Individual Bread Puddings

Bread pudding is the perfect way to use up leftovers, whether it’s vegetables from last night’s dinner, bacon from yesterday’s breakfast (who has leftover bacon?!), or bits of cheese after that party. The important thing is to have some flavorings like onions, garlic, and herbs along with cheese and eggs to soak into day old bread and bake up into a lovely custardy breakfast. I like to make them in single servings or in cupcake pans so that I can take them with me on busy mornings. They also freeze well and you can heat straight from the freezer in single servings.

Individual Bread Puddings

5 eggs

1 cup milk

2 cups day old bread, cubed (small if making individual servings, they have to fit in the muffin cups)

1/2 cup grated cheddar

1/2 cup grated asiago

1/2 onion, minced (or leftover)

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup spinach, chopped (or leftover)

1 cup mushrooms, sliced (or leftover)

1 cup white wine

2 tablespoons sage, minced

Parmesan cheese for grating

Saute the onion, garlic,sage,  and mushrooms in a couple tablespoons olive oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the spinach and allow to wilt. Add the white wine and allow the alcohol to cook off, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

Meanwhile, in another bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper, and add in the cheddar and asiago. Add in the bread along with the vegetable mixture. Make sure the bread soaks up a lot of the liquid before cooking. Pour into lined muffin pans, individual ramekins, or a large baking dish. Top with grated parmesan and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes if using muffin pans and up to 45 minutes if using a baking dish. Make sure they have started to brown and puff up, to know they are done.

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Spaghetti Frittata

This is a pretty traditional way to use up leftover pasta, and it’s scalable to however much you have leftover. It’s best when you can make a nice thin layer and get the whole thing really crispy, although this time I tried it with an extra egg to make it more frittata-like (I prefer it a little thinner). You can use any kind of leftover pasta, but it works best with long pasta rather than something like penne. I’ve made this several times since starting the blog, but it always seems to disappear before I can take pictures!

Spaghetti Frittata

Leftover spaghetti

Enough eggs to coat the spaghetti but not soupy

2 tablespoons sage (or another herb), chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

Scramble a couple eggs and pour over the spaghetti in a bowl. Stir it around, and if it doesn’t coat all the pasta, add another egg one at a time until it does. Add any herbs you like and season with salt and pepper. Pour into a frying pan with the olive oil, and press it until it goes all the way to the edges and is evenly distributed.

As it cooks, continue to occasionally press down to make it crisp. It will start to brown around the edges, and you can flip it over (with or without a plate on top to help). Let it brown and crisp on the second side and then remove to a cutting board. Slice into wedges and you can even add a side of some marinara sauce if you have it lying around.

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My Favorite Breakfast: Avocado Toast

I found a recipe for avocado toast in a Bon Appetit cleanse a while ago, and it quickly became my favorite snack, breakfast, or lunch. I adjusted the recipe a little to balance the tartness of the lemon with some honey. Make sure to allow your avocados to ripen, they should be just a little pliable when you give them a squeeze.

Avocado Toast

1/2 avocado, mashed

1/2 lemon juiced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tasblespoon honey

1 pinch red pepper flakes

1 slice of bread, toasted

Combine the avocado, lemon, olive oil, honey and red pepper flakes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon on the toast and enjoy!

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Zucchini Bread

This is another updated post, I thought it was time to give one of my favorite breakfast treats some better pictures. I love zucchini bread, and it’s always my go-to breakfast to bring on the road. We are off to the beach for a week and I’m bringing this loaf to munch on for breakfast.

Zucchini Bread

1 cup flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1.5 tablespoons cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil (or 1/2 cup vegetable oil and 1/2 cup apple sauce)

1.5 cups dark brown sugar

2 cups grated zucchini

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two loaf pans.

Combine the dry ingredients (first 7 ingredients) in a bowl and whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs.

Whisk in oil and sugar and then add the zucchini and the vanilla extract. Add in the dry ingredients in two parts, and just stir to combine.

Divide the batter into the two loaf pans and bake for about 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing.

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Crepes Fines Sucrees

This is another recipe that I thought needed some new pictures. Crepes aren’t much more effort than pancakes, but I like them so much more. You can fill them with whatever you like; my favorite is nutella and strawberries.

I thought we needed something special for breakfast over the weekend, and crepes immediately came to mind. I’ve never made them before, but I’ve definitely made a lot of pancakes. I pulled out my copy of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and I took Julia’s basic dessert crepe recipe.

Crepes inspired from “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck

1 cup milk

1/2 cup water

3 egg yolks

1 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoons Triple Sec or Grand Marnier

1 1/2 cups flour

5 tablespoons butter, melted

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until combined making sure to scrape down the sides as needed. Let it rest in the fridge for 2 hours if possible, up to a day.

Using a little butter or vegetable oil, just enough to very lightly coat the pan, pour a 1/4 cup of the mixture into the pan and swirl it into one even layer. This must be done quickly before the batter sets, and you need to have the heat down pretty low. I pick the pan up off the heat when I do it so that I can tilt to swirl. Once it starts to bubble up and become slightly browned on the bottom, it’s ready for a flip. 1 minute on the other side and it’s done. Fill with anything, we used nutella, peanut butter, nutella with strawberries and bananas, and lemon curd. And we even tried 2 with cheddar and pecorino and they were fantastic!

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Eggs with Ramps and Bacon Jam

The last ramps of the season were sitting in my fridge, and what better way to use them up but with some eggs and bacon. I also had some leftover homegrown swiss chard that was given to me, so I threw those in with the ramps. A healthy way to start the day! Of course, there had to be a little bacon jam added but who doesn’t like bacon?

Eggs with Ramps and Bacon Jam

2 eggs

6-8 ramps, sliced in half

1 cup swiss chard (or other leafy green)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons bacon jam

Saute the ramps and swiss chard in the olive oil until they have wilted and caramelized a bit. Remove to a plate. Add the eggs carefully so as not to break the yolks and fry to desired cooking (I like the yolks runny so I leave them sunny side up). Season with salt and pepper and serve on top of the greens with a spoonful of bacon jam. If the jam is straight from the fridge, you can warm it up in the pan.

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Sage Biscuits and Fried Egg Sandwiches

I’ve never been all that excited by biscuits. I think it’s because most of the time, they turn out dry and somewhat tasteless if you get them at diners or restaurants. And don’t even get me started on the fast food version. But, now that I know how good these are, I’ll be stocking my freezer with loads of them. They bake up straight from the freezer and they are so light and flaky that they’re actually best all on their own. But that didn’t stop me from trying a fried egg sandwich with pancetta and cheddar.

Oh, and I should mention that once again this recipe came from the Flour Bakery cookbook. Still working my way through it and enjoying everything.

Sage Biscuits

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup cold buttermilk

1/2 cup cold heavy cream

1 cold egg

1 tablespoon chopped sage

1 tablespoon chopped scallions

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Scatter the butter pieces in and squeeze between your fingers so that they come together with the dry ingredients. Don’t over mix, you don’t want it to warm up either. The butter should still be in pea-sized pieces.

In another bowl or measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, cream, egg, sage, and scallion together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients while  mixing with a handmixer, just until it comes together.

Gather the dough together and roll around in the bowl to pick up any loose flour. Pour out onto a floured surface and pat into a 1″ thickness. Cut out with a 3″ round cutter. Bring together the scraps until you’ve used all the dough. This should make 8 biscuits. If you want to freeze them, wrap them individually in plastic wrap now.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or 45 minutes if they were frozen.

I love a fried egg sandwich with pancetta, but you can definitely substitute your favorite bacon. I also am partial to cheddar or asiago, but use whatever cheese you like best as well.

Fried Egg Sandwich

1 biscuit

1 egg

2 pieces pancetta or bacon

handful of arugula

2 basil leaves

a couple slices of cheese or some grated cheese to taste

Fry up the bacon or pancetta in a frying pan until crispy. Remove to a paper towel. Cook the egg in the rendered bacon fat and season with salt and pepper. I don’t usually flip my eggs because I like them runny, but I do baste them with the extra oil/fat in the pan. Layer the cheese, pancetta, and arugula on the bottom and place the egg on top of the cheese so it starts to melt. Top with a couple basil leaves and the top of your biscuit and dig in!

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Raspberry Blueberry Muffins

As I’ve mentioned before, one of my favorite bakeries in the world is Flour Bakery in Boston. I remember Sunday mornings and trying to decide what I wanted most. I’ve been waiting to try the muffin recipes from the cookbook, but it’s usually a last minute thought and I don’t regularly keep Creme Fraiche lying around. So far, everything I’ve tried from the book has been really delicious like the Double Chocolate Cookies and the Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies. I even adapted the one muffin recipe that didn’t use Creme Fraiche into my Apple Oat Muffins and they were delicious.

These muffins were so light and fluffy, with a glorious crunchy muffin top that just crackles in the right way when you pull it off. Let’s be honest, most people go straight for the muffin top and then reluctantly eat the rest. These are so good, that you will love eating the whole thing.

The original recipe uses raspberry and rhubarb, and it gives suggestions for alternate recipes like the classic blueberry muffin. I adjusted based on what I had in the freezer, which in this case was frozen raspberries and blueberries. I like to bake them fresh, so I’ll keep the batter in the fridge and bake them in the morning. It lasts a couple days, and they turn out so much better when baked fresh. But you can refresh them by popping them back in the oven for a couple minutes.

Raspberry Blueberry Muffins

3 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs plus 1 yolk

1 1/4 sticks butter, melted

1 cup milk

1 1/3 cup sugar

1 cup creme fraiche

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup frozen raspberries

1 cup frozen blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tin with paper liners. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and then add the sugar, butter, milk, creme fraiche, and vanilla, making sure all ingredients are at room temperature. I like to add the melted butter with the sugar and then everything else, so that it doesn’t re-solidify at all if your ingredients are a little colder.

Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and fold gently using a spatula. Fold in the berries gently. The batter is a little lumpy but don’t worry. Spoon into the muffin tin to fill the cups. Bake for 40 minutes until the muffin tops are golden brown and let cool before removing them.

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Winter Fruits Smoothie

This time of year, I’m really missing fruit. I’m tired of eating apples and citrus is great, but I want some berries. My only option is frozen fruit, but I don’t like thawed frozen fruit unless I blend it up into a smoothie. This one was a great one because it had the right amount of fresh fruit and frozen, the right balance between sweet and tart, and a delicious silky texture from the soy and almond milk. Add some rum, and you could feel like you’re right on the beach. Plus, the beautiful, bright color is lovely on a gray day.

Winter Fruits Smoothie

1 apple, chopped into pieces

1 cup grapes

1 cup frozen raspberries

1 cup frozen mango

1/2 cup soy milk

1/2 cup almond milk

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend. You can add more liquid as necessary, if you’re blender gets stuck.

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2011 was a great year in the kitchen

It was a great first year for my latest project, Meatballs and Milkshakes. I had a chance to make both namesakes for my blog, spaghetti and meatballs and affogato milkshakes.

My recipe for shaved asparagus salad won on Food52 and I got all sorts of prizes. (And my recipe will be in print in October 2012!)

I had a great guest blog from Gareth with some music to go along with it, a favorite song around the apartment which reminds me that I still have not blogged about the trip to Ravello and Positano. Well, at least I’ve still got things to do in 2012.

There were a lot of favorites that came out of the kitchen this year, including prosciutto and goat cheese stuffed dates, scallop crudo, burrata and tomato crostini, seared scallops with spinach and pine nuts, chicken with porcini mushrooms, veal saltimbocca, and beef stew.

Of course, I can’t forget all the great pasta– linguine with bacon, peas and mint, pappardelle with duck ragu, risotto with spinach, lemon and bay scallops, gorgonzola and mushroom tajarin, linguine carbonara, pesto, spaghetti with cherry tomatoes, gnocchi, and carrot and butternut squash lasagna.

I learned that I loved burrata, Di Palo, and Eataly, and surprisingly, I don’t actually hate all ricotta. I made a surprising amount of pasta by hand and got a ricer for gnocchi.

It wasn’t all Italian all the time, however. There were a lot of cookies, including nutella chocolate chip, chewy chocolate chip, double chocolate, chocolate chip hazelnut, jam thumbprints, and spice cookies.

We celebrated Gareth’s birthday with a delicious chocolate layer cake. We had peach and raspberry crisps and crostatas. I brought zucchini bread on vacation and we had a beautiful and delicious berry pie.

The fall meant apple picking and with it, the bounty of apple-inspired recipes such as apple oat muffins, pork chops with apple chutney, apple pie, butternut squash soup, and apple butter.

Thanksgiving was quickly followed by Christmas and then the whirlwind into New Years.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes was a great success, and my favorites were the marinated sardines, shrimp bisque, and baccala alla vicentina. The chocolate pudding will also be made regularly.

A lot of great friends came over for some really delicious meals and I’m looking forward to more in 2012. Up on the docket are braciole, lasagna, and maybe some healthy dinners like salmon and brown rice in the next couple of weeks….have to balance out the pasta somehow…

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