Tag Archives: Recipes

Breakfast in Bed – Ginger Snaps

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Post by Alison Hein.

My sister and I share a favorite childhood memory – we are at quaint Lake Edenwald where our grandparents have a funky but beloved log cabin. All of our cousins are there. We splash in the shallow area of the lake, until one by one, our Grandpa methodically teaches each of us to swim, in order of age. The challenge? To make it to the old splintery raft through the deepest, darkest water to the far side of the lake. Our boy cousins roughhouse, chasing and splashing, until we are spent. We paddle to shore, finally squish our toes down into the spongy lake bottom, then run to our mother. She’s laughing and smiling, waiting for us. She hands us each a tiny, personal-sized and precious box of Nabisco Ginger Snaps. We collapse on our towels and blissfully gorge on the well-earned treats.

Ginger Snaps 2

I’m not sure if Nabisco still makes those tiny boxes of cookies, but every year when the weather starts to warm, I get a hankering for a handful of chewy coin-sized snaps. These are a little larger and a little spicier than the originals. I like to use fresh-squeezed ginger juice for extra tang. If you don’t have a juicer, simply peel and grate a hunk of fresh ginger. Then squeeze the pieces over a clean bowl until the juice flows. Strain and use to create these lovely little snaps and a personal-sized, precious breakfast in bed.

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Ingredients

¼ cup (½ stick) butter, softened, plus more for baking sheets
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup unsulphured dark molasses
1 tablespoon fresh ginger juice
1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ cup granulated sugar, for dusting cookie tops

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Preparation

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add molasses and ginger juice and blend until creamy. In a second bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg. Add gradually into butter mixture, until thick dough forms. Shape the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Chill at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350° and grease two baking sheets or line with parchment paper. Form rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls. Arrange the balls on the prepared sheet. Pour some granulated sugar into a small dish. Wrap the bottom of a small glass with plastic wrap. Press the bottom of the glass into the sugar, then press and turn the glass onto each ball of dough, flattening before baking.

Bake the cookies until they have set but still seem soft in the middle, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on sheets for a couple of minutes before transferring to wire racks.

Makes approximately 2½ dozen cookies

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Breakfast in Bed – Creamy Spinach Crêpes

Creamy Spinach Crepes 10

Post by Alison Hein.

Sometimes I’m in the mood for a sweet breakfast, but more often than not, I like to start the day with a savory meal. Crêpes are so wonderfully versatile that they adapt either way. You can make flavorful creamed spinach as a dinner side, then heat in the morning for an elegant meal. And get in the habit of freezing crêpes, which thaw in an instant and heat up nicely with a quick finish under the broiler – impressive and tasty for overnight or brunch guests; flavorful and elegant for a savory breakfast in bed.

Creamy Spinach Crepes 1

Buckwheat Crêpes

1¼ cups buckwheat flour
¼ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus additional for frying
¾ cup milk
1¼ cups water

Creamy Spinach Crepes 2

Preparation

Add buckwheat flour and salt to a large bowl. Add eggs, vegetable oil, milk and water and whisk until smooth batter forms. Add additional water for a thinner batter, if you like.

Heat a 10-inch-diameter nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Brush pan with oil. Add ¼ cup of batter to pan, tilting to coat bottom. Cook crêpe until golden on bottom, 30 to 45 seconds, adjusting heat as necessary to prevent burning.

Using a spatula or butter knife, flip crêpe and continue to cook until dark gold, about 1 minute longer. Keep warm, while continuing the process with the remainder of batter.

Makes 12 – 16 crêpes.

Creamy Spinach Crepes 3

Creamy Spinach and Crêpe Assembly

16 ounces frozen chopped spinach
4 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Dash of nutmeg
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon grated Swiss cheese per crêpe
Mint sprigs, for garnish

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Preparation

Cook spinach in boiling water until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

To make white sauce, melt butter in small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped shallot and cook until softened, about 1 minute. Whisk in flour until smooth, thick paste forms. Whisk in milk and cook until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir cooked spinach into white sauce. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

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Place about ¼ cup on each crêpe, then delicately roll into a long cylinder and place on oven proof dish. Continue process for as many crêpes as you plan to assemble, then top each one with about 1 tablespoon of grated cheese. Place under broiler about 4 inches from heat, and cook until cheese starts to brown, about 30 seconds. Garnish with mint and serve immediately.

Makes about 4 cups of creamed spinach.

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Breakfast in Bed: Pistachio-Crusted French Toast

Pistachio-Crusted French Toast 8

Post by Alison Hein.

I got carried away as I was grinding pistachios yesterday. The rich, salty crunch of these exotic little nuts is so divine, I can easily gobble up a whole package of them in one sitting. Instead, I try to pace myself, by distributing them more rationally, and combining them with complementary flavors.

Step one – grind. Step two – coat the delectable morsel of your choice with a delectable pistachio covering. In this case, I was using the ground nuts to dress up some goat cheese medallions, which I then placed on top of a salad of baby lettuces bathed in a tangy lemon citrus vinaigrette.

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Pistachios are an ancient food. Originating in the eastern Mediterranean and central Asia, they are one of the three seeds (along with walnuts and almonds) mentioned in the Bible. Pliny the elder wrote that pistachios were a common food as early as 6750 BC. These days, the US is one of the top global producers of pistachio nuts.

Search the internet and you’ll find a cornucopia of “pistachio-crusted” recipes. From lamb to salmon, asparagus to tofu, cheesecake to, you guessed it…French toast! So, I drowned some soft brioche in a vanilla egg bath, then used my excess ground nuts to create a divine Pistachio-Crusted French Toast, and a salty, crunchy, exotic breakfast in bed.

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Ingredients

1 cup pistachio nuts
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 slices rich, soft bread, such as brioche or challah
2 to 4 tablespoons butter

Preparation

Grind pistachio nuts in a nut grinder, coffee mill, or blender until chopped finely, but not powdery. Retain some larger nut pieces for extra crunch, if you like. Place ground pistachios in a small shallow dish.

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In large, shallow bowl, whisk together milk and eggs. Stir in vanilla. Dip bread slices into the milk mixture, turning once to completely saturate. Don’t over soak or the soft bread will fall apart. Dip bread slices in chopped pistachio pieces, using a spoon to help cover.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in heavy skillet. Add nut-covered bread slices and cook over medium to medium-low heat, turning once, until golden and cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add more butter as needed. Remove from pan and serve warm with real maple syrup.

Makes 4 servings.

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Breakfast in Bed – Lemon Cherry Scones with Lemon Honey Butter

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Post by Alison Hein.

I’ve been baking a lot this winter. There are a few reasons for this. One is simply, well, because I like to bake. Next, I have been trapped in my home on numerous occasions due to ridiculous and nearly constant cold, ice and snow. Finally, a nice hot oven helps to keep the heat up in the house on these low temperature days. My husband has been enjoying homemade bread hot from the oven, sweet pastries and pies dusted with sugar, and hardy scones laden with pure Irish butter.

The trouble is, with no way to safely get to the grocery store, my pantry has been running low. Inspiration for these scones struck when I glanced at my lemon-filled fruit bowl, and remembered a pack of dried tart cherries tucked in the back of the cabinet.

Lemon Cherry Scones 1

Mrs. O’Callaghan’s Irish Scones are so light and delicate that I used her method here. Adding lemon rind to the batter and swapping cherries for raisins did the trick. One lemon is enough to make both the scones and the butter. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, just add about a tablespoon of cider vinegar to a cup of milk for a great faux substitute.

Warm yourself by the stove, brew a strong cup of black tea, and take your lemony scones off to a cozy spot by the window. Take a good long look at all that ice and snow. Then gratefully feast on a warm and cozy breakfast in bed.

Lemon Cherry Scones

3 cups flour
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1½ cups buttermilk, plus additional for brushing scone after baking
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon lemon oil, or lemon flavoring
½ cup dried tart cherries

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Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°. In large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and grated lemon rind. Stir baking soda into buttermilk. Pour buttermilk mixture, lightly beaten egg and lemon oil into dry ingredients and mix just to combine. Batter should be thick but spreadable. Stir in dried tart cherries.

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Grease and flour a 10-inch cast iron frying pan. Spread batter evenly in pan. Place in oven and bake until scone is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in top comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes. Alternatively, grease and flour two round 8-inch cake pans. Divide batter evenly between the two pans and reduce baking time to about 45 minutes.

Remove scone from pan and brush top with a little buttermilk, if you like. Wrap immediately in a tea towel so scones remain warm and soft. When ready to serve, cut scone in wedges. Serve warm with lemon honey butter.

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Makes 12 to 14 scones.

Lemon Honey Butter

6 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

Preparation

Add softened butter to small bowl. Stir in honey and lemon juice and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Breakfast in Bed – Thai Basil Pesto Scrambled Eggs

Thai Basil Pesto Scrambled Eggs 9
Post by: Alison Hein

If life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade. But what do you do if life gives you a whole bunch of Thai basil? Make pesto, of course!

Such was my experience recently when I was trimming my sweet little miracle garden. (See the Rolled Omelet with Fresh Herbs post to learn more.) My little patch of herbs is so prolific that I need to trim it every day to prevent delicate chives, cilantro, parsley and basil from singing their tips on the grow lights. During this process, I inadvertently knocked off my entire Thai Basil plant! Sad but inspired, I set to work on salvage and enterprise.

Thai Basil Pesto Scrambled Eggs 1

Traditional Italian pesto, which originated in the northern Liguria region, consists of fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan and local sheep milk cheeses. Tangy, fragrant, and lightly richened with nuts, pesto livens up fresh-cooked pasta, slow-simmered beans, or scrambled eggs.

I’ve substituted walnuts for pine nuts in my version, and have omitted the cheeses for better freezing of any excess pesto. I learned a neat trick many years ago – if you have an old-fashioned ice cube tray, fill it with tablespoon-sized portions of pesto, then freeze for individual servings. One tablespoon is just right for a single serving of pasta, or in this case, scrambled eggs. Add any cheeses later, when you are ready to partake of a candlelit Italian dinner, or a tangy, fragrant breakfast in bed.

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Pesto Ingredients

2 cups packed Thai basil (or other basil) leaves, plus additional sprig for garnish
2 cloves garlic, peeled
½ cup walnuts (or pine nuts)
½ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus additional 2 teaspoons for cooking eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

Clean and dry basil and set aside. Add garlic and walnuts to blender and chop. Add basil, then with blender running on low, pour in olive oil and purée until smooth and thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes about ¾ cup pesto.

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Thai Basil Pesto Scrambled Eggs

2 eggs
1 tablespoon Thai basil pesto
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

Heat olive oil in small, heavy pan over medium low heat. Break eggs into small bowl and whisk well. Stir in pesto and 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Add egg mixture to heated pan and allow to cook slowly and gently. Stir and lift frequently with wooden spoon to avoid sticking. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese, season with salt and pepper, garnish with fresh basil leaves and serve immediately.

Makes 1 serving.

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