Is your Breakfast Getting a Little Boring?

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When I think of breakfast, I think of cereal & milk, yogurt & fruit, or traditional eggs and bacon. On weekdays my breakfast consists of a few cups of coffee and either an English muffin with cottage cheese and diced tomato & onion or Greek yogurt with fiber cereal. Weekends, I'll indulge in a savory bagel slathered with a ton of herb cream cheese or a veggie and cheese frittata (the weekend meal still includes copious amounts of caffeine). But I'm growing tired of all of it! How excited was I when I saw an email from ChowHound recently that linked to an article called 10 Ways to Reinvent Breakfast: Go Beyond Bagels and Bacon! Elated!

Best of all, their list did not include lots of sweet items. Those who know me, know that I don't usually do sweets in the morning (unless I'm in NJ visiting J's family where only pastries and cakes are available). Used to, but the blood pressure medicine I'm on completely wiped out my need for sweets and replaced it with a desire for all things salty, crunch and savory. Also, their list had a big focus on incorporating leftovers into your meal. Huge plus because I hate to waste food and am always looking for ways to throw out less food. I love the idea of the black bean cakes with eggs. I bet that would be delicious with fresh salsa!

Hope you find some ideas from this list as well! What do you eat when you need to change up breakfast?

All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Overcoming Fears of Baking with Yeast: Bagels

Of all the breakfast foods out there, bagels are the one that have my heart. Sure, I dig into a bowl of steel cut oats or yogurt & fiber one most days but if I'm feeling naughty, it's a big fat toasted bagel (preferably garlic or everything, or anything that stinks! haha) slathered with an inch of cream cheese that I go for. Well maybe not a whole inch of cream cheese, but close!

I've wanted to make bagels for as long as I can remember but have been afraid to even try since I have about as much experience working with yeast as I have with building houses (i.e. none) House building seems like so much work and seems to have slightly more consequences if you screw up so in comparison, making bagels actually seems pretty easy! Plus, there are no slivers with bagel making!

I've stumbled over lots of yummy looking bagel recipes on blogs over the last few months but ultimately decided to follow a wonderful bagel recipe I found posted at Thibeault's Table, particularly because of her beautiful and easy to follow step by step pictorial on making them. It made all the difference! Here's the page with the actual recipe I used.

I ended up making an assortment of bagels: garlic, onion, everything, asiago cheese, poppyseed, sesame and even a plain one. I used dried minced garlic and onion (the kind you find in the spice aisle) and for the cheese bagels, I mixed a little bit of grated asiago with grated parmesan and it worked pretty well (just make sure to grate your own cheese of course!). The recipe is originally for 48 mini bagels but I made about 15 normal sized ones. I like me a big bagel!

Two things I will do differently the next time I make them: #1, add a little salt to my toppings. Bakery bagels always have a salty bite to them and these didn't. I think there is plenty of salt in the recipe but a little coarse seas salt tossed on towards the end of baking would be nice. #2, watch my bagels more closely when boiling. J and I had a couple cocktails while doing our baking on Saturday (J made pretzels while I made bagels. Adorable!) and definitely didn't focus on timing as much as I probably should have! (It's also why my pictures get progressively blurrier)

Anyhow, these came out great and were so much easier than I thought they'd be! I'm no longer afraid of working with yeast and am plotting my next baking adventure. Try these-you'll be impressed with yourself too!

All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Eggs Benedict Caprese on Grilled French Bread (with Cheddar Bechamel)

(I'm no longer posting on this blog - enjoy the recipe but if you want to see what I'm up to, visit me here.)

I think I've mentioned before I'm not so hot when it comes to cooking breakfast. Most of the time the meal for me consists of greek yogurt and whole grain cereal or a bagel with veggie cream cheese. Maybe some steel cut oats if I have 20 minutes. Low maintenance and light workload. Frankly, I'm not awake enough in the morning to put together anything else. But on the rare occasion that I've gotten enough sleep and have some time to kill, I will try to make something special of the meal. It's not always successful, haha, but this particular one was.

I had some leftover french bread yesterday that I wanted to use up and when checking on my little plants outside, I saw that my basil and chives were thriving and I wanted to eat some right away. So the plan was to poach some eggs, grill the bread and top with tomatoes and basil and make a cheddar bechamel sauce. My first time poaching eggs actually! And they were much easier than I thought they'd be! My clumsy oxen-like movements didn't break the yolks so I think you could handle it too. This came out delicious and despite the bechamel sauce, is not nearly as high calorie as you think. The same type of meal at a breakfast restaurant would run you about 900 calories-mine is only going to cost you abou 580. Not saying that 580 is low calorie, haha, but it's a feat of amazment considering I'm covering the eggs with butter, cheese and milk. Now stop drooling and go make some yourself.

After eating it, J said "Shit, I guess I should marry you." Maybe I should change the name to "Marry me Eggs". He knows he has a good thing.

Serves 2 (but enough bechamel for 4)

Ingredients

For the grilled bread
8-10 inches of fresh french bread
olive oil (optional
kosher salt

4 large basil leaves
2 ripe roma tomatoes, sliced
olive oil (optional)

For the poached eggs
4 eggs
1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
dash of kosher salt

For the Bechamel (makes about 1 cup)
2 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese
1.5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup 1% milk
couple shakes of Worcestershire sauce
couple pinches of dry mustard
kosher salt to taste

Heat a stove top grill pan over medium high heat. If you don't have one, you certainly can grill the bread on a gas or charcoal grill but I don't do well over open flame (yet!) so I can't give you directions there! Cut french bread in half, and then split each half as if it were a sandwich roll. When the pan is hot, place the four pieces of french bread on the grill, soft side down. Grill bread for 3-4 minutes and remove when desired color is achieved. Season with kosher salt and drizzle with a little olive oil (if desired).

While your bread is grilling, fill a saucepan half way with water and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of vinegar (the vinegar helps the egg to keep it's shape). Crack each egg separately into a small cup or bowl and then poach eggs one at a time by pouring them into the center of the simmering (not boiling) water. Use a wooden spoon to gently loosen the sides of the egg from the bottom of the pan if necessary but be careful not to nudge too much. They're very delicate. Cook each for 2-5 minutes depending on how runny you like your eggs. If you're feeling nervous about whether you're doing it right, check out some video's on youtube on how to poach an egg. Remove carefully with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. If you are making eggs for a large group and and your first eggs get cold, just drop them back into the hot water for a couple of seconds to reheat.

If you're a good multitasker, while your eggs are poaching away, melt the 1.5 tablespoons of butter over medium low heat. Add the tablespoon of flour and stir continuously to incorporate. Raise heat to medium and cook flour and butter until a golden brown (4 or 5 minutes). In a separate sauce pan or in the microwave in a large bowl, heat 1 cup of milk until hot but not boiling. Slowly add the hot milk to the butter and flour roux , whisking the entire time until smooth. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened (5 or 6 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in 2 oz of grated cheddar cheese (grate it yourself, don't buy pre-grated if you can), the Worcestershire sauce and a hearty pinch of dry mustard. Season with kosher salt.
Place two pieces of grilled bread on two plates, top each piece of bread with 1 large basil leaf, two slices of roma tomatoes (and a drizzle of olive oil if you want to be true to the caprese style) and a poached egg. Spoon about two tablespoons of bechamel onto each egg. Add a twist of freshly ground black pepper and chives to garnish (optional of course!).
Use the leftover bechamel for pasta or just to dip extra bread in. I'm so excited about how this came out! Expect to see more attempts at breakfast foods in the future. :)

All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Gruyere, Mushroom and Tomato Frittata

(I'm no longer posting on this blog - enjoy the recipe but if you want to see what I'm up to, visit me here.)

I love frittatas. To be honest, this love stemmed from a serious inability to flip an omelette without losing half the filling or ripping the egg to shreds. The frittata is a cousin to both the quiche and the omelette but comes without the fussiness of the omelette or the time commitment required to make a quiche. Another reason frittatas rock is that they look pretty and come out of the pan in one piece easily. I am a terrible breakfast cook (it's just not a meal I'm good at making - I let J do the French toast, pancakes, and scrambled eggs. I would much rather just have a yogurt or a bagel than try to cook in the morning) so it's awesome to have one food up my sleeve that I don't have to fret about if I have a brunch to go to or someone crashed at our place the night before.

I used Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Spinach, Onions and Gruyere in this frittata but really any combination of vegetables, herbs, cheeses and meats you have on hand will work. It's a great way to use up random vegetables you have lying around in the fridge.

Serves 4

Ingredients

5 eggs
2 tablespoons half & half or milk
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups of sliced mushrooms
1/2 an onion, diced
1 large shallot, cut in half and sliced
2 big handfuls of baby spinach
2 medium tomatoes, 1 sliced, and 1 chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons grated Gruyere cheese

Preheat the broiler to 475. Heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat in a medium sized ovenproof nonstick skillet or saucepan. I use a saucepan because I don't have to worry about over filling it with ingredients! When the fats are hot, add the onion, shallots and mushrooms. Saute for 4-5 minutes.

While the onions and mushrooms are cooking, crack the eggs in a bowl and whisk in the half & half or milk. Add the salt, pepper and ground thyme. Whisk well and set aside.

Add the two handfuls of baby spinach and the chopped tomato to the saucepan and stir until the baby spinach wilts. The mushrooms and tomatoes will have released a lot of liquid so it is a good idea to drain it off, otherwise you may end up with a watery frittata. Once the liquid is drained and your spinach wilted, stir in the 1/2 cup of Gruyere into the egg mixture and pour into the saucepan with your veggies. Turn the heat down just a little and cover the pan. Let cook for 4 or 5 minutes or until most of egg is set (it's okay if the top is still a little runny). Remove the cover and lay the sliced tomatoes on top of the frittata and the remaining 2 tablespoons of Gruyere. Put under the broiler for 4 or 5 minutes or until the remaining egg is firm and the cheese is slightly browned.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before loosening the edges of the frittata with a rubber spatula. You should be able to then easily slide the frittata out of the pan and onto a plate in one piece. If you are worried it won't come out, let it cool for a little bit longer before trying. Cut into 4 slices and serve.

All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Walnut Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

It seems like every other food blog I stumble across is nothing but baked goods with cupcakes seemingly holding rank at #1, so I felt it was time to post a sweet just so I could fit in! As I've mentioned before, I have some trouble with dough (making it, working with it etc.) and while I may occasionally have a craving for a cinnamon roll, it's not strong enough for me to even attempt to make my own dough! So that's where store bought raw pizza or bread dough comes in handy. It cuts the work load in half so you can have warm gooey cinnamon rolls on the table and in your belly in about an hour and 15 minutes!

Makes 9-10 rolls

Ingredients

1 lb defrosted pizza / bread dough
flour to sprinkle on work surface
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons brown sugar (packed)
3 tablespoons white sugar

For the Icing

4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of milk or cream

In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, white sugar, cloves, cinnamon and walnuts. Put aside.

On a lightly floured work surface, and using a floured rolling pin, roll out the pizza/bread dough into a rectangle that is at least 10 inches long by 7 inches wide (larger is ok but smaller and it will be hard to cut enough rolls). Use a pastry brush to brush melted butter all over the surface of the rectangle and then sprinkle the sugar and walnut mixture on top. From one of the long sides of the rectangle, roll up tightly and press on the edge to form a seam. Using a sharp knife, cut into 9 or 10 equal pieces and place on a greased cookie sheet (I save my pastry brush and brush the leftover melted butter on the sheet).

Let the cinnamon rolls rest in a warm area for 25-35 minutes. They will puff up a bit (don't expect an enormous size change. You'll be waiting all day if you are!). While you are waiting for your rolls to rise, make the icing by beating together the softened cream cheese, confectioners sugar, vanilla and cream until smooth.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until tops are slightly brown and gooey. Be careful not to over cook because the dough will get really tough! Let cool for a few minutes and frost each one before eating.

All text and photographs © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley