Posted by Sarah Wolf, May 9, 2008 at 11:00 AM
If you're wondering how to get the kids off your hands while you fix Mother's Day brunch this weekend, why not try making them your sous chefs? It'll be fun for them, it'll be less work for you, and Mom will be delighted. And if anything goes wrong, no one will think it's your fault.
Here's a possible menu of dishes that are deliciously uncomplicated to make and involve child-friendly steps like mixing and grating. (For safety's sake, just be sure to carefully supervise your kids and leave the grating and any chopping to your older children.)
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Posted by Robyn Lee, May 7, 2008 at 12:00 PM
The following recipe is from the May 7th edition of our weekly recipe newsletter. To receive this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here!
Why not treat your mom this coming Mother's Day with a plate of chocolate banana waffles? This recipe from Alice Medrich's Chocolate Holidays tops chocolate flavored waffles with bananas sautéed in sugar and rum.
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Posted by Lucy Baker, May 5, 2008 at 2:15 PM
I know it's only Monday, but I'm already looking forward to next weekend's brunch. What could be better than a meal where it's practically required to eat bacon and drink bloody marys? Today's Cook the Book recipe, the first to be excerpted from Cowgirl Cuisine, is for author Paula Disbrowe's own take on the classic dish of huevos rancheros.
Her version is spiced with serrano chiles and sherry wine vinegar, and served with a shower of freshly grated cheese, fragrant cilantro, and slices of creamy avocado. The best part? The recipe makes enough sauce for 8 servings and reheats beautifully, so you can prepare it for you mom on Mother's Day and still have enough leftover for a few extra-special weekday breakfasts.
Win 'Cowgirl Cuisine'
As is always the case with our Cook the Book selections, we're giving away copies to a few lucky readers. Enter to win here.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, April 28, 2008 at 1:30 PM
While I’ve been going on and on here about the pleasures of a thoughtfully packed lunch, I have not revealed a shameful truth: at the moment the only lunch I make is my own. My husband is in the home stretch of medical school, which means that he spends long days in hospitals with little time for indulgences such as "lunch." Most days they're given some kind of greasy Chinese food or inferior pizza to wolf down during a midday meeting, and the rest of the time lunch is catch as catch can. My impression is that sitting down and unpacking tasty leftovers or even a good-looking sandwich would be suspect, food being decidedly too frivolous to concern a busy MD (or MD-to-be).
So Andrew asked me to buy him some energy bars, which I have always regarded with distaste and even suspicion. I just don’t think they count as food. I soon discovered that they are rather expensive, and what's more, many of them contain tree nuts, to which Andrew is deathly allergic. Wouldn’t it be more sensible to make something myself, and wouldn’t I feel better about it?
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Posted by Ed Levine, April 27, 2008 at 8:45 AM
If you love pancakes (who doesn't?) and you love rice pudding (some people don't, I do) you'll appreciate Campanile chef-owner Mark Peel's recipe for breakfast rice pancakes, which I've adapted from an out of print book he wrote with Nancy Silverton, At Home: Two Chefs Cook for Family & Friends. Brown or white rice work equally well with this dish.
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Posted by Ed Levine, April 20, 2008 at 8:30 AM
Passover always puts me in a Moonstrips frame of mind. What are Moonstrips? They're onion and poppy-flavored matzos made by Streit's and they are the tastiest matzos ever. They don't make a kosher for Passover version, but this matzo brei (matzo pancake-style omelet) tastes good any time of the year. This particular matzo brei recipe is adapted from The Jewish Holiday Kitchen by Joan Nathan.
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Posted by Ed Levine, April 13, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Grits, cheese, and eggs are a combination utilized most often in the American South, but its satisfying appeal is universal. This casserole needs a really sharp cheddar to amp up the flavor intensity. It's adapted from the Gourmet Cookbook, and, as is noted there, beating the egg whites separately will lighten this dish considerably.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, April 10, 2008 at 4:15 PM
Continuing this week's Cook the Book series, today's highlighted recipe from Crescent Dragonwagon's Cornbread Gospels is for George Washington's Favorite Corn Cakes. How do we know they're Washington's favorite? Dragonwagon cites Nelly Custis, Martha Washington's youngest granddaughter, who gave an account of the first president's morning routine, which included getting up before sunrise, reading and writing until 7 a.m. or so, and then breakfasting on three of these cakes, "swimming in butter and honey."
Win 'The Cornbread Gospels'
As is always the case with our Cook the Books, we're giving away a five copies of this book this week. Enter to win here »
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Posted by Ed Levine, April 6, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Here's a perfect spring Italian brunch dish from one of my often-used cookbooks, Cucina Simpatica, by George Germon and Joanne Killeen, chef-owners of Al Forno, a wonderful restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island. According to the headnote in the book, "this recipe is an adaptation of the asparagi Bismarck served at Bagutta, a wonderful old restaurant in Milan." I serve it with thick slices of toasted rustic bread brushed with olive oil.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, April 1, 2008 at 1:00 PM
Yogurt: good for avoiding the unpleasant side effects of pregnancy
I’ve made it to the eighteenth week of pregnancy pretty much unaffected by three phenomena that turn life upside down for many expectant women: morning sickness, food aversions, and cravings. “I feel like I’m cheating!” I told my obstetrician last month. She told to count my lucky stars (and not to mention how great I felt to the other women in the waiting room), but I still felt like a fraud every time my friends and family kindly, concernedly asked how I was doing.
There were about two weeks in January when I had mild morning headaches and afternoon nausea. Instead of disappearing, however, my appetite increased. It was like having a slight hangover, just enough to make you feel a little loopy and put you in the mood for a big brunch; I’d treat it with ginger ale, white rice, peanut butter, and homemade cookies while my med-student husband muttered about gestational diabetes.
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Posted by Emily Koh, March 31, 2008 at 4:45 PM
And the first of our Cook the Book recipes this week from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book is for sweet muffins. And with the variations here, you'll have at least three ways of making these treats, which are ideal for a quick breakfast snack.
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Posted by Ed Levine, March 30, 2008 at 8:00 AM
I don't know what it is, but lately I've been thinking a lot about my dear departed friend Johnny Apple. Eating with Johnny was a fantastic experience. He loved food and wine and life and politics and a zillion other things equally. He loved a perfectly char-grilled bratwurst as much as he loved foie gras.
His love of perfectly executed humble foods extended to scrambled eggs. But not just any scrambled eggs. Nah, Johnny had standards. The scrambled eggs that he loved the most are made at Bill's Cafe in Sydney, Australia. These eggs call for a half cup of cream per two eggs, but I have found that a quarter cup will still result in the best scrambled eggs ever. When I want to make a special breakfast for my wife, I turn to these eggs, which I always refer to as Johnny Apple's Crazy Creamy, Crazy Good Scrambled Eggs.
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Posted by Lucy Baker, March 25, 2008 at 12:30 PM
I've always wanted to try baking a clafouti, the homey French dessert that is part pancake, part pudding, and part custard. But classic clafoutis are made with fresh cherries, and I was deterred by the idea of pitting cup after cup. So when I saw a saw the clafouti recipe in the April issue of Everyday Food that replaced the cherries with dried figs, I knew I had to make it for this week's recipe review.
The clafouti recipe was part of a larger article about a basic, homemade baking mix (6 cups flour, 3 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons baking powder, and 1 tablespoon salt). The total yield is about 9 cups, which is more than enough to make one batch of every recipe in the article: the clafouti, plus oatmeal blondies, jam sandwich cookies, and silver-dollar pancake sundaes.
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Posted by Ed Levine, March 16, 2008 at 8:00 AM
I've never come across a French toast recipe that I didn't want to try, but I must say that Nigella Lawson's orange French toast recipe sounded particularly yummy. Any old white bread will work fine, but using slices of challah will result in a fluffier, eggier dish.
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Posted by Ed Levine, March 9, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Today's Sunday Brunch recipe is adapted from James Villa's excellent Bacon Cookbook. It makes a stack of thick, intensely flavored griddlecakes—especially if you use pure maple syrup. And if you do use pure maple syrup for this, make sure you don't use maple-cured bacon—as Villas says, the resulting effect is just too intense.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, March 4, 2008 at 3:15 PM
Today's recipe from this week's featured cookbook, Panini Express is for a Ham, Brie, and Apple French Toast Panini. Apologies in advance for going for another ham-and-cheese variation. I was halfway through preparing this recipe when I realized I'd just done a similar sandwich yesterday. I couldn't resist this one, though, because I've been a fan of the ham-brie-apple combo since discovering it a few years ago. Add the French toast, I thought, and this recipe's a knockout.
As I found out, this recipe really is a knockout. You're essentially taking some fairly rich items—brioche, eggs, and brie—and combining them in a hot, pressed-sandwich package. It's a lot to take in, and I was pretty much "game over" a half a sandwich in. It might be the kind of sandwich you could cook up on a lazy weekend for brunch and serve as halves to family or friends with some fruit or a salad.
Win 'Panini Express'
If you're just now tuning in, you should note that we're giving away five (5) copies of this book here on Serious Eats this week. More details on that here.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, March 3, 2008 at 4:15 PM
I must have downed dozens of variations on this dish over the past couple years, and I’ve loved nearly everyone. Because chorizo is highly spiced and ready to go from the outset, it’s a no-fuss, quick-to-the-plate breakfast standard in my household. Some people like their breakfast dishes sweet and delicate, but not me. I’m as starved as a lumberjack before 10 a.m.—at least on the weekends—and the combination of eggs and chorizo never fails.
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Posted by Ed Levine, March 2, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Even the creamiest scrambled eggs aren't exactly loaded with flavor, so when I came across this Nancy Silverton and Mark Peel recipe for scrambled eggs with porcini mushrooms, I got very excited.
Dried porcini mushrooms are one of those flavor intensifiers I crave especially when I'm watching my weight. These eggs get their desired creaminess through constant stirring and serving them immediately.
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Posted by Blake Royer, February 28, 2008 at 4:30 PM
I am going to start cooking more frittatas—they are quite affable about taking whatever leftovers you throw at them, without complaining. Meat, cheese, vegetables, the egg will wrap it all in its creamy self. With luck, it will taste fine warm or even at room temperature the next day. It's like a quiche with no bother about making a crust, or an omelet with no flipping.
This particular recipe comes from Orangette, which I found by kicking around the Internet while looking for what to do with some lacinato kale—also known as black tuscan kale, cavolo nero, dinosaur kale—which was getting droopy in my fridge. Lacinato is a darker, less woody version of the leafy green monster, but you can use regular kale with similar results. Though I'm used to steaming it, this recipe eschews moisture for long, low cooking, which allows deep caramelization and flavor to develop while the kale maintains some crunch. It was a nice contrast to sharp cheddar and the soft eggs, though I definitely cooked my frittata a bit too long, so it lacked creaminess. Overcooking is easy to do, so watch out.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, February 25, 2008 at 2:30 PM
Which came first—the chicken or the egg? Well, since we've already highlighted an adapted version of Simon Hopkinson's Roast Chicken recipe, I guess we've already ended that discussion. To play catch-up, today's featured recipe is for Oeufs en Meurette, essentially "eggs in gravy," as Hopkinson says his mother once described the dish. "[She] thought it disgusting. I love it," he says.
And, if you're just now tuning in, be aware that we're giving away five (5) copies of this book this week. Enter here to win »
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Posted by Ed Levine, February 24, 2008 at 8:00 AM
I know I'm going to get hammered by the nutrition police for advocating eating pound cake for brunch, but really, when you think about it, what's the difference between eating pound cake and eating pancakes or French toast or cereal?
And this pound cake, adapted from a recipe in the current issue of Saveur by James Villas, is so light and moist it's better than many pancakes I have eaten. I am telling you, a slice of this pound cake with a glass of milk makes for a mighty satisfying breakfast or brunch. And if you want to round your meal off with a little bit of protein, drape two slices of bacon on top of each slice of pound cake. Now that's good.
Note: Villas is by his own admission a pound cake fanatic. As a result, this recipe may seem a little obsessional and overly precise. But if you follow the directions to the letter, you'll be amply rewarded with the finished product—a perfectly golden brown and ridiculously delicious pound cake.
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Posted by Ed Levine, February 17, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Finding good brunch dishes when you're trying to watch your weight is not easy, so I was thrilled to come across this delicious scrambled egg recipe in The Breakaway Cook, by Eric Gower. Once I added in an ounce of grated sharp cheddar as a flavor intensifier these eggs totally rocked.
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