Homemade English Muffins

Every once in a while I get an unreasonable, unstoppable, crazy need to make a specific something that I have never made before.  I have no idea why this happens, but once it does I can't rest until I make whatever it is.  This sometimes leads to flagrant violation of what is known in our house as The Chicken Fried Steak Rule (click here if you want to know), but every now and then rules are made to be broken.

Anyway, this happened to me recently with English Muffins.  I should state for the record that at the time this hit me, I had a perfectly good box of Thomas's English Muffins in my fridge.  Yep.  There's no understanding this one.  All I knew was I had to make them.    So I sat down at my computer to do some  research (and by research I mean typing "english muffin recipe" into Google) and the recipe that spoke to me was one by Alton Brown.  Most of the other recipes included hours of rising and kneading and other things I am afraid of.  Alton's took me from the starting line to finished muffins in about an hour.  And I am all about instant gratification, so this recipe was the one.  There was only one hitch...it called for English Muffin Rings.


Me: "Hi, Mom?  Have you ever heard of English Muffin Rings, 
and do you know where I could get any fast?


Mom: "I have 16 of them.  Come on over and get them."


I don't know why this keeps surprising me.

So I sped down the road, got the rings, sped back up the road.  If perchance your mom doesn't live down the road and have English Muffin rings, you can get them by clicking the link below.

English Muffin Rings

Then I started assembling my ingredients...and stalled on the first one.  Powdered milk.  Didn't have any.  But the recipe called for mixing it with water, so I thought, how bad could it be if I just used regular milk and no water.  Same thing, right?

Not the same thing.  My first batch came out like large golden hockey pucks.  I couldn't even bring myself to take a picture of them.  The dog helpfully ate one, I tossed the rest, and went back to Google, where I learned a bunch of helpful stuff about milk proteins and other things that basically added up to:  use powdered milk in this recipe the way Alton Brown tells you too.  Off to the supermarket to get powdered milk.

FINALLY I was ready to roll.  You dissolve a packet of yeast in warm water, and meanwhile mix up the powdered milk with some water, sugar, salt and shortening.  Make sure the water is pretty hot so the shortening melts, or you can give the shortening a head start by nuking it for ten seconds before you add it in.  Now add in your yeast water, and 2 cups of flour that you have very carefully measured, sifted and measured again.  You are wanting a dough that is almost like a batter.  Not as runny as pancake batter, but not as firm as bread dough.  Sticky, gooey, slightly spreadable batter-dough.  Now cover it with dishcloth and leave it in a nice warm place for 30 minutes.  I like to pop it in my oven...even if the oven isn't on, it's still kinda cozy in there.

Now comes the fun part.  Get out your griddle - Alton has an electric one and that's what's in the recipe below.  I have an old-fangled one that just goes on the stove, so I put the burners on medium-low and sprayed it with Pam.  Put the rings on the burner and give them a good Pam spritz as well.  Now take a cookie sheet and spray the bottom of that as well.  Once your griddle is heated, spoon about 1/4 cup of dough into each ring.  This will fill it up about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way, and the dough should spread a tiny bit.  Now put the cookie sheet on top of the rings, Pam side down.  This will ensure that your dough will expand sideways and not upward as it cooks.  After 5 minutes or so take off the cookie sheet and peek under one of the muffins.  As soon as they are golden, flip them over to the other side.  If they are pretty solid you can take the rings off with tongs now, or you can leave them on until they are cooked on both sides...your choice.  After another 5-8 minutes cooking on the other side they are ready to come off the griddle.  Pop them onto a cooling rack.

I spent a fair amount of time just standing there looking at the muffins on the rack.  I had made English Muffins.  I had made ENGLISH MUFFINS!  There was just one nagging question in the back of my mind.  Would there be nooks and crannies?   There needed to be nooks and crannies.  I got out my fork and split one.

Nooks and crannies!!!!

My life is somehow complete now.  Thanks for living through this with me.

Homemade English Muffins, from Alton Brown

• 1/2 cup non-fat powdered milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon shortening
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 envelope dry yeast
• 1/8 teaspoon sugar
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• Non-stick vegetable spray

In a bowl combine the powdered milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, shortening, and hot water, stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool. In a separate bowl combine the yeast and 1/8 teaspoon ofsugar in 1/3 cup of warm water and rest until yeast has dissolved. Add this to the dry milk mixture. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Preheat the griddle to 300 degrees F. (If you are using a regular griddle, put it on the stove burners on medium low.)

Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt to mixture and beat thoroughly. Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with vegetable spray. Place about 1/4 cup batter into each ring and cover with a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with vegetable spray and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the cookie sheet and flip rings using tongs. Cover with the lid and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, remove rings and cool. Split with fork, toast and serve.

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Eggs Benedict

I do love to mix things up recipe-wise on this blog.  Lasagna Cupcakes, Bacon Cinnamon Rolls, Chocolate Merlot Tarragon Truffles...there's really not too many culinary boundaries that I'm not willing to jump right over.  But every once in a while I get a yearning for a tried and trusted classic, and one of my favorites is Eggs Benedict.  Whenever I see it on a menu somewhere I am sucked right in like a bee to honey, and so it was only a matter of time before I had to try it right there in my kitchen. 

And whenever I get a craving for something classic, there's one site that I tend to turn to over and over, because I know I am going to find perfect, clear, utterly reliable recipes, and that is the perfectly named Simply Recipes.  While there are certainly a ton of wonderfully exotic recipes on this site, it's also a terrific resource for things that you know and love but don't yet have the perfect recipe for.  So on that day that I simply HAD to make my own eggs benedict, I made a beeline for Simply Recipes, and there it was.  Canadian bacon, poached eggs, a simple blender hollandaise...classic and scrumptious and exactly, exactly what I had in mind.

It's like finding that perfect, regular, ordinary pair of jeans.  Sometimes in a sea of low-rise-flare-boyfriend-cut-indigo-wash-jeggings, you just want a good old pair of Levi's.

Or a perfect, regular, ordinary plate of eggs benedict, right in your own kitchen.

Thanks, Simply Recipes!

Eggs Benedict, adapted just a little from the simply wonderful Simply Recipes

• 8 pieces of bacon or 4 pieces of Canadian bacon


• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, for garnish


• 4 eggs


• 2 English muffins


• Butter

Blender Hollandaise

• 10 Tbsp unsalted butter


• 3 egg yolks


• 1 Tbsp lemon juice


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• Dash of cayenne or tabasco

1. Heat a large skillet on medium low heat. Add the strips of bacon or the slices of Canadian bacon. Slowly fry, turning occasionally, until the bacon is browned on both sides, and if using strip bacon, much of the fat is rendered out (about 10 minutes). Use tongs or a fork to remove the bacon from the pan, set on a paper towel to absorb the excess fat. 
2. Make the blender hollandaise. To make blender hollandaise, melt 10 Tbsp unsalted butter. Put 3 egg yolks, a tablespoon of lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt in a blender, blend on medium to medium high speed for 20-30 seconds, until eggs lighten in color. Turn blender down to lowest setting, slowly dribble in the hot melted butter, while continuing to blend. Taste for salt and acidity and add more salt or lemon juice to taste.Transfer it to a container you can use for pouring and set it on a warm – but not hot – place on or near the stovetop.
4 Poach the eggs.  You can either do it the traditional way by slipping them gently into simmering water for about four minutes or so and then scooping them out with a slotted spoon, or you can take the easy way out the way I do and use silicone poach pods.  They are not totally authentic but they are completely reliable, which goes a long way.
5 While you are poaching the eggs in whatever way you like, toast your English muffins.
6 To assemble the eggs benedict, butter one side of an English muffin. Top with two slices of bacon or 1 slice of Canadian bacon.  Put a poached egg on top of the bacon, then pour some hollandaise over. Sprinkle some parsley over it all and serve at once.

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Grilled Provolone, Egg and Pancetta Sandwiches

There are grilled cheese sandwiches, and then there are Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.  Before the teenager left for college, grilled cheese meant American cheese inside two slices of white bread, fried in a little butter until golden brown.  She's a grilled cheese purist, and hey, that is a perfectly good grilled cheese sandwich.

But here in our newly empty nest we are pushing the boundaries a little, grilled cheese-wise.  The empty nest version uses provolone cheese that has been set on top of thinly sliced sourdough bread and put in a skillet with a little butter until the cheese is melted.

While this is happening, we are cooking up some pancetta (thin round Italian bacon, and if you can't find it, regular bacon will work just fine) until it is just crispy.  While it is draining on paper towels, cook up a couple of fried eggs in that same skillet until they are just set.

Now lay a couple pieces of bacon on top of the melted cheese toast, lay an egg on top, and sprinkle with some grated parmesan cheese and a little basil.  Slice off a bite, making sure to get some of every single ingredient, and chew it up nice and slowly.

Realize that while you miss your teenager like crazy, there are advantages to living in a house where you don't always have to break out the American cheese when you are making grilled cheese for lunch.

Grilled Provolone, Egg and Pancetta Sandwiches, adapted from Bon Appetit

12 slices of pancetta (Italian bacon), or 4 regular bacon slices cut into thirds
2 tablespoons butter
4 slices sourdough bread
8 thin slices provolone cheese
4 large eggs
Parmesan cheese shavings
12 fresh basil leaves 

1. Cook pancetta or bacon in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels. Reserve skillet with drippings.
2. Melt butter in extra-large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 4 bread slices; top each with 2 provolone slices. Sprinkle with black pepper. Cook until cheese melts, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat skillet with drippings over medium heat. Crack eggs into skillet; cook until whites are set but yolks are still runny, 2 to 3 minutes. 

4. Set 6 pancetta slices and 2 eggs atop each of 2 cheese toasts. Top eggs with Parmesan, and basil. Cut sandwiches in half and serve.

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BLT Benedict!

Bacon.  Poached Eggs.  Avocado.  Fresh, sweet, summer cherry tomatoes.  Tender baby lettuce.  Sliced sourdough bread that has been brushed with olive oil and toasted outside on the grill until it is just the right amount of charred.

You're with me, right?  Yes, this is Eggs Benedict meets BLT meets Guacamole...it's the perfect mash-up of some of my favorite comfort foods, all on one lucky plate.  You want to soft cook the poached eggs so they are just the right amount of runny, because they are going to take the place of the million calorie and tricky to make hollandaise sauce that usually goes on Eggs Benedict.

Meantime, you are going to marinate those gorgeous baby tomatoes and the avocado in a little dressing of garlic, fresh chopped basil, olive oil and a teeny bit of wine vinegar.  That's where you get just a little of the guacamole taste...not exactly the real thing, but a close cousin.

Now send someone reliable out to the grill to toast up the sourdough bread...or any other substantial bread that you have on hand.  One slice per person, because this is an open-faced sandwich.  (I'm going through an open-faced sandwich phase this summer.  I love them.)

You cook up the bacon and the poached egg in the meantime.  Or do it in any order you like - one of the great things about this sandwich is that you can make the other stuff ahead of time and have it at room temperature and save cooking the egg for the very end.

Now the assembly: spread a little mayo on the grilled bread, then layer on some some lettuce, then the bacon, then some of the tomato mixture.  Pop an egg on top and break it just enough for the yolk to spread over the whole thing.  Drop a few more tomatoes on top.   It's going to be the one of the best things you ever tasted, I promise.  Almost as good as a practically empty jar of peanut butter.

Almost. 

Here's the recipe!

BLT Benedict! adapted from My Recipes via Southern Living

• 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, divided
• 6 large eggs
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 6 slices sourdough or other hearty sandwich bread, brushed with olive oil and grilled until toasted (or if you MUST, you can put them in the toaster!)
• 3 cups baby lettuce
• 12 thick bacon slices, cooked

1. Combine tomatoes and next five ingredients and 2 1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar in a small bowl.
2. Add water to depth of 3 inches in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and maintain at a light simmer. Add remaining 1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar. Break eggs, and slip into water, 1 at a time, as close as possible to surface. Simmer 3 to 5 minutes or to desired degree of doneness (but the runnier the better for this recipe!). Remove with a slotted spoon.
3. Spread mayonnaise on one side of each bread slice. Layer each with 1/2 cup lettuce, 2 bacon slices, some of the tomato mixture and one egg. Top with remaining tomato mixture.

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Eggs with Mustard Creamed Spinach and Crispy Breadcrumbs

I don't think my love affair with eggs for dinner will ever, ever end, for as long as we both shall live.  And while I am all for the usual suspects (I mean, who doesn't adore pancakes at 7pm?),  when I run across a salty, savory version of eggs, I am even happier...and that's exactly what this little number is.

You start with the bread crumbs.  Whirl a slice of bread in your food processor until it is a pile of crumbs, toss it with some olive oil and a little mustard, and then bake them in the oven for 5-10 minutes until they are golden and crispy.  Next you saute some baby spinach until it is all nice and wilted, and then stir it up with a little more mustard and a teeny bit of half and half.  Last but not least, fry up a few sunny-side-up eggs.

All you have left now is the assembly: bed of spinach, topped with eggs, sprinkled with mustard crumbs.  I tossed some fresh oregano on top because it is going bananas in my Aerogarden and I am using any excuse to snip it back and use it as a garnish.  

Now it is all over but the eating, and the singular happy feeling of having breakfast for supper!

Eggs with Mustard Creamed Spinach and Crispy Breadcrumbs, from Bon Appetit

• 1/2 cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless country-style bread
• 5 teaspoons Dijon mustard, divided
• 2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds (if you have them.  If not don't worry.)
• 1 9-ounce package fresh spinach leaves
• 3 tablespoons half and half
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2 large eggs
• Fresh thyme sprigs (for garnish)

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss crumbs with 2 teaspoons mustard, 2 teaspoons oil, and mustard seeds in medium bowl to coat. Scatter on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add enough water to deep large nonstick skillet to cover bottom. Add spinach; toss over high heat to wilt, about 2 minutes. Scrape into sieve set over bowl; press out liquid. Wipe out skillet; reserve.
• Transfer spinach to medium saucepan. Add 3 teaspoons mustard, half and half, and chopped thyme. Stir over medium heat until thick, about 3 minutes. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Remove from heat.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in reserved skillet over medium-high heat. Crack eggs into skillet, spacing apart. Fry until whites are cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Divide spinach between 2 plates, spreading out as base for eggs. Top with eggs, crumbs, and thyme sprigs.

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Roasted Asparagus with Crispy Prosciutto and Poached Egg

Oh, how I love asparagus season.  That delightful time of year when you can get the little, skinny asparagus that cook up in no time, and that are perfectly, wonderfully tender and delicious no matter how you cook 'em.  They are a thing of beauty.

It almost makes you want to take them and pop them in a vase and use them as decorations around the house.

That is, until you remember how scrumptious they are...which is why this super-speedy recipe comes in so very handy.  Take those gorgeous asparagus, brush them with a little olive oil, shake on a little salt and pepper and pop them in a hot oven to roast.  If you get the thin ones, they will be ready in less than ten minutes.   During the last couple of minutes, drop some thin sliced parmesan cheese on top of the asparagus and put them back in the oven for another minute or two for the cheese to melt.  

That is just enough time to saute some chopped prosciutto until it is nice and crispy, and to poach up a few eggs (or fry them, depending on what kind of an egg person you are.  I am a poached egg person, myself).   Then all you do is lay some of those beautifully roasted asparagus on the plate, top with an egg and scatter some of the prosciutto on top.  Garnish with a little chopped fresh thyme, and you are set. 

Asparagus heaven, right there on your own plate.  Does it get any better??

Roasted Parmesan Asparagus with Crispy Prosciutto and Poached Egg, from Epicurious

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
4 thin prosciutto slices, thinly sliced crosswise
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
20 asparagus spears, trimmed
1 2-ounce piece Parmesan cheese, shaved into strips
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add prosciutto; sauté until almost crisp, about 1 minute. Transfer to paper towels.

2. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Toss asparagus on sheet with remaining oil, then arrange close together. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 12 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over; roast until melted, about 5 minutes. Divide among 4 plates. Cover to keep warm.

3. Meanwhile, pour enough water into large skillet to reach depth of 2 inches. Add 1 teaspoon salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium. Crack 4 eggs, 1 at a time, into simmering water. Cook until whites are set but yolks are still soft, about 3 minutes. 

4. Using slotted spoon, gently transfer 1 egg to atop asparagus on each plate. Sprinkle each serving with prosciutto and thyme. Season with salt and pepper; serve.

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Savory Oatmeal with Soft-Cooked Egg and Cheddar

I have so many, many things to say about this recipe.

First, I think oatmeal is one of the more under-appreciated things in life.  Somehow it has gotten a bad rap over the years...as a matter of fact, the teenager said to me just this morning, "Mom, you and Dad are the only people in the world that actually LIKE oatmeal."  I don't think this is completely true, but I also think the world doesn't fully understand and appreciate the wonder that is oatmeal.

First of all, it is actually good for you.  Unlike some of my other favorite food groups, oatmeal is full of fiber and not full of other less-good stuff, so there's that.  But I think that folks have gotten stuck in the usual ordinary ways of making oatmeal, which is basically boiling it up in some water, or milk if they go really crazy.  Maybe tossing some brown sugar on top.  But people!  There is so much more to be done!  And one of my favorite, favorite approaches to oatmeal is the savory approach - going cheesy and a little salty instead of sweet and sugary.  (Yes, I know, I am messing a little bit with the whole healthy part, but really, it's just a little bit.  There's no butter or cream or even bacon involved, I promise.)

So here's the drill.  Cook up the oatmeal the way you usually do, but at the end, toss in a handful of shredded cheddar cheese and stir it up.  Taste it to see if it needs a little more salt - it might not with the cheese going on.  Now sprinkle a little more cheese on top and then (brace yourself for happiness) place a soft-cooked egg on top.  Poached, soft-boiled, over-easy...it's your choice, just so long as the yolk is still nice and creamy.  Because now you are going to break the egg up just a little so the yolk melts into your cheesy oatmeal.  Scatter a few scallions on top, and then a grinding of fresh pepper.  

You'll never look at your box of Quaker Oats the same way again now, will you?  We usually have this for a light supper, but it would, of course, be an AMAZING breakfast as well.

Go give your oatmeal some love and respect now, okay?

Savory Oatmeal with  Soft-Cooked Egg and Cheddar, adapted from Everyday Food

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar
• 1 tablespoon sliced scallions

1. Bring 1 cup water to boil in small saucepan.  Add oats and pinch of salt and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add 1/4 cup cheddar and stir.

2. Meanwhile, soft-cook the egg in whatever way you like best.  Soft-boiled, poached or over easy will all work, so long as the egg yolk is still a little liquid and creamy.

3. Ladle oatmeal into bowl.  Sprinkle with remaining cheddar and top with cooked egg.  Scatter scallions on top and eat at once.

Click here for printable recipe

Egg Sandwich with Spinach, Brie and Maple Bacon

Things I love in life:

1. Bacon

2. The Southern husband

3. Brie

4. English muffins

5. Baby Spinach

6. Noisy, disobedient but lovable dogs

7. Eggs, over easy

8. Noisy, disobedient but lovable teenagers.

Five of these things are part of the sandwich we had for dinner tonight.  (And by the way, don't you love sandwiches-for-dinner night? I do.  Add that to the above list.)

I won't lie to you, this is a messy one to eat, but man, is it worth every single drip and spatter.  You toast up the muffins and while they are still warm, spread on some nice soft Brie.  Yes, on both sides.  Let them sit there while you slather some maple syrup on the bacon and cook it in the oven.  While the bacon is cooking, saute some baby spinach until it is nice and soft, and then cook up some eggs, over easy - as hard or soft as you like.  I like soft, myself.  

Now slide the egg onto the bottom half of the muffin, lay some spinach over the egg, and a couple of maple bacon pieces over the spinach.  Pop the other muffin half on top.  At this point, the heat of everything is going to start turning that cheese into a melty sauce of molten Brie, and you may start to weep a little in anticipation.  This is normal.   Now sit down and get ready to eat the best egg sandwich in the world.

The best!

Egg Sandwich with Spinach, Brie and Maple Bacon

• Two strips bacon, each cut in half
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups baby spinach
• One English muffin, split
• 2 large slices of Brie cheese, softened
• One egg
• 1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Cover baking sheet (use one with sides) with foil and lay bacon on top. Brush with maple syrup.  Bake for 10 minutes or until bacon is done to your liking.

2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in skillet and saute spinach until wilted, about 2 minutes.  Cover with skillet cover and set aside.

3. Toast English muffin and as soon as it is toasted, spread both sides with cheese.

3. Heat butter in second small skillet over medium heat until melted.  Fry egg until yolk is soft set. Flip and cook another minute longer.

4. Lay egg on bottom of English muffin.  Top with spinach.  Cover spinach with bacon.  Cover with top of English muffin.

Click here for printable recipe

Ham and Egg Crepe Squares

I am a complete sucker for any recipe that does something out of the ordinary with eggs...provided that it stays within my weekday "must be able to be made in 30 minutes or under rule."  I love and adore eggs (which works out so conveniently with my love and adoration of bacon), but there's only so many poached/fried/scrambled eggs a girl can eat, and variety is the spice of life, and all that.

So when I happened on this recipe for crepes that are baked with ham and an egg inside, I moved straight to the top of the recipe pile.  I have to admit, I was a teeny bit intimidated by the whole making of the crepe part, but as I was getting ready the Southern husband commented that it was probably like pancakes...the first one would be a bust, and then I would get the hang of it and it would all go just fine.

I snippily reminded him who the food blogger/expert chef was in the house, and he smartly retreated to the other end of the house.  Then I started making the crepes.  The first one was a complete bust, and then I got the hang of it.   At which point I went to the other end of the house and said he kind of maybe had sort of been right, and kissed the top of his Southern head.

Anyway.

Once you are finished making the crepes and are incredibly proud of yourself for actually MAKING crepes, you lay them on a baking sheet, and line each one with a thin slice or two of ham.  Then crack an egg into the center and fold up the sides of the crepe so you have a little square package with the egg yolk peeking out.  The egg white will act as a kind of glue so the sides pretty much stay put.  Sprinkle some coarse salt and pepper on each one and pop them in the oven for about 10-12 minutes - you want the white to be set but the yolk to still be a little runny.  When they are done, sprinkle with a little parsley and you have a scrumptious, handsome little egg dish.  I made two per person and that was perfect.  And the happy recipient of that first crepe - the one that was a bust?

And they all lived happily ever after.

 Ham and Egg Crepe Squares, from Everyday Food

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 4 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 9 thin slices ham
• 9 eggs
• Chopped fresh parsley

1. Combine flour, sugar, salt, milk, four eggs and the melted butter in a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds.  Let rest for 15 minutes.

2. Heat a 12 inch non-stick skillet over medium heat and lightly coat with butter.  Add 1/3 cup batter and swirl to completely cover skillet.  Cook until underside of crepe is very lightly starting to brown, about 2 minutes.  

3.  Loosen edge of crepe with spatula and then either using large spatula or your fingers, lift it up and flip it over.  Cook another minutes and then slide out of skillet onto wax paper.  Repeat until all crepes are done.  You should have about 9 when you are done.

4. Preheat oven to 350.  Place crepes on a rimmed baking sheet (you can fit 3-4 per sheet).  Place am slice in center of crepe and carefully crack egg onto ham.  Fold edges of crepe toward center, using the egg white as a kind of glue.  Season with salt and pepper and bake until egg white is set, about 10-12 minutes.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve at once.

 Click here for printable recipe

Quick Banana Sticky Buns

So, the teenager has a small army of friends, and periodically (and by periodically I mean at least once a week) she says, "Mom, can I have a few people over?"  And by that she means, can I have thousands of teenagers come over, eat everything in the fridge and all the cabinets, bring their sleeping bags, watch all the Harry Potter/Batman/etc DVDs until the wee hours of the morning, finally fall asleep (girls upstairs in actual beds, boys downstairs sleeping on the floor), and wake up the next morning ravenous and needing to be fed again?

To which I always say yes, because I secretly love all of that, and all of them.  Here's a small sample of what some of them look like...

I show you this picture because it is actually LESS scary than showing you a picture of all of them in their pajamas.  And by pajamas I mean their oldest, grubbiest sweatpants and tee-shirts, which is apparently what pajamas mean now-a-days.

Anyway.  In the mornings I turn into a short-order cook, and to make things even more exciting, they don't all get up at the same time.  They trail into the kitchen in dribs and drabs, starving - STARVING, I tell you!! - despite the fact that they ate 17 bags of sour cream and onion chips a mere 8 hours ago.  They need to eat immediately or they will keel over, and they all need something just a little bit different.  So while I am cooking up the french toast/scrambled eggs/two eggs over easy, I like to have a plate of something on hand that they can eat while they wait to eat.

Which brings me to the point of this post - these very quick, very easy banana sticky buns.  They are ready in about 15 minutes flat, and if I can get them going as soon as I hear the first teenager stirring, I can just about have them on the plate when they start stumbling into the kitchen.  Here's the drill: you get a can of 10 buttermilk biscuits - that's right, the ones in the tube that we all secretly love and adore.  Get the regular size ones, not the grands.  Take out your handy muffin tin and drop the following items into each of ten muffin openings: a little butter, a little brown sugar, a few slices of banana and some chopped pecans.  (I usually make half with pecans and half without, because of course they don't all like the same thing.)  Pop a biscuit on top of each, and bake the whole shebang for about 10 minutes.  When the biscuits are nice and golden, take the muffin pan out, run a knife around the outside of each muffin to make sure it is loose, and then invert the muffin pan onto a cookie sheet.  The sticky buns should fall right out, and if some don't just scoop them out with a spoon.  Sometimes a banana slice or two will stay in the muffin pan - scoop those up and stick 'em right back on.

That's it - delicious, warm, easy sticky buns.  Now all you have to do is figure out what you are going to feed them for lunch.

Quick Banana Sticky Buns, adapted from Real Simple

• 1 tube refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (tube of 10)
• 2 tablespoons butter,  cut into 10 slices
• 1 banana, sliced thin
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Drop one piece of butter into each muffin compartment.  Put a few banana slices on top of the butter, then sprinkle with a little brown sugar and some nuts (if using).  Place a biscuit on top of all and press down slightly.

3. Bake until golden, about  8-10 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately run a knife around the edge of each sticky bun, and then put a cookie sheet on top of the muffin tin.  Flip the tin over and tap the bottom to release the buns.  If any nuts or bananas are left in the tins, just scoop them out and place them on the top of the buns.

4. Serve warm (and these reheat well in the microwave if they aren't gobbled up right away.)

Click here for printable recipe

Bacon Pancakes

I have several things to say about this particular recipe. First of all, while it may look from that picture up there that I have simply artfully arranged a piece of bacon on the top of those pancakes, if you look very closely you will see that the bacon has actually been cooked INTO the pancake itself. Yes, while those pancakes were on the griddle I dropped some bacon on top of the batter and let that bacon cook into the center of the pancake. Wrap your mind around that for a minute. Take deep breaths.

The other thing I want to point out is the placemat. I got these a couple of years ago at Williams Sonoma...they are hard placemats with Twelve Days Of Christmas artwork on them, and they make me so, so happy. They have a whole line of Twelve Days stuff now, and last week when I was in the store I had to restrain myself from buying matching napkins. Actually the Southern husband had to restrain me - he literally took them out of my hands and put them back on the shelf. Probably because he was remembering that we already have napkins that each have the name of one of Santa's reindeer on them. (I always save Vixen for myself. Which explains a lot about me that you probably didn't want to know.)

But I digress. The pancakes are as simple as I described them above - you mix up a batch of your favorite pancake batter (I am a faithful Bisquick girl myself), and after you ladle your batter onto the skillet, drop on a piece of cooked bacon. Flip your pancake as usual, and when they are gorgeously brown you will see that the bacon has cooked into the batter.

Now pour on some maple syrup, and ask yourself where this bacon-infused pancake has been all your life.

Bacon Pancakes, adapted from Everyday Food

• 1 batch of pancake batter - your choice.  I like the Bisquick recipe, which is happily right there on the back of the box
• Butter for griddle
• 8-12 slices of bacon, depending on how much pancake batter you are making.
• Warm maple syrup

1. Preheat of to 400.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and lay bacon strips on the foil.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until bacon is cooked but not too crispy.

2.  Heat griddle or large frying pan over medium heat and melt a tablespoon or so of butter on the griddle.  Pour scant 1/4 cups of pancake batter on the griddle.  Carefully lay a slice of cooked bacon on top of each pancake.  Cook until bubbles appear on the top of the pancake and the underside is golden.  Carefully flip and cook for another minute or two until second side is golden.

3. Serve at once with warm maple syrup.

Click here for printable recipe

 

Overnight Oatmeal

I think I am overdue in terms of singing the praises of one of my very favorite kitchen appliances, which is my beloved, faithful, trustworthy slow cooker. I've had the same slow cooker for years and years now - it's a basic Rival Crockpot model - and I've made everything from the best beef barley soup in the world to a really incredible chocolate pudding cake and a lot of stuff in between. There's nothing quite like the feeling you get when you toss a bunch of stuff in the crockpot in the morning, go out to work, and then come home hours later to a house that smells like heaven and the glorious knowledge that dinner is already made!

Most of my crockpot recipes are dinner-oriented (well, except for that cake. Which I would happily eat for dinner, but that's just me.) This oatmeal recipe also makes a fantastic comfort food dinner recipe, but it's my only crockpot recipe that is perfection for breakfast. Here's how it works, and why I adore it so much.

First of all, you must use steel-cut oats - none of those regular rolled Quaker Oats for this recipe. Steel cut oats are those hard little round oats - they look like teeny little pebbles and you will wonder how on earth they are going to turn into anything edible, but have faith. You toss them into your trusty slow cooker with some water, a little half and half and some dried fruit. I used dried cranberries and chopped up dried figs, but I think probably anything you have around will work just fine - raisins, dates, etc. Set the slow cooker for 8 hours on low, and go to bed. The next morning you will wake up to an unbelievably amazing aroma of sweet and creamy oatmeal. It has slowly cooked away all night long, and the fruit has somehow broken down and blended into the oats, giving the whole thing a wildly delicious, comforting, sweetly creamy texture. No additional sweetener is needed - just warm up a little milk and grab your favorite bowl.

Take hold of a spoon, close your eyes and dig in. It's comfort food extraordinaire, and you may never go back to those little oatmeal packets ever again.

Overnight Oatmeal, from Alton Brown

• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup dried figs, cut in quarters
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup half and half

1. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and set on low. Cover and cook for 8 hours.

2. Stir and scoop into bowls. Pour warm milk over each serving.

Click here for printable recipe

Bagel, Lox and Avocado

I've mentioned this here and there before, but I'll say it once again just for the record: the Southern husband has a serious love affair going with Costco. From giant packages of paper towels, to 5 pound bags of chocolate chips, to camoflauge fabric shorts, to the world's largest bag of dog biscuits, I never know what he is going to come home with next. Whatever it is usually makes at least someone in the house ecstatically happy.

Especially the dog biscuit part.

Now, all of this works out really well when you are talking about paper towels, because you put one roll on the paper towel dispenser and put the other 29 rolls in the closet and you are set. However, when the thing that catches his eye is perishable, it turns into a game of Beat The Clock...because as you may know, Costco sells in bulk. As in lots and lots and lots of whatever that item is.

Which is how I ended up with this particular recipe, because not so long ago along with a giant container of laundry detergent and package of 24 containers of strawberry yogurt, he also came home with a Costco-sized bag of avocados.  Now, I love avocados, and I have made everything from avocado and shrimp salad in mason jars to cucumber avocado soup, but a bag of 12 avocados was a bit of a challenge.  Sure, I could make the world's largest bowl of guacamole, but that seemed like cheating to me.  So over the course of a week filled with various and sundry avocado recipes that I had already tried before, we also had what is now known in my house as the BLA.  Not to be confused with a BLT, since the letters stand for totally different items.  BLA is a bagel with lox and avocado, and I tossed a little sliced red onion on top just for good measure.

Here's all you do.  Cut your bagel in half, and toast it or don't, depending on your own personal bagel preferences.  Take an avocado, cut it in half and scoop it out onto a plate.  Drizzle a little lemon or lime juice on top - about 2 tablespoons, and if it's fresh-squeezed all the better.  Now take a fork and mash it all up.  Mix in a pinch of coarse salt and a little fresh ground pepper.  Now spread a generous amount on your bagel, lay some lox or smoked salmon on top, garnish with some thin sliced red onion if you have any, and there you go - BLA!

Now if I can just figure out where to put all the paper towels.

BLA, or Bagel, Lox and Avocado, adapted from Epicurious

• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and mashed
• 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Salt and fresh ground pepper
• 2 split bagels, toasted or not - it's up to you!
• Strips of lox or smoked salmon
• Thinly sliced red onion

1. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to mashed avocado and stir.

2. Spread each bagel half with avocado.  Top with lox and onion and serve immediately.

Click here for printable recipe

Cinnascones!

If there are two baked goods I love over all others, they are cinnamon rolls and scones.  And if there is one food-related ritual I love over all others, it is afternoon tea.  And so when I came across a cookbook that took all these heavenly things and mixed them all up together...well, let's just say that I was one happy girl.

Alice's Tea Cup is both a wonderful tearoom in New York City and now a cookbook packed with things like this:

Banana Nutella Cake
Apple-Cinnamon Butternut Squash Soup
The Red Queen's Pink and White Chessboard Cookies

But the recipe that had me at hello was the one called Cinnascones, and yes, they are exactly what you hope and dream they are.  A sweet buttermilk scone dough that is rolled out, spread with a cinnamon paste, rolled up, sliced, baked and then drizzled with a light frosting.  Is your mind blown yet?

This is a recipe that you will want your handy Silpat for, or a nice piece of parchment paper for the rolling out part, because the dough is a little bit sticky, but if you roll it out on one of those you can lift it up and guide the dough around as you start the rolling up part.  Aside from that, the only tricky part is going to be keeping them in your kitchen for more than 5 minutes after they come out of the oven.

Now my only problem is deciding if I am going to make the Peppermint Stick Scones or the Peanut Butter and Jelly Scones next.  Or the Bacon Cheddar Scones.  Or the Banana Butterscotch Scones....

Cinnascones, from Alice's Tea Cup

• 3 1/2 cups flour 
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 10 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (and more as needed to adjust dough consistency for rolling)
• 3/4 teaspoons almond or vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 400.  In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

2. Work butter into dry mixture using your hands until thoroughly incorporated and mixture is the consistency of fine breadcrumbs.  Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk and extract.  Mix with your hands until combined, kneading about seven times.  Add buttermilk as needed until the dough combines into a rolling consistency.

3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, ideally a Silpat or parchment paper.  Using a floured rolling pin, roll into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle.

4. Make the cinnamon paste by combining remaining butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves.  Smear over the entire surface of the dough.

5. Starting at one long side, roll the dough tightly to make a long cylinder.  Using a sharp knife, slice the roll into 1 inch thick disks.  Lay the disks on their side, two inches apart, on a non-stick baking pan.  Press them with the palm of your hand to flatten them to 1/2 inch thick.

6. Using a pastry brush,. brush the tops liberally with heavy cream.  Reduce oven temp to 350 and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.  Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes.

7. Make the frosting by combining confectioner's sugar, milk and remaining extract.  Whisk until smooth.  Using a pastry bag or a spoon, drizzle over scones.  Serve warm with a nice cup of tea.

Click here for printable recipe

Pumpkin Cranberry Granola

This past weekend we got into the Halloween spirit in the one way guaranteed to bring out the autumn merriness in everyone.  We went to the pumpkin patch with my adorable nephew, aka the cutest little boy on the Planet Earth.  It was a gorgeous, crisp fall day.  The birds were singing, the sun was shining, and there were pumpkins as far as the eye can see.  There's nothing like a good old pumpkin to brighten your day, especially if you are one-and-a-half.

"Mama, look at this PUMPKIN!!!"

There were farm animals to be petted...

There were funny wooden cut-outs that you could put your adorable little face into...

There were, of course, pumpkins...

And to top it all off, there were apple cider donuts to be eaten.  I mean seriously...does life get ANY better than this?

I don't think so!

By the end of the pumpkin patch adventure I was in a complete pumpkin trance.  Luckily I had in my possession a recipe from the ever wonderful Two Peas and Their Pod blog for pumpkin cranberry granola, and one short hour later my kitchen smelled like pumpkin heaven.  This is a super-simple, super-delicious granola that is flexible enough to make pretty much any way your heart desires.   First you mix up a wonderful concoction of pumpkin puree, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla and applesauce, and try very hard not to just eat this mixture with spoon right there in the middle of your kitchen.  You pour it over a nice pile of oatmeal that has been mixed with pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon and nutmeg, and pop it all in the oven until it is just a little bit crispy.  Once it comes out of the oven, you can toss in cranberries, pumpkin seeds, nuts...whatever your little pumpkin-lovin' heart desires.  Pumpkin Granola Heaven.

The end.  (Except for the recipe below!)

Pumpkin Cranberry Granola, from Two Peas and their Pod

• 5 cups rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• Optional: additional nuts, pepitas, raisins - whatever else feels good to you!

1. Heat over to 350.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Stir oatmeal, spices and salt together in a large bowl.

3. Whisk together brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract until smooth.  Pour into oat mixture and mix until oats are coated.  Spread the mixture onto baking sheet.

4. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and stir.  Bake for an additional 20-30 minutes or until golden and crisp.  Remove from oven and stir in cranberries and any other mix-ins.  Let cool completely.  Store in airtight container.

Click here for printable recipe

Asparagus and Ham Oven Frittata

There is something that is just so comforting about anything made with eggs.  I don't know what it is about them...maybe it reminds me of when I was a kid and my dad would make scrambled eggs for breakfast every Sunday.   At least I THINK it was my dad.  He was definitely the one who bought the crumb cake at the local bakery, and just on the basis of that I am going to go ahead and give him credit for making the scrambled eggs, too.



Hi Daddy!

Anyway,  this is why I love a good frittata - that and the fact that it is so dang easy to make.  Frittatas are usually made on the stovetop, but they can also be made in the oven and that is what I like to do -- they are amazingly easy that way.  Now, this particular one also helped me with this little project I have going on lately, which is to try a different cheese each week that I haven't tried before.  This particular week I tried a cheese called comte cheese, which was like a mash-up of cheddar and parmesan and was very delish...but if you can't lay your hands on some comte cheese, a nice sharp cheddar will work perfectly well.

So here's the deal.  Blanch a handful of asparagus in boiling water for a minute or two  - just until they are nice and bright green.  Chop up some ham (and dare I say it?  if you are clean out of ham, a handful of cooked bacon will work just fine.  Actually, if you are out of anything at all a handful of bacon will do just fine.  This is a basic truth in life.)  Mix up some eggs and toss in the ham and the cheese.  Pour it all into a round oven-safe dish.  I use a 9 inch cake pan for this - it works perfectly.  Now take your  bright green asparagus and arrange them in a pretty design, and pop the whole shebang in the oven for about 30 minutes.  Make a nice green salad in the meantime.  By the time you are finished making the salad and setting the table, your frittata will be brown and hot and wonderful.  Slice it up the same way you would slice a pie and you are all ready for the perfect comfort food meal!

Asparagus and Ham Oven Frittata, adapted from Il de France

• 8 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 cups grated comte or cheddar cheese
• 2/3 cup chopped or sliced ham
• 6 sun-dried tomato halves, softened in water and thinly sliced
• Pinch red pepper
• 14-16 asparagus spears, bottoms trimmed and blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Whisk eggs and milk until well-combined. Stir in cheese, ham, sun-dried tomato and pepper.

3. Grease a 9 inch round pan, pour in egg mixture. Arrange asparagus on top like the spokes of a wheel.

4. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden. Cool for 5 minutes, cut into sections and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Bacon Cinnamon Rolls

I have been bad. I have been very, very bad.

I took a roll of those refrigerated cinnamon rolls - the one that pops open when you pull the paper off the roll. I unrolled each of the uncooked cinnamon rolls into a long cinnamon roll dough strip. I took a strip of bacon, laid it on top of the dough, rolled it back up, and baked it until the rolls and the bacon were all cooked together. I frosted them with the white sugar frosting that comes with the cinnamon roll dough.

And I ate one. The Southern husband ate one. (Well, three, if we are being completely accurate.) The teenager ate one. The dog ate the last bite of mine (she was sitting at my feet whimpering and looking at me with those EYES of hers).

And it was GOOD. Oh man, was it good.

I found this recipe while doing one of my favorite things to do on the computer, which is Googling the word 'bacon." Because you never know...and sure enough, I came across this site called Bacon Today. They have bacon recipes, bacon products, bacon songs, bacon videos...they are very serious about their bacon. And amid all that stuff was this recipe for bacon cinnamon rolls. I was a goner from the first second I saw it...it was really only a matter of time.

A couple of notes on this one. I used the bacon straight out of the package, and after 15 minutes in the oven the rolls were nice and brown, and the bacon was cooked but not crispy. Which is fine - in our house we all happen to like our bacon on the chewy side. If you like your bacon well-done, you might want to nuke it for a couple of minutes before rolling it up into the dough. Second, don't worry if your cinnamon roll dough doesn't unroll perfectly. Mine came apart here and there, but just mush it back together and you will be just fine.

I think that is all I have to say about this one.

Bacon Cinnamon Rolls, adapted from Bacon Today

• 1 package refrigerated cinnamon rolls (the kind in the tube)
• 8 slices bacon (and if you like your bacon well done, cook it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes)

1. Preheat over to 400.

2. Separate rolls and unroll into long strips. Lay one slice of bacon on top of each strip and roll back up, pressing the dough together as needed. Place on greased cookie sheet.

3. Bake for 15 minutes or until rolls are browned and bacon is cooked.

4. Spread frosting from dough package on top of rolls while still hot.

5. Stand back out of the way. These babies are best right out of the oven!