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Breakfast/Brunch

Breakfast/Brunch, Cookies, Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Browned Butter Maple Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

Switching gears from some of my Easter baking to another Springtime ritual here in New England: Maple Syrup. Seriously one of the best things on the planet. And no, not the fake stuff that is made from corn syrup but the real maple syrup that comes from trees and all. Last weekend was Maine Maple Sunday (always the 4th Sunday in March, right around when the trees should be tapped) and many of the producers had open houses. No, I don’t live in Maine, but close enough (not to mention family lives there, and many friends) so I got to thinking that I should commemorate this year’s “harvest” somehow. These lovely, crispy, nutty, maple-y cookies did the trick. Enjoy!
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24. March 2015
Breakfast/Brunch, Savory Snacks, Sweet Snacks

Caramelized Cranberry and Camembert Crazy Bread, with Toasted Walnuts

Looks kind of crazy, doesn’t it? I’d seen crazy breads (aka pull-apart breads) before, but this was a first attempt. I think that the yeast went crazier than expected though, because the loaf bloomed like mad and quite overflowed the pan. Oh well, nice effect, I guess. The cranberries and walnuts are a nice contrast to the funkiness of the camembert. Not sure if I should consider this a “sweet” or “savory” bread, but I do think that the presentation will wow.
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10. March 2015
Breakfast/Brunch

Oven-Baked Blueberry Pancake

Apparently yesterday was National Pancake Day. Who knew? Well, actually I knew after I saw about 50 foodie blog / recipe / retail references to it. But not knowing before hand, I wasn’t really with it. Oh well. Anyway, after seeing those fifty or so references, I had a craving, so I made this for breakfast. The pancake for lazy people. Pass the syrup please.
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4. March 2015
Breakfast/Brunch, General Reference/Tutorial

How to Cook Bacon (my way)

Everyone has their own way of cooking bacon. In the pan, in the oven, even in the microwave. My method involves the oven, covering the pan with aluminum foil (for easier clean up), but also by placing the bacon on a wire rack placed on the prepared baking sheet. Why? Well, two reasons: 1. by raising the bacon away from the pan, there is better airflow, so the bacon crisps from the bottom as well, leaving the bacon nice and flat and 2. also because the bacon is raised from the pan, it causes less splatters (the reason bacon splatters is because the heated grease under the bacon doesn’t have any place to go with the bacon on top of it, so it eventually “pops” to have the air/grease escape, causing splatters. I don’t know that this is the “best” method, but it is the one that I use. Onwards:
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1. March 2015