So January 30 is National Croissant Day, as designated by someone, somewhere, so I thought that I would make this casserole along the banana theme using croissants. Call it a French Toast Casserole or a Bread Pudding, same thing really. Either way, pretty yummy. Note: the recipe calls for a full 8 x 8-inch baking dish, which serves 4, but pictures is my 4 x 4-inch mini pan which is half a portion for just me (the other half isn’t pictured).
I love breakfast sandwiches. I don’t, however, love cooking every morning, so I started making batches of this style of breakfast sandwiches — baked eggs with “mix ins” on English muffins, ready to wrap and chill or freeze. They are very versatile: don’t like spinach and mushrooms, you can use chopped red bell peppers, ham, bacon bits, or even kimchi or asparagus. Swap out the cheese for swiss or gouda or raclette. Once made, can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days or frozen up to 3 weeks.
Breakfast on a miserable, wet, depressing Friday morning: Puff Pastry Croque Madame! What is a Croque Madame? Well, a Croque Monsieur (literal translation from French: Mr. Crunchy) is a fancy grilled cheese sandwich. A Croque Madame (Mrs. Crunchy!) is a grilled cheese sandwich with a fried egg on top — so a double fancy grilled cheese. I decided to make these open-faced and with store bought puff pastry. And OMG are they good. Light, fluffy, flavorful, pretty in a messy kind of way. And this recipe feeds a crowd (makes 8 and one is really filling; note that the recipes can be halved). It might take a little longer than a grilled cheese, but definitely much much better. Not only breakfast food, this could be lunch with a light salad or part of a brunch spread.
I love Shakshuka. It’s a veggie heavy (onions, peppers, tomatoes), spicy, Middle Easter / North African dish that works well from breakfast to dinner. I’ve also made version with meat and seafood (shrimp/prawns) or spinach and/or zuccchini. You always poach eggs in the stew and add feta after it is out of the oven. Most of the recipes that I have found are “to feed a crowd” though, with 6 to 8 eggs, so I decided to make a version just for one, or possibly two people. Serve with crusty bread or pita.
There are lots of names for these…. (mini) Rösti, Kartoffelpuffer, Reiberdatschi, Latkes, Placki, Potato Pancakes, Hashbrown patties. These are so many many variations and personalizations. While many of them have onions, I use finely sliced red onions (just a little) and I use a very uncommon ingredient: carrots. I like the color and a little bit of sweetness and because they have similar characteristics when it comes to cooking, it works well for me. If you don’t like the carrot idea, leave them out but add 2 more potatoes.
I haven’t done this in a while, but back in the day, Ben and I would use these rösti as the base for Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict, so today I made both smoked salmon and avocado eggs benny with mini-rösti patties. Delicious.