Just Recipes

[canuckinchile]

I was getting tired of doing the "Wife Savers Casserole" every year for Christmas breakfast (you know the one with the bread, eggs, sausage/bacon, etc.). It is still a great recipe but I tried a couple of new ones last year and they were very simple and good:

Ted Allen's (Queer Eye) Baked Eggs and Mushrooms in Ham
Crisps

3/4 lb mushrooms finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
2T. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2T. sour cream or creme fraiche
1 T. finely chopped tarragon
shredded romano cheese
12 slices Virginia or Black Forest ham
12 brown eggs large

Heat oven to 400F

Cook mushrooms and shallot in butter with salt and pepper over moderately high heat until liquie evaporates and muchrooms are tender. Remove from heat and add creme fraiche (or sour cream) and tarragon.
Place one slice ham into 12 lightly oiled muffin tins (ends should stick out and over the edges of crevice). Divide mushrooms among cups and crack egg into each. Bake in middle of oven until whites are cooked but not yolks (about 15 minutes). sprinkle cheese on top of eggs and put back into oven for 3 minutes.

Accompany with spring salad and fresh biscuits.

* I had the mushrooms, shallots and tarragon pre-chopped the night before so these were a snap to assemble. You could use another herb if you liked, but I think being fresh made quite a difference. They look very pretty, and taste good as well.

Creme Brulee French Toast (Make ahead)

1/2 c. unsalted butter
1c. packed brown sugar
2 T. corn syrup
8-9 inch country loaf round bread

5 eggs
1 1/2 c. half and half cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. Grand Marnier
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Melt the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup in a saucepan. Pour into a 9x13x2 pan.

2. Cut 1 inch (or more, very thick) slices * and trim crusts (if you like)

3. Whisk together rest and pour evenly over bread. Chill covered 8 to 24 hours.

4. Preheat oven to 350F. and try to have the dish at room temp. (or it takes longer)

5. Bake 35-40 minutes until puffed and golden edges. Serve hot.

* I used Challah (egg bread) and covered the bottom of the pan with a layer of sliced apples.

[Google]

 

[luvsginger]

canukinchile - The Creme Brule French Toast sounds to die for! Especially since you can make it the night before, we are always so busy on Christmas morning and there is never time for a good breakfast. I usualy end up making cinnamon rolls but this sounds like a winner!
Do you put the apple slices on top of butter, sugar and corn syrup mixture?

[Critical]

This is one that we've served for Christmas morning breakfast many years. My mother does a turkey that day, so we bake this one in the convection oven.

Country Breakfast Bake
1/4 C green onions with tops, chopped
1/4C red bell pepper, chopped
3C frozen Southern-style hash browns
4 slices bacon, partially cooked, cut up
4T vegetable oil or bacon drippings
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
2 oz Colby and Monterey Jack cheese blend, shredded (1/2 C)

Preheat oven to 450. Chop the onions and the pepper and put in the bottom of a 9" pan (we use a longer pan - usually 13"+ X 9"). Add the potatoes, bacon and oil. Mix well and spread evenly over the bottom of the pan. Bake 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and make 4 impressions in the potato mixture with the back of a spoon. Break an egg into each impression. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Return to oven and continue baking 15 minutes of until eggs are set. Remove from oven and sprinkle shredded cheese evenly over the eggs.

** We like to make a bit more and then do more eggs - sometimes we do two eggs together in a few of the impressions. We also put the cheese on while the dish is still in the oven so it melts a bit more.

My brother and father are hearty eaters, so this fills them up and we don't get complaints! I think they both - sadly - vetoed that Ted Allen recipe because it wasn't enough food for them. Maybe we'll try it and do up a mess of potatoes too. God forbid they leave the table without being absolutely stuffed!

[canuckinchile]

Originally Posted by luvsginger

canukinchile - The Creme Brule French Toast sounds to die for! Especially since you can make it the night before, we are always so busy on Christmas morning and there is never time for a good breakfast. I usualy end up making cinnamon rolls but this sounds like a winner!
Do you put the apple slices on top of butter, sugar and corn syrup mixture?

Yes, I put the apples on top of the sugar mixture (I'm pretty sure I peeled them). It turned out very well

ETA: sorry for the typos in the recipes, I didn't proof read...

[iguanachocolate]

my sister makes something like that, without the Grand Marnier. I think she calls it stuffed French toast and it is also baked in the oven.

Crit, that country breakfast bake sounds delicious!

[Marleybone]

I just got back from a weekend trip to Nebraska City where we visited Arbor Lodge and the orchards at Arbor Day Farms, and while I was there I picked up a couple of apple cookbooks. There are tons of things I want to try, and I'll post some of them as I get a chance to look through them a little more. For starters though, I thought this sounded good and would be a yummy way to use up some of that excess zucchini. I like that it makes 3 loaves, one to have now, one to share at work or with friends, and one to freeze for later.

Apple Zucchini Bread

Heat oven to 350F, grease and flour 3 loaf pans (8 1/4" x 4 1/2" x 3").

4 c. flour
1 Tbsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

5 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp vanilla

2 c. shredded zucchini (about 3 medium)
1 c. shredded apple (about 1 medium)
1 1/2 c. chopped pecans

Combine first 6 ingredients and set aside. Combine eggs, sugars, oil and vanilla in a large bowl; beat at medium speed with electric mixer until well blended. Stir in zucchini, apple and pecans. Add dry ingredients to zucchini-apple mixture, stirring just until moistened.

Spoon batter into prepared pans. Bake 50-55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove to wire rack and cool completely.

[Ellen]

I made this dessert tonight with fresh figs from the farmers' market:

Slice figs in half lengthwise and lay them cut side up on a foil-lined toaster oven pan. Put a teaspoon of chèvre (I used an iced-tea spoon because it was the right size and shape) on each fig half. Drizzle chèvre-topped figs with a honey. Sprinkle each with freshly grated (NOT the stale, flavorless already-ground stuff that's been sitting in a jar for who-knows-how-long) nutmeg. Broil in toaster oven until cheese is melty (less than five minutes in my toaster oven).

We had it with a pinot blanc this time, but I think it would pair really nicely with prosecco.

[PugMum]

Here is a REALLY good cupcake recipe. I have made them using white cake mix, yellow and butter recipe. The white cake mix IS the best, yellow mix is okay, don't use the butter mix. I made the strawberry glaze and it makes them REALLY sweet. A regular frosting works just fine. But not too much, they are sweet by themselves.

Recipes : Mascarpone Mini Cupcakes with Strawberry Glaze : Food Network

Mascarpone Mini Cupcakes with Strawberry Glaze

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis - FoodNetwork
8 ounces mascarpone cheese (about 1 cup), softened
2 egg whites
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 box white cake mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup frozen strawberries, thawed and drained
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Special equipment: 4 mini muffin tins and 48 mini muffin paper cupcake liners
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the mini tins with paper liners.

In a large bowl combine the mascarpone cheese, egg whites and vegetable oil. Using a hand mixer, beat the ingredients until combined and creamy. Add the cake mix and water and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Fill the mini cups to just below the rim and bake until puffed and golden, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly in the tin then transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack.

Meanwhile, puree the strawberries in a blender or small food processor. Place the powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Pour in the strawberry puree and whisk until smooth. Top the cooled cupcakes with the strawberry glaze. Let the cupcakes sit for a few minutes for the glaze to firm up, then serve.

[doxie]

Originally Posted by canuckinchile

I was getting tired of doing the "Wife Savers Casserole" every year for Christmas breakfast (you know the one with the bread, eggs, sausage/bacon, etc.). It is still a great recipe but I tried a couple of new ones last year and they were very simple and good:

That sounds great! I have made the "ham crisps" before but what I did was cook them empty. While they were cooking, I scrambled some eggs (with onion and green pepper) and then put the scrambled eggs into the ham crisps, topped them with cheese and put them back into the oven just until the cheese melted. They are tasty and it's really easy to make just two or three of them if that is all that you need.

Does anyone have a good Minestrone recipe? Preferably an easy one!

[luvsginger]

Ellen - I tried your fig recipe last night - DELICIOUS!!! I used goat cheese instead and they were fantastic. I love figs!

Here is a recipe for bars that are great for lunch boxes or snacks.


Zen Bars

INGREDIENTS
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted
3 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup whole almonds
1/3 cup finely chopped candied ginger
1 1/3 cups unsweetened flaked coconut
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup white sesame seeds
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in middle. Coat a 13-inch-by-9-inch baking dish with butter and line with parchment paper; set aside.
Combine butter and graham cracker crumbs in a medium bowl and mix until moist throughout. Sprinkle over bottom of baking dish and press down lightly to form an even layer; set aside.
Combine almonds and candied ginger in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until pieces are pea-sized, about 20 times. Add coconut and pulse a few more times until coconut is oat-sized.
Evenly sprinkle chocolate over graham cracker crust followed by ginger-nut mixture. Top with sesame seeds then drizzle sweetened condensed milk evenly over top. Bake bars until golden brown around edges and springy to the touch, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing. Makes 24 bars.