Scrambled Egg Puffs

I may have mentioned before that breakfast is one of my favorite meals, and eggs usually take a front seat whenever I make breakast during the weekends. Last weekend I found myself craving scrambled eggs, but I realized I had run out of toast. Being the middle of winter, last thing I wanted to do was head out of my cozy apartment to buy a loaf of bread. Until I remembered that I had some puff pastry in my freezer.

I removed 1 sheet from the box, and thawed it out for 30-40 minutes while I thought of a smiple breakfast to make with my "bread" replacement. I decided on using my cupcake pan to make mini puff pastry cups to fill with scrambled eggs. The prep was so easy, there really was no formal recipe involved!

Ingredients:

1 Puff Pastry Sheet

6 Eggs

Splash of Milk

1/4 Cup Chopped Ham

3 Slices of Cheese

Salt & Pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Once the Puff pastry has thawed out, cut into the 2 fold seams. Roll out the dough a little to cut into thirds, and press into cupcake pan, cutting the excess dough to re-use for the remaining tins. Get your eggs cracked in a bowl, add a splash of milk and season to taste. Add chopped ham or turkey to the egg mixture (feel free to use bacon if you prefer).

 Place the puff pastry tin in the oven and cook until your scrambled eggs are done, . Remove the puff pastry cups from the oven and press in the center of each cup to fill with the scrambled eggs. Top with a small piece of cheese and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

Frittata

This week as part of our weekly cooking club we took full advantage of the long weekend to make a brunch in lieu of our standard dinners. We had originally planned it as a fun "boozy brunch", but after a long night out, we ended up with fewer people than anticipated and opted for a booze-free brunch instead. The result, just as fun and so tasty. We made, possibly the best frittata possible for 2 first time frittata makers!

If you've never made a frittata, no worries- its WAY easier than making a pretty looking omelet! For those who aren't sure what a frittata even is, its essentially an Italian version of an omelet. Same basic method for cooking the eggs with whatever fillings you like, but instead of flipping it, you finish it off in the oven, which is why I think its easier than making an omelet. (I rarely make a properly folded omelet, they always end up more like a scramble). I just want to point out that it does take almost 45 minutes to an hour for the entire process, but if you've got the time and can hold off the hunger, trust me its worth the wait!

Whole Frittata

Ingredients:
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp papprika
5 asparagus stocks cut to 1/2 inch pieces
1 large scallion finely sliced
1/2 large tomato diced

2 slices prosciutto di parma, cut into thin strips

6-8 basil leaves, cut into thin strips
Mozzarella bufala (about 4 oz)

Pre-heat your oven to 350 F. Cut asparagus, scallions, tomatoes, prosciutto and basil leave and place in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl blend together all eggs and milk. Add salt, pepper and papprika and mix well. Spray onto a large oven-safe skillet (about 10") some non-stick cooking spray. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in skillet and add egg mixture. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes for the base to set. Add vegetable mixture and spread evenly over entire pan. Mix gently into egg mixture, you don't want to beat it. 

With a silicone spatula, lift the edges of the egg mixture once it starts to set. You want to make sure the egg sets well prior to placing into the oven. Essentially the edges should lift easily, but have a little color on the edges. Place into the oven and cook for about 6 minutes. Remove after the eggs started to set slightly and then add the mozzarella cheese. You can either slice them or break up the cheese and have little dollops all around the frittata. Place back in the oven and cook for another 30-40 minutes. The time on this can really vary, but you want the frittata to puff up, and have the eggs cook thru. Remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes prior to cutting.

Frittata Slice: asparagus, prosciutto, scallions, tomato, basil & mozzarella

Pancakes

I fondly remember weekends as a young girl, when my Dad would make his family’s pancakes. The kind he made wasn’t the thick, cake-like pancakes, but more the thin like the silver dollar pancakes.  I loved being able to tally up how many of them I could eat and would often compete with my sister as to who could eat more. Eventually the pancakes got a little bigger, but always stayed light and thin.

Ingredients:
1 Cup Flour

2 Tbsp. Sugar

3 Tsp. Baking Powder

Salt (Pinch)

1 Egg

1 Cup Milk

1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil

In a bowl sift together the Flour, Sugar and Baking Powder, add a pinch of salt.

Beat in Egg and add the milk. When all together add the vegetable oil. Pour in slowly to not make mixture too liquid. (If it does get too liquid, add some flour). Today I had some blueberries in the fridge, so I added those to the mix, about 1/2 cup. You can add chocolate chips if you prefer a sweeter version as well!

Let mixture sit for 20 to 30  minutes.

Warm skillet, and add 1 tsp butter. Pour batter in approximately 4". When the pancake starts to bubble on the uncooked side its ready to flip. For the first pancake, make sure to move around the pan to soak up most of the butter, and toss. Now you can do the same for all the other pancakes-without the tossing!

Blueberry Crumb Bars

I love blueberries. I eat them with breakfast several times a week and love making any type of desserts with them. Last summer was all about the crumbles and the crisps as easy toppings for fruit based desserts, but that was before I found this recipe which I made almost immediately and have made it several times. I love that when baked it forms the perfect base for the bars and you still get some of the crumbly texture on top.

At my weekly "cooking club" class this week we decided to make these bars, but instead of making in a pan we decided to use a Cupcake Pan for the perfect individual portion. These make great desserts and are equally as satisfying in the morning!

Ingredients:
Crumb Mixture

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Blueberry Mixture

Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9×13 inch pan or cupcake pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl or food processor, stir together cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg.( I prefer to use a food processor. Makes the dough in a minute!) The dough will be light and crumbly. Try to separate the dough in two equal parts.Pat half of dough somewhat tightly into the pans, as this will serve as the base of your bars.

In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown.  Cool completely before cutting into squares or removing from individual molds.

Banana Bread

One of my favorite meals has always been breakfast. I rarely ever skip this meal, and when I do, trust me...steer clear! Whenever we have large groups of people staying over for a weekend, its inevitable that people wake up at the exact same time for brunch. Muffing and breads are a great way for the early birds to "hold over" prior to the main meal. I had every intention of doing this recipe this past weekend when we had 18 people over! (But I too, didn't wake early enough to have it done...next time!)

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup butter

2 eggs
1Cup white sugar
1 Tsp. vanilla extract
1 Cup ripe mashed bananas
1 Tsp. cinnamon
1 Tsp. baking soda
1/2 Tsp. salt
1/2 Cup Creme Fraiche
1 1/2 Cup sifted flour
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts & or 1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips


Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl mix together the butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla in a bowl and mix until creamy. Add mashed bananas, cinnamon and mix well. (Try not to over mash the banana's, they add great texture). Next add the baking soda, salt, creme fraiche and sifted flour until all smooth. Stir in walnuts or chocolate chips if you are using (a combination of the 2 is also great!).

Grease a loaf pan. I like to slightly coat the pan with a sugar and cinnamon mixture so it creates a nice crust to the edges of each slice. Pour into the pan and bake at 350 F for 1 hour or until you insert a tooth pick/skewer and it comes out clean.

I've made several recipes for banana bread, and this version with the creme fraiche (you can also substitute sour cream) is the best. Its moist and simply delicious; or should i say... Zelicious!

Breakfast Appetizers: Mini Blueberry Muffins

A few weeks ago a few friends thought up the idea of a potluck brunch. Most called out that they would make the typical staples to any breakfast: eggs, bacon, bagels, fruit, french toast, pancakes, even sweet treats to end the meal; but oddly enough nobody mentioned something to snack on prior to the main event. I thought of making mini-muffins. They are perfect bite sized treats that can be easily served as a simple breakfast appetizer. 

Ingredients:
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
4 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Softened Butter
1 Egg
1 Cup Milk
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
1 Cup Blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Once butter has softened, mix into the dry mixture. In a separate bowl slightly beat the egg. Pour the milk into the same bowl with the egg and stir. Add the egg and milk mix slowly to the flour mixture, until it is just wet. Add in the Lemon juice and Vanilla and mix. Lightly fold in the blueberries.

Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Spoon in the filling into each cup until almost full. Lightly sprinkle sugar on each filling prior to putting in oven. Bake for about 20 minutes until muffins are golden brown. Remove muffins from tin with spoon and let cool.

Serve warm or cold.

Enjoy!