Breakfast Omelet Muffins

 

A great idea for overnight guests at the lake.  They can be frozen too!

Serves 6 to 12

Ingredients

1 pound Italian Sausage (sweet, mild, hot variety depending on your preference)
1 cup broccoli florets (or other veggie)
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk (or half and half depending on how you're feeling that day)
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
salt & pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese as needed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. In a large saute pan, over medium high heat, brown Italian Sausage for about 5 minutes, or until the sausage is no longer pink. Remove from heat and stir in broccoli.
3. Whisk together eggs, milk, oil and baking powder.  Season with salt and pepper.
4. Lightly spray a 12-cupcake pan with oil.Spoon out the sausage and broccoli mixture evenly into each cupcake.
5. Ladle the egg mixture over sausage and broccoli.
6. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

From sixinthesuburbsblog.blogspot.com

Winter Entertaining...A Country Brunch

If you live in the country and have a big plasma TV and a fireplace, what could be nicer than having friends for brunch on a Sunday afternoon. These days there is a solid schedule of football games throughout the weekend and unless you want to have yet another chili party, this is a nice alternative and a more relaxing way to catch up with friends and family.

Now, we are in the country and in the South so meals here are hearty and plentiful. That doesn't mean you have to spend hours in the kitchen before or after your guests arrive. This menu will allow you to get everything ready by the time everyone gets there so you can have an enjoyable time too. You can prepare most of the recipes the day before, including the shrimp, and make the french toast and the grits that morning. There are great frozen biscuits available in most supermarkets that are almost as good as the recipe below. So give yourself a break if you need to. Nobody will be the wiser!

A Country Brunch For A Crowd

Mimosas

Bloody Mary's

Shrimp And Grits

Baked French Toast

Country Biscuits

Coffee

For more ideas, check out the city brunch in Lindaraxa.

Look What I Found...Cinnamon Almond Croissants!

If you want to impress a special loved one, serve these with hot chocolate as a midnight snack.  Save some for breakfast the next morning!

P.S. Better practice...Valentine's Day is just around the corner!



Ingredients

1 package (17.3 ounces) Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (2 sheets)

1/2 cup canned almond filling

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 egg, lightly beaten


Directions


Thaw the pastry sheets at room temperature for 40 minutes or until they're easy to handle. Heat the oven to 400°F. Stir the almond filling and cinnamon in a small bowl. Unfold the pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface. Cut each pastry sheet into 4 (about 5-inch) squares.

Spread 1 tablespoon almond mixture on each pastry square to within 1/4-inch of the edge. Fold the pastry squares over the filling to form a triangle. Starting at the wide end, roll up the pastry triangles toward the point. Place the pastries, point-side down, on a baking sheet. Curve the ends of the pastries inward to form a crescent shape. Brush with the egg.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.


Recipe: Pepperidge Farm

Best Of Show Blue Ribbon Cornbread

Sadly, this was the last week of our local farmer's market and I rushed over to buy as many green and red pepper jellies as I could find to enjoy in the winter and give away as gifts to my northern friends.  There was a guy there who mills his own corn meal and I decided to pick up a bag.  What a difference.  This is the recipe I used to test it out.

Cathy Justice is the wife of the Greenbrier Hotel's new owner.  This is her award winning recipe for cornbread.

Ingredients


1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/16 teaspoon salt (I used 1/2 tsp.)

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg, slightly beaten

3/4 cup canola oil


Directions

Heat oven to 425 degrees F.

Prepare an 8”-x-8” oiled pan. (I used a nonstick pan.)

Mix all dry ingredients. (I whisked the ingredients together.)

Add liquids. (I whisked all the liquid ingredients together until they were creamy smooth and then I poured them over the dry ingredients.)

Stir softly to mix.

Bake for 30 minutes. (The cornbread will rise and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread should come out clean.)

Baked Eggs With Tomatoes, Herbs And Cream

Baking eggs in individual ramekins along with a little butter and cream is a classic French dish. Sometimes vegetables, such as the tomatoes here, are a bed for the eggs. Cooked spinach, chard or kale, or sautéed mushrooms or leeks would make delicious substitutions. For another variation, incorporate chopped ham into the vegetables.


Ingredients:

2 tsp. unsalted butter, plus more for ramekins

2 or 3 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

4 eggs

4 tsp. heavy cream

4 tsp. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (optional)

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Generously butter four 1/2-cup ramekins.

In a bowl, stir together the tomatoes, basil, parsley, 1/2 tsp. of the salt and 1/2 tsp. of the pepper. Divide evenly among the prepared ramekins. Cut the 2 tsp. butter into small pieces and divide among the ramekins, sprinkling the pieces evenly over the tomato mixture. Break an egg into each ramekin. Season with the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper, dividing evenly. Drizzle each egg with 1 tsp. of the cream. Arrange the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake until the egg whites are opaque and the yolks have firm edges and are soft in the center, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle each serving with 1 tsp. of the cheese. Serve immediately. Serves 4.


Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Breakfast and Brunch, by Georgeanne Brennan (Oxmoor House, 2007).

Corniest Corn Muffins

Have been looking for a good corn muffin recipe for awhile now.  I think I've found it!

Dorie Greenspan is one of the best food writers around.  She has written many baking books on her own and co-authored a couple with the great French chocolatier, Pierre Herme and also with restaurateur Daniel Boulud, owner of the world famous New York restaurant Daniel and Cafe Boulud, among others..  If you like baking, take a look at some of her books.

Dorie Greenspan on Amazon


- makes 12 muffins -

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal

6 tablespoons sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

1 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 tablespoons corn oil

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 cup corn kernels (add up to 1/3 cup more if you’d like), fresh, frozen or canned (in which case they should be drained and patted dry)

Procedure

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter or spray the 12 muffin molds in a regular-size muffin tin, or fit the molds with paper muffin cups.

Working in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. In a large glass measuring cup with a spout or in another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, oil, egg and yolk. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough – the batter will be lumpy and that’s just the way it should be. Stir in the corn kernels. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin molds.

Slide the pan into the oven and bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Pull the pan from the oven and carefully lift each muffin out of its mold and onto a rack to cool.

Serving: The muffins are great warm or at room temperature and particularly great split, toasted and slathered with butter or jam or both (if they’re not in breadbasket at dinner, that is).

Storing: Like all muffins, these are best eaten the day they are made. If you want to keep them, it’s best to wrap them airtight and pop them into the freezer, where they’ll keep for about a month; re-warm in a 300°F oven, if you’d like, or split them and toast them—do that and they’ll be that much more delicious with butter.

Valentine's Day Breakfast In Bed Menu- Cinnamon Pinwheels

This year, Valentine's Day falls on a Sunday...the possibilities are endless!  There are tons of  things you can do to celebrate...that is, as far as food is concerned! I've got all bases covered, with a nice menu for dinner over at Lindaraxa's Garden and a nice brunch over here. The rest is up to you!

Valentine's Day Breakfast Menu

Blood Orange Mimosas

Baked Eggs With Spinach, Prosciutto & Parmesan Cheese

Cinnamon Pinwheels

Coffee

Cinnamon Pinwheels

1 cup sugar

1/4 to 1/2 tsp cinnamon (to taste)

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (about 8 1/2 oz.), thawed but still cold

Directions

1. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together; dust work surface with half of it. Don’t unfold the puff pastry. Put it on the sugar and dust the top. Roll the dough, keeping sugar on both sides, into a 13-x-15-inch rectangle.

2. Brush off excess sugar and, starting from a short side, roll up the dough jelly-roll fashion.* Cut 1/2-inch-thick slices and place them 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

3. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until baked through to the center. Lift them off the sheet immediately and turn them over onto a clean sheet of parchment. Cool before serving.

*for Palmiers (elephant ears):  Working from the short ends, fold each end halfway to the center. Then fold each side again towards the center until the folded edges almost touch. Fold one side over the other and press lightly. Cut in 1/2 inch slices and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Proceed as above.

Recipe Dorie Greenspan

Sunday Brunch - Lemon Yogurt Berry Parfaits with Homemade Granola

This is part of Tyler Florence Ultimate Brunch Menu!

Yield: about 9 cups
Serves 4-6

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes


Granola:
Recipe courtesy Mark Dissin

Ingredients

4 cups oats (NOT quick-cook or instant)

1 1/2 cups whole almonds, shelled, but skin still on

1/2 cup flax seeds

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup neutral cooking oil (canola)

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups raisins or dried cranberries

1 cup diced dried apricots

1/2 cup dried banana slices

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Mix oats, almonds, flax seeds, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. In a saucepan warm the oil and honey. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Pour the honey, oil, vanilla mixture over the oat mixture and mix gently, but well. Mix with spatula and eventually your hands. Spread out onto a sheet pan and bake for 40 minutes (stir after the first 20). Cool and break up any clumps. Mix in dried fruit.


Lemon Yogurt and Berry Swirl:

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence


Ingredients

Berry swirl:

3 cups mixed berries (any combination, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries) frozen

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1 lemon, juiced

Lemon yogurt:

1 1/2 cups lowfat vanilla yoghurt

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Add berries, lemon juice and confectioners' sugar in a pan over medium heat. Cook until the berries break down and mixture becomes syrupy, 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Combine the yogurt, zest and juice in a mixing bowl and stir. To serve, set up glasses and layer with granola, yogurt and berries.



Prep Time: 5 minutes

Hash Brown Benedict

A delicious variation on eggs Benedict features crispy hash brown patties in place of the traditional English muffins. Use a handheld grater to coarsely shred the potatoes.

Ingredients:

2 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and shredded

2 tsp. cornstarch

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 egg yolks

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Pinch of cayenne pepper

16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

3 Tbs. minced fresh chives

12 slices Canadian bacon, cooked until lightly browned and kept warm

12 poached eggs

Directions:

Rinse the potatoes, drain and pat dry. In a bowl, combine the potatoes, cornstarch, salt and black pepper. In 10-inch fry pan over medium heat, warm the oil. Working in batches, form the potato mixture into 1/4-cup patties and drop them into the oil. Cook, turning once, until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and keep warm in a 250°F oven.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice and 2 tsp. water. Transfer to a double boiler set over medium-low heat, until the water is just simmering inside the double boiler. Whisk constantly until the mixture begins to thicken, then remove from the heat and whisk for 1 minute more. Season with salt, black pepper and cayenne. Whisking constantly, slowly stream in the melted butter until incorporated, then whisk in the chives. Keep the hollandaise sauce warm.

Place 2 hash brown patties on each plate. Top each patty with 1 slice of Canadian bacon, 1 poached egg and a spoonful of the hollandaise sauce. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.