Weekend Pancakes

I grew up on Bisquick pancakes - really thick, heavy, rock-in-your-stomach pancakes. I've since grown to prefer lighter, more spongy ones and this Martha Stewart recipe is just right. It makes more than a dozen pancakes (I make them big so you could get a lot more out of this if you wanted to, or half the recipe) and I freeze whatever we don't eat for next weekend(s). You can change this up and add cinnamon or other spices. I like to substitute half the sugar for jam, especially if I don't have fresh blueberries on hand.

2 cups flour (could sub some or all of this for whole wheat flour)

4 tbsp sugar (can sub some for jam)

4 tsp baking poder

1 tsp salt

2 cups milk

1/4 cup canola oil or melted butter

2 eggs

1 or 2 tsp vanilla

Whisk the wet ingredients together and then add the dry ingredients. Whisk until blended and most lumps are gone.

Orange Marmalade

I have a million memories of my grandma Jeanne, but there are a few things - certain sounds, tastes, sights, and smells that immediately bring her back. The smell of roasting beef, the sound of cards shuffling, horseradish, old fashions, the sight of a perfectly sharpened pencil resting on a NYT crossword puzzle, and orange marmalade. We didn't really eat much orange marmalade growing up but at grandma's house, it was what you put on toast. And it was always homemade. I started making it myself a few years ago, usually around the holidays when the cold weather sets in and the oranges and grapefruits are starting to get good. After marrying an Irish guy, I realized that orange marmalade is something that should must be in the fridge at all times, with a dozen on reserve at all times because you never know who will stop by and leave with a jar.

This is based on Alton Brown's recipe. I like to make mine with a little grapefruit to add a little extra zing.

4-5 oranges - use juice oranges not navels, thinly sliced on a mandoline, seeds removed, and chopped
1 grapefruit, thinly sliced on a mandoline, seeds removed, and chopped
1 lemon, zest grated and juiced
6 cups of water
3 lbs plus 12 oz sugar


1. Put the oranges into a large pot (8-10qt pot). Add the lemon juice and zest and water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a rapid simmer and cook, stirring frequently for about 40 minutes - fruit should be very soft.

2. While the oranges are cooking, sterilize the jars and lids in a large pot of boiling water for five minutes. Remove and let dry.

3. Place a small plate in the freezer (so that you can test the consistency of the marmalade later).

4. Bring the orange mixture back to a full boil over high heat and add the sugar. Mix continually until it reaches 223 degrees on a candy thermometer and it's dark in color. It will take quite a while to get dark - wait until it does or you'll have soupy marmalade/failed batch. It should be bubbling up quite a bit, play with the heat if you need to but keep the temp as high as possible and let it thicken.

5. Test the readiness by putting a teaspoon of marmalade on the frozen plate. Wait 30 seconds - if it sets and gels, you're all set. If it runs, keeps cooking.

6. Pour the marmalade into the jars using a funnel. Top and seal the jars.

Sunday Morning Waffles

Sunday breakfast is always reserved for something with maple syrup. Growing up, Sunday mornings were spent on Dad's lap as he read the comics. Later on my sister and I took turns picking pancakes or french toast. I've been conditioned. I wake up on Sunday mornings needing maple syrup. I hear the CBS Sunday Morning trumpet toot and I salivate like Pavlov's dog. It's always been pancakes and french toast in our family but I'm on to waffles. My friends Casey and Megan, fellow breakfast lovers, gave us a waffle maker for our wedding. It gets put to good use. I make a dozen or so about once a month and freeze them. Sunday mornings are for being lazy, not slaving in the kitchen so these babies get put in the toaster straight from the freezer and they're good as new.

Strangely it's taken me a looong time to find a waffle recipe that I like. These are perfect.

2 eggs
1 2/3 cup of milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
*I've been known to add a spoon or two of orange marmalade to my mix. Makes 'em even better.

Mix the dry, mix the wet separately, then combine with a whisk...don't overmix.

Cherry Citrus Scones

Paddy and I spent a couple of weeks in Ireland in the beginning of September. It was a great vacation and so good to spend time with the family...most of which was spent in the kitchen at Paddy's house (built in 1650!!), keeping warm by the cooker (which still burns turf), drinking tea, and eating scones. Paddy's mom made a fresh batch of scones about every other day and the smell of them in the oven would wake me up in the morning. Is there a better way to start the day?? Needless to say, when I came home, I was missing her scones dearly and decided to bake a batch to keep on hand. Ina Garten's is one of the better scone recipes I've tried - they're extra light and fluffy (sometimes scones can be dense, dry, and hard). I've changed a few things and this is my version, which by the way, is half of her recipe. This makes about 8 to 10 2-inch round scones. These freeze really well and if you keep to the directions of only rolling them out to about 1/2-3/4 inches, you can pop them in the toaster to defrost and warm up!

2 cups plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour 

2 tbsp sugar, plus additional for sprinkling

1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp grated grapefruit zest (could sub orange or lemon but grapefruit is my favorite!)
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cold heavy cream (or milk if you don't have cream)
1 cup dried cherries (you could sub cranberries or any other dried berry)
1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp water or milk, for egg wash

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix 2 cups of flour, 2 tbsp of sugar, the baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. 

 

3. Combine the eggs and heavy cream and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. Combine the dried cranberries and 2 tbsp of flour, add to the dough, and mix on low speed until blended.

4. Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see small bits of butter in the dough. Keep moving the dough on the floured board so it doesn't stick. Use a cookie cutter or a juice glass to make 2-3 inch rounds in the dough. Place the scones on a cookie sheet.

5. Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar (don't skip these last steps!), and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked.

Croatian Cinnamon Walnut Swirl Breakfast Bread

Bread or cake? Who knows. I got this recipe from Saveur and LOVE it. We often had cinnamon bread for breakfast when we were growing up and there's nothing like cinnamon toast soaked with butter. This bread is almost like a pastry and the nuts in the swirl give it a little extra something. It's a fairly hassle-free bread - two rises, each for an hour...

For the dough:
1 1/4-oz. package of active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk, heated to 115 degrees
1/2 tbsp kosher salt
4 tbsp. butter, melted
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour

For the filling:
1 cup walnut halves, toasted
1/2 cup sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp cinnamon
2 egg whites

1. Combine yeast, 1 tbsp sugar, and half the milk in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Let sit until foamy, about 10 mins. Add the remaining sugar, milk, salt, butter and egg. Blend, then while still blending, add flour and beat until smooth. Cover with plastic and put in a warm place for an hour and doubled in size.

2. Puree the walnuts, sugar, butter, milk, and cinnamon in a food processor until smooth. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into walnut paste.

3. Grease a 9x5x2.75" loaf pan with butter. On a floured surface, roll dough into 10x4" long oval, about 1/16" thick. It won't be a firm dough - at all. Spread the walnut mixture over the dough, leaving about 1/4" of dough around borders. Starting at the narrow end, roll dough tightly. Trim ends and place in loaf pan. Set in a warm place until doubled in size - 1 hr.

4. Heat oven to 350 and bake until toothpick comes out clean, about an hour.

Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake

I feel like I've tried dozens of coffee cake recipes over the past few years. Why is it always better from the bakery? Any bakery! I finally came across this one in Cooking Light and it's now my go-to. It's got the perfect balance of cinnamon and sugar and comes out incredibly moist. LOVE IT. This can be made in a loaf pan or as cup-coffee-cakes...like Little Debbie ;)

Streusel
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
 Dash of salt
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp chopped pecans - must toast! Put on stovetop for 5 mins or so on medium.

Cake
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine the struesel ingredients and set aside.

3. In a bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients and mix well. In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium-high until well blended. 

4. Beating at low speed, add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat until just combined.

5. Scrape half of batter into a 9x5 loaf pan coated with baking spray. Sprinkle half of the streusel mixture over the batter. Pour the rest of the batter on top and sprinkle remaining streusel on top.

6. Bake for 50 minutes. 

Smokey Butternut Hash with Poached Eggs and Gouda Grits

Have I mentioned that my mom is the queen of leftovers? I think I have. She's the master of scraps and often says that her best stuff comes from the bits and pieces from days past. Well, perhaps the apple didn't fall too far from the tree. This was dinner last night and was one of my favorite scrappy meals yet. The best part about it - you could have this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. And you could substitute just about any of the ingredients depending on what's in your fridge/freezer (see suggestions below). Paddy loved this. Last night he asked, "what's this called?" - I call it cleaning out the fridge.

4 eggs
1/2 cup grits
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups butternut squash, diced (small dice)
1 cup  shitake mushrooms, chopped
3 strips of cooked bacon, chopped
1 sausage link - either out of casing or chopped - I used leftover andouille, Italian or chorizo would be good!
3 sage leaves, chopped (any fresh herbs would be good)
1 tbsp thyme, chopped
1/2 cup shredded smoked gouda - could use any cheese
1 tbsp white vinegar
Salt

1. In a medium pan, cook the bacon and sausage with a little olive oil over medium high until a bit crispy and some of the fat is rendered. Add the shitakes and herbs and butternut squash. Stir occasionally so that the sausage doesn't burn and the squash and mushrooms get soft. Salt and pepper to taste.

2. In a large, wide bottomed pan, bring enough water to a boil for the poached eggs. Reduce heat to a simmer.

3. In a medium pot, add the broth and grits and bring to a boil. Turn down so the grits simmer and stir frequently for about 5 minutes.

4. Add the vinegar to the pot of water and using a small ramekin, add each of the eggs gently. They should only take 3 minutes. Carefully remove eggs when done and drain on a plate with a paper towel.

5. Add the shredded cheese to the grits and stir to melt.

6. Serve in a large bowl with grits on the bottom, eggs on top and hash around the sides.

Almond Granola

I love granola as a snack on its own, with yogurt, on salad, sprinkled over pancakes...the list goes on. This is adapted from a Cooks Illustrated recipe - I like it because it's easy and not too sweet. You can always vary the amount of sweetness and ingredients but here's the way I like it:

1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark will do)
4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
5 cups rolled oats (don't use the quick stuff!)
2 cups slivered almonds
1/2 dried coconut
2 cups raisins (craisins also good, or any dried fruit)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a large baking sheet with foil or parchment.

2. Whisk maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the oil. Fold in the oats and the rest of the ingredients.

3. Transfer to baking sheet and spread into a thin, even layer. Using a metal spatula, press down on the granola until it's very compact.

3. Bake until lightly browned, 40 - 45 minutes, rotating pan halfway through.

Ricotta Pancakes

I grew up in a pancake house. I realize that sounds like I was born in an IHOP. Not quite. But when I was little...and still today actually, we would get up on a Saturday morning and dad would grab the box of Bisquick and start up the griddle. Reading the Sunday comics with sticky syrupy fingers...heaven. They were always quite heavy pancakes, I think it was the Bisquick. So when my colleague Beth passed me this recipe after I shared the homemade ricotta recipe with her - I knew I'd hit the jackpot. I made these pancakes this morning and they were the lightest, fluffiest pancakes I've ever had.


1 cup ricotta or cottage cheese - best with homemade ricotta
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
3 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup flour
1 TB sugar
2 TB lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
butter for the pan

1. Beat together the ricotta, sour cream, and egg yolks.

2. Combine baking soda, flour, and sugar.

3. Beat egg whites until fairly stiff.

4. Stir the flour mixture into the cheese mixture, blending well but not beating. Stir in the lemon juice and zest. Gently fold in the egg whites - they should remain somewhat distinct in the batter.

5. Add batter to a heated buttered pan by heaping tablespoon. Cook until lightly browned on each side and cooked through the center. They will be very light and fluffy - don't overcook!

Mushroom and Fontina Quiche

This quiche is always a hit. I think it's the fontina, one of my most favorite cheeses. There are few things easier to make than a quiche and they always seem much more sophisticated than they really are. It's especially easy if you use a store-bought frozen crust. I won't say anything about those (a-hem!), so I'll refer you to my fool proof crust recipe...just cut it in half: Fool Proof Crust

1 pie crust (refrigerated store-bought, or homemade rolled out and ready to go)
2 TB (1/4 stick) butter
2/3 cup chopped shallots (I don't like using onions - they overpower the quiche)
5 cups sliced assorted mushrooms (use shitakes - no stems! and baby bellas if you can)
4 large eggs
1 cup milk (use at least 2% if you can)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg (if you have it)
1 1/2 cups grated fontina

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Place crust in dish (use a deep dish) and poke a few holes in the bottom with a fork. Place in the oven and bake until golden brown. **REDUCE heat to 325.

3. Melt butter in a skillet and add shallots. Saute until softened and then add the mushrooms. Cook until tender and beginning to brown. Transfer to a plate and cool slightly.

4. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper and nutmeg. Stir in 1 cup of the fontina and add the mushroom/shallot mixture. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

5. Pour filling into crust and bake for about 45 minutes until puffed, golden brown and just set in the center.