Another very delicious and very easy overnight brunch recipe!
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter, melted (melt the butter while the dish is baking) or margarine, melted
7 large eggs
2 cups eggnog
1 1/2 ounces rum (optional)
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 French bread, cut into 1 inch slices
icing sugar
Directions:
Beat together eggs, eggnog, rum, sugar,nutmeg, cinnamon, salt& vanilla. Dip both sides of each slice of bread in this mixture and place them side by side in a greased oven proof pyrex dish Pour any remaining mixture over the slices. Cover and refrigerate overnight (If you wish you can freeze the dish and put in fridge to defrost the evening before you wish to serve it). Bake in 450f on bottom rack for 20-25 minutes (watch the bottom doesn't get too brown). Place on rack to cool slightly& dust with icing sugar. Serve with Canadian Maple syrup and the melted butter.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
'Elegant' Brunch Casserole
I made this recipe this year twice for Christmas brunches with friends and family and had amazing results. The great thing about this casserole is that all of the prep is done the night before and can just be thrown in the oven in the morning. For a brunch with little clean-up, holiday or any day, this recipe rocks!
Ingredients:
1 loaf French bread, sliced
3 tablespoons buter, plus more butter, for buttering dish
4 ounces swiss cheese, grated
4 ounces monterey jack cheese, grated
12 slices bacon, diced and fried until crisp (optional)
8 large eggs
1 1/3 cups milk
1/3 cup white wine
3 green onions
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup freshly-grated parmesan cheese
Grease bottom and sides of 9" x 13" glass casserole dish with butter. Tear bread into bite-sized pieces and place in dish, arranging so that they form a fairly solid layer but do not overlap (you may not need the whole loaf). Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan; drizzle evenly over bread. Sprinkle grated Swiss and Monterrey Jack cheeses evenly over bread. Top cheese layer evenly with cooked bacon bits. Break eggs into large mixing bowl and beat lightly by hand; add milk, wine, chopped green onion, mustard, black pepper and cayenne, beating again until foamy. Pour egg mixture evenly over casserole; cover tightly with foil, and refrigerate overnight. The following day, remove dish from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake, covered with foil, for approximately 45-50 minutes, until eggs are 'set' in the center. Remove from oven and spread sour cream evenly over the top of the casserole; sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Return to oven uncovered; bake an additional 10 minutes or so until lightly-browned.
Ingredients:
1 loaf French bread, sliced
3 tablespoons buter, plus more butter, for buttering dish
4 ounces swiss cheese, grated
4 ounces monterey jack cheese, grated
12 slices bacon, diced and fried until crisp (optional)
8 large eggs
1 1/3 cups milk
1/3 cup white wine
3 green onions
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup freshly-grated parmesan cheese
Grease bottom and sides of 9" x 13" glass casserole dish with butter. Tear bread into bite-sized pieces and place in dish, arranging so that they form a fairly solid layer but do not overlap (you may not need the whole loaf). Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan; drizzle evenly over bread. Sprinkle grated Swiss and Monterrey Jack cheeses evenly over bread. Top cheese layer evenly with cooked bacon bits. Break eggs into large mixing bowl and beat lightly by hand; add milk, wine, chopped green onion, mustard, black pepper and cayenne, beating again until foamy. Pour egg mixture evenly over casserole; cover tightly with foil, and refrigerate overnight. The following day, remove dish from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake, covered with foil, for approximately 45-50 minutes, until eggs are 'set' in the center. Remove from oven and spread sour cream evenly over the top of the casserole; sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Return to oven uncovered; bake an additional 10 minutes or so until lightly-browned.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
The Perfect Cookie to Eat with Blue Cheese
Ginger Molasses Cookies (From the Blue Cheese Bonanza -- I think this is the right recipe)
2 1/4 c (11 1/4 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 1/2 t ground (dried) ginger
1/2 t ground cloves
1/4 t ground allspice
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/4 t salt
12 T (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cool but soft
1/3 c (2 1/2 oz) granulated sugar (plus more for coating)
1/3 c (2 1/2 oz) packed dark brown sugar
(maybe a bit less sugar?)
1 egg yolk
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 c molasses
In a small bowl, whisk the flour together with the spices, soda and salt. In a medium bowl, cream the butter with the two sugars until smooth. Mix in the yolk and vanilla until homogeneous. Stir in the molasses until uniform. Mix in the flour until just mixed, but with no floury spots; pay attention especially to the bottom of the bowl.
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190 C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Dump about 1/3 cup of white sugar into a shallow bowl. With your fingers, pull out walnut sized lumps of dough (or slightly smaller). Drop them into the sugar. Break off as many at a time as will comfortably fit in the sugar and then, one at a time, toss each in the sugar, roll into a ball and place on the lined baking sheets. Space the cookies about 2 inches apart from each other on the baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for about 11 minutes, until the edges are set but the inside still looks underdone. Let the cookies cool about 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer them to the racks with a spatula. They will firm up while they cool. Form and bake cookies as above until the dough is used up.
The cookies can be stored in a tin.
2 1/4 c (11 1/4 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 1/2 t ground (dried) ginger
1/2 t ground cloves
1/4 t ground allspice
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/4 t salt
12 T (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cool but soft
1/3 c (2 1/2 oz) granulated sugar (plus more for coating)
1/3 c (2 1/2 oz) packed dark brown sugar
(maybe a bit less sugar?)
1 egg yolk
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 c molasses
In a small bowl, whisk the flour together with the spices, soda and salt. In a medium bowl, cream the butter with the two sugars until smooth. Mix in the yolk and vanilla until homogeneous. Stir in the molasses until uniform. Mix in the flour until just mixed, but with no floury spots; pay attention especially to the bottom of the bowl.
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190 C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Dump about 1/3 cup of white sugar into a shallow bowl. With your fingers, pull out walnut sized lumps of dough (or slightly smaller). Drop them into the sugar. Break off as many at a time as will comfortably fit in the sugar and then, one at a time, toss each in the sugar, roll into a ball and place on the lined baking sheets. Space the cookies about 2 inches apart from each other on the baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for about 11 minutes, until the edges are set but the inside still looks underdone. Let the cookies cool about 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer them to the racks with a spatula. They will firm up while they cool. Form and bake cookies as above until the dough is used up.
The cookies can be stored in a tin.
Birthday Cake!
In response to the post from MS, here is the recipe for the birthday cake I brought to Bret, Katy, and Andrew's birthday. Actually, I took this recipe, but changed the frosting to cream cheese and added funny chocolate decorations. But I have made this cake as described here and it's quite good. (Source - LA Times)
Cake:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup safflower or canola oil
2 cups pumpkin purée
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) springform pans. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and salt. In separate bowl, stir together the eggs and sour cream. Stir in the brown sugar and then the oil until just combined; be careful not to overwhisk. Gently stir the flour mixture into the batter just until incorporated and there are no lumps. Stir in the pumpkin purée. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans.
Bake the cakes for about 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (the cakes are moist and there may be a few crumbs on the toothpick, but there should be no batter). Remove and allow the cakes to cool, still in the pans, on a wire rack to room temperature.
Sour cream ganache and assembly
12 ounces semisweet chocolate or 6 (3-ounce) bars, coarsely chopped*
2 cups sour cream, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt (or a bit less)
1 cup chopped, toasted pecans
*For the ganache, a less bitter, lower percentage chocolate will best complement the cake (preferably 60% to 65%)
Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Remove from heat. Gently fold the sour cream into the chocolate until incorporated and uniform in texture, then stir in the salt. Remove the cakes from the pans and place one on a cake stand or serving plate with the flat-bottomed side up and spoon one-fourth of the ganache over the cake. Spread the ganache evenly over the top. Place the second cake, domed side up, evenly over the first and spoon one-half of the remaining frosting over the cake, evenly covering the top and sides. Add additional frosting as needed to coat the cake evenly.
Press the pecans into the sides of the cake. The cake can be kept at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Each of 16 servings: 612 calories; 8 grams protein; 59 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams fiber; 43 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 73 mg. cholesterol; 355 mg. sodium.
Cake:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup safflower or canola oil
2 cups pumpkin purée
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) springform pans. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and salt. In separate bowl, stir together the eggs and sour cream. Stir in the brown sugar and then the oil until just combined; be careful not to overwhisk. Gently stir the flour mixture into the batter just until incorporated and there are no lumps. Stir in the pumpkin purée. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans.
Bake the cakes for about 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (the cakes are moist and there may be a few crumbs on the toothpick, but there should be no batter). Remove and allow the cakes to cool, still in the pans, on a wire rack to room temperature.
Sour cream ganache and assembly
12 ounces semisweet chocolate or 6 (3-ounce) bars, coarsely chopped*
2 cups sour cream, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt (or a bit less)
1 cup chopped, toasted pecans
*For the ganache, a less bitter, lower percentage chocolate will best complement the cake (preferably 60% to 65%)
Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Remove from heat. Gently fold the sour cream into the chocolate until incorporated and uniform in texture, then stir in the salt. Remove the cakes from the pans and place one on a cake stand or serving plate with the flat-bottomed side up and spoon one-fourth of the ganache over the cake. Spread the ganache evenly over the top. Place the second cake, domed side up, evenly over the first and spoon one-half of the remaining frosting over the cake, evenly covering the top and sides. Add additional frosting as needed to coat the cake evenly.Press the pecans into the sides of the cake. The cake can be kept at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Each of 16 servings: 612 calories; 8 grams protein; 59 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams fiber; 43 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 73 mg. cholesterol; 355 mg. sodium.
Ramen with an Egg
This is a quick, cheep and easy meal that never gets old.
1 pack oriental ramen noodles (including flavor packet)
5 green onions (white and light green parts only) chopped small
1 egg
toasted sesame seeds
In a large pan, bring an inch and a half of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook (3 minutes?) drain water out of pan (I use a plate to hold the noodles in the pan while the water drains). Put pan back on burner and add flavor packet. return the flame to medium and crack the egg (or two if you're super hungry) over the noodles and scramble it all together. Once the egg is cooked, add the green onions and sprinkle the sesame seeds over noodles.
Serve and enjoy!!
1 pack oriental ramen noodles (including flavor packet)
5 green onions (white and light green parts only) chopped small
1 egg
toasted sesame seeds
In a large pan, bring an inch and a half of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook (3 minutes?) drain water out of pan (I use a plate to hold the noodles in the pan while the water drains). Put pan back on burner and add flavor packet. return the flame to medium and crack the egg (or two if you're super hungry) over the noodles and scramble it all together. Once the egg is cooked, add the green onions and sprinkle the sesame seeds over noodles.
Serve and enjoy!!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Italian Loooove Cake
I haven't been following this blog too much but I just tried this great cake and I got the recipe and I can't believe how easy it is to make. It was really delicious. I don't have any idea why it is called what it's called. Enjoy!
Italian Loooove Cake
1 Box Fudge Marble Cake Mix
2 lbs Ricotta cheese
3/4 cup sugar
4 Eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Box (3 3/4 oz) Instant Chocolate Pudding
1 cup milk
1 8oz carton Cool Whip
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cake mix as directed on box. Pour into greased and floured 9 x 13 pan.
In a separate bowl combine ricotta, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Spread over the top of unbaked cake. Bake for 1 hour. Cool.
Mix pudding with one cup of milk. Fold into whipped topping. Spread over cake and refrigerate for at least three hours before serving.
Italian Loooove Cake
1 Box Fudge Marble Cake Mix
2 lbs Ricotta cheese
3/4 cup sugar
4 Eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Box (3 3/4 oz) Instant Chocolate Pudding
1 cup milk
1 8oz carton Cool Whip
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cake mix as directed on box. Pour into greased and floured 9 x 13 pan.
In a separate bowl combine ricotta, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Spread over the top of unbaked cake. Bake for 1 hour. Cool.
Mix pudding with one cup of milk. Fold into whipped topping. Spread over cake and refrigerate for at least three hours before serving.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Heehee!
My grandmother's recipe. For some reason she would never let me lick the bowl.
Granny's Christmas Cake
Ingredients:
1 cup of water
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup of brown sugar
Lemon juice
4 large eggs
Nuts
1 bottle gin -Gilbeys London Dry
2 cups of dried fruit
Sample the gin to check temperature. Take a large bowl, check that the gin is maintaining the right temperature still, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level shot glass and sip it. Might as well finish the shot.Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the gin is still OK. The shot glass is empty. ust have evvaporated. Refill the damn thing. Just in Case. Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
Pick the frigging fruit up off floor. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the gin to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something. How's the gin doin'?. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window.. Finish the gin and wipe counter with the cat.
CHERRY MISTMAS!
Granny's Christmas Cake
Ingredients:
1 cup of water
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup of brown sugar
Lemon juice
4 large eggs
Nuts
1 bottle gin -Gilbeys London Dry
2 cups of dried fruit
Sample the gin to check temperature. Take a large bowl, check that the gin is maintaining the right temperature still, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level shot glass and sip it. Might as well finish the shot.Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the gin is still OK. The shot glass is empty. ust have evvaporated. Refill the damn thing. Just in Case. Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
Pick the frigging fruit up off floor. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the gin to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something. How's the gin doin'?. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window.. Finish the gin and wipe counter with the cat.
CHERRY MISTMAS!
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