brunch

Baked {Buttermilk Blueberry Coffee Cake}

by Lisa on May 16, 2011

As it turns out, one of my neighbors and I went to college together! She was in a class ahead of me but we had mutual friends {really hard not to at such a small school!} I’m glad she lives on our street and am looking forward to spending more time with her family. She was gracious enough to stop by on Friday and invite me to a brunch with some other women in the neighborhood this past weekend. I was pretty excited, since it was only our second weekend in our new house and I would already have the opportunity to meet more neighbors!

I knew I wanted to bake something and I wanted it to involve fruit, so I pulled out the Gourmet cookbook to find a recipe. I have to say, Ruth Reichl is a genius. She and Alton Brown are at the top of my list in the culinary world.

I adapted this recipe to suit what I had on hand, which is reflected below.

{Buttermilk Blueberry Coffee Cake}

Ingredients

For streusel:

3/4 cup almonds
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

For cake:

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups buttermilk {I didn’t have any, so I subbed with 1 1/2 cups milk and 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice}
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 sticks {12 tablespoons} unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups frozen blueberries

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle of the oven.

Prepare a 9×13 metal baking pan by greasing it with butter then coating the butter with flour. Set aside.

{If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, combine the milk and lemon juice and set aside to create sour milk as a substitute.}

In a food processor, pulse the almonds, sugar and cinnamon together until the almonds are chopped.

Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

In a measuring cup, combine the buttermilk {or soured milk} and vanilla.

In a stand mixer, beat the sugar and butter together until pale and fluffy, about five minutes.

Next, add the eggs one at a time, beating the mixture well after each addition.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, in four batches. Be sure to start and end by adding the flour mixture. Beat until just combined

Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and fold in the blueberries. Then, assemble the cake.

Pour half of the batter into the pan, spread evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle half of the streusel mixture onto the batter. Cover with the rest of the batter and then the rest of the streusel. Then put the coffee cake into the oven.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, depending on your oven. You’ll know it’s done if a toothpick comes out cleanly from the center.

Allow to cool before cutting into the coffee cake. I didn’t have time, I cut mine right away.

I love this coffee cake—it’s my new go-to recipe. The addition of the blueberries was fantastic and the streusel topping had just the right amount of sweetness and nuttiness.

I’m looking forward to more neighborhood gatherings

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Gourmet Today edited by Ruth Reichl.

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Psst….check out www.carrotsncake.com today! Tina is hosting a blog bake sale to raise money for Team for Kids–my contribution {Zucchini Walnut Bread} is on Page 2!!

{ 8 comments }

Baked {Good Luck Granola}

by Lisa on April 14, 2011

Since we’re moving, we’re trying to eat as much as we can in the pantry, fridge and freezer. So far, we’re doing pretty well. Tonight’s dinner was kind of a disaster. Note to self: if you don’t know when you put the pasta sauce in the freezer, chances are you should try it before covering your tortellini with it. Lesson learned.

Anyways, the other night I decided to make some granola. We had all of the ingredients and I wanted to use them up. Granola is a great way to do this. Another name for this recipe could be kitchen sink granola because I threw everything in there! :-)

I wasn’t entirely sure how well it would come out, so I didn’t take any progress pictures. Another lesson: when you don’t take progress pictures, the end result will be delicious and you will regret it.

On Wednesday morning when I was about to dig in to a bowl of granola, I remembered when I was in high school I used to eat granola before swim meets. One of my teammates and I called it Good Luck Granola. I distinctly recall one race where she ran up and down the pool next to me shaking a bag of granola saying “good luck granola! Good luck granola!” And I am really sad that I don’t remember her name.

{Good Luck Granola}

Ingredients

3 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1/4 cup maple syrup {less if you want it to be less sweet}
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut flakes
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the wet ingredients in a measuring cup. Then combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well.

Pour the ingredients into a metal baking pan, 8×8 or smaller, and put it in the oven for 45 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes.

Remove the granola from the oven and stir in the coconut flakes and dried cranberries. Let the granola cool then break it up and store in a container.

I was going to eat this with Greek yogurt, but for some reason ice cold milk was more appealing. And it was delicious.

If you know you have a day coming up that you’ll need a little extra luck, whip up some good luck granola to start your day off right.

Enjoy!

{ 4 comments }

Brunch {Vegetable Quiche & A Surprise!}

by Lisa on April 10, 2011

Remember when I told you about my ideal menu for brunch? Here is a recipe that I love to serve to satisfy the egg part of the menu—quiche! I was dying to use the tart pan we received from friends for our wedding and brunch seemed like a great time to give it a try.

{Broccoli Mushroom Quiche}

Ingredients

1 prepared pie crust, at room temperature
a little bit of olive oil
1/2 Portobello mushroom cap, chopped
3/4 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
4 eggs
1/3 cup heavy cream {or milk, or water, whatever your preference}
salt and pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spread the pie crust in the tart pan, being sure there are no holes in the crust.

Chop up the mushrooms and broccoli so that they’re as uniform in size as possible. Shred the cheese.

Add the oil to a pan and sauté the broccoli and mushrooms for 3-4 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, cream, salt and pepper. Let the vegetables cool for a few minutes then combine them with the egg mixture and cheese, then pour it all into the pie crust.

Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the eggs are set and cooked through.

Using cream in this dish makes the quiche taste very rich but it’s also perfect to go along with other brunch dishes because it’s still rather light. I like to take leftover quiche for lunch—eggs are a great source of protein and keep me full for the rest of the day!

I mentioned there was a surprise, didn’t I? Jeromy and I are buying a house! We found a house that is perfect for us and our growing family and we are so excited. I can’t wait to show you the new kitchen for The Splattered Apron. The kitchen itself will need to be updated, but the light is better for photos {YAAY!} and there is a five burner gas stove. I can’t wait to cook my first meal in our new home.

Enjoy your quiche!

{ 6 comments }

Brunch {Challah French Toast & Bourbon Bananas}

by Lisa on March 30, 2011

I made a lot of brunch dishes this weekend. Can you tell? I don’t remember the first time I had French toast using challah bread, but I know that I loved it. Months ago when my friends and family were in town for my bridal shower and bachelorette party, I made this for them the next morning. And trust me when I say, I was in no shape to be cooking, but I am nothing if not a good hostess and I wanted to give my guests a delicious meal before they went home.

Luckily, I was able to recreate this a few times and now have a recipe that I love. Plus who doesn’t love adding bananas with some bourbon to breakfast? Not drinking really hasn’t been that difficult for me, but I did enjoy the flavor of bourbon on Sunday morning.

Ingredients:

1 loaf of challah bread
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk {I use 1%}
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2-3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:

Slice the challah into approximately 1 inch slices.

In a shallow bowl, whisk together the rest of the ingredients.

{I whisked the mixture a few times throughout the process to keep it well combined.}

Place 2 pieces of bread, or as many as can fit in your bowl, into the mixture to soak, turning once. Feel free to push down on the bread a little to make it absorb more of the egg mixture.

While the bread is soaking, heat a skillet or a griddle pan. Be sure to use some butter or cooking spray so the bread doesn’t stick. Shake off the excess egg mixture and place the soaked slices on the griddle.

Leave for 3-4 minutes, until one side is golden brown, then flip!

Continue this process with each piece of bread. Place a cookie sheet or an oven proof plate in a 200 degree oven and put the French toast in the oven after it cooks to keep it warm. This recipe was just enough to cover all of the bread, but I was wiping the bowl clean with the last piece! If I had used an additional egg there probably would have been too much.

While your toast is cooking, assemble the Breakfast Bananas “Foster”.

Ingredients:

2 bananas, sliced
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon bourbon

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.

Bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Cover and keep warm until all of the French toast is ready.

Start to finish, this might have taken 30 minutes total.

But I think it tastes as good as any French toast dish you can get in a restaurant. Maybe even better?

With a drizzle of real maple syrup, this plate is a winner.

Enjoy!

{ 2 comments }

Baked {Favorite Blueberry Muffins}

by Lisa on March 28, 2011

I love brunch. I wish I could eat brunch every day. Going out for brunch is one of my favorite things to do, but what comes in a close second is having friends over for brunch! This past weekend we did just that. To me, a good brunch has to have a few different elements. Something baked, meat, eggs and fruit. This weekend’s menu was blueberry muffins, bacon and sausage, home fries, fruit smoothies and a broccoli mushroom quiche. Delicious!

My mom used to make these muffins for us on Saturday mornings. The recipe could not be easier—it came from her Betty Crocker cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 egg
1/2 cup of milk {I used 1%}
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Grease bottom of 12 muffin tins, or use paper liners.

By hand, beat the egg. Add the milk and vegetable oil. Stir well.

Add all of the dry ingredients.

Mix by hand until the flour is just moistened. The batter should be lumpy. Then fold in the blueberries.

Fill each muffin tin 2/3 full.

Sprinkle sugar over the tops of the muffins.

Then pop the muffins in the oven for 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven.

Remove immediately from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack.

I just love these muffins, probably because they remind me of home and Saturday mornings with my family.

Since muffin batter is prepared by hand it is really quick to prepare, guaranteeing that you can have warm muffins waiting on the table for your family almost any day of the week.