Blackberry Buttermilk Cake

I have been AWOL this summer. I have actually spent more time traveling than in my own bed the last three months and I haven't been able to spend much time at the Farmer's Market (which is really sad) this summer. I have also ate quite a bit of food on the road that needs to be posted about on here, but I haven't had a chance to do it! I have one more trip to NYC tomorrow to end this crazy summer of travel, then my travel slows down quite a bit which means back to actually cooking and hopefully blogging again!

I did get to make this delicious buttermilk cake from Gourmet magazine with the fresh blackberries that I bought at the Farmer's Market earlier this summer. This cake isn't too sweet and it's great when it's reheated for a little bit in the microwave. I liked it as a breakfast cake, but you can use it for dessert with some ice cream if that strikes your fancy. It keeps for days (if it will last that long) and you can use all kinds of different berries.

Berry Buttermilk Cake (I used blackberries) from Gourmet Magazine

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup fresh raspberries (about 5 oz)

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes, then beat in vanilla. Add egg and beat well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.

Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.

Saturday Morning Breakfast

This is not something that you should eat everyday, but it's pretty tasty. I had been eyeing this recipe for years now, but having to deep fry things early in the morning isn't always very appealing. I finally got around to trying this out one Saturday and it was well worth the wait! Everyone loved it!

Terrier Toasters from Neiman Marcus' cookbook No Jacket Required

1 loaf Kings Hawaiian Bread or Challah
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 teas vanilla
1 tbs maple syrup
cooking oil for deep frying
whipped butter to top toast
powdered sugar to top toast
cinnamon to top toast
sweet ground chocolate to top toast

Cut bread into 2 inch cubes, discarding the crust. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, milk, vanilla and syrup. Pour oil 2 1/2 inches deep into a deep pot. Slowly warm oil until it reaches a near boil. Quickly dip the bread cubes into the batter (do this quickly or it will soak up all your batter!) and submerge them in oil, using tongs. Fry until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and place on a serving tray. Smother with whipped butter and top with powdered sugar, cinnamon and chocolate.

Note: Nathaniel just used syrup and powdered sugar on his--yummy!

Paprika Home Fries With Poached Egg

I am a sucker for poached eggs. I love the gooey goodness of the yolk dripping all over my food (I know that some people are grossed out by this). It's especially disappointing when I order a poached egg in a restaurant and it comes out with a hard yolk. So while reading food blogs, I found this great recipe for paprika home fries on Serious Eats. We buy large bags of potatoes, so it was a great way to use some of them up before little eyes developed all over them and ended up in the trash!

The red stuff that is on the dish is the special Frontera Grill hot sauce that we discovered in Chicago when eating at Rick Bayless' restaurant. It's sad that we have been able to find other Frontera Grill products like salsa in Kansas, but no hot sauce. Luckily for us, they have it in San Antonio (which meant bringing 4 bottles back)!

Pancakes!

I just cleaned out my pantry the other day and got rid of anything that was hiding in there past the expiration date. Having a not-crammed pantry made me decide that I wasn't going to buy "extra" boxes of mixes like pancake, muffins, cake mixes (even though I have a great cookbook that uses cake mixes that I will use in the future for my blog), etc. and store them for months (or sometimes years..haha). I had also read in the last year that Aunt Jemima pancake mix had a recall because of the threat of salmonella, so I decided that it was time to make my own pancake mix.

I made them for Nathaniel this morning and he said that they were better than the box mix pancakes! I wasn't feeling great (I have a bit of a cough with some phlegm which has made my appetite disappear), so I only had a little bite off the edge. They were quite tasty with a fluffier texture than the stuff that you buy in a box. The ingredients are things that you most likely have around, so give it a try!

Fluffy Pancakes adapted from Neiman-Marcus' Pigtails and Froglegs cookbook (I know that I have already used this one multiple times, so it doesn't count towards my cookbook countdown!)

1 egg

3/4 cup plus 2 tbs milk

2 tbs vegetable oil

1 cup flour

1/2 teas salt

2 tbs baking powder

2 tbs sugar

Combine all ingredients and beat with mixer until smooth. Pour some batter into a pan (I use a non-stick one omelet pan) and cook like you would with regular pancakes (everyone knows how to make pancakes right?).

*Recipe calls to use 1/4 cup batter for small pancakes which will equal about 12 pancakes. I made 5 decent sized ones instead.

**Maybe next time, I'll make my own syrup too!

Breakfast of Champions

Chris and I usually don't eat a lot of breakfast because I am pretty lazy in the mornings. We used to have a favorite weekend breakfast place (that served eggs benedicts with goat cheese...yummy), but New Hampshire St Bistro closed down last year and we haven't really been the same since. This has meant that I have to cook breakfasts on weekends now. I have been trying to branch out with the variety, but sometimes it's hard for me to make anything different since we really do enjoy that one potato dish that I posted awhile back. But Chris is a big fan of biscuits and gravy, so I decided to make him some. I also decided to make fried green tomatoes (a favorite of mine) since I had just picked up some at the Farmer's Market on Saturday.

I found both recipes online. Both were excellent, but I didn't completely follow the biscuits and gravy recipe. I decided to doctor the recipe a bit by not shaping the sausage into patties, but just breaking it up in the pan. I don't know if this is the reason that I didn't get a lot of grease in the pan or not. I probably only ended up with a 1 1/2 tbs of grease. I would have also made more gravy and had less sausage in it, but Chris really enjoyed it the way it was.

The fried green tomatoes were cooked in bacon grease (hence the bacon on the plate) and were pretty damn good. We don't usually eat such a big (unhealthy) meal, but I was feeling devious and why the heck not?

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/09/biscuits_and_gr/

http://southernfood.about.com/od/greentomatoes/r/bl10712b.htm

Breakfast, Dessert or Maybe Both

For breakfast today, I decided to try out a new recipe that I found in April 2008's issue of Gourmet magazine because it contained Nutella (which Nathaniel and I both love). When Chris and I were in Paris, we stayed in a hotel that had a great complimentary breakfast buffet. Since food (even just a simple sandwich) is sooooo expensive in the city, I would fill up on lots of Nutella and French bread. Every time I eat Nutella, I get a smile on my face and remember the good times in Paris. After I got back from that trip, I found that Costco has double packs of Nutella (it's not quite the same since it's made in the USA, but still delicious). It comes in handy because Nathaniel has grown to love the stuff as much as I do.


This recipe is super easy. It's like a crepe, but thicker and more dense. We barely made a dent in it (like a little more than a 1/4 is all we ate), but maybe it's because I am still half asleep. You could also top this with regular chocolate syrup or maple syrup. I wish that I had some berries like the recipe suggested and I forgot to add the powdered sugar (which would have just been for a pretty picture, not because it needed more sweetness). The above picture is Nathaniel's serving with extra Nutella sauce on it, but it really didn't need that much. It was wonderful for breakfast, but could be a nice dessert too. Delicious!


http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/OVEN-CRESPELLA-WITH-NUTELLA-SAUCE-241993

The Day After Breakfast

I woke up to a grumbling stomach due to the fact that I had partied like a rockstar at a bachelorette party last night. I was feeling unbelievably good for someone that drank as much as I did, but I was HUNGRY. After debating with Chris about if we should go out for breakfast, I decided that I wasn't really up for leaving the house.

So I whipped up our favorite breakfast. There are times when this is the only thing that I make for breakfast on weekends, but it's so tasty that no one cares that we just had it. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this dish.

Country Brunch Skillet adapted from Maryana Vollstedt's The Big Book of Breakfast

(This is a very forgiving recipe when it comes to the veggies--you can omit things or add other veggies to your liking. But DO NOT omit the bacon!)

Serves 4.

4 oz bacon, chopped

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

4 green onions, sliced

4 oz button mushrooms, sliced (I usually add more since I love them)

4 cups frozen cubed hash brown potatoes, slightly thawed (Try to find the biggest cubed ones. I

have used smaller cubed ones and they get mushy.)

4 large poached eggs (You can omit the eggs if you want, but the yolks breaking in the dish adds

that much goodness!)

salt, pepper to taste

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (I used a white Cheddar this time because that's all I had, but

regular Kraft works)

In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon with slotted spoon to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain. Leave 2 tbs dripping in skillet (or if you are really feeling naughty, leave it all--the potatoes & mushrooms will soak it all up). Add bell pepper, green onions and mushrooms and saute for 2 minutes. Add hash browns and cook, turning occasionally, until hash browns are tender and browned, 10-15 minutes. Stir in bacon. Salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low, sprinkle with cheese, cover and let cheese melt. Add a poached egg on each serving. Hot sauce is wonderful with this dish.

Enjoy!

Too Early in the Morning

It's way too early for my brain to function right now, but I am up because I promised to make Nathaniel breakfast on his first day of 8th grade! I had offered to make waffles, pancakes, etc, etc, but he picked his all-time favorite thing.

Cinnamon Bundles from Neiman-Marcus' Pigtails and Froglegs

1 pkg (8 count) refrigerated crescent rolls
8 large marshmallows
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted (I always use butter because I think it tastes better. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup, but I usually only use 1/4 or less. Adjust accordingly.)

Roll out and separate dough triangles on a cookie sheet. Brush triangles with butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture over dough, reserving the rest (I usually have extra cinnamon sugar that I just keep for next time). Dip marshmallows in butter and roll in sugar mixture to coat. Place 1 marshmallow in the center of each triangle and pull up sides of dough to cover marshmallow. Press dough together to seal. Place cupcake papers in muffin tin and put each bundle in a paper. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Homemade Ice Cream & Waffles

Keeping with my challenge of using all my cookbooks before my next birthday, I decided to make some homemade ice cream with Nathaniel. He had gone through my books and came across Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book. Of course, this was the cookbook that he was interested in. I have a Krups ice cream maker that has been crying because of lack of use (probably for the last 7+ years), so I decided that it was time to let Nathaniel know what real ice cream tastes like.

We decided on making French Vanilla ice cream and mix-in whatever he wanted later. Warning this recipe calls for eggs that are not cooked, so make sure that you are using the freshest eggs that you can find. None of those expired eggs that have been sitting in your fridge for months!

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FRENCH VANILLA from Ben & Jerry's

2 large eggs
3/4 sugar
2 cups heavy or whipping cream
1 cup milk (we used 2% because that was what we had. I am sure that whole would be even better)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Whisk in sugar, a little at ta time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about a minute more. Pour in cream, milk and vanilla and whisk to blend.

2. Transfer the mixture to ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions.

Makes 1 quart.
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It was very soft, so we popped the ice cream in the freezer for 30 minutes before Nathaniel mixed in some M&M's. His reaction was "Oh, this is SOOOOOOOOO good. We should make homemade ice cream all the time!" Really rich, creamy and delicious.

Funny thing is that I finished reading The United States of Arugula where the author writes about how Ben & Jerry's basically ripped off their ice cream mix-in ideas from an ex-schoolteacher, Steve Herrell, who had an ice cream store where they would come in taking pictures and study the ice cream machine to see how it worked (p. 191).

Ok, so after our homemade ice cream success, I asked Nathaniel if we wanted waffles in the morning. At 9 AM, we pulled out the waffle iron (a Christmas present that has been hiding in the closet) and whipped up some perfectly airy and fluffy waffles.

WAFFLES from Neiman-Marcus' Pigtails and Froglegs (sadly this cookbook is out of print, but one of my favorites)

1 3/4 cup flour (that's 1 cup plus 3/4 cup, not 1- 3/4 cup)
2 teas baking powder
3 teas sugar
1/2 teas salt
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 egg whites, beaten until stiff

Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Combine yolks with milk. Stir into dry ingredients (I sifted the dry into the milk mixture). Add oil. Carefully fold in egg whites. Do not over mix. Pour about 1/2 cup of batter into your waffle iron. Close and bake.
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The recipe said that it served two, but that must be two very hungry people. I made 9 waffles with this batter (Nathaniel ate 2 and I ate 1), so I would have to say that maybe 3-4 people might be more accurate. Since I am leaving town tomorrow, I decided to give the leftovers to my friends, Angela and Blake, so I'll have them give me a report on how well they reheat.

Nathaniel's reaction to the waffles--"The best ever. Let's make them again!" I totally agree.

P.S. Nathaniel was a little disappointed that he didn't remember to put the leftover ice cream on the waffles instead of just having syrup & butter.