Tag Archives: breakfast

Sunday Morning Bacon and Swiss Quiche

Quiche bacon-swiss

Prospects are grim for getting breakfast in this house, any day of the week. That’s the reality when the cook of the house is not a breakfast eater, made more difficult when the cook does not really care for the taste of eggs. My poor husband subsists on nuts, berries, and yogurt most of the time, biding his time for lunch to come around. One happy compromise we sometimes make is to go eat at a diner, where he can eat omelets to his hearts content and I can have a pork chop and a salad.

If the spirit moves me, I’ll try to cook something on the weekend with eggs. Fried eggs, poached eggs, scrambled eggs, eggs over easy, and omelets – I take a couple of bites and that is plenty. Quiche, however, is tolerable. Good quiche is nothing more than a custard tart, and I like custard. The addition of cream transforms those eggs into something silky and, well, not so eggy. I don’t always have good luck with quiche recipes. Sometimes they are eggy, or end up dense, flat and soggy. Yuck. This one turned out billowy, like a golden cloud coming out of the oven. It’s a keeper!

This is a back to the basics recipe, modified from Betty Crocker. I think it turned out pretty well – I ate a large piece of it and that is a statement to its goodness. If you want to make your own pie crust, you’re going to have to look elsewhere for a recipe because my pie crust comes pre-made.

Ingredients:

  • One pie crust (of your choice) for a standard 9-inch, 1 1/2 inch deep pie plate
  • 8 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled
  • 1 tablespoon bacon fat
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
  • 6 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded (I used cave-aged Emmenthaler)
  • 4 large eggs (preferably from pasture-raised chickens)
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated pepper
  • dash of cayenne pepper, dash of nutmeg

Pre-bake the pie crust: Preheat oven to 425F. Place the (thawed) crust in the oven and bake until it just begins to brown (10-15 minutes). If it bubbles up, push the bubbles back in place with a spoon. You may want to put a strip of aluminum foil around the edge of the crust for part of the cook time to prevent over-browning .

When the crust is done, reduce the oven temperature to 325F.

Prepare the filling: Using about 1 tablespoon of reserved bacon fat, saute the shallots for a couple of minutes to soften (do not brown). Set aside.

In a medium bowl, slightly beat the eggs together. Mix in the cream, salt, pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg. Beat until well-combined.

Sprinkle about half the bacon in the bottom of the baked crust. Add the cheese, then the remaining bacon and cooked shallots. Pour the egg and cream mixture over the bacon and cheese. Bake at 325F for 45-50 minutes, until knife inserted into center of quiche comes out clean. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.


haloI love eggs! There, I said it! And I love these records, too…first up, an older, subtle gem of a record. From the former leader of The Bongos, Richard Barone’s Cool Blue Halo . Released 25 years ago, this live album is a masterpiece of pop, with Barone’s well-crafted songs brought to life in concert with the magical Jane Scarpantoni on cello. Includes a version of Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold The World” that seemingly Kurt stole intact for the “Nirvana Unplugged” session. A truly beautiful and haunting record.

Now for something new, one of 2012′s most lauded releases, Boys & Girls by asAlabama Shakes. Raw, Muscle Shoals/Stax sound wrapped around the incredible vocals of Brittany Howard. What a debut!

Fluffy Coconut Flour Pancakes (gluten-free and grain-free)

Recipe from Nourishing Days

Mr. “He Cleans” requested pancakes for breakfast this weekend, and I was happy to give them a try. I haven’t made pancakes since we went gluten-free and I wasn’t too sure how they would turn out.  My experience with almond flour is that it holds up pretty good unless you get sauce or syrup on it, whereupon it turns to mush.  Coconut flour is notoriously difficult to work with, since it is a “thirsty” flour that soaks up unbelievable amounts of liquid like a sponge.  So, turning to the internet, I looked for the most reliable looking, tried-and-tested recipe I could find for coconut flour pancakes.  I found this recipe at Nourishing Days, which not only looked really good, but included a highly entertaining commentary by Shannon on the comments she has received about her pancakes.  Be sure to go read it, here!

I followed her directions exactly, except I used 1 cup of half and half instead of milk + cream.  (That really can’t be too different…)  You can also make this a dairy free recipe by using coconut milk, if you wish.  The pancakes were fluffy as advertised, with a faint taste of coconut that made me feel like I was having real cake for breakfast.  In fact, I like these pancakes FAR more than conventional pancakes, and look forward to making them again!

Ingredients: (makes about a dozen very filling, small pancakes)

  • 4 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup half & half or coconut milk (full fat)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour (I recommend Coconut Secret brand)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • coconut oil or butter, for frying (optional if using non-stick pan or griddle)

In a small bowl, beat eggs vigorously until frothy, about 2 minutes.  (There’s your exercise.)  Mix in milk, vanilla, and honey.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients (coconut flour, baking soda, salt).

Stir the wet mixture into the dry; mix WELL.  There is no need to worry about over-beating with coconut flour.  Allow to sit for at least 5 minutes.  Batter should be really thick, like brownie batter.

While batter is thickening, preheat a griddle over medium to medium-low heat.  Add butter or coconut oil, if needed.  Ladle about 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle, spreading the batter out to 2-3-inches in diameter.  Cook for a few minutes, until the top starts to dry out and the bottom is lightly brown, then flip the pancakes over and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.

Serve hot with butter and maple syrup, or with fruit.

UPDATED:  I have adjusted some of the instructions due to problems people were having with their pancakes.  I use Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Flour.  It may behave differently than other brands.  Here are some more tips for working with coconut flour that you might find useful, from Health, Home & Happiness.


Today music doesn’t have much to do with pancakes…oh well! Ornette Coleman has been a legendary, groundbreaking artist since his debut in 1950s. One of the first players in what became known as “Free Jazz” (after his 1960 album of the same name), he’s not always an easy listen, but once hooked, you’ll want to hear more. First up his latest album, Sound Grammar from 2006. Even at 70 plus years, he still sounds fierce, full of melodic ideas and revved up rhythms. This album won a Pulitzer!

Then, from 1998 with his funk group Prime Time comes Virgin Beauty, featuring Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia on three cuts. Brilliant adventures at the far ends of jazz- but still melodic as heck. So make some pancakes and immerse yourself in Ornette!

Eggs Caprese

Recipe from Fab Housewife

Eggs with basil, mozzarella, and fresh tomatoes….I’m in! This classic recipe, from Fab Housewife, was perfect for our vacation. It met all my qualifications – which basically included being easy to make with little preparation, while allowing me to use these cute Le Creuset ramekins.

The recipe was so pure and simple, I didn’t change a thing! This link will take you to the original recipe (with some gorgeous photography), so be sure to go visit.

Ingredients (for 4 8-oz ramekins)

  • 8 eggs
  • 16-20 grape tomatoes, halved
  • 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed
  • 6-8 basil leaves, chiffonade
  • 4 teaspoons cream or half and half
  • kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • butter for greasing the ramekins

Preheat oven to 350F. Generously grease 4 ramekins with butter.

Distribute about 2/3 of the tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil between the 4 ramekins. Crack two eggs into each ramekin, and season with salt and pepper. Add 1 teaspoon cream over the eggs in each ramekin. (This will help keep the eggs from drying out.) Top with the remaining basil, tomatoes, and cheese.

Place on a cooking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes. Turn on the broiler, and broil for a few minutes to brown (watch carefully to prevent burning). Serve hot!

(Note: I skipped the broiler since the kitchen was already too HOT, and instead baked for about 5 more minutes. You may also want to adjust the times, depending on how done you like your eggs.)


This certainly was a vacation treat…as was finding 2 vinyl shops in Santa Fe! Yes! Found some good stuff, focusing on one artist today…Dr. John. What can you say about him but funky? Amazing songwriter, pianist, live performer, he’s the whole deal. First up, an early masterpiece from the good Dr., Desitively Bonnaroo. Has to be a pretty good album to name a festival after it, this has the riotous “(Everybody Wanna Get Rich) Rite Away’ and “Quitters Never Win”. Backed by the Meters, and produced by Allen Toussaint, this is a mid-’70s New Orleans funk classic.

John keeps rolling along, as his new release- made with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys- Locked Down shows. You can read my review here, but if not, suffice it to say…this is the bomb. Best album of the year so far, at least to these ears.

Sausage Cheese Balls (gluten-free)

One of my favorite holiday food memories is from spending the night at my cousin LuAnn’s house every year.  Her mother, Norma, always had plenty of delicious, homemade treats in the house around Christmas, and we thought we were so clever sneaking into the kitchen in the middle of the night to gorge on fudge, chex mix, candy and sausage balls – and we probably washed it down with Pepsi.  I’m sure no one ever noticed two giggling girls tiptoeing around at 1 am, or the missing layer of fudge the next morning.  Amazingly, this did not make us sick, although I doubt we got much sleep all hyped up on sugar!

This year I decided we needed sausage balls to help get us in the spirit of the season.  This is the basic “Bisquick” recipe, without the Bisquick.  There is a gluten-free version of Bisquick available, but if you check out the ingredients, you’ll find sugar as the 2nd listed ingredient, as well as leavening that contains aluminum phosphate.  I think I will avoid using that!

Recently I bought some fancy pants, gluten-free flour that was developed by Chef Thomas Keller for Williams Sonoma (Cup4Cup).  It is highly acclaimed as an excellent flour, and I am anxious to try it out soon to make a real dough for bread or pizza.  However, at $20 for 3 pounds of it, I want to be careful what I use it for.  Making substitute Bisquick is probably not the intended use for this flour, but hey, it’s Christmas.  To stretch it out as much as possible, I mixed it in with blanched almond flour.  Since these sausage balls were already off to a highfalutin start, I decided to use locally made bulk sausage from Whole Foods, and a mixture of 3 cheeses.

If you, understandably, do not want to use fancy pants gluten-free flour for your sausage balls, you can substitute another brand (such as Bob’s Red Mill) or other type of gluten-free flour, such as rice flour.

Making sausage balls is a bit messy-  you have to get your hands in it and it takes some hard kneading to get it well mixed, but I think it is worth it!  They make nice snacks, and great memories.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
  • 1 cup blanched almond flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
  • 1 pound raw breakfast sausage
  • 10 ounces grated cheese (I used a mixture of sharp cheddar, monterey jack, and mild hoop cheddar)

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl, mix together the flours, salt, and baking powder.  Add the cheese and toss well to coat the cheese with the flour.  Add the sausage, and using your hands, work it into the cheese and flour mixture by breaking up the sausage and kneading it all together to form a ball.  It may help to put the bowl on a low surface, such as a chair, so that you can “lean into it” while kneading.  If the mixture seems too dry to stick together, add a small amount of milk or cream.  (This can vary due to differing moisture content of the cheese and sausage used.)

Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet.  Break off bits of the sausage mixture and roll in your hands to make balls that are approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  Place them on the baking sheet at least 1 inch apart.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned.  Be careful not to overcook, or they will become tough when they cool off.

Transfer the sausage balls to paper towels to cool slightly before eating.  They are best served warm or at room temperature.  Happy Holidays!


Now you know I have some Christmas classics to share! First off, the one, the only John Fahey with The New Possibility.  One of many holiday albums he did, but this is my favorite. His sparse arrangements and beautiful technique changed the way we heard six string guitar music, and this is a stellar example.

What would Christmas be without the The Charlie Byrd Christmas Album? It just wouldn’t be Christmas to my ears! Byrd’s lovely nylon string guitar captures the holiday classics on this album, now with extra cuts. Enjoy!

Baked Cheese Grits with Sausage

If it seems like we’re getting a little corny around here, it’s because we’re out here in the Southwest and corn is hard to avoid.  Corn tortillas, polenta, corn in the salsa, grilled corn – - all yummy, but more carbohydrates than we intended to consume.  Well, heck, we can abstain when we get back to Georgia.  Today’s motto is “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!”

This recipe is great for a crowd.  This morning we made another attempt at being social, and attended one of the local “breakfast clubs” where you can get together with your neighbors, look at their fabulous homes, and share a potluck meal.  We would never dream of doing anything like this in Atlanta – - but getting to know the people that live around you in rural New Mexico is as much a necessity as a pleasure.  How else would you know who to call about the cows that wandered in your yard, who installs the best solar power systems, and how to keep pack rats out of the vents in your truck?  (The answer to the last question involved urinating on the tires.)

Ahem…. Back to the recipe.  This casserole is really rich with eggs, cream, and cheese, and the sausage adds a nice zip to it.  If you’re not taking it to a pot luck, serve it with a selection of fresh fruits for breakfast or brunch.  The leftovers are pretty good too, any time of the day or night!

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup stone ground corn grits (also known as polenta)
  • 3 cups water and/or broth
  • 4 tablespoons butter (pastured)
  • 1 pound gluten-free breakfast sausage (raw)
  • a couple shakes of red pepper flakes (if you’re not using hot sausage)
  • 1/2 sweet onion, chopped fine
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup half and half, or whole milk
  • 3 ounces cheese (I used a combo of Monterey Jack and mild Cheddar)
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, fresh grated
  • kosher salt, to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • sprinkling of sweet paprika (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a medium-sized baking dish with butter.  Set aside.

In a heavy-bottomed pot, bring the 3 cups of water/broth and the butter to a boil.  Whisk in the corn grits and stir until completely combined; reduce heat to low and simmer for around 15-20 minutes until the grits are creamy and thickened.  Stir frequently to keep the grits from sticking.

While the grits are cooking, cook the sausage, onion, and red pepper flakes in a skillet, breaking up the sausage as it cooks, until the sausage is browned and the onion is tender.  Drain excess fat.

Whisk the eggs in with the half and half. (I whisk it together in a measuring cup.)

When the grits are done, remove from heat.  Slowly pour in the egg/milk mixture, whisking vigorously while you pour so that you don’t cook the eggs.  Stir in the remaining ingredients, including the cooked sausage and onion.  Adjust seasoning to taste.  Pour mixture into the casserole dish.  Place in oven and bake for 50-60 minutes, until set and lightly browned on top.  Serve warm.  (Who am I kidding, we ate some of this stone cold and it was still yummy!)

Enjoy!


Corn? I got yer corn right here! First up is Classic Songs of Spike Jones & His City Slickers. I grew up on this stuff…which might explain a few things. Spike Jones “fractures” popular music, and once you hear “The Sheik of Araby” or “Clink Clink, Another Drink” you’ll never be the same!

Although they were extremely talented musicians–Jethro Burns was one of the world’s premier mandolin players– Homer and Jethro made their claim to fame with “country cutups” as collected on America’s Song Butchers: The Weird World Of Homer & Jethro. “Let Me Go, Blubber” or their classic take on Hank Williams’ “Jambalaya” is comedy gold.

High-Altitude Muffin *FAIL*

Rosemary Mini-muffins, or should I call these "Cookie-Top Muffins"?

Having lived most of my life at 1000 ft above sea level, or less, my first instinct when baking isn’t to consider the elevation of my oven.  It did occur to me, too late, when I peeked in the oven to find a pan overflowing with batter.  Oops!  This wasn’t a total fail since the scraps of muffins were still quite delicious after peeling them from the pan, but it certainly wasn’t anything you’d want to serve to people that aren’t obligated to love you anyway.

This is what I should have consulted before mixing the batter, and I would have known to reduce the baking soda by 20% at a 6000 ft elevation.  I’ll do better next time!

The recipe for these gluten-free muffins was from Elana’s Pantry, prepared with some modifications for the ingredients I had on hand at the end of our vacation.  I substituted lime zest for lemon zest, as there were no lemons left.  Also I used extra-virgin olive oil instead of grapeseed oil, and honey instead of agave syrup.  I think lemon zest would be a better match with the rosemary; however, I really like the added flavor from the olive oil!  Next time I bake these, I will try a 50/50 mix of olive oil and grapeseed oil. These muffins are more savory than sweet, and have an enticing Mediterranean flavor.

Here is the modified recipe – if you’d like to see the original recipe plus a photo of how the muffins are supposed to look, check out the Elana’s Pantry link above!

Lemon-Rosemary Mini-Muffins (makes 12 mini-muffins)

Ingredients (for “sea level” baking):

  • 1/4 cup coconut flour (I used Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Flour, available at Whole Foods or order on-line here.)
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup grapeseed oil (or mixture of olive oil and grapeseed oil)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest, packed and heaping (lime zest will do in a pinch!)
  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine coconut flour, salt and baking soda.
  3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, honey, and oil.
  4. Blend wet ingredients into dry, then blend in rosemary and lemon zest.
  5. Scoop batter a tablespoon at a time into greased mini-muffin tins.
  6. Bake at 350° for 7-8 minutes.
  7. Cool then remove from muffin tins and serve.

Nothing that tasty could ever be a fail! We’ll try again at lower altitudes…

We had the good fortune to see the most remarkable band in America during our trip, The Low Anthem. Small venue, a stage full of bizarre instruments, and four incredible musicians. Get a sample here.

lowa

Bacon and Cheese Mini-Quiche Muffins

Sometimes you have a memory of a certain food, or a snippet of a song, or catch a familiar aroma passing by – something that you’d like to grab hold of and re-experience.  That sounds a little lofty as a lead-up to mini-quiche muffins, but when you are standing in 15 degree weather waiting for the ski lift lines to open, feeling cold and hungry, a piping hot, cheesy, hold-in-your-hand muffin is just the thing to start your day off right and leave you with happy thoughts.  If you have skied at Snowmass, perhaps you’ve had a Quiche Muffin from Paradise Bakery.  I’ve been jonesing for them for a while, since the infamous honeymoon broken ankle incident has curbed my enthusiasm for bone-jolting activities.

I have tried different cheesy muffin recipes, but never found the right combination that resulted in a crusty outside with a gooey, cheesy custard inside.  This recipe is as close as I’ve come to that ideal.  These muffins were just as tasty sitting on our back porch in the midst of spring songbirds as the Paradise Quiche Muffin was while standing on a snow-covered mountain – and perhaps even more so, since I can share this memory with James.  (Yes, I am cheesy too!)

Ingredients (for 12 muffins):

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ~ 6 ounces mild cheddar, shredded (or blend of Monterey Jack and cheddar)
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
  • 6 strips of crisp, cooked bacon, chopped
  • ~1/8 cup coconut flour
  • a couple dashes of onion powder
  • a couple dashes of garlic powder
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
  1. Preheat oven to 375F.  Generously grease 12 muffin cups with butter or coconut oil, or use silicone cups that do not require pre-greasing.**
  2. Divide the shredded cheddar and chopped bacon evenly among the muffin cups.
  3. Whisk the eggs and cream together.  Add Parmesan cheese, coconut flour, onion powder, garlic powder, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Whisk well to combine.
  4. Using a ladle or small measuring cup, add the egg mixture to each muffin cup over the cheese and bacon.
  5. Bake at 375 for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until the muffins have risen and are browned on top.  (It is a good idea to turn the pan halfway through cooking.)
  6. Remove from oven and allow to cool until muffins can be handled.  Peel off the muffin-cups and enjoy!

**Big shout out to Nom Nom Paleo for recommending the silicone muffin cups, and for the idea of using coconut flour in these muffins!  Thank you!


Know what would go good with Sunday morning muffins…other than Snowmass? Bridge Over Troubled Water (40th Anniversary Edition) . Haven’t picked this up yet but listened to the original vinyl last night. Some of Simon’s best songwriting- “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, “The Boxer” and a song that will always make me smile- “Only Living Boy in New York.” Yeah, you’ve heard it 1000 times…it will hold up for few hundred spins more. Now with a DVD.

sg

Chile Cheese Muffins

Adapted from Santa Fe Kitchens
(The Museum of New Mexico Foundation)

Cheesy chile mini-muffins

I made this recipe a few weeks ago as a casserole for a breakfast gathering, but thought it would also make good muffins.  I was right!    Each little muffin was a buttery, cheesy mouthful…not too egg-y…and the crust around the edges gives it more depth of flavor.  If you’re not a fan of crusty cheese (…what’s wrong with you?!), the casserole version can be cut in bite-sized squares and they are also yummy.

We really try to avoid eating grains, but this recipe does call for a bit of flour.  I cut down the amount of flour considerably from the original recipe, and used some gluten-free flour when I made this.  It might even work without flour….if anyone tries leaving out the flour, let me know how it comes out!

I also added some bacon….because everything’s better with bacon!

Ingredients:

  • 10 large eggs
  • 1/2  t salt
  • 1 t baking powder
  • 1/4 c flour (try to use gluten-free flour if possible)
  • 2 cups ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
  • 1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, grated  (I used 1/2 pound Pepper Jack and 1/2 pound white cheddar)
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1-2 cans green chiles, diced and well drained, mild or hot (or fresh chiles, diced)
  • 6 slices bacon, cooked crispy, chopped (optional)

To taste (optional):  Tabasco sauce, ground black pepper, paprika

Preheat oven to 375F.  Beat eggs lightly in a large bowl.  Blend in salt, baking powder, and flour with a whisk until blended.  Stir in ricotta cheese, grated cheeses and melted butter.  Stir in chiles, bacon, Tabasco sauce, pepper (and other seasonings if used), until well mixed.

Spoon mixture into a well-greased muffin pans (I used mini-muffins, but regular sized muffins should also work.)  Bake until tops are brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean (around 15-20 minutes for mini-muffins).  Serve hot or at room temperature.

Alternatively, the mixture can be poured into a greased 9×13 baking dish.  Put in 400F oven for 15 minutes, then turn oven down to 350F and bake 35-40 more minutes until done.  Cut into squares and serve hot or at room temperature.


No music this time! The breakfast these were made for was held near our house in New Mexico at an incredibly beautiful place, the Alan Houser compound. Houser was a Native American artist whose son has created a gorgeous garden around his fathers spectacular creations, set in the awe inspiring Northern New Mexico landscape.

houser So, if you’re ever in the area, you should really take a tour. It’s a humbling experience. And then cross the road and knock on our door…maybe we’ll have muffins!