August 2011—Alicia & Lindsay

Summer Brunch 

Sausage-Bacon Bite

Breakfast Bruschetta with Strawberries and Tangy Cream

Breakfast in Bangkok Smoothie

Fruit Parfait with Homemade Omega-3 Granola

Country Biscuits with Bacon and Cheddar,

Biscuit fillings

   Tomato Jam and Baked Eggs with Fresh Herbs

Zucchini Bread French Toast

Pretzel Pancakes with White Chocolate & Caramel Sauces

Fruit Kabobs with Fruit Dip

Sausage-Bacon Bite (Man Candy)

Cuisine at Home

Makes 8 servings

For the glaze combine:

1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar

3 Tbsp stone-ground mustard

3 Tbsp white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp black pepper

For the sausage-bacon bites slice:

1 lb kielbasa

12 strips bacon, halved

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, line a baking sheet with foil and top with a cooling rack. Lightly coat rack with non-stick spray.

For the glaze, combine brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, and pepper in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves; keep warm.

For the sausage-bacon bites, slice kielbasa in half lengthwise. Cut each half into twelve 1-1/2 – inch-thick pieces. Wrap bacon around each piece and secure with a toothpick. Brush each bite with sauce, then transfer to prepared baking sheet.

Roast bites, basting them every 15 minutes, until bacon is cooked through, 35-45 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Breakfast Bruschetta with Strawberries and Tangy Cream

Cuisine Lite

Makes 8 servings

For the bruschetta:

4 Tbsp. sugar, divided

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 small ciabatta rolls, split and halved diagonally

4 tsp unsalted butter, softened

1 cup diced fresh strawberries

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Juice of 1/2 lemon

For the tangy cream:

1/4 cup sour cream

2 Tbsp low-fat plain yogurt

2 tsp honey

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat broiler with rack 6 inches from element.

Combine 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon for the bruschetta in a small bowl. Butter cut sides of bread and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar mixture, and broil until toasted, 2-3 minutes.

Toss strawberries with 2 tablespoons sugar, basil, and lemon juice.

Combine sour cream, yogurt, honey, and vanilla for the tangy cream in a bowl.

To assemble bruschetta, spoon 1 tablespoon strawberry mixture onto each piece of toast and dollop with 1 teaspoon tangy cream.

Breakfast in Bangkok Smoothie

2 carrots

1 apple, peeled and quartered

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/4 Tbsp fresh ginger root, grated

Run the carrots and apple through a juice extractor and pour the resulting juice into a glass. Stir in the coconut milk & garnish with the freshly grated ginger root.

Yield: 1 serving

TwoSkirts (allrecipes.com)

Fruit Parfait

America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Serves 4

3 cups 2% Greek yogurt*

1/4 cup honey

4 cups raspberries, blueberries, strawberries or blackberries

1-1/2 cups omega-3 granola

Whisk the yogurt and honey together thoroughly. Layer berries, granola and yogurt mixture.

*To cut fat strain lowfat plain yogurt in a fine-mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter and set over a bowl to catch the liquid. After 1 hour (in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap), the yogurt had reduced in volume by one-third, achieving a thick, rich consistency closely resembling that of Greek yogurt. The taste is pretty close too.

Omega-3 Granola

America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Makes about 6 cups

1/3 cup slivered almonds

1/3 cup walnuts, chopped coarse

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (do not use quick-cooking or instant rolled oats)

3 Tbsp canola oil

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

2 Tbsp sesame seeds

1/2 cup honey

2 Tbsp ground flaxseeds

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup raisins

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Toast the almonds and walnuts in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until fragrant and beginning to darken, about 3 minutes. Stir in the oats and oil and continue to toast until the oats begin to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in the sunflower seeds and sesame seeds and continue to toast until the mixture turns golden, about 2 minutes.

Off the heat, stir in the honey, flaxseeds and salt until well coated. Spread the granola evenly over a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring every few minutes, until the granola is light golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Stir in raisins. With a spatula, push the granola onto one half of the baking sheet and press gently into a 1/2-inch-thick slab. Let the granola cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Loosen the dried granola with a spatula, break into small clusters, and serve.

Country Biscuits with Bacon and Cheddar

Cuisine at Home

Makes 6 large biscuits

Cook:

5 strips bacon diced

Whisk:

2 cups ell-purpose flour

1 Tbsp dry mustard

1 tsp baking powder

1-2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp table salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed (8 Tbsp)

1 cup shredded Cheddar

Combine:

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce

2 Tbsp buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or coat with nonstick spray.

Cook bacon in a sauté pan until crisp, 6-8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate; set aside.

Whisk together flour, mustard, baking powder, pepper, salt, and baking soda, in a medium bowl. Cut butter into dry mixture with a pastry blender until butter is pea-sized. Stir in cheddar and bacon.

Combine 3/4 cup buttermilk and Tabasco; stir into flour mixture just until incorporated. Turn dough onto a lightly-floured surface and gather together

Pat dough into 6x9-inch rectangle, about 1-inch thick. Cut dough into 6 pieces and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Brush biscuit tops with 2 tablespoons buttermilk. Bake biscuits until golden on top, 25 minutes.

Biscuit Fillings

Tomato Jam

Makes 1-1/2 cup

3 lb Roma tomatoes, cored

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup minced onion

1/4 cup ketchup

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger

1 tsp kosher salt

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Drop tomatoes into large pot of simmering water for 20 seconds; transfer to a bowl of ice water to loosen skins. Peel and chop the tomatoes.

Combine tomatoes, wine, onion, ketchup, brown sugar, ginger, salt and cayenne in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring often until the mixture boils.

Reduce heat and simmer mixture, stirring occasionally, until the consistency of thick jam, about 1-1/4 hours. The jam will continue to thicken as it cools.

Cool jam, cover and refrigerate up to 1 week.

Baked Eggs with Fresh Herbs

Whisk:

10 eggs

1-1/4 cups milk

2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Pour:

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 7x11-inch baking dish with nonstick spray; set aside. Whisk eggs, milk, chives, parsley, pepper, mustard, and salt in a medium bowl until combined. Pour melted butter into prepared dish into prepared dish; add mixture. Bake eggs 15 minutes, stir, then bake until set, about 15 minutes more. Remove eggs from oven; let cool slightly before cutting unto squares. Serve eggs between biscuits.

Makes 6 servings

Zucchini Bread

Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:

2 zucchini (about 1 pound)

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar

1-1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2/3 cup whole-wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp snit

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

5 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

Shred the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater. Toss the zucchini with 2 tablespoon of sugar, transfer to a fine -mesh strainer set over a bowl, and let drain for 30 minutes. Squeeze zucchini dry with paper towels or clean dishtowel until dry.

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat and 8-1/2 by 4-1/2-inch loaf pan with vegetable oil spray and set aside.

Whisk 1/2 cup more sugar, all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, gently combine the dried zucchini, yogurt and lemon juice.

Beat the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and butter together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until creamy and uniform, 3 to 6 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds.

Reduce the mixer speed to low. Beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture followed by 1/2 of the zucchini. Repeat with the 1/2 of the remaining flour mixture and the remaining zucchini mixture. Beat in the remaining flour mixture until just incorporated (do not over mix).

Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 55 to 65 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let it cool for 1 hour before serving.

Makes one 8-inch loaf

French Toast

Cook's Illustrated

Zucchini bread sliced 1/2 inch thin

1-1/2 whole milk, warmed

3 large egg yolks

3 Tbsp packed light brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted plus 2 Tbsp for cooking

1/4 tsp table salt

1 Tbsp Vanilla extract

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Place bread on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Bake bread until almost dry throughout (center should remain slightly moist), about 16 minutes, flipping slices halfway through cooking. Remove bread from rack and let it cook 5 minutes. Reduce temperature to 200 degrees.

Whisk milk, yolks, sugar, cinnamon, 2 tablespoons melted butter, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Transfer mixture to 9 by 13-inch baking pan.

Soak bread in milk mixture until saturated but not falling apart, 20 seconds per side.

Using firm slotted spatula, pick up bread slice and allow excess milk mixture to drip off; repeat with remaining slices. Place soaked break on another baking sheet or platter.

Heat 1/2 tablespoon butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat. When foaming subsides, use slotted spatula to transfer 2 pieces of soaked bread to skillet and cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until second side is golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Transfer to baking sheet in oven. Wipe out skillet with paper towels. Repeat cooking with remaining bread, 2 pieces at a time, adding 1/2 tablespoon of butter for each batch. Serve warm, with syrup.

Pretzel Pancakes with White Chocolate & Caramel Sauces

Pancakes

1/2 cup crushed pretzels, divided (1 heaping cup or 25 tiny twist pretzels)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 egg, separated

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup buttermilk

Vegetable oil

Whisk together 1/4 cup crushed pretzels, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl; set aside.

Using a hand mixer on medium speed, whip egg white in a bowl to soft peaks; set aside.

Whisk together egg yolk, milk and buttermilk in a bowl until frothy. Stir into dry ingredients only until ingredients are moistened. (Small lumps are ok.) Let batter stand for 10 minutes. Fold in whipped egg white, stopping when thin, white streaks still remain in the batter.

Heat a griddle or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Brush griddle with a thin layer of oil.

For each pancake, pour a scant 1/3-1/2 cup batter onto the griddle; sprinkle each pancake with some of the remaining crushed pretzels.

Cook until bubble form on surface of pancakes, about 2 minutes. Flip pancakes; cook until golden, about 2 minutes.

Yield: 4-6 pancakes

White Chocolate Sauce

Cuisine at Home February 2010

1 cup heavy cream

2 eggs yolks, beaten

4 oz white chocolate, finely chopped

Bring cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk a little of the hot cream into the egg yolks, then return yolk mixture to simmering cream.

Continue cooking and whisking until sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Remove sauce from heat. Stir in white chocolate until melted. Set white chocolate aside; keep it warm.

Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 Tbsp water

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Boil brown sugar and water in a small saucepan 5 minutes, gently swirling occasionally to prevent scorching. Whisk in cream. (Mixture will bubble furiously and begin to harden into candy-like pieces; keep whisking and it will melt again.)

Boil mixture 2 minutes more, then whisk in butter until melted. Set caramel sauce aside; keep it warm.

Fruit Dip (served with the kabobs)

Sabene Gilbert

6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

12 oz Cool Whip

In medium saucepan combine the orange juice, sugar and cornstarch; stir over medium heat until thickened. Cook completely. Fold into the Cool Whip.

Especially good to dip with fresh strawberries.