To serve two, you'll need: 2 tbs unsalted butter 1 large egg 1/4 cup milk 1/4 cup flour 1/4 tsp salt 1/8 tsp pepper 1 scallion, chopped, light green part reserved for garnish 2 tbs shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for garnish optional: cooking spray To make this German Pancake, get out a small oven-safe skillet (mine looks like a mini wok and is 8 inches wide) and set your oven to 425 degrees. If desired, lightly spritz the pan with some cooking spray. Place the butter in the skillet. | I have stayed away from German Pancakes, or Dutch Babies (as they are often called), for no other reason than laziness. But after reading this article, I decided to try it... and It is delicious! Whipping the batter in a blender really keeps it airy and light, and the dramatic puffiness right out of the oven makes it an easy show-stopper for a romantic brunch for two. The taste is a lot like a crepe because of the high egg content of the batter. I added the savory addition of scallions and cheddar, treating this pancake a bit like I would a biscuit. It came out very beautifully, but I had to be careful of the salt content. Adding the cheddar to finish on top added some additional salty flavor. My pancake also slightly stuck to the bottom of my pan. I may do a light spritz of cooking spray before cooking next time. I hope you like this tasty brunch dish! |
When you've got all your ingredients ready, place the skillet in the oven, to allow the butter to melt. Use a blender to whip up the egg for a minute, then add the flour, milk, salt and pepper. Blend until well-mixed, then add the scallion and cheese, blending for a minute more. Using an oven mitt, take the skillet out of the oven, making sure that the butter is melted. Carefully swirl the pan, to coat all the sides with butter. Gently pour the batter into the skillet, and bake in the preheated oven for about 15-17 minutes, or until the outside is golden and the middle is puffed up. Cut into quarters, and serve immediately with the reserved scallion and cheddar on top. This would be great with a few slices of bacon or sausage alongside. Enjoy!
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Growing up in my grandmother's Italian kitchen, my mother had this often, but never really made it for us. Eggs baked in tomato sauce is an easy breakfast, lunch or snack that is wonderful with homemade tomato sauce (or tomato gravy, as my grandmother called it!). In a pinch, however, this is also delicious with a prepared jarred sauce. I love it because it's low-carb, and, as a soon-to-be bride, I am trying to tighten my figure! You don't have to keep this low-carb, however. This is delicious with toast, baguette, roll, or any other type of bread that you can dip into the yummy sauce. I cook my eggs to the over-hard stage, but cook yours to taste. You'll need: 1/2 cup of your favorite tomato sauce Splash of water (just so the sauce does not thicken too much) 2 eggs (if you would like more, you should add more sauce) Pinch of dried or fresh chopped parsley 2 tsp parmesan cheese Place the tomato sauce and splash of water in a saucepan or small frying pan with a lid. Mix to combine. Set over medium heat until it boils. Lower the heat, and add the eggs. Cover. Cook for 3-5 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. Remove from heat, and sprinkle with the parsley and the parmesan. Cover to melt the cheese. Serve and enjoy!
The inspiration for this dish was, yet again, Smitten Kitchen, but I had to change some things: I swapped the mozzarella cheese for pepper jack, and omitted the chives, adding fresh tomatoes and basil instead. What a win! A pizza with bacon is always welcome, and the pepper jack cheese added just the kick I was looking for. I think the basil wasn't necessary, as the flavor didn't come through as I wanted, but feel free to add it if you want. What a great brunch dish or weeknight meal! After I had cooked the bacon and discarded the fat, I realized I could have used some cooled bacon fat instead of olive oil in the pizza dough! If you try it, let me know how it comes out! For the dough, you'll need: 1 1/2 cups flour (I used 3/4 cup whole wheat) 1 tsp salt 3/4 tsp active dry yeast 1/2 cup warm water 1 tbs olive oil or bacon fat The toppings: 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese About 5 grape tomatoes, quartered 4 eggs Salt and pepper 4 strips of bacon, cooked (but a bit underdone) 2 scallions, white and light green parts separated into two piles Few leaves fresh basil, thinly sliced Corn meal, for the baking sheet First make your dough: mix the dry ingredients thoroughly, and mix the warm water and oil in a separate bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients, slowly add the water to the flour mixture and stir to combine. Knead the dough for 15 minutes in a standing mixer, or as long as you like with your hands. Roll the dough into a ball, and lightly coat the dough and bowl with oil. Cover it with plastic wrap, and place in a warm place. Let rise for an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. Punch the dough down, and re-form it into a ball. Cover, and let rise an additional 20 minutes. Toss a handful of corn meal on to a baking pan, and preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Roll or stretch the dough into a pizza shape. Place the pizza over the corn meal, and top with both cheeses and the quartered grape tomatoes. Carefully crack the eggs, one into each corner of the dough. Season the top of the eggs, and place the pizza into the oven. Bake for five minutes. Chop or crumble your bacon. Remove the pizza from the oven and turn it around. Now add the bacon and the white parts from the scallions. Return the pizza to the oven for an additional five minutes. Let the pizza rest on the stovetop for a minute or two while you add the light green parts of the scallions and the basil leaves. Slice and serve immediately. Enjoy! My grandfather is going to be ninety this year, and his social calendar is way more full than mine! I just got back from visiting him in East Hampton (no, he's not a hip-hop mogul, he's just been there since before it was cool), and boy, does he have some great stories! This recipe is a depression-era one. His parents would make this with day-old kaiser rolls so they would seem fresh--and it really does work! The butter steams up into the roll and makes it fluffy and soft again. I used to live on these when I was a kid. My family would stay for the summer at my grandparents' house, and my brother and I would beg for this dish for breakfast every day. It really does taste fabulous, even better with some stories from the past... You'll need: 1 kaiser roll per person, my favorite has poppy seeds butter 1-2 tsp sugar Optional fruit for garnish Slice your roll in half, and butter both sides well. Add a bit of butter to a medium-hot griddle or frying pan (or spray with cooking spray). Place the roll cut-side-down in the pan and let cook until the exposed side is soft again (carefully poke to check). The roll should have some burnt parts, but as my grandpa says, "those are the best part." Remove to a plate, and immediately sprinkle with some sugar. Promptly eat, and enjoy! When I saw this salad on the Food Network show Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, I knew I had to try it. I am a big fan of Anne Burrell's show, as she shares the restaurant tricks to making delicious meals--and making them is easier than they seem. While I love asparagus simply roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper, this salad was a welcome, cool change. This is great as a starter or side dish, and I made an easy breakfast of the leftovers by eating them with an over-easy egg on toast. Next time, I plan to try this salad on rounds of bread at a cocktail party as a sort of simple bruschetta, with some extra olive oil drizzled on top. For the Salad: 1 bunch thin asparagus, tough ends removed 1 small red onion, finely diced 1 cup grated Pecorino cheese 1/2 cup red wine vinegar Extra virgin olive oil Kosher salt Cut the asparagus into very thin slices all the way through the tips. Place in a medium bowl. Add the red onion and pecorino and toss to combine. Dress with the vinegar, olive oil and salt and toss again. The salad will look very heavily dressed, but don't worry, the vinegar will break down the onion and make the flavor less sharp. Let the salad rest covered in the refrigerator for at least an hour, so the flavors marry. Enjoy! I am a huge fan of breakfast and (especially) brunch. I can't start my day without the most important meal, and it must be a delicious one. I'm always finding new ways to make eggs, and I love changing up my go-to breakfast of lightly buttered toast with an over-easy egg on top. I was yearning for potatoes, but didn't want anything too heavy. I decided to make rosti, which is like a potato pancake, but without the egg and flour to bind it with. I added a handful of baby arugula for color and a peppery bite, and topped it off with my usual egg. If you want to make this for more people, just make one large rosti and slice it. Eggs optional, or make scrambled, one or two eggs per person. Per person, you'll need: 1 small red potato, shredded and squeezed dry 1/6 cup onion, shredded and squeezed dry Salt and pepper, to taste Unsalted butter, for the pan 1 or more eggs Optional: baby arugula to serve When you have shredded your potato and onion, mix it well, and make sure it's dry by squeezing it in a towel. Season the mixture to taste. Add some butter to a hot pan, and add the potato mixture. Using a spatula, flatten your potato out a bit, but be careful not to separate it too much. When you can see the edges are brown, carefully flip it. Cook for an additional two or three minutes, and remove to a plate. Spray the pan with cooking spray, and add an egg. Season the exposed side, and flip after a minute. Cook for one minute more. Top your rosti with arugula, then your egg. Add some freshly cracked pepper, if desired. Enjoy! I love brunch. There's just something amazing about going out to eat for a late breakfast (a meal that often includes alcoholic drinks!) that I love. The champagne glasses bubbling with mimosas and bellinis, the bleary-eyed diners slowly starting to look alive after their first cup of coffee, and the wonderful and often fancy egg dishes. After getting eggs benedict under my belt, I noticed on some brunch menus eggs florentine. I love this dish, because it is in the same vein as the benedict, but without the ham and the hollandaise sauce. This is all replaced with spinach, which at first thought, seems boring and too-good-for-you is really a bit decadent and so wonderful. I creamed the spinach, but you can braise it if you wish. You'll need: 1 english muffin per person 2 eggs per person Splash of vinegar Salt and pepper, to taste Butter or margarine, to taste Creamed spinach Parmesan cheese, to serve For the spinach, you'll need: 1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted 1/2 tbs unsalted butter 1/2 large vidalia onion, chopped 1 1/2 oz goat cheese Salt and pepper, to taste Pinch of nutmeg 2 tbs cream cheese Optional splash of milk First make your creamed spinach. Drain your defrosted spinach, and squeeze it in a paper towel to dry it further. Next, melt the butter in a small pot, and add the onion. Season with salt and pepper. When the onion is translucent, add the spinach. Stir in the goat cheese, and add the nutmeg. Once the goat cheese has melted into the spinach, add the cream cheese. If the consistency is too thick, add the splash of milk to thin it out a bit. Now set a pot of water to boil. When the water is at a rolling boil, lower the heat so it is just bubbling. Add the splash of vinegar to the water. Toast the english muffins, and crack the eggs into individual cups. Gently pour each egg into the water, and cook them for three minutes. Once the muffins are toasted, spread a little butter or margarine on each half. Top the muffins with some creamed spinach. Once the eggs are cooked, spoon them out of the water with a slotted spoon, and set the spoon on a folded paper towel to help dry the eggs a bit. Top the spinach with the eggs, and gently season with pepper and Parmesan cheese. Enjoy! The last time I had crepes, I was in Paris. All over the city there are these wonderful food carts with large round griddles. This is where expert crepe makers pour on the batter in front of you, spread it out with a t-shaped wooden tool, and form paper-thin crepes that you'll later dream about. The fillings go from savory to sweet, and are so perfect you won't know which to choose. My go-to was either ham and cheese or chocolaty nutella and banana, but this time I made braised spinach and cheese for a savory change. My love of nutella goes way back, and I don't know what I'd do without it... Well, I'd have to make my own, that's for sure! Thanks to Alton Brown for his batter recipe. You'll need: 2 large eggs 3/4 cup milk 1/2 cup water 1 cup flour 3 tbs melted butter butter, for the pan Fillings: 2 cups fresh spinach, braised in a little butter, with a dash of nutmeg and a squeeze of lemon juice 1 slice of american cheese per crepe 1 scallion, light green parts sliced on the bias for garnish 1 banana, with nutella, peanut butter, and tiny chocolate chips to taste Note: I halved the above recipe, and it made 8 good-sized crepes, perfect for two. Depending on how many you want, you may want to halve the recipe too. Combine all of the batter ingredients in a blender and pulse to combine. Place batter in the refrigerator for one hour, to let the batter settle (this batter will keep for 48 hours). Heat a small non-stick pan to medium. Coat with butter (note-if you use spray, use butter flavor, as the normal one will leave the crepes a bit bland--although the real butter helps you flip, so choose wisely!). Pour one ounce (yes, I used a shot glass!) of batter on the skillet, and swirl the pan to form the crepe. Cook for 30 seconds, and flip, making sure it's golden brown. Cook for another ten seconds, and place on a plate to reserve. Repeat until the batter is used up, adding more butter to the pan as needed. This should make 17-22 crepes, depending on the size of the pan. Braise your spinach, melting the butter in the bottom of a pot, adding the spinach, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Stir the spinach until all is wilted. Top your crepe with a slice of cheese, cut into threes to span the diameter. Add spinach, fold over the crepe, and top with some scallion. For the sweet crepe, smooth some peanut butter and nutella down the center. Add the banana and some chocolate chips. Fold the crepe, top with a slice of banana, and add more chips to decorate. Enjoy! Getting everything ready....! One of the many things I love about New York City are the weekends. New Yorkers don't just relax, they celebrate the fact that they've got a few days off. We get up late, shower (sometimes), and head out to our favorite spot: for a mimosa, bellini, or (when it's been a particularly rough night) a bloody mary. Not to mention the food: huevos rancheros, omelets, Irish breakfasts (for the adventurous), and the ever-classic Eggs Benedict. It is such a simple combination of flavors, but the sauce is what really takes this dish to a new level. I'd never made Hollandaise before, but I found it to be both harder and easier than I thought. The guys at The Bitten Word put theirs in a blender, but I wanted to use my mixer. My mistake had to do with over-whipping. My Hollandaise ended up lighter than usual, but we were fine with it: we're both working to eat "healthier!!" You can see how light and airy the sauce is... oops! You'll need: 1 English Muffin per person 2 eggs per person 2 slices of Canadian bacon per person Optional greens for the side, paprika for garnish 2 tbs vinegar, for the poaching water For the Hollandaise: 3 egg yolks 1/2 tsp salt Dash of tabasco (up to 1/4 tsp) 4 tsp warm water 1 tbs plus 1 tsp fresh lemon juice 8 tbs unsalted butter, melted First get your poaching water boiling. Once it's at a rolling boil, lower the heat so that the top of the water is barely moving, but still bubbling. Add the vinegar to the water. Set a small sauce pot on a back burner with the butter to melt it. Get out a frying pan for your bacon. While the butter is melting, set out all the ingredients for the Hollandaise. Now heat up your bacon on both sides, just to warm it. Mix the Hollandaise in a blender or a mixer, being careful not to separate it or over-whip! Start with the yolks, then the salt, water, tabasco and lemon juice. While the machine is running, slowly dribble the butter into the mix. Hollandaise done! Now crack each egg in a separate cup. Carefully drop them in the water, making sure they don't touch. Now toast your english muffins, and cook the eggs for three minutes. With a slotted spoon, carefully pull out each egg and place it on a paper towel-lined plate. To plate this dish, set an English muffin open-side up on each plate. Top each half with a slice of bacon and a poached egg. Spoon over a tablespoon or two of sauce. Add a pinch of paprika, and a dash of pepper. Serve with greens, poached asparagus, or home fries on the side! Mimosas optional. Enjoy! My friend Danny recently came over for brunch, and I was excited. There are so many options to cook, from baked french toast, to pancakes, to something more savory like Sweet Potato and Brussels Sprouts Hash Browns with Bacon and Eggs. If more people were coming over, I would have made more of a one-pot meal, but this is perfect for two to four. The prep work I finished before Danny came over, so all I had to do when he arrived was cook the bacon, finish the hash, and make the eggs (usually I wouldn't make the eggs to order, but he wanted scrambled, and sunny side up makes a prettier picture). We had tea and mimosas as well. What a perfect Sunday morning! You'll need: 1 lb sweet potato, peeled and diced 1/2 10 oz container brussels sprouts, cleaned and quartered 1/2 yellow onion, chopped 2-3 slices bacon per person 1-2 eggs per person Salt and pepper to taste cooking spray or butter, for the pan Optional: Orange juice, sparkling wine, coffee or tea First peel and cube the potato, put it in a pot of water, and bring to the boil. Now clean the brussels sprouts by peeling off any ugly leaves, cutting a bit off the bottom, and quartering them. The potatoes need to be not quite cooked, so after the water boils, check them after 3 minutes. They should be tender, but still hold their shape. Add the sprouts for the last two minutes of boiling, or just boil another pot and cook for two minutes. Drain both and let steam dry (this is where you'll stop if you're making this ahead). After Danny came over, I made the bacon in a large frying pan, turning once or twice until crispy. Drain on paper towels. Remove most of the oil from the pan, but leave some just to coat the bottom (I pour mine into an empty peanut butter container, and throw it out when it's full--it can be bad for the pipes to pour hot fat down the drain). Add the onion over medium-high heat, and cook for a minute. Now add the potato. Resist the urge to move them around a lot, they'll brown better if you let them be. Add the brussels sprouts and let them brown. Check the hash for seasoning, and add salt and pepper if needed. Now start the eggs. Mine I covered in a pan over low heat for about 5 minutes, until the top was just set. If you're making a lot of eggs, I'd recommend making scrambled all together, and cutting to serve. For the optional mimosas: mix equal parts sparkling wine and orange juice in a glass. Serve the hash with 2-3 pieces of bacon, and the eggs on top. Add a grind or two of fresh pepper, and enjoy! To make this into a vegetarian breakfast, either use fakin bacon or omit it altogether. Just be sure to add some oil to the pan before you make the hash. |
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