Tag Archives: Breakfast Recipes
Breakfast in Bed –Blueberry Cream Crêpes
Post by Alison Hein.
Summer is flying by, and I can’t believe I haven’t shared any blueberry recipes this season. Well, we’re about to rectify that with these berry-rich creamy crêpes. The blueberry crop was lush and bountiful this year, and if you look around, you should still be able to find perfectly ripe, tangy-skinned, sweet-fleshed berries.
Thin, lightly sweetened crêpes are filled with a creamy blueberry spread, then rolled and topped with thick, zesty blueberry sauce. First, make the sauce with fresh fruit, simmering the berries stovetop until they burst and meld. Next, prepare the sweet, blended berry and cream cheese filling (also great for spreading on bagels). Finally, make the thin pancakes and assemble the final dish. Add a sprig of mint, if you like, for garnish. Voila! The berry best kind of breakfast in bed. 🙂
Blueberry Sauce
2 cups (1 dry pint) blueberries
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Add blueberries, water, sugar and vanilla to small, heavy pot. Place on stove over high heat and bring to boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat, and simmer for 10 to 20 minutes, until blueberries are soft and popped open, and syrup is thickened. Set aside and allow to cool. Syrup will continue to thicken while cooling, so adjust cooking time to your preference.
Makes about 1 ½ cups of syrup.
Filling
¼ cup blueberries
6 ounces whipped cream cheese
4 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Preparation
Puree blueberries in blender. Mix in cream cheese, sugar and cinnamon until smooth. Set aside until ready to assemble crêpes.
Crêpes
1 cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 – 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Preparation
In large bowl, mix together flour and salt. Whisk egg into milk, then whisk milk mixture into flour mixture until batter is thick and smooth. Let batter rest a few minutes before cooking.
Heat about 1 teaspoon oil in a heavy 6-inch pan over medium heat. When hot, but not smoking, add ¼ cupful of batter to pan, swirling to cover bottom. Cook crêpe 1 to 2 minutes until cooked through and lightly browned, flipping once. Keep warm while cooking remaining crêpes, monitoring heat and adding oil as necessary.
To assemble, place crêpes on serving plates. Spread each crêpe with 1 to 2 tablespoons of cream cheese filling. Roll up, and top with Blueberry Sauce. Serve immediately.
Makes 6 to 7 crêpes.
Breakfast in Bed – Mom’s Deviled Eggs
Post by: Alison Hein.
You can’t eat deviled eggs for breakfast? Wow. Someone should have told me that a long time ago. Mom taught me to make these when I was just knee-high to a grasshopper (that’s a saying, right?), and they’re still one of my absolute summertime favorites.
We’ve made deviled eggs before on this blog. Not Mom’s cozy comfort food, but the more sophisticated Ebbitt Room Deviled Eggs (http://www.charlesprogers.com/blogs/archives/6243). Mom knew what she was about long before “five ingredient” dishes came around, and kept it really easy adding only mustard (she preferred Gulden’s), mayo and paprika. “Deviling” in the kitchen refers to the addition of a hot or spicy ingredient, in this case, mustard. The term first appeared in print in 1786, the association made between condiments like mustard or cayenne pepper and the fires of Hades.
While Mom’s eggs called for only a couple of simple staples (and really aren’t all that fiery), I learned on Wikipedia that people around the world commonly use the following ingredients in their deviled eggs: tartar sauce, Worcestershire sauce, pickles, relish, vinegar, olives, pimentos, onion, caviar, cream, capers and sour cream. They may use spices like chipotle, turmeric, poppy seed, thyme, and cilantro, and toppings including caviar, anchovies, bacon, shrimp and herring!
French people use pepper and parsley; Germans prefer anchovies, cheese and capers; and Hungarians add milk-soaked bread, parsley and sour cream, then bake them and serve them with a side of French fries! (Look for these exciting recipes here in the future!)
So, it’s summertime. People around the globe are making crazy eggs. And I’m grabbing a cup of coffee, one of Mom’s chilled eggs, and partaking in the devil of a breakfast in bed.
Ingredients
8 eggs
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons paprika
Preparation
Place eggs in a small heavy saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil on high heat and continue to cook eggs for 10 minutes, until hard-boiled. Cool and peel.
Carefully slice eggs in half lengthwise. Remove cooked yolks and add to small bowl, setting whites aside. Mash the yolks finely with the back of a fork (or use a fine-mesh sieve for a very smooth filling). Stir in mayonnaise and mustard until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon or pipe filling into reserved whites, mounding yolk mixture in each half-egg. Sprinkle generously with paprika. Place in refrigerator and chill until ready to serve.
Makes 16 deviled eggs.
Breakfast in Bed – Home Fries
Post by Alison Hein.
You like potatoes, and I like po-tah-toes….
Thus sang Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the ubiquitous 1937 film Shall We Dance; music and lyrics to the song Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off by none other than the amazing George and Ira Gershwin. I know this one from a very early age – my grandmother liked to belt it out while puttering around in her tiny kitchen. Aha! People can be different but still be in love.
You say Hash Browns and I say Home Fries…
What’s the difference? Basic tenet states that hash browns are grated and cooked in their raw state, while home fries are pre-boiled, chopped and then fried. Either type can be dressed up with onions, peppers, garlic, meats or spices.
In my simple version, I bake a few hearty Russets in the evening, and enjoy a salty, buttery baked potato with a big glob of sour cream for dinner. Then, in the morning, I slice and fry one of the extras, skin and all, and enjoy a side of salty, crispy-skinned home fries, rich with smoky paprika, with my favorite breakfast eggs.
Moral of the story? Potato or po-tah-toe, hash browns or home fries – a breakfast in bed to make you fall in love.
Note: Watch Fred and Ginger sing (and tap dance on roller skates!) and you’re sure to fall in love too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ3fjQa5Hls
Home Fries
1 Sea Salt Baked Potato (see recipe below)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 to 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
Salt and pepper, to taste
Preparation
Chop potato (leaving skin on) into bite-sized pieces or thin slices. Heat olive oil over medium heat in heavy frying pan. Add potatoes. Sprinkle generously with paprika, and stir to coat potato pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
Continue to cook potatoes over medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring and flipping occasionally, until golden brown or crisped to your liking. Serve hot alongside your favorite breakfast eggs.
Makes 2 servings.
Sea Salt Baked Potatoes
2 large baking potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon large grain sea salt
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Scrub potatoes well to remove all dirt from skins. Allow the potatoes to dry, then pierce each one 5 or 6 times with a fork. Mix olive oil and sea salt together and slather over potatoes to cover completely.
Place potatoes in a baking dish and bake, turning occasionally, until outer skin is golden brown and the center of the potato is tender when tested with a fork, about one hour. Serve hot with butter and sour cream on the side.
Makes 2 servings.
Breakfast in Bed – Strawberry Scones
Post by Alison Hein.
Wild red strawberries used to grow rampantly throughout our region. The native Leni Lenape crushed these tiny sweet jewels and mixed them with cornmeal to form a sweet cake. Odes were written to them, such as this excerpt from a poem written by Robert Graves:
Strawberries that in gardens grow
Are plump and juicy fine,
But sweeter far as wise men know
Spring from the woodland vine.
No need for bowl or silver spoon,
Sugar or spice or cream,
Has the wild berry plucked in June
Beside the trickling stream
Even though these tiny wild gems have largely disappeared from our area due to commerce and development, plenty of their “plump and juicy fine” garden cousins are still available. Locally grown berries can be found until the end of June, and hothouse grown can be purchased throughout the year. While they are still in season, try some in this easy scone recipe. Puréed berries give the dough a tender texture and lovely rose-hued tinge – a poetic breakfast in bed.
Ingredients
16 ounces fresh strawberries, cleaned and trimmed
3 cups flour
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup (one half stick) cold butter
¾ cup milk
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Extra flour for shaping scones
Preparation
Chop half of the cleaned strawberries, and purée the other half in a blender or food processor. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 425°. In large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter into small pieces and cut into dry ingredients.
In a small bowl, combine milk, vinegar and one egg. Mix well, then add all at once to dry ingredients, stirring until just mixed in. Stir in pureed strawberries. Add chopped strawberries. Mix in gently. Do not overmix or dough will become tough.
Turn batter out onto floured board. Divide into 8 equal pieces and shape into balls. Press each ball gently into a flat round. Cut a cross in the top of each scone, but do not cut all the way through.
Place scones on lightly greased cookie sheet. Lightly beat remaining egg, and brush on top of scones. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Place in oven and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm with butter.
Makes 8 scones.
Breakfast in Bed: Prosciutto Egg Cups
Post by Alison Hein.
Here’s a great idea from my friend and Pilates instructor Michele – crispy baked prosciutto slices wrapped around warm, gooey baked eggs. A little tweaking to this simple preparation produces lots of varieties. You can add a little parmesan cheese, or float some sautéed onions or mushrooms on top. Eggs can be beaten first and mixed with herbs and vegetables, similar to the Baked Breakfast Egg Cups (http://www.charlesprogers.com/blogs/archives/4411) I’ve shared with you in the past. But I like Michele’s version for its ease and simplicity. The salty Italian cured ham minimizes spicing needs so a touch of freshly ground black pepper before baking finishes nicely.
The Prosciutto Egg Cups make a neat and elegant dish for entertaining. Put them on your brunch table, along with an assortment of toast, fresh fruit, hash browns and mimosas, and you’ll have trouble getting rid of you friends and family on lazy Sunday afternoons.
Or, keep them for yourself, served with a plain, crusted bread like Irish Wheaten Bread (https://www.charlesprogers.com/blogs/archives/7766) for an easy, simple (and delicious) breakfast in bed.
Ingredients
Cooking spray
2 pieces prosciutto
2 eggs
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spray a muffin tin with cooking spray (for as many prosciutto eggs as you plan to make). Arrange a piece of prosciutto in each muffin cup, wrapping around the sides and covering the bottom to form a closed bowl.
Crack eggs one at a time into a small bowl (to make sure yolks are intact), then pour into prosciutto-lined muffin cups. Grind some fresh black peppercorns onto the top of the raw egg. Place in oven and bake for around 15 minutes for a cooked egg white and soft yolk. Cool slightly before removing from tin. Carefully scoop out eggs with a large spoon. Serve with crusty, whole grain bread, if you like.
Makes 2 servings.
