Category: Breakfast/Brunch

Breakfast/Brunch

Rose’s Dutch Baby

by Wendi24 Comments on Rose’s Dutch Baby

Since I mentioned my recent Bread Bible Studies, it’s probably a good time to show you what I was able to do with Miss Rose’s help.  But I’m going to keep my oohing and aahing to a minimum because it’s one long ass recipe.

To summarize, I chose Christmas morning to resume my Bread Bible Studies.  All I can say is that this apple filled dutch baby was a Christmas miracle.  And it was just as good as a cold snack late on Christmas night as it was piping hot for breakfast that morning.

Rose’s Apple Filled Dutch Baby

Adapted from Rose Levy Beranbum’s The Bread Bible

BAH Note: The most important thing about this recipe is to remember that the batter has to rest for at least an hour.  If you don’t like long delays in getting apple filled goodness into your belly, make the batter the night before.  I honestly don’t know if the flour in my container was bleached or unbleached.  I’m sure RLB has her reasons for specifying bleached but I was perfectly happy with the results I got with my King Arthur All Purpose.

RLB’s headnote for this recipe says her “goal was for a Dutch baby that had crisp, puffy sides but a tender, almost custardy bottom (as opposed to an eggy/rubbery one).”  I can not provide a more accurate, enticing description than that.

Batter

  • 142 grams (1 cup) bleached all purpose flour
  • 37 grams (3 tablespoons) sugar
  • 1.7 grams (1/4 teaspoon) salt
  • 56 grams (4 tablespoons) melted butter, divided
  • 242 grams (1 cup) whole milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.  Add 2 tablespoons of the melted butter and process until the mixture resembles tiny peas, approximately 20 seconds.  Scrape down the sides of the workbowl.  With the food processor running, add the milk, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla and process until the batter is smooth, about 20 seconds.

Allow the batter to sit for an hour at room temperature or refrigerate for up to 24 hours.  If you refrigerate overnight, allow the batter to come to room temperature and whisk it lightly.

30 minutes before baking, place a rack in the bottom third of the oven and heat your oven to 400 degrees.  When ready to bake, remelt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and add it to a 12 inch, oven safe frying pan (I used a stainless steel pan because I don’t know that my Calphalon nonstick is safe to 400 degrees).  Use a pastry brush to coat the bottom and sides completely with the butter.  Place the empty pan in the oven for 3 minutes until the butter is hot and bubbling.

Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven and pour the batter over the hot butter.  Bake for 15 minutes then lower the heat to 350 degrees and continue to cook until it is puffed around the edges above the sides of the pan and has a golden brown color, approximately 30 minutes.  Approximately 15 minutes before the end of the cooking time, quickly make 3 small slits in the center of the Dutch baby to release steam and allow the center to dry more.

While the Dutch baby is in the oven, make the apple filling.

Apple Filling

  • 63 grams (4 1/2 tablespoons) butter, softened
  • 717 grams (2 pounds) granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 thick
  • zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 40 grams (3 tablespoons) brown sugar
  • 38 grams (3 tablespoons) granulated sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Melt the butter in a large frying pan set over medium heat.  When the bubbling subsides, add all the ingredients.  Cook for approximately 15 minutes until the apples are tender and glazed.  Turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep warm.

Once the Dutch baby is removed from the oven, carefully transfer it to a large plate or platter and fill it with the spiced apples.

{printable recipe}

Breakfast/Brunch

Flashback Friday – Pecking Order

by Wendi2 Comments on Flashback Friday – Pecking Order

Flashback Friday

The following originally appeared on 9/12/08 at Exit 51.

Pecking Order

The ants are back.  Instead of climbing the walls of the building, they are swarming our trashcan.  There must be something irresistible down there to cause this urban safari.  Emerging from a crack in the sidewalk is a steady line of workers on their way to the target.  Mixed into the line are the ants that have already collected their bounty and are headed back to the colony.  They meander this way and that, around debris laying on the ground and each other.  Watching it reminds me of bumper cars. The zig, they zag, they bump off of one another, and they get back on course. And then the intruders show up.

In most situations, there is an established pecking order.  A before B.  B before C.  And so on.  Usually, the bigger you are, the higher you are in that order.  Think about how we are obsessed with the idea that bigger is better.  Supersize meals.  McMansions.  SUV’s.  More is more and the biggest one wins. Except that sometimes, bigger is NOT better.

Take those ants.  They are your typical picnic ant.  Not big at all, maybe 1/8 of an inch.  But when bigger ants show up and try to get in on the action, that little picnic ant becomes a mighty giant.  I watched in wonder as the big ants tried to cut through the line.  When they got close to a smaller ant, it’s like they got zapped by an electric shock.  They would jump back and twitch.  Every time.  It was fascinating.

Less can be more in the kitchen too.  Sometimes that heavy meal is just no match for something lower in the pecking order.  I’ve had dinner parties where we’ve eaten breakfast for dinner.  Pancakes, waffles, and bacon taste just as good at six o’clock in the evening as they do at six o’clock in the morning.

This recipe could not be easier and showcases how less can be more.  Pair it with a salad and serve it for brunch or dinner.

Less Is More Frittata

  • 8 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/3 cup regular or 2 percent milk
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tablespoon chopped chives
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 coarsely chopped spring onions (scallions), white and tender green parts only
  • 2 ounces (about 4 cups) baby spinach

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees (Note: I usually set the oven lower, 390-400, because I can never remember how oven safe my nonstick pans are.  If you lower the temperature, you will need to increase your cooking time slightly).

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, Parmesan cheese, chives and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

In a 10-inch nonstick, ovenproof skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add the spring onions and cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the spinach, cover the pan and cook for 1 minute. Remove the cover and stir the spinach just until it wilts. Add the remaining oil and increase the heat to medium-high. Let the oil heat for 1 minute, then pour in the egg mixture. Use a fork to evenly distribute the spinach without scrambling the eggs. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes without stirring until you see the edges just starting to cook. Transfer to the oven.

Bake until the frittata has puffed and browned around the edges and is firm in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. To serve, slide the frittata onto a platter or invert the frittata onto the platter so the browned side is face up. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Breakfast/Brunch

Chewy Granola

by Wendi31 Comments on Chewy Granola

I’m filing this recipe under “Work In Progress”.  Chewy Granola and I first met over at Inspired Taste when Adam and Joanne posted about their adventures making chewy granola bars.  They ran into a few obstacles in their quest for the perfect bar.  Chiefly, how to get them out of the pan and how to keep them from falling apart into huge granolay crumbles.  Since I’m no stranger to recipes that don’t quite go as planned, and they had already identified some of the pitfalls, I figured I could try my hand at them.

There’s another reason why I wanted to try making these.  I can’t eat most of the prepackaged granola bars.  They usually have some kind of seeds or nuts which are verboten in my world.  After an especially long relationship with seeds, seeded fruits, and nuts, I was informed that I had to choose between them and a functioning colon.  My choice to pass on a colostomy bag has meant that I can no longer randomly pick up a bag of this or a pack of that without checking the list of ingredients.  This has resulted in breaking up with many things I used to enjoy eating.  But if I am picking the ingredients, I can rekindle my relationship with granola bars.

And so it began.  I took Adam and Joanne’s recipe, eliminated all those pesky seedy things, and introduced a substitution or two.  I carefully prepped my pan, mixed my ingredients, and patted and pressed until the pan was fully of chewy granola goodness.  I waited patiently while the granola baked.  I waited even more patiently while the granola cooled. When I could wait no more, I went in for a taste.

And the damn things fell apart on me.

So it’s back to the drawing board to try and find a better way.  I’m inclined to think that the granola should A) bake longer; B) cool completely before being cut; C) be stored in an open container, not an airtight one.

And please, take it from me…you don’t want to put chewy granola in a plastic bag and then forget about it in the pocket of your coat for a day or two.  Believe me when I say it’s not a pretty sight.

Chewy Granola Bars

Adapted from Inspired Taste

BAH Tip:  Use two sheets of parchment to create a sling for easy removal of the granola after baking.  Fold or cut the sheets to the exact width of your pan and then lay them in so that the ends of the parchment extend over the sides of the pan.

  • 1 2/3 cup rolled oats
  • 1/3 cup rolled oats, processed in food processor until finely ground
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut
  • 2 tablespoons corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
  • 1/4 cup honey

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 8 or 9 inch square baking dish with a parchment sling.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, oat flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, cranberries, and coconut.  In a second bowl, or large measuring cup, combine the corn syrup, vanilla, butter, and honey and stir until thoroughly mixed.

Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. Dump the granola in the prepared baking dish and press it to an even thickness.

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.  Cool the granola in the pan completely before cutting into bars.

Serve as bars or crumble into a bowl with yogurt.  Store leftover granola in an open container.

{printable recipe}

Breakfast/Brunch, South Beach Diet

Flashback Friday – Mission Impossible

by Wendi2 Comments on Flashback Friday – Mission Impossible

Flashback Friday

The following originally appeared on 8/20/08 at Exit 51.

Mission Impossible

The beauty of South Beach Phase 2 is that you get to reintroduce foods that were to be avoided during Phase 1.  Sounds easy enough, right?  The catch is that you aren’t getting an even swap.  That cereal we munched on in the days before South Beach?  That’s gone.  Instead of Raisin Bran, you get something that’s high fiber but low sugar.  And that can take some sleuthing out. I found this out the hard way. Continue reading “Flashback Friday – Mission Impossible” →

Breakfast/Brunch, Dessert, Sweets

Doughnut Muffins

by Wendi29 Comments on Doughnut Muffins

Back at the Big Summer Potluck, there was one dish that caught everyone’s attention. That’s not a small feat among a group of food bloggers. But one morsel was the belle of the ball.  And they may very well be my undoing.  Because nothing tastes as good as mini muffins that have the texture of a doughnut and a buttery, spiced sugary coating.  I purposely redid the recipe to make them bite sized because I know firsthand that making them full size is no guarantee that I won’t just keep eating them.  I’ve joked with Jen of How To: Simplify, to whom we all pledged our allegiance for bringing these into our lives, that the secret ingredient in the recipe is crack because these morsels are utterly and completely addictive.

And as if the original isn’t enough, now I see that Tracy of Sugarcrafter, another Potluck alum, went and made a Caramel Apple version for fall.  I sent them both a passive/aggressive tweet saying that I will hold them personally responsible when I can no longer fit into my jeans.

But there’s a little part of me that says that if I have to go up a pants size, these muffins are a pretty damn good reason. And please, hold your judgment until you have experienced the ecstasy that is the mini doughnut muffin.

Doughnut Mini Muffins

Adapted from Jenn at How To: Simplify

  • 1 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 stick of butter, melted and cooled
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon

Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray two mini muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl.

Combine the oil, sugar, egg, and milk in a large bowl.  Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined.  Fill each muffin cup approximately 3/4 full of batter and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

While the muffins are baking, combine the 2/3 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon in a small bowl and make sure your butter is melted.  When you remove the muffins from the oven, immediately remove them from the pan, dip them in the melted butter, and then coat them in the spiced sugar.

{printable recipe}

Breakfast/Brunch

Yeasted Waffles

by Wendi16 Comments on Yeasted Waffles

Overnight Waffles

Have I mentioned that I used to have a fabulous memory?  Yes, I used to.  But somewhere along the way, my brain cells have stopped processing information.  It’s a shame.  I forget a lot of things – whether I’ve fed the cat, if I set my alarm, are my car keys in my purse.  It’s a real accomplishment that I manage to get myself out of the house on a daily basis.  Mostly, I try and hide this flaw from public view.  I write myself notes.  I keep three separate calendars.  I set two alarms each night.  But some details just don’t stick.  Like the fact that my friend Anne does not eat meat.

Not that this fact comes into play on a regular basis in my world.  But on the occasions that she is in town and at my house to enjoy a meal, it really would behoove me to remember that pasta with meat sauce or chicken pot pie isn’t really going to appeal to her. Like the other week when it wasn’t until the pot pie was in the oven that I remembered I wasn’t sure if Anne ate chicken or not.  And I did not immediately have a Plan B.

Thanks to my current obsessive/compulsive fixation with waffles, I managed to turn this potential dinner disaster into a major save.  See, I had recently made a batch of overnight waffles and had some leftovers lurking in the freezer.  So when Anne confirmed that chicken pot pie sounded lovely but that she didn’t eat chicken, my mind quickly started to take a mental inventory of what other choices were available.  Since I can’t seem to remember squat, I had to start opening cabinets, cupboards, refrigerator bins, and the freezer to see what our options were.  It was there that I spotted my frozen waffley salvation.

The beauty of the frozen waffle is that it goes from freezer to plate very quickly.  So as the pot pie was finishing up in the oven, frozen waffles went into the toaster and some eggs got scrambling.  By the time the waffles and eggs were plated, the pot pie was ready to be served.  Anne felt bad that I made a separate meal for her but what she didn’t realize was that A) I should have made sure I inquired about any dietary restrictions and B) I totally scored by having more chicken pot pie leftovers.  And if she’s reading this post, I hope she knows that it was my pleasure to give her some breakfast styled dinner and any additional pot pie leftovers were merely an unintended bonus.

I’d also like to thank her for giving me the idea for this post.  She left a comment on the Sour Cream Waffles asking if they were the ones she had at my house.  I said no, but that I hadn’t been able to come up with a story for the ones she had.  And in that moment, I knew what this story would be.  It would be about a superhero (overnight waffles) saving a  damsel in distress (me) from a villainous rascal (my ever failing memory).  If only I were an artist, I could totally turn that into a comic…the Adventures of (Waffle) Iron Man.

Yeasted Waffles

Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

BAH Note: Generally speaking, I liked these waffles.  I liked that the batter could sit in the fridge for up to 24 hours which made them a great weeknight breakfast for dinner option.  I liked that the exterior was thin and crisp but I found that as I worked my way through the batter, later waffles were dark on one side while pale on the other.  Earlier waffles were evenly browned on both sides.  I didn’t detect a difference in the taste of these later waffles.  I got about 14 regular sized waffles from one batch of batter.  So plan on either feeding a lot of people or storing well wrapped leftovers in the freezer for later enjoyment. When choosing your bowl, remember that the batter will approximately double in size.  So make sure that you give yourself enough room for the batter to grow without turning your refrigerator shelf into a yeasted waffle swamp.

  • 1 3/4 cups whole milk
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon spiced sugar (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 package yeast
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the milk and butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat on 50% power until the butter is melted.  You want the liquid warm but not boiling.  Let cool for five minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl.  In a second bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla.

Slowly add the cooled milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is smooth.  Add the egg mixture to the batter and mix until all ingredients are completely combined.  Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

When ready to cook, remove the batter from the refrigerator while you heat your waffle iron.  Whisk the batter until it has deflated and the ingredients have been reincorporated.  Using an ice cream disher, place one scoop of batter into each waffle mold and cook according to your waffle maker’s instructions.

Leftover waffles should be cooled completely before wrapping in a double layer of plastic wrap for freezing.

{printable recipe}

Breakfast/Brunch, Food Memories

Food Memories – D’s Buttermilk Pancakes

by Wendi12 Comments on Food Memories – D’s Buttermilk Pancakes

I have the Interwebz and this here blog to thank for bringing me together, in real life as well as in a virtual sense, with some fascinating, talented, incredible people.  And when they aren’t scared off by my requests for their Food Memories, I know they are good people.  Take Katie of You Are What You Eat…Or Reheat.  Known to many as an upstanding member of Corporate America.  Known to me as the Queen of White Trash Wednesday and who I want to be when I grow up.  She is witty and clever and is the keeper of a kick ass pancake recipe.  But because she’s good people, she’s letting me tell y’all about it here.

When I emailed her to be part of the Food Memories project, she gave me a little backstory about the recipe.  She said, I love the whole idea of relating food to memories.  It’s just so sweet, isn’t it?  As for a recipe, this one’s great and easy. And it’s something my mom made for my sister and me growing up. Every morning before our junior tennis tournaments.  And it was torturous.  For years I couldn’t eat pancakes because they reminded me of years and years of hot summer tennis.  But now, I love them. After all, my granddad, D, created this recipe.”  How can you not love a woman who keeps the memory of her granddad alive through his pancakes? Continue reading “Food Memories – D’s Buttermilk Pancakes” →

Breakfast/Brunch, Dessert, Sweets

Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins

by Wendi29 Comments on Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins

Do you ever have the kind of day where you don’t know if you’re coming or going?  Where you can’t tell up from down?  Or whether it’s time for breakfast or dessert?  I can’t exactly help you cope with the first two things on that list.  But the third, I’ve got covered thanks to Three Baking Sheets To The Wind.

She posted about this Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffin that immediately got me to wondering…well, which is it – a pancake or a muffin?  Curiosity piqued as it was, I didn’t fool around letting this question, or recipe, linger.  My brain, and my recipe folders, are too congested to let burning questions such as this go unanswered, just bouncing around.  What follows is the official transcript of the conversation I had with myself after these had been mixed, baked, cooled, and consumed. Continue reading “Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins” →

Breakfast/Brunch, Main Course, South Beach Diet

More Cowbell

by WendiLeave a Comment on More Cowbell
image from http://www.istockphoto.com

While I’m away on my imaginary vacation, I’m leaving the pantry stocked with posts from Exit 51 that would have been part of the Flashback Friday series. The following originally appeared on 6/10/09 at Exit 51

More Cowbell

I love the Saturday Night Live skit with Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken about the rock band and the cowbell.

The point is that while what the band was doing was good, it would have been even better with more cowbell.  Do you ever have days like that?  Days where you’re in a groove, doing your thing, and you just know that if you could have a little something extra it would be phenomenal.  Yeah, you need more cowbell.

More cowbell can be anything – a steady breeze on a balmy day, all green lights on your way home, a leisurely nap on a lazy Sunday afternoon – anything that puts whatever you’re doing over the top.  The French have a phrase for it – je ne sais quoi – literally meaning I know not what.  Because sometimes, it’s something you can’t quite put your finger on.  Other times though, you know exactly what that cowbell would be. Continue reading “More Cowbell” →