Brunch

Biscuit bread pudding

We had a house full last weekend and what was super odd for me was I didn’t have anything planned.  I always have at the very least meals planned and always food on hand. This time around I was clueless. I have been working around 50 hours a week for over a month now and I am completely spent.

Everything came together and we had a wonderful visit but I did not like having some resemblance of a plan. I ended up making a lasagna with tomatoes and onions from my garden and I threw in a large zucchini I hadn’t done anything with yet. I made my usual strata for breakfast and I had a bag of buttermilk biscuits in the freezer and baked the whole package of 20. Needless to say I had a lot of biscuits leftover and very little strata.

I tried to think of what to do with the leftover biscuits. I ended up making a biscuit pudding and it was so good I have to share it with you. I have made banana bread pudding and even zucchini bread pudding but this was a first for me and it was a huge hit. It wasn’t too sweet thought if you wanted to you totally could make it a lot sweeter by adding toffee bits or butterscotch. I only added mini chocolate chips and would do it again.

Biscuit Bread Pudding

dclarkabal
a great way to use up day old biscuits
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Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 45 mins
Total Time 1 hr
Course Dessert
Servings 8 people

Ingredients
  

  • 6 biscuits cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 2 eggs lightly beaten
  • 1½ cup milk
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ⅔ cup dark brown sugar packed
  • 1 teaspoon good vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ⅓ cup chocolate chips

toffee sauce

  • ½ cup dark brown sugar packed
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • ½ teaspoon good vanilla extract

Instructions
 

pudding

  • Place biscuits in a greased 8" baking dish.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, heavy cream, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour this mixture over the biscuits. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and any other chips if you choose, press down the biscuits to make sure they all get into the cream mixture.
  • Bake for 45 minutes in a 350° F pre-heated oven.

toffee sauce

  • In a small sauce pan, bring butter 1/2 cup browned sugar, 1/4 cup heavy cream, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla to a simmer. Whisk for 3 to 5 minutes, or until thickened. Let cool slightly before drizzling on bread pudding
  • serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream - recommended not necessary.
    reheat leftovers.

Loco Moco

I am sure by the name of this dish you all know this one comes from my daughter Abbi and one of her cookbook recipes from Aloha Kitchen.  According to the cookbook this is a Hawaii dish and on the main island there is a dispute to who invented it. I am sure a dish; albeit a recipe HAS to start somewhere.

I personally had never heard of it; she had no only heard of it but has had it several times hmmmmm. Technically I have only ever lived in one town my entire life; don’t judge; I have traveled all over the East Coast of the US the Caribbean and been to Greece, Paris and Italy. My daughter has lived a few different places. She spent a semester abroad in the Netherlands and traveled all over Europe while there. And she lived 2 years in Japan. She was in Japan when she had this dish; go figure but this dish is known there as hambāgu. Which I will point out they say this is a great hangover food – just saying!

She made this a week or so ago and it is crazy good and very easy to make. By adding a fried  egg on top this would be a great meal anytime of the day and yes if you need a little pick-me-up from a little too much indulgence the night before no judgements here!

Loco Moco

dclarkabal
a simple dish for any meal anytime of day
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Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound ground beef 80/20 or similar
  • 3 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 medium yellow onion 1/4 of it chopped, 3/4 sliced into 1/2 inch wedges
  • 2 garlic cloves peeled and finely grated
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 8 ounces cremini mushrooms or white button, Portobello, shitake
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 4 cups white rice steamed, cook the rice your way
  • 4 large eggs fried sunny-side up or over easy
  • 2 green onions chopped, green part only. for garnish
  • kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper season to taste as you go

Instructions
 

  • in a bowl combine the ground beef 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1½ teaspoons of the Worcestershire sauce, onion and garlic. Gently mix with your hands or a wooden spoon just till combined, do not over mix it. Form into four equal-sized patties about 1/2 inch thick; ours were more like an inch. Set aside on a plate, wrap in plastic and place in the fridge for 20 minutes to rest.
  • In a large skillet add 1 tablespoon of oil and set over medium heat. When the oil is hot (shiny and shimmering), add the onion wedges and saute until translucent, 5-7 minutes. Turn the heat to low and continue cooking for 10 more minutes, stirring often. Cook until they are soft and caramelized. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
  • In the same pan add 1 tablespoon of oil and set it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, swirl the oil around the pan to make sure the surface is covered. Gently place place the patties in the pan, leaving room around each one. Cook until browned, around 4 minutes each side. Using a spatula place the patties on a plate and set aside to rest.
  • add the remaining ½ tablespoon oil to the pan over medium heat until hot. Add the mushrooms and saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper, then add the reserved caramelized onions. Add the beef broth, soy sauce and the remaining Worcestershire sauce and bring it to a simmer. Turn the heat to medium-low, scoop out a tablespoon of the broth from the skillet, and whisk it with the cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth. Whisk the cornstarch slurry into the skillet and simmer until the sauce has thickened, 5-7 minutes.
  • place 1 cup of steamed rice on each plate and top, in order. 1 beef patty, some gravy, 1 fried egg, and chopped green onions before serving.

 

Ham, Broccoli and the Cheesiest Quiche


Last night I was watching the last season of The Great British Baking show and the task was to make 2 different flavor profile quiche. I know this might come as a shock but I have never made quiche before; I know what is my damage. Honestly I haven’t really had any that blew my skirt up; if you get my drift. They have been just just meh so I didn’t feel compelled to even try. Then of course I have always felt that frittatas were so much easier and faster to make.

I only ended up using the shredded cheese in the bowl, the chunk ended up back in the fridge.

I love cooking and baking but I the thought of making a pie crust for breakfast just doesn’t appeal to me. However after watching last night I was determined to make a quiche this morning for breakfast. I didn’t have a frozen pie crust in the freezer so I was going to have to make my own;  if you do have one by all means use it. OR you can do as I did this morning and made what I think is the easiest crust ever and the very first one I ever made; it was such a long time ago I can’t even remember. I know I used to make it when I was a kid so this might be a great Mother’s Day breakfast for the kiddo’s to make their Mom next weekend.

I should have rolled out the dough before placing it in the pan. I did not, I pressed it into place, I also should have pressed it up higher into the sides. live and learn!

Ok so I have a dough plan and now the filling. I would call this; my first quiche; a clean out the fridge kind of quiche. I used up the last of the broccoli, ham, shredded cheese and half and half. Then I made my grocery shopping list; see how that works! It definitely had more cheese than anything else. My daughter described it as broccoli cheddar soup if it was turned into a pie. I’ll take it! My husband said it was great but was concerned how the crust would be after cooling down and being re-heated. We kind of laughed because it is still on the counter and we all keep taking another sliver from it, it will not make it to the fridge nor need to be reheated. Update we brought that last two pieces over to my In-Laws.

Ham Broccoli and the Cheesiest Quiche

dclarkabal
an easy and flavorful quiche on the table in about 45 minutes
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Course Breakfast, Brunch, dinner

Equipment

  • Tart pan 9 inch

Ingredients
  

Dough

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or use canola oil
  • 1/4 cup cold water iced or from the fridge
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling

  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 small head of broccoli
  • 1 cup cubed ham
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 1 cup cheese shredded. I used extra sharp cheddar and an Italian mixture.
  • 1/2 cup half and half
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup chives

Instructions
 

Pre-heat oven to 375'F

    dough

    • in small bowl add the flour, salt, oil and cold water. mix with a fork until combined. Set it aside while you prepare the filling.

    filling

    • sauté the onion in a little olive oil until soft remove, do the same with the ham and broccoli. You are not cooking them just heating them up. this isn't a necessary step but I won't put raw onions into anything I make, I only like them sautéed.
    • Lightly spray your tart pan, add the rolled out crust, pressing up the sides of the pan.
    • Sprinkle the ham, onions and broccoli all over the crust. then cover it with cheese. In a small bowl beat the eggs and add the half and half plus the milk and the chives. Pour this all over the cheese in the tart pan. Place your tart pan onto a sheet pan and into the oven for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
    • remove sheet pan and tart from the oven, Place a coffee cup or small bowl under to remove the pan from the tart, using a spatula remove the bottom piece of the tart pan; slice and enjoy!

     

    Bloody Mary Eggs

    u
    The last couple of weeks my daughter has been perusing her cook books, which is saying something she has a lot of them. She seems to gravitate towards one of the ones I got her for Christmas a couple of years ago. Bringing it Home by Gail Simmons.  She has made several things from it and I have blogged about most of them.

    I enjoy a good Bloody Mary on occasion; friends of mine opened a breakfast and lunch place just down the road and they have a few signature Bloody Mary cocktails which are a quite nice way to start off a weekend. I should tell them about this recipe and maybe they might check it out? The funny part is I knew what we were having but my husband didn’t. After a few bites we asked him if he thought it tasted like a Bloody Mary. He nodded, took another bite and said it tastes exactly like a Bloody Mary.

    Gail came up with this recipe in a head to head challenge with Marcus Samuelson in 2014 and won. Marcus liked it so much he put it on his brunch menu at one of his restaurants. I think you should give it a try. Plus adding a poached egg to almost anything makes it that much better in my opinion.

    The recipe makes extra sauce which lasts a few days in the fridge or do as we did and freeze it for another day!

    Bloody Mary Eggs

    A great morning after a late night out
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    Course Brunch

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes, drained well San Marzano are the best
    • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus more for serving
    • 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
    • 2 ribs celery thinly sliced, plus celery leaves for garnish
    • 1 clove garlic finely chopped
    • celery or kosher salt
    • 1/4 cup vodka plus 2 tablespoons
    • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
    • 1 teaspoon hot sauce Tabasco, Cholula or Sriracha
    • black pepper
    • 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish plus 1 teaspoon
    • 1/2 cup pimento stuffed green olives
    • 2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
    • 8 large eggs
    • 4 slices white bread toasted and drizzled with EVOO hearty or rustic works best

    Instructions
     

    • Drain the tomatoes really well, using your clean hands break up the whole tomatoes into small pieces. Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onions, celery ribs and garlic. cook stirring occasionally, until softened about 6-7 minutes. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and them add the vodka. Cook until the liquid is evaporated by half. about 7-8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, Worcestershire, hot sauce and a good size pinch of black pepper. and 3 tablespoons horseradish. Gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, 20-25 minutes. Stir in the olives and remaining horseradish, remove from the heat Adjust the seasoning and hot sauce to your liking.
    • Fill a large wide saucepan halfway with water and add the vinegar. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. One at a time crack 4 eggs into a small bowl and carefully add each to simmering water. Poach for 3-4 minutes until the whites are set but the yolk is still runny,
      using a slotted spoon remove eggs from the water to a plate lined with paper towels and season with a little salt. If you have celery salt use it, if not kosher is great too.
      repeat with the 4 remaining eggs.
    • Divide the tomato sauce into four shallow bowl. Place a piece of toast in the center of each bowl, top with 2 poached eggs. Garnish with celery leaves and a drizzle of olive oil before serving.
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