Browsing Tag

breakfast

Appetizers/Starters, Breakfast/Brunch, Lunch, Savory Snacks

Puff Pastry Croque Madame

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.

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26. January 2024
Breakfast/Brunch, Dinner, Lunch

Shakshuka for One

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.

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25. January 2024
Appetizers/Starters, Breakfast/Brunch, Dinner, Lunch, Savory Snacks, Sides

Mini-Rösti
(German/Swiss-style Potato Pancakes)

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.

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21. January 2024
Breakfast/Brunch

Small-batch Pomegranate Jelly

So as we start the new year, here is one more “symbolic food” that I thought that I would make something with. The Pomegranate. This one is a bit controversial, to be honest. The oldest known symbolism of pomegranate is of fertility and abundance (all those little seeds!). Some cultures see it as a symbol for immortality and eternal life. And then there is the other extreme — some cultures see the fruit as a symbol of death. A lot of these are tied to religion, and as I am not the religious sort, I am going to just leave it as a spherical symbol (full circle) and abundance (all those seeds)! And it makes a really delicious, really easy to make jelly (I cheated and just used POM juice). Breakfast is served on a freshly baked piece of anadama bread.

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14. January 2024
Breakfast/Brunch, Sweet Snacks

Norwegian-style Raspberry Swirls with Vanilla Custard (Bringebærsnurrer med vaniljekrem) (part whole wheat, sourdough)

Per usual routine, I seem to make a “Cinnamon Roll” type of things for around Christmas. This year, it is a raspberry roll (very little cinnamon involved), in this Bringebærsnurrer med vaniljekrem (Norwegian-style Raspberry Swirls with Vanilla Custard). While my version is sourdough, you could also make this with yeast (2 1/4 teaspoon yeast, up the milk to 1 1/2 cups, rest of the recipe is the same). I did an overnight cool rise and then finished them in the morning in time, in time for a late breakfast.

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24. December 2023