Fancy Valentine's Day Breakfast

A gorgeous setting, gourmet food and a panel of talented experts are worth getting up early for on Valentine’s Day. Where did I find all of these things in one place? At the “Steak Your Claim as a Foodie” breakfast held at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto.

Toronto is one of many cities taking part in Social Media Week around the world between February 13^th and 17^th.   The week features lectures, panel discussions, events and tweet ups all focused on emerging trends in social and mobile media across major industries.

On Valentine’s Day I got up extra early for 7:30am breakfast in the opulent setting of the Ballroom at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.  Chefs manned cooking stations at one end of the Ballroom and served a wonderful breakfast to hungry attendees. At one station, eggs were poached on demand to create lobster eggs benedict, at another a rich and spicy hot chocolate was served with Hawaiian malasadas for dipping. And who could resist the multi-tiered chocolate fountain?

Silent Sunday: Waffles with Blueberries, Peaches and Maple Syrup

Simple Breakfast Math

Homemade bread

+
Homemade maple smoked bacon
+
A poached egg courtesy of the chickens in my backyard

= 1 Tasty Breakfast

Brunch

Some people seem to lead such interesting lives, always meeting new people and traveling all over the place. Often those people will be told they’re so lucky to do all the things they do. The thing is, they’re not lucky, they simply create opportunities for themselves that most people don’t. One such person is my friend Andrea. Andrea is always on the move and manages to find fun in even the most dismal of places so if you’re invited to do something with her, it’s to your advantage to say yes and go along for the ride.

Whereas some people make tentative plans to do things in the future, Andrea just does things. I don’t know how many times I’ve talked about doing potluck lunches or dinners with friends, only for them not to materialize. A couple days ago Andrea invited myself and another friend over for potluck brunch. It wasn’t hard to put together and yet it’s something I’d probably talk about more than ever do.

When we arrived at Andrea’s yesterday she had set the table in bright spring colours, complete with champagne flutes and coupes, (legend has it they were modeled on the breasts of Marie Antoinette, Andrea's full of trivia too) fluffy chicks for company and fresh fruit. Our flutes were soon filled with champagne and Chambord as we set out the rest of our feast. I decided to bring themed baking and went with savoury and sweet tarts because brunch is one of those wonderful meals where if it’s acceptable to drink in the morning, it’s also acceptable to eat dessert. For savoury tarts I made Wild Mushroom and Spinach Tarts from Curtis Stone’s new book, (review to come soon) and for sweet I went with Caramel, Pecan, Chocolate Tarts, a switch up on a Dorie Greenspan recipe I’ve made numerous times. We also had homemade granola and a Dill and Ricotta Cheesecake whose recipe came via 101 Cookbooks.

It was a great way to start what could have been a day full of random activities. Unfortunately I had to cut things short to head into work. Being employed really gets in the way of spontaneity. It gets in the way of travel too. Flying away is on my mind since I got my passport in the mail today, (I had sent it in to be renewed, was it really four years ago that I went to Australia???) and just having it in my hands made me want to go places… Faraway places… I get a travel itch every now and then and it seems to have flared up lately. If I were more like Andrea I would probably be on a plane right now. Instead I’ll look at old photos, pine for days when I’m in a new place and then head into the kitchen to bake away my frustrations.

Happy Sunday!

Hot cross buns,

Hot cross buns,
One ha' penny,
Two ha' penny,
Hot cross buns.
If you have no daughters,
Give them to your sons,
One ha' penny,
Two ha' penny,
Hot Cross Buns

Lemon Currant Hot Cross Buns (From LCBO Food and Wine Magazine, Spring 2009)

Dough:
2 cups 2% milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. dry instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/4 cups dried currants

Hot Glaze:
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. water

Icing:
3/4 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1. For the dough, stir milk, sugar, yeast, lemon zest and vanilla in the base of a tabletop mixer or by hand and let sit 5 minutes. Add flour, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and currants and blend. Using a dough hook attachment, knead until elastic, but dough still sticks to the bottom of the bowl. (If mixing by hand, stir until stiff, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until elastic but still sticky.) Place in a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place for 1 1/2 hours.

2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 equal sized pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and place in a greased 9x13-inch cake pan. Cover pan loosely with plastic wrap and let rise 45 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350° F. (180c)

4. Bake buns for 40 - 45 minutes, until a rich golden colour. While buns are baking, prepare hot glaze.

5. For hot glaze, stir sugar, lemon juice and water in a small pot over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. When buns come out of the oven, poke holes with a bamboo skewer and brush buns with glaze repeatedly, allowing glaze to soak in to buns. Let buns cool in pan.

6. For icing, beat icing sugar and lemon juice until thick and pipe a cross onto each bun. Store buns in pan until ready to serve. The buns are best served on the day they are baked but can be baked ahead and frozen.

Duck, Duck… Duck

The more you do something the better you get at it, (hopefully). Excelling at anything comes only after hours of practice, (at least 10000 according to Outliers author Malcom Gladwell) and I understand that, but it still kills me to make mistakes if they’re at all avoidable. As much as I love experimenting and trying new things, I hate when they don’t work out. I hate it even more when things don’t work out in the restaurant kitchen as opposed to the safety of my home kitchen. That wide eyed look of fear Chef sees on my face when he throws something new at me is exactly that, fear. It’s a fear of messing up, even though I know it’s a part of learning. And it’s a fear of letting others down, especially those who believe in me the most. But along with the fear is a desire to achieve and to do better. A nervous desire, but desire nonetheless. I’d like to be at the point where not only can I understand why something didn’t work but also see when something needs adjusting while there’s still time to fix it. That’s one of the major problems with baking, there’s a finite amount of time in which to make changes. As soon as whatever you’re making goes into the oven, there’s nothing you can do except have faith that you’ve done everything properly and that it will turn out. If not, hopefully you’ve learned what not to do for next time. Cooking is more flexible to an extent, but if you overcook the duck there’s no way to make it raw again.

Speaking of duck, since the only way to get better at something is to keep doing it, I’ve been cooking a lot of duck lately. The price of duck is motivation to learn quickly how to do it right. Because when you mess up duck it hurts on many levels.

Cassoulet with Duck Confit

At the restaurant we serve cassoulet with duck confit and it’s probably one of my favourite things on the menu. I’ve wanted to make it at home for ages and finally decided if I was going to do it, I was going the full nine yards by first making the duck confit and then soaking and cooking the beans and assembling everything with a bread crumb crust and a prolonged bake in the oven. I used a recipe from Michael Ruhlman’s Charcuterie for the duck confit. Don’t let the fact that it takes over two days to complete put you off making your own duck confit. It’s not difficult and the hands on time is minimal. The pay off is definitely worth it as you’re left with beautifully done duck legs and a vat of duck fat that can be used for all sorts of awesome things, like making duck fat fried potatoes. The cassoulet recipe I used was taken mostly from Fat although I improvised a little bit. Consequently the end result was good, but not as good as at work. It was certainly a learning experience though. My finished dish lacked both seasoning and moisture, but at least I was able to determine that.

Duck Fat Fried Potatoes with Duck Confit Hash and A Runny Egg

Like I said though, when you make duck confit, you end up with leftover duck fat and the best thing you can do with that is to use it to fry up some potatoes. I happened to also have a leg of duck confit leftover one morning so I decided to make one of the most decadent but also amazing brunches ever. I shredded the duck leg and made a duck confit hash with peppers, onions and homemade bacon, (also from Charcuterie) then fried up some potatoes in duck fat and served the two with a runny egg overtop. Breakfast has never been the same since.

Mandarin Pancakes with Peking Duck

Mandarin pancakes might sound like breakfast food but they’re usually served for dinner in dishes such as Mu Shu Pork or, as in this case, with Peking duck. The pancakes are made with a simple dough, often made of just flour, boiling water and sesame oil which is allowed to rest and then rolled out flat and sandwiched to another pancake before being browned in a frying pan. The pancakes are then pulled apart and used to wrap up other ingredients, like duck. Mandarin pancakes are one of my favourites and I don’t make them nearly enough, I think it’s the sesame oil in the dough that I just can’t resist. When you pair Mandarin pancakes with Peking duck, life is good.

And last but certainly not least in my adventures in cooking duck is Pan Seared Duck Breast with Dried Cherry and Shallot Confit, served on Roasted Squash Risotto. Pan searing duck breast and finishing it in the oven is fast becoming my go-to way to make duck. I’ve also recently made Soy and Maple Glazed Duck, and Duck Breast with Chili, Honey and Ginger Glaze using the pan searing method. It’s pretty easy to do, (just be careful not to leave it in the oven too long and over cook it, I like my duck pink, thank you) and can be served with any number of sauces and sides. I’m a big fan of pairing fruit with meat and an even bigger fan of cherries so when I saw a recipe for a Dried Cherry and Shallot Confit I knew it was meant to be. As for the risotto, it’s one of those few dishes that I’m comfortable enough cooking that I no longer refer to a recipe. I know the basic method for making risotto and I’ve found that you can introduce any flavour you want to a risotto and it takes fairly well. That being said, as comfortable as I am making risotto in my own kitchen, if you asked me to do it at the restaurant it would be a completely different story…

Pan Seared Duck Breast with Dried Cherry and Shallot Confit with Roasted Squash Risotto

Dried Cherry and Shallot Confit (from Gourmet, 1991)

1 1/2 cups dried sour cherries
1/2 cup white-wine vinegar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups thinly sliced shallot (about 1/2 pound)
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons sugar

In a bowl let the cherries soak in the vinegars for 30 minutes. While the cherries are soaking, in a heavy skillet cook the shallot and the onion in the butter, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until the shallot is soft. Sprinkle mixture with the sugar and cook the mixture, covered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the cherries with the soaking liquid, simmer the mixture, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until almost all the liquid is evaporated, and season the confit with salt and pepper. The confit may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheat when needed.

Banana Bread with Espresso and Dark Chocolate Chips

I’m not a huge coffee drinker. I seemed to be one of the few people that didn’t survive on it during exam time at University and I don’t crave it first thing in the morning like some people do. I enjoy a cup every now and then but I think the reason I don’t drink it more often is the aftereffect. I hate coffee-breath. I feel like I need to brush my teeth immediately after I finish a coffee to get the lingering taste out of my mouth. If coffee didn’t leave me with coffee breath I could definitely see myself being an addict. Since I drink it so infrequently though, the caffeine really hits me. A single cup of coffee is enough to make me unusually chatty and a little bit shaky. I can’t drink it in the evening either or else I’ll be up all night. But I like the smell of coffee and I especially like it in ice cream and baked goods.

Today, while looking for a banana bread recipe I stumbled across one I’ve made before, courtesy of Elise of Simply Recipes. I started reading the comments section and saw one from David Lebovitz that suggested adding a shot of espresso to the batter. I think I would follow along with pretty much anything David Lebovitz suggested based on how much I love The Perfect Scoop. So off I went to the kitchen to give the espresso banana bread a try. I like chocolate chips in my banana bread so I added some dark ones of those too.

I’ve noticed while typing this post that Demetri Martin was right when he said “I feel stupid when I write the word banana. Its like, how many na’s are on this thing? ‘Cause I’m like ‘Ba-na… keep going. Bana-na-na… Damn!” Thank God for youtube because by the time I baked up my banana bread and waited for it to cool it was too late in the day for me to be eating it with coffee but I did anyways so now I won’t be sleeping for quite a while. At least I’ve got Demetri to keep me company. I’m going to start by watching The Jokes with Guitar for the 74^th time…

Banana Bread (Adapted from Simply Recipes)

3 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
¾ cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons espresso powder
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda, espresso powder and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour and chocolate chips and mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Eggs

For quite some time now, I have been a BzzAgent. BzzAgent is a word of mouth media network. As a BzzAgent, I’m invited to participate in campaigns and sometimes offered product samples and promotional freebies. I can choose which campaigns to participate in and then opt to share my experiences with others if I liked the product. For the most part I only participate in food related campaigns as they’re what’s more interesting and relevant to me. Recently I was invited to take part in a promotional campaign for the Egg Farmers of Ontario. I don’t need any excuses to promote eggs, I go through them at an alarming rate. I’ve often said that I need some chickens in my backyard to support my egg habit, (and while we’re on the topic, a cow for my butter and cream habit). Luckily, (?) for me, I live in the boondocks where there are plenty of egg farmers and when I need an extra dozen for a baking spree, they’re not too far away.

After signing up for the egg campaign I was sent some brochures on the many health benefits of eggs, (did you know they contain 6g of protein?) some recipe cards, (quiche anyone?) and some seasoning packets, (I’ve always liked adding herbs to my eggs). I also received the cute little egg keychain you see gracing the above photo. Like I said though, I don’t need any encouragement to promote eggs, they’re infinitely versatile and probably one of the few things that can take you from breakfast straight through lunch and dinner to dessert. We used to tease my Mom that whenever she was making dinner it was going to be an omelet. Not that she couldn’t make other meals, but after coming home from work, it’s one of the fastest and easiest things to make. I prefer my omelets for breakfast though and the one you see here has been stuffed with fried onions, peppers, tomatoes, bacon and goat cheese. Another breakfast or brunch favourite of mine is an egg sandwich. Once again, you can really put whatever you want into your egg sandwich and dress it up or down according to what you have in the fridge. Because everything tastes better with bacon, I chose to make my breakfast sandwich on a cheese croissant with herb scrambled eggs, lettuce, tomato and strips of bacon. It’s the breakfast of champions. What’s your favourite way to eat eggs?

I Can Make Crepes

Big things are happening in the Jumbo Empanadas kitchen right now. One of those things is relocating kitchens entirely. I am finally getting out of my awful apartment, which is something I’ve been meaning to do for the past 9 months, (since the day I moved in actually). I’m not just changing apartments though, I’m leaving the city completely. This has been a difficult decision for me to make because I really do like Toronto. I like my friends here and the markets and the restaurants and the variety of things to do for entertainment, heck I even kinda like my jobs, (cause my coworkers eat my baked goods and say nice things about them, flattery will get you everywhere). I like all of those things and I will miss them dearly so why on earth am I moving, and hours away at that? It’s a question I’ve been asking myself daily, but hopefully the end will justify the means and the move will turn out to be a good thing.

As much as I will miss Toronto, there are a few things that I will be happy to be rid of and even happier never to see again. I will not miss Ozzy, (who invited me to come over for a nightcap of wine cooler from a 2L plastic jug) or The Landlord, (who doesn’t know the meaning of the phrase ‘illegal entry to a residence’) or my crappy apartment, (that has no windows in the kitchen, thus leaving it in eternal darkness). I will not miss being woken up at 4am by Ozzy as he sings along to Journey or Pat Benetar being played at full blast. I will not miss The Landlord’s junk collection that clutters the common hallways, walls and backyard of my apartment and includes things like Jesus statues, teddy bears and 3 legged chairs. And I will not miss an apartment that has a front door that opens into the bathroom, frosted windows with bars on them and fuses that blow if more than 2 appliances are running at once.

What does all of this have to do with crepes? Nothing, but I just thought I’d let you know I can make them and they’re especially good with whipped cream, strawberries and nutella.

Easy Crepes (From Bon Appetit, June 1998)

1 1/3 cups whole milk, room temperature
1 cup all purpose flour
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Mix first 6 ingredients in blender just until smooth. Cover batter and chill at least 15 minutes and up to 1 day.

Spray 7-inch-diameter nonstick skillet with vegetable oil spray and heat over medium heat. Pour 2 tablespoons batter into pan and swirl to coat bottom. Cook until edge of crepe is light brown, about 1 minute. Loosen edges gently with spatula. Carefully turn crepe over. Cook until bottom begins to brown in spots, about 30 seconds. Transfer to plate. Cover with paper towel. Repeat with remaining batter, spraying pan with oil spray as needed and covering each crepe with paper towel. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

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Crepes

Words Left Unsaid

When I sit at my computer and my fingers wont type no matter how long I stare at the screen, this is the result. Words left unsaid and posts hidden away in the depths of an overcrowded hard drive. Is it just my blog or a metaphor for life in general? I tend to leave a lot unsaid. Not because I’m not thinking about it though, I’m a daydreamer. Perhaps daydreamer isn’t the right word as I feel like it has optimistic undertones and optimistic is not a word used to describe me. (If at this point you would like to tell me, as many others have, that a sunny outlook improves everything, I urge you not to waste your time as I’m more leopard than chameleon and these spots aren’t changing).

Maybe instead of a daydreamer I’m a thinker, an analyzer, an over-analyzer. I’m constantly rethinking past situations and envisioning future situations. Some are real and some fictional, some potential and others completely improbable. I’m convinced that if you listened carefully, in the quiet of nighttime, you could hear the whirring of my brain like a hamster wheel that’s constantly spinning. And the effort to keep that wheel going is tiring, even if like the wheel, I’m simply turning in circles and not going anywhere. That’s the frustrating part, lack of accomplishment or resolution. Thoughts left unspoken. And sometimes I need to write just to free up some space in my cluttered mind. Most often that kind of writing never makes it anywhere near a “post” or “send” button. Then there are days like today where I’ve decided that I’m not going to bed until I get something posted and this is the result. Despite my ramblings, this is still a food blog and I’ll at least deliver on that aspect even if I took a rather roundabout way of getting to the food.

If you think I’ve whipped up all these goodies recently, you would be mistaken… The butterfly sugar cookies were made way back in March. In fact, I even commented on a post of Ivonne’s when she made butterfly cookies, telling her I had made similar cookies a month earlier and still had yet to post about them. It’s months later and still no cookies, how did that happen? I would have forgotten all about them, (not because they’re forgettable but because I’m forgetful) but in my need to declutter I sometimes make lists and one of these lists is called “Stuff Left to Post”. I found the butterfly sugar cookies, (which are actually called Grandma’s All Occasion Sugar Cookies) on that list along with seven other Dorie Greenspan recipes that were completed sometime in the past six months.

It was at that point that I realized it’s been way too long since my last Dorie post. Hopefully though, with the creation of Tuesdays with Dorie, you’ve been seeing her wonderful recipes all over the blogosphere. I would love to join this group of intrepid bakers but I know I can’t actually commit to making a particular recipe in time to post along with the group every Tuesday, (but I do enjoy reading their posts). That being said, I haven’t stopped baking from Baking From My Home to Yours, (aka the baking bible) I just haven’t been quick to post my progress.

A few notes on the recipes…

Cornmeal and Fruit Loaf: It was moist and soft and best cut into thick slices, (as Dorie suggests doing) and was another opportunity for me to use cornmeal in my baking which I had never done before Dorie suggested it, (but which I quite enjoy).

Real Butterscotch Pudding: I never grew up on boxed pudding so I don’t pine for it the way some people do. That being said, maybe this makes me more appreciative of a pudding done right and made from scratch. And as I’m never one to shy away from alcohol in desserts, this Real Butterscotch Pudding was right up my alley. I also opted to top the pudding with cacao nibs.

Grandma’s All Occasion Sugar Cookies: As you can see, they roll out easily to whatever shape you decide to make them. My only complaint about them was my decision to ice them. I don’t have the patience for icing little cookies, especially not two dozen of them. Ugh.

Snickery Squares: These were a big hit and really, how could they not be? They’ve got the chocolate, caramel and peanuts of a Snickers bar but are on a shortbread base and made with a love like no Snickers bar has ever received.

Drunken Fruit Rice Pudding: This is one of the Playing Around options for the Arborio Rice Pudding and like I mentioned above, I like desserts with alcohol, but especially ones where the alcohol is combined with fruit.

Toasted Almond Scones: I once believed I wasn’t a fan of scones, but after making Dorie’s Apple Cheddar Scones I realized that it wasn’t all scones that I didn’t like, but just poorly made ones. The Apple Cheddar Scones were delicious and set me on a scone making rampage that included these Toasted Almond Scones as well as some Dried Strawberry and Lime Scones, (that I have yet to post about and may never get around to).

Orange Cup Custard: This is another Playing Around option, this time for the Lemon Cup Custards. I used to think I didn’t really like custard either, but I think it’s just the name I don’t like, kind of like curd. Perhaps these should be renamed Delicious Cups and then everyone would want to make them.

Chocolate Pots De Crème: Do I really need to add any notes to this? It’s chocolate in a cup and that’s got to be good, especially if topped with whipped cream and additional chocolate shavings.

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Dorie Greenspan + Baking + Scones + Pudding + Custard + Cookies

Happy Mother’s Day!

I’ve previously told you about how my Mom’s pretty awesome because she can bake bread from scratch, milk a goat and turn the output into cheese and ice cream and make a seriously tasty omelet too. But what you don’t know about Mom is that she’s also the nicest, most compassionate, thoughtful and caring person you will ever meet. This means that she puts others before herself and goes out of her way to help those in need. If everyone were to be as lucky as I am and have a Mom like mine, the world would certainly be a different and much happier place.

When I was little my Mom would tuck me in and sing me to sleep at night, hug me every morning and remind me daily that I’m loved. She gave me books like Charlotte’s Web and The Secret Garden to read and encourage my imagination to grow and develop. From as early as I can remember I’ve always loved sports and that’s probably because Mom would take me skating and skiing in the winter and go biking and swimming with me in the summer, (and she still does). Mom doesn’t speak ill of other people and as such has taught me the value of respect and acceptance of others. At times in my life when I have had to make the decision of whether or not to do something questionable, my decisions have always hinged on the fact that I wouldn’t want to do something that would disappoint my Mom or make her less proud of me. She’s my number one cheerleader in all that I do and is sure of me when I’m not sure of myself.

I assure you, if you’ve ever had the privilege of crossing paths with my Mom, you’re a better person for it. Unfortunately, I think people that are as nice as she is, (if other such people even exist) are often underappreciated. In her role as an elementary school principle, Mom goes to work early and comes home late everyday, she genuinely cares about the wellbeing of her students and staff and yet still has to put up with far more nonsense and politics than anyone should have to. Despite all of that, Mom has a positive outlook on life and believes in the good of people. But if I had things my way, Mom would have retired long ago so that she could spend her days gardening, going for hikes and bike rides, reading and writing a book.

If I had things my way I would also be home for Mother’s Day so that I could spend the day with my Mom. I would start by making her some fabulous cornmeal waffles for brunch, (a Dorie Greenspan recipe from this book) and top them with maple blueberry sauce and fresh orange segments. Then we would relax and read the paper on the deck in the sunshine and talk about where in the Travel section we wanted to go most. When we finished reading the paper we would drive to the beach to go for a walk along the water and get an ice cream cone with two scoops each. After we got home Dad and I would start making dinner and Mom would work in the garden until it was time to eat. Depending on our mood following dinner we would play cards or watch a movie. It would be a wonderful day with my Mom. Unfortunately, she will have to take a raincheck on that one because I can’t make it home this weekend, but I still love her very very much and hope she has an amazing day because she really deserves it.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom!

Breakfasts with Bacon

I’m usually hungry when I wake up. I blame this on the fact that I go to bed reading cookbooks and that I spend the night dreaming of food. Or that I’m crazy. The problem with waking up hungry is that I want something immediately and that usually means last night’s leftovers. This morning for example, I had chocolate and vanilla pudding for breakfast, followed by a piece of roast pork and some mashed potatoes, all cold. Don’t even try to understand how those things go together, just accept that they do. So by the time I’ve rummaged through the fridge and taken care of the leftovers I don’t feel like making an actual breakfast. The problem though is that I like normal breakfast foods and I’d like to make them but generally don’t because of my previously stated problem. When I do cook breakfast it often becomes lunch or dinner, but in the grand scheme of things, that doesn’t really matter.

Every now and then I manage to make breakfast for breakfast, but this only happens if I plan on it the night before. I’d been thinking about these chocolate chip pancakes with bacon for quite a while before they actually happened. What finally spurred me into action was a Dorie Greenspan post, (quelle surprise!) about how bacon in sweets is the trend of the moment. It’s not a concept that’s new to me as I’ve been a lover of bacon brittle and bacon with waffles and maple syrup for some time now but seeing the combo again made me crave it. I’ve also had a craving for these Bacon Chocolate Chip cookies but they will have to wait for another morning.

As for the breakfast burrito, I’ve seen numerous links to a Gordon Ramsey video, (click below to see it yourself) where he shows how to make perfect scrambled eggs and I wanted to try his technique. Breakfast burritos are a regular for me, but usually the contents of the burrito are last night’s supper. This time around I wanted to actually fill the burrito with breakfast contents, like Gordon Ramsey’s eggs, bacon, (of course) red onions and green and orange peppers. I cooked the eggs just like Ramsey shows how to do and then I added them to my other filling which I had made up by rendering the bacon and then frying the onion and peppers in the bacon grease. Before I wrapped it all up in a warm flour tortilla I added some shredded smoked gouda, one of my favourite cheeses as of late. It turns out breakfast burritos are just as good as leftover dinner burritos!

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Eggs + Pancakes + Bacon

Making it Right

It’s always interesting to hear how someone makes a dish that is considered a national specialty. When I try out recipes found online and in magazines and books I often wonder how authentic the recipe is or how much it has changed from its origins. I don’t necessarily mind the change if the end product still tastes good, but I wonder what someone who grew up on the stuff would think of the bastardization that has occurred. As I told you a couple days ago, while revealing too much about myself, I started Chef Training in January. Many of the comments on that post asked to know more about the experience, so here’s a little story for you. One of the chef’s is from Switzerland and as such has very firm beliefs about a dish that originated there, rösti, (many consider it a national dish). Let me back up even further and say that Chef Swiss has a very dry sense of humour that I find hilarious. He also has a habit of going off on tangents about topics that he really likes. Rösti is one of those topics. During a lecture on potatoes he got sidetracked with rösti and spent the next 15 minutes telling us exactly how it should be cooked. He was so passionate about it that I was convinced I had to try making it at home, and I did. So here’s my attempt at rösti, with Chef Swiss’s valuable nuggets of information thrown in.

To begin with, it’s pronounced Rrrrr-eush-ti. Roll the r, that o with the dots sounds like ‘eu’ and then add a ‘sh’ sound before the final ‘tea’. Chef Swiss had the whole class trying to roll their r’s and would simply sigh and shake his head in frustration when most of the class failed epically. Next, before he could explain how to properly make rösti, he had to emphasize what it was not.

What rösti is NOT:

-Hash browns

-Latkes

-Pancakes

-Pizza of any sort

-French fries

-Heavy and flat

And do NOT serve rösti with ketchup, (I think Chef Swiss thinks ketchup should be outlawed altogether, but it should especially never be served with rösti). Certain regions of Switzerland may opt to add bacon or onion to the grated potato or serve it with a bit of melted cheese or a fried egg on top but those are regional twists and the traditional rösti is just potato.

So without further ado, here is how you make rösti:

Boil potatoes in skin until tender. Remove from boiling water and cool overnight in the fridge. The next day, remove the potatoes from the fridge, peel them and grate coarsely with a box grater. While grating you must hold the grater above the bowl so that the potatoes fall lightly into the bowl. The potatoes are not to be smushed down by holding the grater against your counter or cutting board. Season the grated potatoes with salt and black pepper. No white pepper. No nutmeg.

Take a non stick pan and melt enough butter to coat the bottom. Drop the potatoes lightly into the pan and let slowly fry over medium heat while giving the pan a shake. Once the potatoes start to colour, you can shape the potatoes around the outside of the pan so that it’s a nice circular shape. Do not push down on the potatoes in the middle, they are to be light and fluffy. Once the potatoes start to dry out a bit, add little balls of butter around the edges and let it melt underneath. After about 10 minutes, when the bottom is browned and will hold together, flip the rösti over and once again add little butter balls around the edges of the pan and let them melt into the middle. The rösti is done when the outside is browned and crispy, but the middle remains soft, light and fluffy. Plate and serve as is.

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Potatoes + Rosti + Breakfast

Waffles + Maple Syrup + Bacon = Yum

Date: Approximately 2 weeks ago.

Time: Morning.

Scene: In the kitchen at my parent’s home. Dad is making coffee. I’m trying to gather ingredients to make waffles.

One More Reason to Love My Dad:

Me: "We don’t have buttermilk or enough eggs to make Alton Brown’s waffles."

Dad: "Just make Dorie’s waffles. I’ll put some bacon on."

Priceless.

This Is What's Cooking

It always amazes me that anyone should have a difficult time buying me a present. Then again, it also amazes me that I’m not showered with presents on a daily basis. I’m sure there are enough cookbooks out there that I could get a new one everyday and never have any repeats. Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that other people don’t realize this. How else can you explain the fact that What’s Cooking: Baking, by Emma Patmore is the only cookbook I received for Christmas? Unbelievable, but true.

I suppose What’s Cooking should consider itself lucky to have been my one and only Christmas cookbook as it’s meant I’ve spent a copious amount of time getting to know it. Allow me to tell you a little about the book that claims to be a step by step collection of baked dishes. It certainly is an eclectic mix of recipes. Chapters are divided into Puddings & Pastries, Breads & Side Dishes, Vegetarian Baking, and Cakes and Cookies. As an added bonus every single recipe has a picture of the final product as well as step by step photos. The chapter on Vegetarian Baking somewhat baffles me as I think it should perhaps be renamed Vegan Baking. Regardless, it has both sweet and savoury recipes that call for predominantly whole wheat flour as opposed to all purpose. I have yet to attempt any recipes from that chapter. I have, however, tried out the Chocolate Bread, Cheese and Onion Pies and Oat and Raisin Cookies.

The Chocolate Bread gave off a wonderful aroma while baking but had a very subtle chocolate flavour and only a faint hint of sweetness. I baked it with the intent of making Chocolate French Toast and it was certainly good as such. It would also work for PB & J or PB & Banana sandwiches.

The Cheese and Onion Pies were a surprise hit for me. After making them I decided I wanted to try a little nibble and that little nibble turned into me devouring a whole pie… This book seems to have an abundance of onion recipes, including: Celery and Onion Pies, Mini Cheese and Onion Tarts and Red Onion Tart Tatin to name a few.

My favourite recipe of the three that I tried though, were the Oat and Raisin cookies. They were soft and chewy, homey and just plain good!

Final verdict? This book contains an interesting mixture of sweet and savoury baked goods. Some of the recipes seem like an odd choice, but hey, I’m a little weird myself, so I guess that’s alright. I’m actually curious to try out some of the vegan recipes as those are something that I’m not at all familiar with, but it’s going to be awfully hard for me not to throw in a handful of bacon. The photos of every recipe are certainly a bonus and the Oat and Raisin cookies are going to become a regular in my kitchen.

Oat and Raisin Cookies, (Adapted slightly from What’s Cooking: Baking by Emma Patmore)

4 T butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

½ cup all purpose flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ cups old fashioned rolled oats

¾ cup plump raisins

2 T sunflower seeds

Line 2 cookies sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the beaten egg gradually and beat until well combined.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into the creamed mixture. Mix well

Add the oats, raisins, sunflower seeds and mix together thoroughly.

Place spoonfuls of the mixture well apart on the prepared cookie sheets and flatten them slightly with the back of a spoon.

Bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 350F for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned.

Let the cookies coo slightly on the cookie sheets.

Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely before serving.

Makes 16-18 cookies.

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Cookies + Bread + Onion + Chocolate

How Did That Get There?

Don’t let the chocolate bars in the picture fool you, there is no chocolate in these muffins. Don’t let that dissuade you from making them though, they’re honey bran muffins with blueberries and they complete any breakfast. The reason for the chocolate bars is that they’re what I found while making these muffins. I reached into the baking cupboard to pull out the brown sugar and three chocolate bars fell out.

I didn’t put them there and I wasn’t supposed to find them either. My Dad put them there, somehow thinking he was hiding them. When I find things like chocolate ‘hiding’ in the baking cupboard I can’t help but laugh. This is the last place in the house that anyone should try to hide something from me. I am the primary baker in the house, (I wanted to type only, but I thought that might garner some indignation from Mom, the baker who hasn’t actually baked anything in years…) and as such, I use that cupboard on an almost daily basis as it houses such essential ingredients as baking powder and soda, sugar, vanilla, dried fruit, etc… And yet this is a common hiding place for Dad’s chocolate stash.

He knows that if he leaves the chocolate laying out in the open, I’ll eat it but doesn’t think I’ll find it if it’s tucked behind the brown sugar. In reality, the only person this chocolate remains hidden from is Mom, the other ‘baker’. I find this funny to no end. But even if you don’t share my sense of humour, I encourage you to bake these muffins. They come together in minutes and everyone loves a warm treat from the oven with their breakfast. Tip: If you make them with blueberries you’ll be forgiven for stealing chocolate from the secret hiding spot in the baking cupboard.

Honey Bran Muffins
(From Muffin Mania by Cathy Prange and Joan Paula)

1 cup natural bran
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup butter or margarine
½ cup brown sugar
2 T honey
1 egg
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup blueberries, (optional, these are Dad’s addition)

Soak bran in buttermilk while preparing the rest.

Cream butter and brown sugar. Beat in the honey and egg. Add the bran and buttermilk.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add dry ingredients and stir until moistened. If you’re using blueberries, add them now.

Bake at 375 °F for 15-20 minutes.

**This post also appears at the Just Baking site.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Everything’s easier when your oven works. I realize than an oven isn’t essential to waffle making, but I just feel better in general, knowing that my oven is functioning properly. Sparks however, are not a sign of good oven functioning. Sparks lead to fires. Fires in the kitchen are not good unless what you are trying to serve is flambéed.

Two nights ago I was sitting in the living room when I heard a noise coming from the kitchen. It was not a familiar noise. I turned towards the source and instead of the kitchen being dark like it should have been, there was an orange glow. I sent Dad to investigate and what he found was a broken oven element, arcing and sending off sparks. It thankfully died out on its own, but when it did, it took the power of my oven with it. This meant that on a Saturday morning I had to trek into town to find an oven element supplier, preferably a knowledgeable one.

The first store that I went into did sell oven elements but not the right ones. The salesperson I spoke with told me I would have no problem with a particular element and handed it over for me to be on my merry way. I was glad to have asked for a second opinion, because the second, more informed salesperson told me that the element I was holding in my hand at the cash register, would not work in my oven and they didn’t carry the one that would. Onward to a second store. Luckily they had what I needed and I returned home and had Dad install it for me.

A fixed oven meant my waffles this morning could be kept toasty warm while I completed the entire batch and I could breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that if I had an urge to bake a banana upside down cake at 3am, my oven would be there waiting.

Banana Oatmeal Waffles (From Dorie Greenspan’s Waffles From Morning to Midnight)

4 T unsalted butter

1 cup old fashioned oats, (not instant)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 T double acting baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

3 T firmly packed brown sugar, dark or light

1 ½ cups buttermilk

2 large eggs

2 medium size ripe bananas, thinly sliced crosswise

Maple syrup or honey for topping

Preheat your waffle iron. If you want to hold the finished waffles until serving time, preheat your oven to 200F.

Melt the butter; reserve. In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and brown sugar. In another bowl, beat together the buttermilk and eggs with the whisk until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Mix in the banana slices and melted butter.

Lightly butter or spray the grids of your iron, if needed. Brush or spray the grids again only if subsequent waffles stick.

Spoon out a full ½ to 2/3 cup of batter (or a little more than the amount recommended by your waffler’s manufacturer) onto the grids. This batter is thick and lumpy, so push and spread it to the edge of the grids with a metal spatula or wooden spoon. Close the lid and bake until golden and crisp. (It may need a little longer than other waffles because the batter is thick.) Serve the waffles immediately or keep them, in a single layer, on a rack in the preheated oven while you make the rest of the batch. Stir the batter between waffles to redistribute the banana slices.

Makes about five 6 ½ inch round waffles.