Sausage and Cheese Strata
Breakfast is the most delicious meal of the day, but it doesn’t matter so much when in the day it comes. At least one night a month, we have Breakfast for Dinner — the kind of hearty breakfast you imagine reading about in old Bobbsey Twins books — waffles and bacon, or scrambled eggs with sausages, or French toast with, well, bacon or sausages.
This recipe, the best of its type I’ve ever tried, is fairly main course-y. Serve it with some kind of fruit, and you’re done!
Hands-On Time: 20 minutes
Ready In: 3 1/2 hours
Yield: 6 servings
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Mini Mushroom-&-Sausage Quiches
These crustless mini quiches are like portable omelets. Turkey sausage and sauteed mushrooms keep them light and savory. Small and satisfying, they’re also a good finger food for your next cocktail party.
| Prep Time: | 30 minutes |
| Ready in: | 1 hour |
| Yield: | 1 dozen mini quiches |
| Ease of Prep: | Easy |
| Recipe Ingredients | |
| 8 ounces turkey breakfast sausage , removed from casing and crumbled into small pieces | |
| 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil | |
| 8 ounces mushrooms , sliced | |
| 1/4 cup sliced scallions | |
| 1/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese | |
| 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper | |
| 5 eggs | |
| 3 egg whites | |
| 1 cup 1% milk | |
Bacon and Leek Quiche
Quiche is perfectly portable, perfectly make-ahead and perfectly delicious. Serve it for breakfast, lunch or even dinner. Bring it to a pot luck or as give as a hostess gift — who wouldn’t love a slice of cheesy goodness?
Ingredients
- 1 frozen pie crust from a box, thawed (or use your favorite single-crust recipe)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 8 ounces turkey bacon
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 leek
- 1/4 pound Gruyere cheese, grated
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
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Ham, Gruyere & Spinach Bread Pudding
High-quality smoked ham is worth the cost. It infuses the pudding with a smoky flavor that complements the spinach, peppers, rosemary and Gruyere.
| Prep Time: | 30 minutes |
| Ready in: | 1 3/4 hours |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
| Ease of Prep: | Easy |
| Recipe Ingredients | |
| 4 large egg whites | |
| 4 large eggs | |
| 1 cup skim milk | |
| 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard | |
| 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper | |
| 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary | |
| 4 cups whole-grain bread , crusts removed if desired, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1/2 pound, 4-6 slices) | |
| 5 cups chopped spinach , wilted (see Tip) | |
| 1/2 cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers | |
| 1 cup diced ham steak (5 ounces) | |
| 3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese | |
Asparagus Bread Pudding
Here, stale bread gets new life as the world’s easiest, cheesiest soufflé. Call it “savory French toast” if that will encourage your kids to eat it — and make it in the spring, when asparagus is fresh and plentiful. You could also try using sauteed mushrooms, steamed broccoli florets, roasted zucchini, or whatever vegetables catch your eye at the market. Likewise, although the tarragon and chives go beautifully with asparagus, use whatever fresh herbs your family likes best. Serve the bread pudding with fruit for brunch or with a crisp salad for dinner.
Hands-On Time: 15 minutes
Ready In: 1 hour
Yield: 6 servings
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Apple Crisp Parfait
A parfait is a great party dessert — elegant looking but essentially quite simple. This one is really fun to put together, and I have the kids help me: they love to crack and crumble up into hundreds of pieces the big brown sugar crisp I’ve baked, then layer them in the parfait glasses (and pop lots of crumbles into their mouths too, I’ve noticed).
Like the crisp, the poached apple cubes are delicious all by themselves. You want to use flavorful, tart-tasting apples that will keep their shape when cooked but soften up nicely and remain moist too. Good varieties are Greening, Granny Smith, Northern Spy and Golden Delicious. Some of the heirloom cooking apples that orchards are growing again would be fine too — we can never have too many varieties of apples to enjoy.
Hands-On Time: 35 minutes
Ready In: 1 hour
Yield: 10 or more servings
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Honey Lime Melon
No-cook and grilling recipes are something you’ll be hearing from me about all summer long. Not only do I appreciate the no-cook solution, I also enjoy the ease of few ingredients, and any recipe that passes those two requirements is high on my list of “must try.” Recipes that have five or less ingredients are great, but a mere three is awesome, especially if there’s no cooking involved.
Ingredients
- 4 cups mixed melon balls, (cantaloupe, watermelon, or honey dew)
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime peel
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Overnight Irish Oatmeal
Irish, steel-cut oats have so much more flavor and texture than the regular kind, but unfortunately they must be simmered on the stove for 30 minutes. To solve that problem, cook them overnight in your crock-pot. In the morning, all you need to do is spoon the creamy oatmeal into bowls and top with lots of dried fruit, toasted almonds and brown sugar for a satisfying and cozy treat.
Ingredients
- 1 cup irish steel-cut oats
- 4 cups water
- 1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup half and half
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Orange Blossom French Toast
Though this French toast is much more special than the kind I usually make, it’s not difficult or time consuming to put together. The key ingredient is the brioche, which is a sweet , rich and eggy bread. It really gives this recipe a gourmet touch, making this a perfect special-occasion breakfast.
Ingredients
- 1 loaf brioche (or challah) bread
- 6 extra large eggs
- 3/4 cup half and half
- pinch salt
- zest from one orange
- a few drops orange flower water, optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- confectioner’s sugar
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Puffed Apple Pancake
This pancake, a fancy cousin of the puffy Dutch baby, is filled with cinnamon spiced apples and baked in the oven. More custard than cake, this breakfast is sure to warm the belly and is perfect with a side of bacon or sausage.
Ingredients
- 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut in 1/4 inch slices
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 3 extra-large eggs, room temperature
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- pinch salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
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- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade attachment.
- Toss apple slices with lemon juice, brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of the granulated sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter in a 10-inch oven proof skillet over medium heat. Add apple mixture, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 4 minutes. Remove apples and any liquid to a bowl to cool.
- Wipe out skillet and place in the oven to heat it while you mix milk, eggs, flour, salt, remaining sugar and vanilla in a blender until smooth.
- Add remaining butter hot skillet. Pour in batter. Spoon apple mixture over the top, then bake pancake in the oven on the middle rack until puffed and golden and cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
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