Tag Archives: Brunch

Rebel Within Savoury Breakfast Muffins

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Check out how these surprising muffins come together.

I dislike the whole idea of a gender reveal celebration. There are lots of surprises thrown at us, many are kind of scary and not a lot of fun. Finding out the sex of your baby at the moment of birth is one of the few good surprises we have left to experience. I know it’s a polarizing topic, and I’m sure a few of you are nodding in agreement with me, and the rest of you are rolling your eyes at me. It’s ok, I can take it!

With advances in technology, it’s almost impossible not to find out in advance these days. Parents say they want to know so they can get ready. Truthfully, you don’t need much to get ready to bring a baby home from the hospital. Those first few months are just a blur of eating, not sleeping and changing diapers. The best thing you can do to get ready is to fill your freezer with food that can be prepared and eaten with one hand!

When I was born, back in the dark ages, my parents were living at my grandfather’s house with my mom’s sister and brother. I had an older sister (18 months) who was sleeping in a crib in my parent’s bedroom. My mom emptied out a dresser drawer and lined it with pillows for me to sleep in. in her defence, she did remove the drawer from the dresser. It’s not like she put me in there and shut the drawer. These days, she would be reported to Children’s Aid for putting me in unsafe sleeping conditions. Newborns should never sleep with pillows, as it can put them at risk for SIDS.

There was no room in their bedroom for my makeshift crib, so I was put out in the hall to sleep every night. My uncle was a taxi driver, working the late shift, and every night he would come home at 2:00 am, trip on my drawer in the hall as he came up the stairs, cursing my parents. Eventually, my parents took the hint and bought a house of their own before my next sister was born.

While I dislike a gender reveal, the reveal of a jammy egg yolk in the centre of this Savoury Breakfast Muffin, is one I can get behind! They were dubbed “Rebel Within Breakfast Muffins” by their creator, Chef William Werner of San Francisco’s Craftsman & Wolves.

How the heck does that yolk stay runny in the middle of a perfectly cooked fluffy muffin? It’s culinary alchemy and just plain delicious. You start with a 6 minute egg, which must be plunged into ice water to rapidly chill it.

The muffin batter is enhanced with a generous amount of cheese (Asiago and Parmesan), green onions and spicy Italian sausage (I used plant based Beyond Sausage).

Once the chilled egg is peeled, it gets rolled in some flour to coat the surface. The flour coating helps to insulate the egg and allow the batter to stick to it when baking. Piping the batter is the easiest way to cover it.

The amber colour of these yolks of these eggs is not photoshopped! They really are this gorgeous hue. My family and friends are sick of hearing me wax poetic about these amazing eggs, but it’s the small things that make me so happy.

Click here to print recipe for Rebel Within Breakfast Muffins.

Cherry Almond Laminated Brioche Buns

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In the world of office supplies, lamination involves sandwiching a sheet of paper between two layers of plastic. In the food world, lamination involves the process of sandwiching a layer of butter between two sheets of dough and then folding and rolling it multiple times. Much more delicious than paper encased in plastic.

It creates a dough with hundreds of alternating layers of butter and dough. When this dough is baked, the heat of the oven converts the water in the dough and butter into steam and the dough puffs up into delicate flaky layers. Croissants are a type of a laminated dough.

For these buns, I’m starting with a brioche dough. Brioche is an enriched dough made with butter and eggs. Then we further enrich the dough by laminating it with more butter. I made a video of the process.

These little buns are a really fun weekend project. Making laminated dough takes time but the results are worth it. I mean, look at those flaky, buttery layers.

You can divide the work over 2 days. Make the brioche dough and frangipane filling on the first day. Then laminate the dough and roll and assemble on day 2. These buns are packed with flavour. Sweet frangipane and white chocolate, sour cherry jam and tart dried cherries and crunchy sliced almonds. It’s a powerhouse of texture and taste.

You may be tempted to skip the chilling between rolls, but I beg you not to rush the process. Without the chilling in between each roll/fold, the butter will get too soft and it will start seeping out of the dough. You won’t get beautiful layers. Once the dough is filled and rolled, a final chill is critical to get nice tidy slices. Trust me. I know this from experience. I rushed it on my first try and had a mess. Still delicious but not so pretty.

I baked mine in 5 ounce ramekins. I also tested it in a popover pan. The shape will be a bit more cylindrical, like the bun in the above picture. I think you could also use giant muffin tins. The ceramic ramekins are quite inexpensive. I paid $2.50 for each one at my local kitchen store.

They are best eaten the day they are baked. We had too many to eat, so I wrapped each leftover bun in plastic wrap and then put them in a ziploc bag in the freezer. My husband has been removing one each night after dinner and letting it thaw on the counter for about an hour. Then he heats it up for about 7 minutes in a 350°F oven. He goes to bed very happy. Sadly that happiness disappears after watching Lisa LaFlamme regaling us with the latest and greatest Covid news of the day. We are languishing.

Click here to print recipe for Cherry-Almond-Laminated-Brioche-Morning-BunsDownload

Fried Eggs on Rösti Potatoes with Shakshuka Sauce

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Rösti potatoes are considered by some to be the national dish of Switzerland. Essentially, they are a giant potato pancake. They differ from latkes in that they do not contain any egg, flour or other binding ingredients. They can be made with either Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes. The Yukon Gold is a bit waxier and will result in a slightly crispier rösti.

The key to a successful rösti is low and slow cooking and enough fat to achieve crispness. I like a mix of butter (for flavour) and vegetable oil (to keep the butter from burning). A non-stick pan is ideal for making rösti.

You could certainly serve the rösti plain, as a side dish for dinner, but I love to treat it like a blank canvas and add toppings. My topping of choice is always fried eggs! It’s no secret, that I adore breakfast for dinner. I’d happily eat eggs for every meal. I decided to serve it with a Shakshuka sauce on the side, as I didn’t want to make the rösti soggy.

Shakshuka is a Middle Eastern/Northern African dish with eggs poached in spicy tomato sauce. Last summer, my daughter and her fiancé were living with us at the cottage. She made brunch for us almost every Sunday. I always requested her homemade sourdough and Shakshuka. She used the recipe from cookieandkate, and I just love the flavours.

A handful of arugula and a sprinkle of crumbled feta and cilantro finished the dish off perfectly.

Click here to print recipe for Fried-Eggs-on-Rösti-Potatoes-with-Shakshuka-SauceDownload

Challah Babka (Babkala)

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It’s been almost two weeks since I last posted. Lest you think I was slacking off, please be assured that I have been hard at work perfecting the babkala for you. While this mashup is not quite as well known as the cronut, it is most assuredly very delicious. I do believe that making 8 loaves of babkala in 10 days, qualifies me as something of an expert on the subject. With each attempt, I tweaked the recipe just a bit to improve it. I had many eager taste testers to help me on my journey. I do believe that my UPS delivery man has a bit of a crush on me now.

A traditional babka is made with a brioche dough, which is essentially a sweet yeast dough enriched with butter and eggs. I decided to forgo the brioche dough and just used my regular challah dough instead. I rolled out the challah dough and blanketed it with a buttery brown sugar and cinnamon spread and dotted it with raisins. The dough was rolled up, sliced and then twisted into loaves.


While some consider a cinnamon babka to be the lesser babka, I respectfully disagree. But if you must, you could fill yours with chocolate. I won’t judge. This is not really meant to be a Friday night challah. It’s more of a breakfast or brunch treat for a Saturday or Sunday morning. Or even a Tuesday afternoon. I have sampled it almost every day of the week, and trust me when I say it’s always amazing.

Click here to print recipe for Challah Babka.


Cider Glazed Apple Bundt Cake

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with whole and sliced applesI happen to have a surplus of apples, so we’re baking apple cake around here this week. I have my go-to my favourite apple cake recipe, but I was intrigued by this recipe from the September issue of Cook’s Illustrated magazine. In addition to the apples in the batter, they added apple cider to the batter and glaze. A full litre of apple cider is reduced down to one cup to really concentrate the flavour.

The recipe fills a large 12 cup bundt pan, but because I can’t resist anything mini, I used my bundlette pan. I also made a small loaf with the leftover batter. loaf and minissingle miniThe batter comes together quickly. You don’t even have to bust out the mixer.

The baked cake gets brushed with some of that reduced cider and the remaining cider is mixed with icing sugar to create a yummy glaze.drizzling glaze 1

Click here to print the recipe for Cider Glazed Apple Bundt Cake.

with tea

 

Egg-in-a-hole-Avocado Toast

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Egg-in-a-hole used to be one of my favourite meals as a child. I loved taking the little round piece of toast and poking it into the center of the egg, watching the runny golden yolk ooze out. I had completely forgotten about this egg dish until Tieghan Gerard, over at Half Baked Harvest, had the genius idea to turn it into a new way to eat avocado toast.

She topped hers with mashed avocado, corn, nectarines and feta cheese. We are not quite in nectarine season here, so I decided to roast some little cherry tomatoes with the corn. Mine got a topping of ricotta salata, basil and cilantro. A squirt of hot sauce or some pickled jalapeños would also be quite delicious if that’s more your jam. What you'll need

tomatoes and corn ready for roastingThe tomatoes and corn spend about 20 minutes in a hot oven, getting all golden brown and delicious. This gives you time to mash the avocados and make the egg-in-a-hole toasts.avoeggs in hole2 toasts 1This is comfort food at its finest. It would make a beautiful brunch, but I love it best for dinner. There is something a little bit indulgent about having breakfast for dinner. 1 toast

Click here to print recipe for Egg-in-hole Avocado Toast.

1 toast yolk broken 1 625 sq

E.A.T. Breakfast Sandwiches

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breakfast is ready 1This started out as a post about biscuits. Specifically, the amazing biscuits from Biscuit Love, the beloved Nashville brunch hot spot. I had breakfast there last year. Their lofty flaky biscuits, slathered with butter and sorghum syrup were one of the highlights of my visit. Biscuits were added to my must blog about list.

I found their recipe online and read through it very carefully. It’s an unconventional recipe as it uses yeast as a leavening agent. Most traditional Southern biscuits rely on baking soda and/or baking powder. The other unusual ingredient was melted butter. Every other biscuit recipe I have read uses very cold, sometimes frozen butter. The theory behind cold butter is that, when the biscuits hit the oven, the butter begins to melt, causing steam, which contributes to flakiness. This recipe ran contrary to everything I knew about biscuit baking.

I took a leap of faith, mixed up the dough and baked a batch. I split a warm one open, buttered it and took a bite. It was good, but nowhere near as flaky and delicious as I remembered. These were not the biscuits of my dreams. Clearly some more research is needed here before I pass the knowledge onto you.

I decided to turn these passable biscuits into something really special. I created the E.A.T. breakfast sandwich featuring  Egg, Avocado and Tomato. I had some halloumi cheese in the fridge and fried some of that up as well, for a salty, cheesy layer.

I sliced up some pretty heirloom tomatoes, salted them well and drizzled them with olive oil. tomatoes and avocadoesI decided to mash up the avocados to give the sandwich a creamy base. A bit of lime juice, olive oil, salt and some red pepper flakes were added to the mash. Fried halloumi cheese and some fried eggs added the final two layers.ready to assemble

I took an adequate biscuit and turned it into a spectacular breakfast.

I did a bit of research and discovered that Biscuit Love makes 3 kinds of biscuits. The yeast raised ones that I made (also known as Angel biscuits) are what they use for their biscuit sandwiches. They also make a beaten biscuit, which are tiny and firmer, more like soda crackers. And finally, they make a traditional drop biscuit, which is what I must have been  served with butter and sorghum syrup. Those were the lofty flaky biscuits of my dreams. The quest is on to reproduce these biscuits. I’ll be back with something soon, I promise.

In the meantime, feel free to use store bought biscuits, english muffins or even some great bagels for this sandwich.

Click here to print recipe for E.A.T. Breakfast Sandwiches.

 

Mexican Frittata

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cooled and ready to cutI struggled with what to call this dish. To give you a better idea of what I created, try to imagine if Shakshuka and Nachos were to hook up. This dish would be their love child.

I first had Shakshuka a few years ago in Israel. It is essentially eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, peppers, and onions, often spiced with cumin. My husband loved it and kept asking me to recreate it at home. While I loved the classic rendition, I couldn’t resist tampering with it. Ingredients for sauceI began with the usual base for a Shakshuka sauce; canned tomatoes, onions, garlic and sweet peppers. I took a page from Mexican sauces and added a few dried chile peppers. I used an ancho and a guajillo pepper. Dried peppers add a depth of flavour you just can’t get from chile powder. Here is a great primer if you want to learn more about cooking with dried peppers. Many of the more popular dried peppers are not that spicy, so don’t be afraid. I added corn to my sauce because corn makes everything better.cheesesI knew that I wanted to top the dish with cheese, because, Nachos need cheese. I settled on a mix of cheddar, Monterey Jack and Queso Fresco, a mild cow’s milk cheese. If you can’t find it, Ricotta Salata would be a good substitute, or just use extra cheddar and Monterey Jack.

Rather than fooling with poached or fried eggs, I decided to make it easy and use scrambled eggs. Inspired by matzoh brei (fried matzoh), I briefly mixed the tortilla chips with the eggs, before pouring them over the tomato sauce. I added some chopped pickled jalapeños to the eggs for a bright bit of heat. ready for oveneggs and tortillasready to assembleready for ovenI served it with black beans, salsa and sour cream. Diced avocados or some guacamole would also be very welcome at this fiesta. ready to eat

Click here to print recipe for Mexican Frittata.

have a slice 2have a slice 1

Breakfast Pizza

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cutting-leek-pizzaI blame my addiction to online shopping on my late paternal grandmother, my Bubbe. I grew up in Toronto, but she lived in Philadelphia. At least twice a years would send us her special poppy seed cookies. She always packaged them in a shoe box for mailing. I was conditioned to anticipate the arrival of apparel boxes at a very early age. It’s not my fault.

If you think about it, online shopping is really just the evolution of 20th Century catalogue shopping. If you are Canadian and of a certain age, you will remember The Eaton’s Catalogue. As a child, I spent many happy hours lusting after Barbie clothes and accessories. Not much has changed.

I recently discovered an unexpected bonus of online shopping. With my Amazon Prime subscription, I have access to Amazon TV. While making these breakfast pizzas, I began binge watching Good Girls Revolt. I had been feeling a bit lost after finishing Downton Abbey, and this series is filling the void.

Feel free to use store-bought pizza dough, or make your own. I am a big fan of Jim Lahey’s no-knead pizza dough. All you do it mix flour, yeast, salt and water in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Cover it and let is sit overnight until it becomes all bubbly. I have included the recipe for it at the end of this post.

My breakfast pizzas were inspired by an episode on Cook’s Country

The first one I created starts with a ricotta and feta base and is topped with nests of sautéed leeks cradling golden eggs.leek-pizza-mise-en-placespreading-ricottapouring-egg-into-leek-nestEach bite delivers a perfect combination of texture and taste; crispy, bubbly crust, creamy ricotta, gooey mozzarella, tangy Gruyere and golden brown caramelized leeks.  Topping this pizza off with eggs may seem like excess, but trust me, when your fork breaks the sunny yolk, and you drag the crust through that golden eggy goodness, you will thank me. slice-of-leek-pizzaMy second breakfast pizza is Southwestern, featuring tomatoes, corn, jalapeño, avocado and cilantro.tomato-nestsThinly sliced grape tomatoes form the nests to hold the eggs. pouring-egg-into-tomato-nestThe avocado and cilantro are added after cooking. tomato-avocado-pizza-sliced

 

slice-of-tomato-pizza

Click here to print recipe for Ricotta-and-Leek-Breakfast-Pizza.

Click here to print recipe for Tomato-and-Avocado-Breakfast-Pizzas.

Click here to print recipe for Jim-Laheys-No-Knead-Pizza-Dough.

breakfast-for-2

Sweet Potato and Turkey Sausage Hash

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brunch for 2Although I write a food blog, I seem to struggle when it comes to deciding what to make when I have company for brunch. Smoked Salmon, cream cheese and bagels (unless I bake my own), feels like I phoned it in. Just not enough effort. Sort of like serving jarred salsa and bagged tortilla chips when friends come over. Pancakes and waffles are a challenge because they really are best served as soon as they are made and I don’t love cooking when I have people over. I prefer to have as much done in advance if possible. Plus, so many people are avoiding gluten and/or carbs these days.

My go-to brunch standard is a fritatta. My favourite is studded with sautéed leeks, cauliflower, corn and Gruyere cheese. It can be made ahead of time and is delicious served warm or at room temperature. But I get easily bored with food and always want to try something new.

Clinton Kelly made a variation of this hash on The Chew a few weeks ago. It seemed like a perfect brunch dish. He used ready made chicken sausage, but I keep Kosher, and couldn’t find any at my butcher. I decided to make my own. Since I wasn’t putting  the sausage in casing, it really is quite simple to do. It’s just a matter of picking the right seasonings.making sausageI decided to use ground turkey and seasoned it with paprika, fennel seed, allspice, salt and red pepper flakes. Ground turkey tends to be dry, so to add moisture, without adding extra fat, I added some finely grated apple and onion. I learned that trick from Rachel Ray.

Once the ground turkey is browned up, it’s time to make hash. I used a combo of sweet potatoes and Yukon golds. I added some corn, sweet red peppers, and jalapeños for a bit of zing. ready to make hashOnce all the veggies are cooked, the ground turkey is mixed in and it’s time to add the eggs. before baking12 minutes in a hot oven and brunch is ready. A big (12 inch) cast iron skillet is perfect for this dish, but any large skillet will work. It can be brought right to the table and served from the pan.hash for 4brunch for 1 625 sqIf you want to get really cute, make the hash in a big pan, and then transfer it to 4 mini cast iron pans. Top each with an egg and bake. Serve each person their own little pan. I found the mini pans at World Market for $7.99 each. I couldn’t resist. hash in mini pan 625 sq

 

Click here to print recipe for Sweet Potato and Turkey Sausage Hash.

Rhubarb Coconut Scones

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with butter and jam 2f

on lace 625 sq 1Upon waking each morning, I peek through the drapes to see if any buds have appeared on the  bare limbs of the Norway maple tree outside my bedroom window. Seeing none, I am overcome with the urge to burrow right back into my hole (or under my covers). Mother nature has a perverse sense of humour this year. This long cruel “polar vortex” winter seems to have segued into a particularly nasty spring.

When I finally saw the first buds materialize, followed by a thatch of chives popping through through the earth, I knew that local rhubarb was not far behind. I’m not a rhubarb fanatic, but I do like to create with it at least once a year to celebrate the season. Last year it was this gorgeous tart. This year, I had had my heart set on rhubarb scones. I was inspired by Midge over at Food 52. When I told my husband about my plans, he frowned and grumbled, “What a way to ruin scones.” Clearly I am married to a Spring Grinch. Blueberry scones would make him purr, but those come in July. Get with the program honey.rhubarbMy favourite scone recipe is from the bible Baking Illustrated, created by the same geniuses over at Cook’s Illustrated. These scones use heavy cream which contributes to a rich and tender crumb that  buttermilk or whole milk would never achieve. They are not overly sweet, just 3 tablespoons of sugar are called for in the recipe. Knowing that rhubarb is super tart, I decided to add an additional few tablespoons of sugar to macerate with the sliced rhubarb, before adding it to the dough. adding sugarWhen I went to make them, I discovered that I didn’t have quite enough heavy cream. Feeling too lazy to run to the store, I topped up the measuring cup with a bit of coconut milk.  To ramp up the coconut flavour I added about 1/4 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut. butter in food processorin bowlkneadingThe dough gets pressed into an 8 inch cake pan to give you a perfectly round circle for dividing into triangular scones. A bench scraper or sharp knife work well for cutting the scones.pat into round pancuttingA final brush of heavy cream before they hit the oven gives the finished scones a lovely glossy surface. brushing with creamThey were the height of scone perfection. Moist and flaky with a lightly crisped exterior. Even the Spring Grinch enjoyed one with butter and jam.sliced 1

Click here to print recipe for Rhubarb Coconut Scones.with butter and jam 1