November 20, 2009
Posted by Robin Bellinger, November 15, 2009 at 9:00 AM
[Photo: Robin Bellinger]
I make pancakes a couple of times a month, but had never tried ricotta pancakes until last week. They were easier to flip than my regular buttermilk batch, had a delicately crisp exterior, and were thicker and moister without seeming raw in the middle. Unsurprisingly, they were very light, even though I used plain old supermarket cheese in a tub instead of fresh Italian ricotta, as they do at Rose Bakery in Paris.
Breakfast, Lunch, Tea said this recipe would feed eight people—in our house it fed two adults and a baby and left one of the adults (ahem) quite hungry. I guess we are not using French portion control! Perhaps as part of a complete brunch spread this would satisfy eight; bring on the scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage for a lumberjack breakfast. Lumberjacks eat ricotta, right?
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, November 8, 2009 at 9:00 AM
[Photo: Robin Bellinger]
This simple coffee cake is from Lucinda Scala Quinn's wonderful new book Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys. I've been immersed in this book for about a week; my mother sent it to me because my husband is always complaining that I don't make enough food. He thinks you're wasting your time if you cook less than a pound of pasta at once, whereas I, as a single girl, was known to go through a box 2-ounce serving by 2-ounce serving.
Although I dearly love a cinnamon-scented, streusel-topped butter bomb, this cake's subtlety is not without appeal. It's very tender and buttery but doesn't send you straight back to bed for a nap. It could be part of a bread and muffin basket at any brunch, or you could serve a slice with a cup of maple-syrup-drizzled yogurt for a very simple meal—one that leaves room for a big spaghetti dinner.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, November 1, 2009 at 9:00 AM
[Photo: Robin Bellinger]
I gather that some people didn't like opening Gourmet and seeing copy about fancy stuff, but my eyes went straight to the Gourmet Every Day section, where I always found something I was dying to cook. Many of those recipes earned themselves permanent spots on my list of Old Faithfuls. This savory bread pudding is a variation on such a recipe, December 2008's Arugula, Bacon, and Gruyère Bread Pudding.
The original is wildly delicious, appropriate for any meal, and easy to modify to suit whatever you have on hand. I add an extra egg, use about two cups of almost any cooked vegetable (here it was cauliflower), substitute less expensive cheeses for costly Gruyère, and skip the cream unless I happen to have it. This is a great use for almost-stale bread cubes that you threw into a freezer bag before it was too late. Just don't forget the bacon. I used twelve strips once, and all I can say is that too much is seldom enough.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, September 27, 2009 at 8:00 AM
"Another Dutch baby?" you say. "Ho-hum." Not so fast--this version of the dramatically puffed breakfast treat is showered with lemon-zest-spiked sugar, and the result is especially delectable. I like to use so much topping that I can feel the sugar crunch between my teeth.
Usually you make a Dutch baby in a skillet. Here I tried using shallow, heart-shaped, ceramic crème brûlée dishes to make individual babies. The shape was perfect, and the puffs popped right out of the dishes; but this method did produce more of the crispy edge, when what I like is the eggy middle. It was nothing another squeeze of lemon and spoonful of sugar couldn't fix.
If you had good berries you would serve them on the side, as Gourmet suggests, but this time of year I would make these as dessert after a ladylike brunch of creamy tomato soup and salad.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, September 20, 2009 at 8:00 AM
[Photograph: Robin Bellinger]
I don’t often eat brunch in restaurants. As a thrifty person who is perhaps unhealthily devoted to baking at home, I have neither the money nor the calories to spare for mediocre pancakes. The big draw at a restaurant brunch for me is hash browns or homefries, since I don’t usually get motivated enough to make breakfast potatoes myself. Now that I’ve made pommes de terre macaire, however, I might get into the habit.
This is supposed to be a crisp brown disk that slips right out of the pan, but I had gone cast-iron instead of nonstick and found that my bottom crust had to be chipped out of the skillet. (But it was worth the work—delicious!) What my cake lacked in good looks, it made up for in taste and ease of preparation. Since this recipe uses pre-baked potatoes, you could have them ready to go the night before, leaving little for you to do in the morning besides preheating the oven and grating some nutmeg. (I’m not sure Jacques Pepin would endorse this overnight potato aging, but I’m fairly confident the resulting gâteau would still taste mighty fine, even if it had to stay in the oven a few minutes longer.)
As you can see, we ate potatoes macaire with a green salad and a leek vinaigrette, but they would play just as well with any egg dish.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, September 13, 2009 at 8:00 AM
[Photographs: Robin Bellinger]
Everyone knows muffins are really cake--The Cake Bible comes right out and calls these cupcakes--but compared to last week's crumb cake, these dense and delicious zucchini muffins are practically health food. Before the tins went into the oven, I looked at the batter, chunky with a whopping two packed cups of grated zucchini, and questioned whether it could emerge with any kind of crumb. But the recipe came through--how could I doubt Rose Levy Beranbaum?
I substituted 1/3 cup sunflower seeds and 1/3 cup rolled oats for the walnuts. I'm sure the called-for walnuts would be even tastier, if your loved ones are allergy-free. If you don't like oil in sweets you might try melted butter instead.
As summer slips into fall, I would serve these with butternut squash muffins, either all on their own, or as a sweet-savory bread basket alongside a roast--perhaps pork tenderloin with arugula, endive and walnut vinaigrette.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, September 6, 2009 at 8:00 AM
I usually scoff at butterphobia, but man, this crumb cake is kind of shocking. It’s marvelous, to be sure, but you need to bake it for a crowd—or run the risk of realizing on day two that your casual nibbling has taken you through an entire stick of butter.
Although Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook deems this cake “foolproof,” I nearly managed to ruin it: I let the butter for the topping get too warm before cutting it into the dry ingredients, so my crumbs were more like a dense, uniform blanket. It still tasted fantastic (if a bit salty—I would reduce the recommended 1 1/2 teaspoons salt by about half), but be sure to mix up the topping before the butter gets too soft, especially if your kitchen is still summer-hot.
A small square of crumb cake would be a great dessert at a barbecue or picnic, but you could also start the day with a larger slice and a nice piece of fruit.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, August 30, 2009 at 6:00 AM
[Credit: Robin Bellinger]
One New Yorker cartoon that lives in my memory shows a man teasing his wife, “You’ll buy anything if it says poids net.” If you suffer from Francophilia, as the cartoon woman and I do, you will be taken with trouchia, a traditional chard-and-onion omelet that, despite its French provenance, doesn’t involve any tricky flipping or rolling—perhaps because it’s from the easygoing south. Better still, it is delicious at room temperature and therefore can be prepared in advance.
I often overcook mine (which is really Deborah Madison's from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone), since I have an unconquerable fear of discovering a runny egg pool in the middle of my breakfast. Luckily, I rather like the browned edges. Make French potato salad and ratatouille ahead of time, too, and brunch will be as relaxing for you as it is for your guests.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, August 23, 2009 at 6:00 AM
[Robin Bellinger]
This deliciously unusual sandwich comes from Clotilde Dusoulier's Chocolate and Zucchini—the book, not the blog! Making your own tomato condiment may sound a bit fussy, but it’s actually very little trouble (and, more important, totally worth it).
Although some people are still skeptical about sardines, this sandwich should convince any but the most committed haters: up against sweet tomatoes, creamy cheese, and pungent greens, the oily little fish don’t seem quite as aggressive as they otherwise might.
Be sure to cut off the crusts—it makes a difference—and if you like a double-decker, then do as Clotilde does and use these quantities make two club sandwiches instead of three regular ones. These would be great for a picnic; indoors or out, complete the meal with stuffed eggs.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, August 16, 2009 at 6:00 AM
We’ve all eaten leftover dessert for breakfast (um, right?), but some mornings only a fresh batch will do. Cobbler may not be standard brunch fare, but it should be. As far as I can tell it’s no more decadent than most of the muffins out there, and it’s usually much, much more delicious. Although a spoon, a dollop of yogurt, and a mug of coffee are all you really need to enjoy a pan of berries and biscuits before you’ve changed out of pajamas, for guests you could serve petite portions alongside scrambled eggs and bacon for an unexpected treat.
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Posted by Ed Levine, August 9, 2009 at 4:52 AM
Who is Lucy Dobson? She's a friend of the terrific and very funny cookbook and children's book writer Ann Hodgman. This recipe is from Hodgman's Beat That! Cookbook. Here's what Hodgman has to say about cheese souffle:
Now what's the main problem with cheese souffle? Besides the fact that it falls, I mean? I put it to you that the main problem is those stupid beaten egg whites. Not only do you have to treat them like the spoiled babies they are, but they also muffle the cheese flavor so terribly! Why bother making orthodox cheese souffle at all, when all you'll end up with is a sunken pile of baked fluff?
Pretty funny stuff. And there's lots more where that came from in Beat That! and its companion volume, Beat This!
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Posted by Ed Levine, August 2, 2009 at 7:00 AM
I found this recipe for the legendary Louisville Hot Brown sandwich (named after the hotel it was invented at) in the American Century Cookbook, the same terrific, historically oriented tome I found the cheese strata in last week.
It's one of these relay recipes that American Century author Jean Anderson got by way of Elaine Corn of the Louisville Courier-Journal, who in turn found it in the files of Cissy Gregg, that newspaper's late food editor.
The Hot Brown is a mighty tasty affair. It's basically an open-face turkey sandwich topped with a cheese sauce, garnished with bacon and sautéed sliced mushrooms. How could that be bad?
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Posted by Ed Levine, July 26, 2009 at 8:25 AM
What is a cheese strata? Well, I found and adapted this recipe in the classic American Century Bookbook, so I'll let the terrifically talented author Jean Anderson describe it for you: "buttered slices of bread layered into a casserole with grated cheddar and topped with beaten eggs and milk." Need I say more?
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Posted by Ed Levine, July 19, 2009 at 9:12 AM
A frisée aux lardons salad is one of my favorite bacon-and-egg combinations. I know I bore my friends when I order it just about every time I go to the quintessential New York downtown brasserie Balthazar (where the exemplary cooking is done by the talented co-chefs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson), but I don't care. This recipe, adapted from the beautiful and useful Balthazar Cookbook, is easy to make and seriously delicious.
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Posted by Ed Levine, July 12, 2009 at 9:00 AM
I just can't seem to resist any new hash brown recipe I come across. That's especially true if the recipe is called a hash brown potato cake. I just love the way those words sound strung together: hash-brown-potato-cake. I've adapted this recipe from the terrific book, Gale Gand's Brunch!. Gand calls for goat cheese, but using cheddar will produce equally delicious results. You can serve these bad boys with softly scrambled or fried eggs. And a few slices of bacon wouldn't hurt either.
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Posted by Ed Levine, July 5, 2009 at 8:00 AM
After consuming copious amounts of burgers and hot dogs on the Fourth, I'm ready to lighten up Sunday brunch. My wife makes this amazing watermelon, feta, and arugula salad every year for a friend's summer potluck party. She adapted the salad from You on a Diet. This year's party took place on July 3, so this recipe's clean, tangy, and fruity flavors are fresh in my mind. Although I love the creamier, less-salty-but-still-punchy taste of French feta cheese, any feta will do. Serve this salad with pieces of grilled or warm pita bread.
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Posted by Ed Levine, June 28, 2009 at 8:00 AM
I was very moved recently by a Talk thread involving a member of the Serious Eats community being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. One of the many heartfelt comments mentioned in Tom Valenti's (and Andrew Friedman's) new You Don't Have to Be a Diabetic to Love This Cookbook, which has many recipes suitable for brunch. Valenti and I host a charity dinner every year that benefits the Association to Benefit Children. We hosted this year's dinner this past week, and Valenti made this incredible asparagus dish with a gribiche sauce. One of the guests asked for the recipe. Valenti said there's a version of it in his new book. Here it is.
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Posted by Ed Levine, June 21, 2009 at 8:00 AM
All serious eaters know how much I love Robb Walsh's books, so why did it take me so long to discover this seriously delicious chorizo recipe, which I've adapted from Mr. Walsh's brilliant The Tex-Mex Cookbook. As Robb notes in his headnote he himself adapted this recipe from a "cookbook published by El Chico restaurants in the 1970s".Serve it with softly scrambled eggs and some good old white toast or warm tortillas, and you will be mighty happy.
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Posted by Ed Levine, June 14, 2009 at 8:03 AM
Asian Shrimp Toast is one of those decadent foods I find irresistible. I even like the way it sounds rolling off my tongue: Asian Shrimp Toast. Isn't Shrimp Toast always Asian? Anyway, Tom Valenti in You Don't Have to Be Diabetic To Love This Cookbook has managed to create a shrimp toast recipe that is almost healthy. Why? He pan-fries the shrimp toast and uses eggs whites instead of whole eggs.
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Posted by Ed Levine, June 7, 2009 at 8:00 AM
Springtime is asparagus time in most parts of the world, so it's a perfect moment to make an asparagus and smoked salmon frittata recipe, which I've adapted from Tom Valenti's terrific new cookbook, You Don't Have to Be Diabetic To Love This Cookbook. In his headnote Tom says that timing is key for this recipe: Drape the salmon over the frittata immediately after it comes out of the oven.
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