab apple trees, and cherry trees.

Of course all of that outside time made us hungry so we also spent a good portion of the weekend cooking delicious meals.  Saturday night we made decadent Bucatini with Homemade Meatballs and Tomato Sauce, Sunday morning we feasted on a Sausage-Corn Scramble and crispy, browned Home Fries, and Sunday evening we had Matt’s parents and his brother over to share our Adobo-Lime Chicken with Corn and Black Bean Salad and Spanish Rice.  Yum!  Throughout the week I will post recipes for all of these meals but for now I’ll start with our Sunday morning scramble with home fries.

For the scramble, we chose to go with a Mexican flavor since we had some leftover “corn con salsa” (sautéed corn with some black bean salsa and cilantro) that we wanted to use up.  We just had normal pork sausage, but this recipe would be GREAT with chorizo instead.  (Maybe next Sunday!)  I also threw in some baby spinach from my garden since my spinach plants are just getting to the point where they need to be thinned.  These spinach shoots gave the scramble a nice bit of color and flavor.

Baby Spinach, freshly thinned from our garden

For our home fries we followed the recipe from our Cook’s Illustrated The New Best Recipe book.  The potatoes were buttery, crisp, and salty… the perfect combination!

Sausage-Corn Scramble with Home Fries

Ingredients:

For the Home Fries
2 Russet Potatoes, cut into ½” cubes
2 ½ tablespoons Peanut Oil
1 Medium Red Onion, chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Paprika
2 tablespoons butter

For the Scramble
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 large Shallot, thinly sliced
¼ pound Ground Pork Sausage (or Chorizo)
¾ cup Leftover Corn Con Salsa (sautéed corn with salsa and cilantro); or any similar type of black bean or corn salad or salsa that you enjoy)
½ cup Baby Spinach (I used “infant” spinach shoots freshly thinned from the garden)
5 Eggs, whisked together in a large bowl
1/3 cup Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
Salt & Pepper to taste
Garnish of Salsa and Cilantro

Directions:

Place the cubed potatoes in a small pot, cover with ½” of water and add 1 teaspoon salt.  Heat the pot on the stove over high heat just until the water starts to boil, then remove from heat and drain the potatoes in a colander.

Heat the peanut oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the red onion and sauté until browned.  Remove the onion from the pan and place in a small bowl with the salt, pepper, and paprika.

Add the butter to the heavy-bottomed pan that you sautéed the onion in and allow it to melt.  Add the potatoes and shake the pan so that the potatoes lay evenly on the bottom of the pan in one layer.  Allow the potatoes to cook for 4 to 5 minutes without stirring; this will ensure that they get nice and crispy on that side.  After 4 to 5 minutes, stir the potatoes to flip them over and allow them to cook for another 4 to 5 minutes.  Repeat this process a few times until the potatoes are evenly browned on all sides.

Add the onion mixture to your potatoes and mix thoroughly.  Taste a potato (yum!) and add extra salt and pepper if needed.  Leave the potatoes in the pan to keep them nice and hot until you are ready to serve them.

For the scramble, heat up the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the shallots.  Saute the shallots for a few minutes, then add the sausage.  Use a spatula to flatten the sausage in one layer across the bottom of the pan and allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes without stirring.  (As was the case with the potatoes, this will allow the sausage to brown and get a little crispy.)  Flip the sausage over and allow the other side to brown as well.

After sausage is evenly browned and slightly crispy, break up the sausage with your spatula.  Mix in the corn mixture and baby spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Corn 'con salsa' and baby spinach for the scramble

Stir the Monterey Jack cheese, salt and pepper into the egg bowl and then add to your sausage mixture in the frying pan.  Stir and flip the mixture regularly for 4-5 minutes until eggs reach your desired level of doneness.

Garnish the scramble with a dollop of salsa and a sprig of cilantro and serve with your crispy home fries and a cup of coffee.