Archive for the 'Breakfast' Category

Cinnamon Rolls

Published
by
jillian
on October 16, 2009
in Breakfast, Dessert and Recipes
. 6 Comments

I have a stack of magazines and filed recipes that I have every intention of trying one day.  Most have been clipped from Bon Appetit and the now defunct Gourmet magazine.  Even though I have this stack or recipes, I almost always search online before making something I have never made before.  I settled on this recipe for Cinnamon Rolls and realized it was the exact same one from Molly Wizenberg of Orangette that I had in my files.  Let me start by saying that this is a really good recipe.  The steps are simple, but I had to adjust the amount of sugar to keep it from being too sweet for our tastes.  I also didn’t think it needed the cream cheese icing.  I just used a simple vanilla confectioners sugar glaze.  These freeze amazingly well after they are baked and can be defrosted in a minute in the microwave.  I am thinking that these might make nice Christmas Eve gifts.

Cinnamon Rolls
From Bon Appetit by Molly Wizenberg with my notes indicated in parentheses
Ingredients
Dough
1 cup whole milk (I used low-fat)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/3 cup)
1 large egg
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast (from 2 envelopes yeast)
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Filling:
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar)
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

I omitted the Cream Cheese Glaze and instead used a sparing amount of the following: 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tbsp of milk.

For dough:
Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed to 120°F to 130°F, 30 to 45 seconds. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add 21/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into ball.

Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

For filling:
Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.

Punch down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15×11-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over butter. Starting at 1 long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).

Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up. (I forgot to do this step the second time I made these and they were still fine.)

Banana Bread

Published
by
jillian
on July 28, 2009
in Breakfast, Dessert and Recipes
. 28 Comments

This banana bread recipe was one of the first things I learned to bake on my own way back in high school.  My mom kept a yellowed handwritten recipe of my grandmother’s tacked to her bulletin board in the kitchen.  I was instructed not to lose it.  Only later did I realize it was one of the few things she had left in my grandmother’s handwriting.  The original recipe was actually my great grandmother’s.  She wasn’t known for her skills in the kitchen, and this is the only recipe that seems to have been passed down.  It is a simple recipe that just works reliably well. More than a decade later , I still make this it all the time (with my additions of vanilla and cinnamon).  I like that there is no butter in it making it reasonably healthy. This also allows me to justify slathering a slice with butter when it is still warm from the oven.

Banana Bread
Ingredients
3 (over) ripe bananas
1/2- 3/4 cups sugar (the less ripe the bananas, the more sugar you will need)
2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour (I often replace one of the cups with whole wheat flour)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mash the bananas in a large bowl and add the sugar. The sugar will help liquefy the mixture.  Whisk in the eggs, and then sift in the dry ingredients. Still until evenly combined. Bake in a greased a floured loaf pan at 325 for about 1 hour or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to stand and cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.

These may look like regular pancakes…

Published
by
jillian
on June 20, 2009
in Breakfast and Recipes
. 1 Comment

But they are ricotta pancakes with sauteed apples. I had some ricotta cheese that needed to be used up and found this recipe at the venerable Smitten Kitchen.  The texture of these pancakes is incredibly light and delicate.  Mine fluffed up a lot when cooking and settled a bit after they cooled.  I added vanilla bean to the batter and well as lemon zest because I was afraid of them tasting too cheesey.   The cheese flavor was actually very mild, and I think these would be really good with fresh peaches.

Check out Smitten Kitchen for the recipe originally from Gourmet.

Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins

Published
by
jillian
on March 19, 2009
in Breakfast and Recipes
. 4 Comments

I have made many different kinds of blueberry muffins, but I think that this recipe is my new favorite.  Muffins, particularly whole grain muffins, have a tendency to disappoint.  The buttermilk really adds a lot to the flavor and texture.  They rose higher than expected and were delicate and light.  From what I understand, the acid in the buttermilk gives the baking power an extra boost.  I used frozen blueberries in these.  I usually buy organic frozen fruit, but lately I has been buying Dole.  The fruit is perfectly shaped (I’m guessing from being flash frozen) and surprisingly good.

I served these on this really cute cake stand.  Apparently, my mom got it at her bridal shower in the late seventies.  I don’t imagine  it was ever her taste.  I hadn’t seen it until we did a final cleaning of my parent’s house after it sold.  It was like finding a little gem, and I immediately put it in my ‘keep pile’.  The plate has these really cheerful spring bright spring flowers on it.  I just love it.

Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins
from the Joy of Baking with my notes in parentheses

2 1/2 cups (350 grams) all-purpose flour (I used 2 cups white whole wheat and 1/2 AP)
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
(I added 1/4 tsp of cinnamon)
Zest of one orange (I used zest of 1/2 a lemon)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup (180 ml) buttermilk (I used 1 cup for extra moisture with the whole wheat flour)
2/3 cup (160 ml) safflower or canola oil (I used a light olive)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups of blueberries (do not thaw if frozen)

Preheat the oven to 375. Mix the wet ingredients together, including the zest. Sift the dry ingredients together and stir in the sugar. Mix the wet and dry together and carefully fold in the blueberries. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. This will make 12 muffins.

Spiced Pear and Walnut Cake

Published
by
jillian
on February 2, 2009
in Breakfast, Dessert and Recipes
. 11 Comments

I am constantly tearing recipes out of magazines, bookmaking them in cookbooks and online.  I am always looking for different ways to make baking more healthful.  With bananas as the base of this cake, I knew I would have to try it when I saw it over on Dragon’s Kitchen.  I resisted the urge to tinker too much with this recipe and only made a few changes.  I used half (1 cup) white whole wheat flour and subsequently had to add ¼ cup of milk for extra moisture.  I also only put the walnuts on top not in the cake.  My husband will not eat baked goods with nuts baked in them…weirdo.  The original recipe is for muffins but I have been on a cake kick lately and baked this in a tube pan.  I really liked this cake, and I was pleasantly surprised that the bananas didn’t overpower the pear.  I ate a slice for breakfast, and the crunchy sweet walnut topping was the highlight of my Monday morning.

 

Check out Dragon’s Kitchen for the full recipe.

Buttermilk Waffles

Published
by
jillian
on January 11, 2009
in Breakfast and Recipes
. 6 Comments

Oh waffles, how I have missed you. My waffle iron went missing at some point over the last few years. A couple of weeks ago, I bought a new one on sale at the Williams-Sonoma outlet. I also got a pizza stone for $8 and a cute apron for $7. It was one of those rare occasions where the sales really were as good as I had hoped. So, I did my patriotic duty and shopped. I made waffles last weekend, and they were good but not great. This weekend I added buttermilk and some spices and they were perfect. Waffles seem to be easier to adapt to whole grain than pancakes, and I made these with almost all whole wheat flour. My mother-in-law adds a bit of almond extract to whole grain baked goods. It often isn’t noticeable but it takes the edge off the bitterness of whole wheat flour. I used a recipe from Alton Brown and noted the additions below in parentheses.

Basic Waffle Recipe
Alton Brown from FoodNetwork

Ingredients
4 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1 cup (I used 1 ¾ cups white whole wheat and ¼ all purpose flour)
4 3/4 ounces whole-wheat flour, approximately 1 cup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
(1 teaspoons cinnamon)
(½ teaspoons nutmeg)
(1 teaspoon vanilla)
(1/2 teaspoon of almond extract)
3 whole eggs, beaten
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted (I only used one ounce)
16 ounces buttermilk, room temperature

Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In another bowl beat together eggs and melted butter, and then add the buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Ladle the recommended amount of waffle batter onto the iron according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Close iron top and cook until the waffle is golden on both sides and is easily removed from iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

Simple Corn Muffins

Published
by
jillian
on December 11, 2008
in Breakfast, Recipes and Side Dishes
. 6 Comments


It is really rainy and dreary outside right now, and that combined with a few extra minutes compelled me to bake something. I almost never have time to bake anything during the week, but these seriously took less than ten minutes to mix and get in the oven. Start to finish, they were done in half and hour.

I used this recipe from Allrecipes.com. I just added a teaspoon of vanilla, and because I can never resist adding a little something, I put half a spoonful of raspberry jam in each of these. You could probably pipe the jam in after these were baked, but I filled them halfway, added the jam and then the rest of the batter. So good.

Corn Muffins from Allrecipes.com

Continue reading ‘Simple Corn Muffins’

Frittatas

Published
by
jillian
on December 8, 2008
in Breakfast, Lunch and Recipes
. 4 Comments

We try to live by the waste not want not code in our house. Things have been overwhelming lately and my mother-in-law has been very generous with making us food on the weekends. I used the last of some baked ham she made in these individually sized frittatas. I use these small casserole dishes all the time. They are the perfect size, and they were only $1.00 each at the Williams-Sonoma outlet. I love them so.
Frittatas are super easy to make, and this amount will serve two people. We had this some homemade (no knead) bread. Lately, we have been keeping our heat turned down so low that making bread has been a bit tricky. It turns out a few degree make quite a bit of difference.

1 onion, cut in half and sliced
1 potato (cut into ½ thick wedges)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp of diced baked ham
½ tsp fresh thyme
2 eggs
1 tbsp half and half
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp parmesan cheese

Set the oven to broil. On the stove top, over medium heat sauté onions until translucent. Add the potatoes, allowing them time to brown on each side. Add the ham and salt and pepper and fresh thyme. Divide the onions, ham and potatoes into two small dishes in an even layer. Whisk two eggs, half and half and salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture ¾ of the way up the dishes. Top with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.
These will cook very quickly (within a few minutes), remove from the oven when they the egg has set in the middle of the middle of the dish.

Bacon Pancakes

Published
by
jillian
on October 20, 2008
in Breakfast and Recipes
. 6 Comments

Bacon Pancakes, originally uploaded by jasonrr.

I was looking around the kitchen tonight trying to decide what to put in our ‘breakfast for dinner’ pancakes. I almost went the apple route but I have been putting apples in just about everything lately. I almost always keep bacon in the freezer, and crispy bacon sounded like the perfect thing. These were pretty wonderful with just the right balance of sweet and salty. I served these with some warm dark amber maple syrup and a bit of butter.
1 cup flour
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 egg
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp ricotta cheese or plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp crumpled crispy bacon

Sift the flour and baking powder together. In a separate bowl combine the wet ingredients and stir into the dry. Fold the bacon into the mixture and allow it to stand for about five minutes. Cook over medium low heat on a buttered griddle.

Spartan Apple Crisp

Published
by
jillian
on October 15, 2008
in Breakfast, Dessert and Recipes
. 8 Comments

Spartan Apple Crisp, originally uploaded by jasonrr.

Yes, another apple recipe! Apples are to fall what zucchini was to summer…readily available, fairly inexpensive and good in just about everything! This version of apple crisp is not too sweet and doesn’t need to be saved for dessert. It makes a really good breakfast or an afternoon snack. I used Spartan apples in this because they are naturally sweet and hold up well. Spartans are apparently the first apples produced as from a formal breeding program. I like them because they are equally good for eating and baking.

Apple Crisp
6 apples sliced

1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp tapioca
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ nutmeg
Pinch of allspice
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp lemon juice
For the topping:
1 cup rolled oats
¼ white whole wheat flour
½ tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp honey
Toss the sliced apples in the spices, tapioca, and lemon juice. Press the apples gently into a baking dish. Combine the dry ingredients for the topping. Using your hands, crumble in the butter and honey until well dispersed. Bake for about 45 minutes at 350 until the juice from the apples begins to run. Allow to stand for about 5 minutes prior to serving for the juices to thicken.

You could serve this with ice cream or whipped cream for dessert.