Category: BRUNCH

CINNAMON RAISIN LOAF doubles as awesome french toast!

CINNAMON RAISIN LOAF
2 cups + 2 teaspoons warm water
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
5 3/4 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons cultured Buttermilk powder
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 cups golden raisins
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 Jumbo egg, beaten
1 egg white, beaten
  • Combine 1/4 cup of the warm water and yeast in your mixer’s bowl.
  • Let sit until creamy, about 10 minutes.
  • Add the flour, buttermilk powder, 1/4 cup of the sugar, salt, 3 tablespoons of the butter and the remaining water.
  • Mix on low just until combined.
  • With dough hook mix on medium 5 minutes.
  • Add raisins and mix until firm.
  • Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead into a ball.
  • Oil a large bowl, place dough inside, cover and let rise in warm place until double in size – about 1 1/2 hours.
  • Generously spray 2 loaf pans with PURE.
  • In a small bowl combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon, setting aside a tablespoon as topping.
  • Split dough in half re-wrapping 1/2 in the oiled bowl.
  • Press the other piece of dough into a 10×12 rectangle.
  • Brush with 1/2 the whole beaten egg.
  • Sprinkle half the cinnamon sugar.
  • Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter.
  • With the back of a spoon lightly rub over the butter and cinnamon blending the butter and sugar mix.
  • Starting with the short end roll up the dough gently.
  • Pinch the ends together.
  • Transfer to pan, seam side down.
  • Cover with greased plastic and allow to rise 1 hour.
  • Repeat with other loaf.
  • At 45 minutes pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
  • Brush each with the egg white.
  • Top with 1/2 the reserve sugar/cinnamon mixture.
  • Bake 15 minutes and then lower temperature to 400 degrees.
  • Bake 15 minutes more and lower temperature to 350 degrees and bake 15 minutes more.

CARAMELIZED ONION & BACON FRITTATA

CARAMELIZED ONION & BACON FRITTATA
1 medium Vidalia onion, sliced thin
10 slices thick bacon
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoons cider or balsamic vinegar
8 eggs
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
salt and pepper to taste

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Whisk together the brown sugar and vinegar.
  • Toss onions and bacon slices in the mixture, packing it onto the slices.
  • Layer bacon and onions on grilling rack.
  • Bake 15-20 minutes or until crisp.
  • Increase oven to broil.
  • In a medium* cast iron skillet, heat the butter. Make sure to coat the sides also with the butter.
  • Whisk the eggs, milk and salt and pepper together.
  • When the butter foams, pour in the egg mixture and cook, stirring until eggs begin to scramble and are still quite moist.
  • Top with the onions, bacon and cheese.
  • Broil about 2 minutes until the cheese is melted and the eggs are done.
  • Slice and serve.

*I used a large (the only one I have) and it would have looked better in a medium size.


BLACKBERRY SOUFFLES

They serve up great for a Sunday brunch buffet.

BLACKBERRY SOUFFLES
6 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 ounces cream cheese, cut into eight 2 inch cubes
2 cups sliced blackberries

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Spray 8 ramekins with PURE.
  • Beat together eggs, water, and salt.
  • Fill ramekins 2/3 full with egg mixture.
  • Top each one with a cream cheese cube.
  • Evenly sprinkle brown sugar on top of each ramekin.
  • Top each one with blackberries.
  • Bake 15 minutes or until brown sugar is melted and eggs are set.
  • Slide out of ramekins (if you want), dust with powdered sugar and the rest of the blackberries.

BANANA RAISIN FRENCH TOAST

BANANA RAISIN FRENCH TOAST
8 slices raisin bread
2 medium ripe bananas
1 cup milk
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 JUMBO eggs
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons vanilla
powdered sugar garnish

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Spray a 9×9 baking dish with PAM.
  • Layer 4 slices of bread in the bottom.
  • Slice the bananas over the slices of bread.
  • Top with the other 4 slices.
  • In a food processor blend remaining ingredients until smooth consistency and pour over bread.
  • Let stand 5 minutes or overnight.
  • Bake 40-45 minutes or 50-55 minutes (if it was refrigerated) until knife comes out clean.
  • Let stand 5-10 minutes before cutting.
  • Sprinkle with powdered sugar and maple syrup.

Next time I will puree the banana layer.






BAKED OMELETS a.k.a. CRUSTLESS QUICHE

The beauty of making individual omelets is that you can truly have what you want.  Hubs hates mushrooms and I love them.  He likes his with more salt and I like more pepper.  You see where I’m going with this?  It’s all about what YOU want.  They also take half as much time to bake as a whole casserole would.
The one on the left is rotisserie chicken, mushroom, onion, fresh ground pepper and nacho cheese.  The one on the right is pot roast, onion, green Tabasco, salt and pepper with sharp cheddar cheese. These are a good place to use up some leftovers!
BAKED OMELETES aka CRUSTLESS QUICHEBASIC EGG MIXTURE – per person

2 eggs
1/8 cup whole milk
1/8 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
Fillings to taste

  • Spray ramekins with cooking spray,
  • Fill bottom with your favorites.
  • Whisk together the eggs, sour cream and milk.
  • Pour over fillings.
  • Bake 30 minutes or until cooked through.
  • Let sit 5 minutes.
  • Invert onto plate and enjoy.

CARROT CAKE PANCAKES & CREAM CHEESE SYRUP

I love carrot cake.  If you asked me what I wanted for my birthday cake I would say Carrot Cake!  So when we found this cute little diner, Babycakes Cafe, recently and they had carrot cake pancakes on the menu I had to give them a try.  And then I had to duplicate them.  YUMMY!!!!!!!!! 
So I started with my basic pancake recipe and added lots of carrots and spices. Their cream cheese syrup at the restaurant was really more like a glaze, so I used maple syrup as my liquid ingredient to make an actual syrup and like it even better!

The carrot cake pancakes were easy to make and tasted great! And it is always nice to have dessert for breakfast!

CARROT CAKE PANCAKES & CREAM CHEESE SYRUP
1 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups buttermilk
2 JUMBO eggs
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup carrot (very finely grated)
4 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
4-6 tablespoons maple syrup (use enough for desired consistency)
powdered sugar to taste
crushed pecans or walnuts

  • Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg together in a large bowl.
  • Whisk together the milk, egg, sugar and carrot in another bowl.
  • Mix together the wet and dry ingredients making sure to not over mix them.
  • Heat a griddle and melt some butter on it to coat.
  • Pour 1/3-1/4 cup of the mixture onto the griddle for each pancake and heat until the surface starts to bubble and the bottom is golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Flip the pancakes and cook the other side until the bottom is golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.
  • Blend together the cream cheese and maple syrup and add  powdered sugar to get desired sweetness.
  • Pour the cream cheese onto the pancakes.
  • Sprinkle with crushed nuts.

BAKED EGG & HAM CUPS

BAKED EGG & HAM CUPS

PER PERSON
4 slices deli ham
2 eggs
grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
  • Preheat oven 400 degrees.
  • Spray a muffin pan with PURE.
  • Place pan in oven to heat.
  • Line each muffin slot with 2 slices of ham.
  • Crack an egg into each ham cup.
  • Salt and pepper.
  • Bake 10 minutes.
  • Top with cheese.
  • Bake 5 more minutes.

SHIRRED EGGS

SHIRRED EGGS

for 4 Jumbo eggs:
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup diced ham or crumbled bacon
2 green onions, minced
1 cup cheese, your choice
salt & pepper to taste
Frank’s Hot Sauce

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Melt butter and place 1 tablespoon in the bottom of each ramekin. Make sure you swirl it around the sides too.
  • Sprinkle your meat and onions into the ramekin.
  • Crack an egg into each ramekin.
  • Salt & pepper.
  • Bake for 6-10 minutes or until egg whites are just set.
  • Top with cheese.
  • Bake another 6-10 minutes or until eggs are set to desired doneness.
  • With a spoon gently remove egg from cup onto plate or toast.


*At home I use individual ramekins for just the two of us, but when camping or having company I use a muffin tin to make them all at once.

S#*% on a SHINGLE

Now normally I wouldn’t make anything that wasn’t completely from scratch, but Hubby had been craving S.O.S. a lot lately! I hadn’t made it in years and he really wanted to go OUT for a hometown diner style breakfast. Someone told us about a local diner that had it as a special. He was soooooooooo excited and then he was soooooooooooo disappointed. It truly was S@#%! on a shingle, the dogs weren’t even thrilled with the leftovers! So tonight I surprised hubby with home made Creamed Chipped Beef and I thought I would share the recipe. One of my ‘secret’ ingredients is serving it over sourdough toast for extra flavor. The other is using a cast iron skillet. The last secret ingredient is an actual ingredient.
S.O.S. aka S@#%! on a shingle

1/3 cup butter
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 jar Armor dried beef*, chopped small
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (my last secret ingredient)

  • Melt the butter and add the onions. 
  • After about 2 minutes add the beef also. Saute’ until onions are translucent. 
  • Sprinkle with pepper. Use salt sparingly (beef is pretty salty)
  • Sprinkle flour over the meat and onions and stir in well. The flour will burn, so work quickly. 
  • Gradually add in the milk, stirring continuously until mixture boils. Turn down heat, add the Worcestershire sauce and thicken to a gravy consistency. 
  • Serve immediately over toast.

BAKED EGG BOATS

BAKED EGG BOATS
1 (13.2 oz) Pillsbury Simply Rustic French Bread, sliced in half, crosswise
2-4 slices bacon
2 JUMBO eggs
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 slices Havarti cheese
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar
2 scallions, finely sliced
1 pinch coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

  • Preheat oven to 350˚.
  • Place bread halves on a lightly greased baking sheet. Slide into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. 
  • While these bake, dice the bacon and cook until crispy. Remove the bacon from the skillet and drain on paper towels. 
  • Remove loaves from oven and slice a long hole in the middle of them, lengthwise. Pull out some of the dough filling inside each loaf, creating little boats. 
  • Lay the slice of Havarti inside the cavity, creasing it into the edges to make a deep hole.
  • Whisk together the eggs and heavy cream until well blended. 
  • Add the bacon, cheese, scallions, a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk to combine.
  • Pour the filling into each loaf boat and top with grated cheddar.
  • Bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until set in the center and golden brown.
  • Serve immediately!

FARMER’S BREAKFAST

This is another one of those recipes that has floated around for so long that I have no idea what I tore it out of. The paper has yellowed, the edges look like they have been gnawed on, but the flavor is the same!

1/4 cup butter
2 cups small cubed uncooked potatoes
1 large bunch green onion, sliced thin
1 cup cubed ham
6 eggs
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack/Mild Cheddar combo

  • Melt butter in cast iron pan.
  • Add potatoes and onions. Sprinkle with celery salt.
  • Cover and cook over a medium high heat, stirring occasionally until evenly brown and golden, about 20 minutes.
  • Add the ham and cook another 5 minutes.
  • Reduce the heat to low.*
  • Whisk together the eggs, salt, pepper and cream until well blended.
  • Pour egg mixture over ham and potatoes, cover and cook until eggs are almost set, about 10 minutes.
  • Occasionally run a knife of spatula around the edge to allow eggs to run down and not burn.
  • Sprinkle with cheese and cover again until cheese melts.
  • Cut into wedges and serve with toasted Oat Sunflower Bread.

*Using an electric stove, I switch burners and start with a cooler burner at this point since cast iron does not cool down as quickly. I like the cast iron though for the nice crisp edge to the potatoes.

CHICKEN CHILE CORN CUSTARDS

This recipe turned out fantastic and would be perfect your next brunch gathering. It also makes a wonderful cold winter’s night meal.

CHICKEN CHILE CORN CUSTARDS
2 medium fresh poblano or Anaheim chile peppers, roasted
1 small sweet red pepper, roasted
2 cups rotisserie chicken pieces
5 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 cups Green Giant white corn niblets, drained
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 can green chiles, drained well
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

  • Preheat oven to 425˚.
  • Grease 6 six ounce ramekins.
  • Place ramekins in a 13×9 baking dish.
  • In a large bowl combine eggs and cream.
  • Fold in peppers, corn, chicken, cheese, bread crumbs, chives, chili powder, salt and pepper.
  • Pour mixture evenly into ramekins.
  • Place baking dish on center rack in the middle of the oven.
  • Add 1 inch of boiling water to the baking dish.
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
  • Remove ramekins from water and serve on plates.