Eggs Benedict Casserole

 444.  Do you love breakfast foods.  A favorite is Eggs Benedict with smooth Hollandaise Sauce dripping over the top.  This recipe for Eggs Benedict has all the flavors and elements in a casserole you can prepare the night before.  The hollandaise sauce is made right before serving but having your ingredients ready and prepped is smart.

We found this recipe online at Carl's Bad Cravings blog and had to try it.  Recipe HERE.

Fresh squeezed lemon juice is a must as well as egg yolks separated that day.

Using a small processor or blender creates the perfect consistency.

"Eggs Benedict is genius.  It's eggs covered in eggs.  I mean, come on, that person should be the president."

~Wylie Dufresne

Vegetable Quiche with Smoked Gouda

409. Quiche love is a real thing.  After enjoying our most recent quiche, post #407, I wanted to experiment with a couple different ingredients.  Oh the possibilities with a block of Gouda Cheese, bacon, fresh chives, zucchini and mushrooms.

I made half a recipe of pie crust and filled a 9" spring form pan with the dough to create a high, deep filling that can stand alone once baked.

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Chop up each of the filling ingredients before mixing your eggs.

The Gouda was a smoked variety with apple and hardwood flavor and it added such amazing flavor.

This quiche was packed with so much flavor, texture and every bite was my favorite.

Once baked, the house smelled intoxicating.  Paired with a light spinach salad, what more could you need or want for dinner?

And what a lovely slice of deliciousness.  Happy Weekend!

"Cooking is like painting or writing a song.  Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors - it's how you combine them that sets you apart."

~Wolfgang Puck, Master Chef

Bacon and Leek Quiche

407.  Quiche was on the menu tonight with a lovely recipe.  The Magnolia Table Vol II should be a staple in every kitchen because of the useful tips, hints, suggestions and recipes.  Joanna Gaines shares her processes and ideas and this quiche recipe is part of the collection.  It is the Bacon & Leek Quiche and is "Perfectly Delicious"...my words written in my copy of the cookbook.  

The ingredients include bacon, eggs, heavy cream, leeks and Gruyère cheese.  The flavors are delightful and the finished quiche is perfect!

Pick up the cookbook and get the recipes, you will be very happy you did.

"The reality is, we all need food.  We can't survive without it, and I've never met anyone who'd want to.  Because food fuels and satisfies.  We wake up hungry for a morning meal because it breaks our fast and fills us up.  We anticipate dinner because it gathers us at evening's end and declares another day done."

~Joanna Gaines "Magnolia Table Volume II"

Custard Tart with Apricots

383.  When you find a full-proof recipe that checks off all the boxes - boxes being:  tasty, delicious, satisfying, surprising, second-helping necessary...you know you have to share it.  Now, I'm not a huge fan of custardy desserts unless they hold flavor and are not gummy or slimy.  (I don't like that word slimy!)  The beauty of this recipe is that it is versatile and could be made in one large pan or 6 small tart pans for individual servings.  You could also choose any fruit you would like:  cherries, plums, apricots, peaches, figs, apple quarters, or make it savory by omitting the sugar and extracts and adding a pinch of chopped basil or parsley with tomato, zucchini, squash, or eggplant.

The secret...fresh ingredients!  This would make a lovely brunch item to serve as the main dish or as dessert.

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I used frozen apricots I had in my freezer and some of the fruit was slightly frozen.  You could also use fruit from the freezer section of your market.  You could substitute the coconut oil for butter and the heavy cream for coconut milk but the consistency will be softer.

The crust was perfectly browned and risen slightly.  And it had a wonderful nutty flavor.  While the custard was perfectly set and it cut easily.  You couldn't ask for a more perfect slice!

"Anything with dairy, yogurt, milk, cream or eggs - any custard or flan - how can it be bad?

~  Alex Guarnaschelli

Stir Fried Rice

370.  A great Chinese recipe I have used time and time again is Stir Fried Rice.  The ingredients are endless but you must always use rice and eggs as the base.  The basic recipe is straight forward and you can use your imagination or just simple ingredients you have available in your fridge.

I make my rice early on in the day and let it sit to completely cool.  

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You can pair your fried rice with another dish or eat is as your one-pot main dish in bowls with chopsticks.  Serve hot with extra soy sauce, chopped scallion and shredded ginger.

"If you are planning for a year, sow rice.  If you are planning for a decade, plant trees.  If you are planning for a lifetime, educate people."  ~Chinese Proverb

Lemon Lime Meringue Pie

361.  Spring desserts usually include fresh fruits, meringue, whip cream and frozen fruity delights.  My Easter dessert menu included this light, tangy Lemon Lime Meringue Pie.  It was so surprisingly delicious and mouthwatering.  It was a slow process but what a pie!

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I used fresh lemons and limes but I'm sure you could use bottled juice.  It would be similar but the taste may be altered a bit.

My kitchen smelled so wonderful!

 I made my pie the night before and then added the meringue the next day.  And I loved the fact that the filling was not watery the next day like most recipes for lemon pie.

 I transferred the pie from the removable bottom and sides and placed it on a cake pedestal.

 Next, I whipped the meringue and made decorative markings in the meringue and toasted the top.

Our Easter dessert menu was so amazing with Lemon Lime Meringue Pie, Coconut Almond Macaroons, Peanut Butter Cream Pie and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.  The time and process was time consuming but it was well worth every moment.

" But if they were afraid of lemon meringue pie, this would be an irrational fear, because lemon meringue pie is delicious and has never hurt a soul."  

~Lemony Snicket,  The Wide Window

Chocolate Coconut Pecan Pie

328.  There is no better way to start off your week than with a slice of warm Chocolate Coconut Pecan Pie.  And don't forget the whipped cream on top.
I adapted my recipe to satisfy the chocolate lovers, coconut lovers and pecan pie lovers in my household.  Needless to say, all the lovers were satisfied.

Chocolate Coconut Pecan Pie

1 pie crust (or two if you double the recipe)

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup soft butter
1 cup light corn syrup
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
pinch of salt
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
8 oz dark chocolate chips or chopped Ghirardelli baking bar
2 cups pecan halves

Directions:

Prepare your crust, roll out and place in a 9" pie plate.  Crimp edges to your desired look.

First, spread flaked coconut in a non-stick pan and toast on the stove.  Allow the coconut to heat up watching carefully and stir occasionally making sure edges do not burn.  Remove from stove and allow to cool completely.
In a mixing bowl place brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, eggs, salt and extracts.  Blend till incorporated.  With a spatula, stir in the toasted coconut, chocolate and pecans.  Transfer the mixture to your prepared pie crust.  Turn over the pecans with your fingers for desired look and even texture on top. The filling will rise in baking so make sure you do not overfill your crust.
Bake at 350∘ for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or till no longer wet in center. Check by running a cool knife into the center. The filling is set when the knife comes out clean.

Serve warm or cooled with a dollop of whipped cream

You may choose to toast coconut in the oven but for myself, it is easier to eliminate burned batches.

I used dark chocolate chips but would have preferred the chopped chocolate bar.  The chocolate just seems to be softer and doesn't harden up once the pie cools.  

 This was a delicious pie!  The chocolate hides beneath the surface and is a sweet surprise.  If you are a hardcore pecan pie lover...you may want to stick to the original.  But if you are a chocolate lover...this is the pie for you!

"I just clipped two articles from a current magazine. 

 One is a diet guaranteed to drop 5 pounds off my body in a weekend.  

The other is a recipe for a 6 minute pecan pie."

- Erma Bombeck

Egg Brunch Muffins

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

310.  "Happiest of New Years"
A delightful resolution would be to enter a New Year by embarking on new and unexperienced recipes.  Are there any flavors you have desired to taste or new regional favorites you have longed to introduce your palate to?

Or simply taking one of your favorites and adding or "tweaking" the ingredients.  This is how I started this blank cooking year.  It is a challenge to elevate any recipe with complete confidence, but once you take a risk, you will be delighted with the outcome.

A simple egg muffin was on the brunch menu and rather than having multiple items of choice, I placed them all in one neat, convenient little bundle.  A standard egg muffin recipe can be found here:  http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/scrambled-egg-muffins

I altered the recipe by adding chives, tabasco, fresh parsley and sweet potato crinkle cut fries.

Of course, layering everything from the bottom up, then baking till bubbly and light brown on top.


They double in size and each morsel is packed with flavor and so fulfilling.

Step out of your cooking box and try something you never have before, or edit an old standby recipe.
Make this New Year one filled with delight, unexpected flavors and new favorites!

"I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.  Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world.  You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something."

~Neil Gaiman