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Belgian Waffle with Glazed Bananas

I love me some belgian waffles. However, I rarely eat them because they are huge calorie bombs and I don't like eating half-a-day's worth of calories before 9 am.  Therefore, if we are out at brunch, I beg Jack to get pancakes/waffles/french toast so I can have a bite. He often says no.  I then sulk and order my egg whites and dry toast with a side of fruit, dreaming of the deliciously warm, crisp on the outside, pillowy inside belgian waffle, drizzled in syrup with a bit of butter. 

But once in a while, I whip out my Wolfgang Puck Belgian Waffle maker and whip up some delights at home. They still aren't low fat or low calorie, but I can only eat half and not feel bad for wasting money. 

I did make some changes to make this a bit less artery-clogging. The recipe called for 3/4 stick of butter to be put into the batter. I omitted this. It also called for 2 cups of buttermilk. I used 2 cups of skim milk.  Small changes, but I saved at least 600 calories for the entire recipe by making these changes. 

This belgian waffle hit the spot. Sweet caramelized bananas, perfectly browned waffles, a drizzle of banana-infused syrup made me a happy girl. 

Belgian Waffles with Glazed Bananas - adapted from Gourmet Magazine

For waffles

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups skim milk

2 large eggs

Spray for waffle iron

For topping

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 firm-ripe large bananas, cut diagonally into 1/3-inch-thick slices

1 1/4 cups pure maple syrup

Special equipment: a waffle iron (preferably Belgian-style)

Accompaniment: sour cream or whipped cream

Make waffles:

Put oven rack in middle position and put a large metal cooling rack directly on it. Preheat oven to 250°F and preheat waffle iron.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

Whisk together buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs in another bowl, then whisk into flour mixture until just combined.

Brush hot waffle iron lightly with vegetable oil and pour a slightly rounded 1/2 cup of batter into each waffle mold (see cooks' note, below). Cook waffles according to manufacturer's instructions until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer as cooked to rack in oven to keep warm, keeping waffles in 1 layer to stay crisp. Make more waffles in same manner.

Make topping:
While last batch is cooking, heat butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then add banana slices in 1 layer and cook until golden, about 1 minute per side. Remove from heat and add syrup to skillet.

Spoon bananas over waffles, then drizzle with warm syrup before serving.

TWD: Brioche Plum Tart

Once again, I woke up at 5 am to complete my TWD post.  TWD should stand for Teanna Waits ('til) Dawn (to complete her TWD assignments).  

But lo and behold, here is my tart.  I made a few changes, but not many.  First, I didn't include the walnuts or the jam. Second, I shaped the brioche freehand, rather than placing it in a fluted tart pan. I also pricked the brioche dough to keep it from rising too much.  I then brushed the edges with a simple syrup made of sugar and rosewater and a bit of gelatin. And lastly, I decided to use some designer fruit for my designer tart.  Pluots.

Pluots sound like a species from Star Trek or a character on the Jetsons. However, they are a hybrid fruit, composed of plums and apricots.  They are also a registered trademark of Zaiger's Genetics, a company in Modesto, CA known for their "tree fruit breeding enterprise", who have also trademarked peacotums (peaches, apricos, and plums), nectarots (nectarines and apricots), nectaplums (nectarines and plums), and apriums (apricots and plums).  

IN OUTER SPACE.

The company, run by James T. Kirk, Hikaru Sulu, George Jetson, and C-3P0, operate on a farm with thier loving dog, Astro, and often need to fight off the evil droid armies that constantly try to steal their designer fruit.

Wouldn't that be a great summer blockbuster?  Far away galaxies, fruit lovin', exploding plums, and Rosie the Maid? Someone get George Lucas on the phone ASAP.

As for the brioche, it was alright.  I actually don't like cooked plums, which is something I should have thought about before I made this.  But this was my first brioche and I think it turned out beautifully.  Small victories. I also will try this again when I get home, as it hadn't had a chance to cool fully before I tried it. Because I waited until last minute to make it. That wouldn't fly in space. 

Check out Denise's FANTASTIC site over at Chez Us for the recipe, and click on the rest of the earth people TWDers for more fantastic tarts!

 

Oeufs a' la Tripe - Gratin of Hard Boiled Eggs

I awoke on Saturday morning to the most wonderful smells. I turned and saw Remy, my dog, sleeping next to me in Jack's spot on the bed.  I wiped the sleepies out of my eyes and walked into the kitchen to see Jack huddled over the stove, stirring a pot furiously. 

"What are you making?" I asked.

"Ouefs a` la Tripe", Jack answered.

Oh, of course. Excuse me.  Why wouldn't I know that you are making Ouefs a` la Tripe? Silly me.

As I posted yesterday, Jack is on a quest to become a self-taught culinary master.  I have to admit, it was the cutest thing to see my boyfriend (who looks like a 27-year old Harry Potter) standing barefoot in the kitchen in shorts and a t-shirt whisking furiously to make a bechamel sauce for hardboiled eggs.  

The dish, created in the 19th century, calls for coating sliced hard-boiled eggs in a bechamel sauce and then popping it in the oven so the sauce can brown.  And Jack did this beautifully.  The texture and thickness of the sauce was absolute perfection.  The creamy sauce was the perfect topping to the hard-boiled eggs. 

Between this and the veloute, Jack probably has eaten 10,000 calories.  Sadly (for me, not him), he will not gain a pound. But I guarantee you, from the two bites I have taken, I'll be 2 pounds heavier tomorrow.

Men.

Click here for the recipe. 

TWD: Mango Bread French Toast "an Ting an Ting"

My mother hails from the gorgeous Island of Trinidad. You may know the country by its full moniker: Trinidad and Tobago.  She moved here from Port of Spain when she was 13 years old, but still kept her Trinidadian heritage strong by celebrating Carnival (the biggest in the world - even bigger than Brazil), listening to reggae and soca music, and eating national dishes such as callaloo (a thick soup made of okra spices, crab, and the like), roti (like a trinidadian naan bread with many variations to eat with things like curried goat and chickpeas) or doubles (fried flatbreads filled with curried chickpeas).

So beautiful.

Although her accent is not as strong as it was when she first moved to America (or so I hear), a few things will bring it out faster than ever:  when in conversation with a fellow "Trini", when telling stories of Trinidad and her youth, when Caribbean music is floating in the air, or when my brother or I make her really, really angry.

And although they speak English, Trinidadian's definitely have their own language.  You may here two Trinis in a conversation about the whereabouts of an acquaintance:

"Ah hyar dey living dong by dey so." -- It is my understanding that they are residing down there.

Or wanting to spend a relaxing day together:  

"We been limin de whole deh! Me eh see she again, she leave de fete long time." -- We have been spending the whole day together, but she departed from the soiree a long time ago. 

Or hear someone sigh and push someone out of the way and say:

"Yuh fadduh was a glassmakah, gyal?" -- Excuse me, ma'am, but kindly step aside, as you are blocking my view.

Oh my friends, you may be asking yourself, "Is that even English?"

Yes, it is. Indeed it is.  But learning the Trini slang is a lesson that cannot be taught in one blog post, dear readers.  

That takes a lifetime.

You can lime (hang out) wit ya pahtnah (friend) and whine (dance) yah bamsie (butt) to the pan (steel band, which was originated in Trinidad) but watch what ya say, 'cause that Macko (gossip) is ryal (real) schtupidee (stupid) and has nothing better to do than to tittyvay (waste time and stir up trouble) and hambug (bother) you and the only way to stop her is to give her a ryal bad eye (look of anger) and cuff (hit) she in she mowt (mouth).

Did you follow that?

The whole point of that story is that I grew up loving Caribbean fruits like Mango, but many of my friends were never exposed to the wonders of this luscious fruit.  And although Mango Bread is not necessarily a Trinidadian dish, I have never tasted a more succulent mango than I did when I was in Trinidad.  And when I told my mother about Dorie's Mango Bread, chosen by Kelly of Baking with Boys (click for recipe), she squealed with delight.

"Oooooooh, I LOVE Mango bread!"

And the lucky woman is going back to Trinidad - or "home", as she and all "Yankees" (in Trini speak, a Trinidadian who has moved to the United States) call it - for two weeks next week.  She then muttered dreamily about eating those succulent mangos on the beaches of Trinidad and Tobago.

But I have the advantage, because this Mango bread is AMAZING (amazing).  Upon taking my first bite, I went cokee-eye (cross-eyed), fuh troot (for truth, for real).  Deliciously spiced. Amazingly moist. Addictive. 

I turned it into French Toast, or, as I will call this from now on, "Trini Toast" by dipping the bread in a mixture of egg, nutmeg, cinnamon, milk and ginger and topping it with a syrup made of diced mango, syrup, and the same spices (I am sorry, I did not measure the recipe).

Umm... let me just say that if you have any leftover mango bread, MAKE THIS TRINI TOAST NOW!

WOWOWOWOWOWOOWOWOWOW.

Without a doubt, this is one of my Top 5 Dorie recipes ever.  I have just made Dorie an honorary citizen of Trinidad and Tobago (I can totally do it).

Oh, and if a Trini ever says that they are doing something "jus now" (just now), in Trini time, that could be days. So if I tell you I am bringing you a slice of this mango bread, "jus now", don't expect any mango bread.  Because I'm not sharing.

Go check out the rest of this Mango Bread on TWD "NOW FUH NOW" (this instant!)

And CLICK HERE for the recipe!

Healthy Carrot Muffins

So these muffins were a half-win/half-FAIL. Not an EPIC FAIL, mind you. Just half-fail.

They were light. They were fluffy. They were moist. They were filled with chewy dried cranberries, deliciously sweet pineapple, and wonderful bits of carrots. In a moment of pure genius, I replaced some of the yogurt with carrot baby food to enhance the carrot flavor. And THEY WERE ONLY 131 CALORIES EACH!

So what went wrong, you ask?  Well, I'll tell you.

They tasted like nothing. NOTHING. Like light "crumb-air", as Jack described it.

But I will tell you this. This recipe has tons of potential because the texture was absolute perfection. I just have to be a bit more heavy handed on the spices.  If I can get the flavor balance correct, these will be part of my repetoire forever.

Do you hear me, muffins? I'll spice you up, yet!

Healthy Spiced Carrot Muffins adapted from Bloomalicious

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all purpose white flour
3/4 cup all purpose whole wheat flower
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3  teaspoons ground cinnamon
2  teaspoons ground ginger
2  teaspoons superfine sugar
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup plain low or non fat yogurt
1/4 cup carrot baby food
2 tbsp sunflower oil
8 oz canned pineapple chunks in juice drained and whirled in food processor to coarse consistency
9 oz carrots, grated
1/4 cup cranberries
3/8 cup almonds, slivered and whirled for just a pulse or two in food processor

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Oil (or use cooking spray) on muffin pan (12 cup small, 6 cup large) or line with muffin paper liners. 

Combine flours, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and superfine sugar in mixing bowl and stir till blended. 

Whisk egg whites with yogurt and oil  in separate bowl.  Add pineapple chunks, carrots, raisins, and almonds and combine thoroughly but don't over stir.  Add into the flour mixture and combine till just mixed together. 

Divide batter between muffin tin cups.  Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Fried Egg, Sausage, and Cheese Breakfast Pizza

I already wrote this post and it has magically disappeared.  I searched high and low through my posts and it has vanished.  I blame Bob Ross.

I made this for Mother's Day Brunch and it was a huge hit.  It is an extremely versatile breakfast, as you can truly make this your own. Don't like sausage? Use bacon.  Pepper Jack cheese not your thing? Cheddar, Swiss, Gruyere can all round this out.  Don't like scallions? How about a shallot-infused olive oil?  Hate fried eggs?  Scramble those bad boys up, people!

This is the one situation where too many choices are a good thing.  

For my breakfast, I used a Spicy Pepper Jack Cheese and a Chicken Andouille Sausage from Trader Joes and topped one loaf with scrambled eggs (my family hates "icky egg yolk") and fried eggs for Jack and I ("icky egg yolk" lovers).  This is a breakfast that is super easy to whip up and will definitely make this for many brunches in the beginning.

Fried Egg, Sausage, and Cheese Breakfast Pizza - Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

1 loaf ciabatta bread (about 1 pound)

1 cup chopped shallots

8 tablespoons olive oil, divided

8 ounces sliced hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese

1 pound Chicken Andouille Sausage (or whatever type of sausage you prefer)

8 large eggs

Preheat oven to 450°F. Cut bread horizontally in half. Place bread halves, cut side up, on separate baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes, or until the edges just turn a pale golden color.   Remove from oven and set aside.   Reduce heat to 400°F.

Meanwhile, mix shallots and 6 tablespoons oil in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve 2 tablespoons onion oil and spread remaining onion oil over bread. Top with cheese.

Sauté sausages in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through, breaking up with spoon, about 7 minutes. Divide sausage among bread halves. Bake pizzas until cheese melts and bread turns a golden brown and is crisp, about 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in each of 2 large skillets over medium-high heat. Crack 4 eggs into each skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let eggs stand in skillets while pizzas bake.

Arrange 4 eggs atop each pizza. Spoon reserved onion oil over eggs. Cut each pizza between eggs into 4 pieces.

The Fluffiest Pancakes EVER

For the latest installment of "Bad Picture Friday", I present to you these deliciously wonderful pancakes. While scrambling to get my family seated for brunch before the eggs started forming ice crystals, I rushed a photo of the pancakes, sans syrup.  These pancakes are so wonderful that you could eat them with absolutely nothing on it and you would still be pleased. They are amazing light and fluffy, yet they have a thick, delicious interior.  They almost have the consistency of a springy chiffon cake.  The use of the baking soda, seltzer, and yogurt no doubt take plain old pancakes to a (much) higher level.

So, Aunt Jemima, you can take your big, bright smile and tasty syrup and keep walking.  Eggs, mystery mix and water don't stand a chance against these pancakes. 

But on the other hand, leave the syrup.

Pancakes - Adapted from Saveur

2 cups flour
1 1⁄4 tsp. sugar
1⁄2 tsp. fine salt
1 cup yogurt
2 tsp. baking soda
1⁄2 cup seltzer water or club soda
2 eggs, lightly beaten
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more to taste
Maple syrup

1. Place a sieve over a large bowl and sift together the flour, sugar, and salt. In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt and baking soda; let sit for 10 minutes. Add the yogurt mixture, seltzer, and eggs to the flour mixture and whisk until just combined. Let batter rest for 10 minutes.

2. Heat 1 tbsp. butter in a 12" nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in 6 batches, spoon 2 portions of batter (about 1⁄4 cup each) into skillet, gently spreading out each portion of batter with the bottom of a spoon or a measuring cup to make disks about 4 1⁄2" in diameter. Cook pancakes until bubbles begin to form around edges, about 2 minutes. Top each pancake with 1⁄4 cup blueberries, press down on them gently with a spoon, flip each pancake with a spatula, and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes more. (Alternatively, for "silver dollar" pancakes, spoon 1 heaping tbsp. batter into the skillet for each pancake and top with 1 tbsp. blueberries.) Transfer pancakes to a paper towel–lined baking sheet and cover with a towel to keep warm. Wipe out skillet and repeat process with remaining butter, batter, and blueberries to make 12 pancakes in all. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve with butter and maple syrup.

TWD: Blueberry Crumb Cake

I offered to make brunch for my family when I was visiting this past weekend.  I invited over my Aunt and Uncle , my cousin and her husband (and their baby, Christian, who is the cutest little boy ever!) and of course, my parents, my brother, and my boyfriend Jack. I wanted to make the most unique brunch ever! Poached eggs on top of Italian Sausage and Manchengo Cheese on Ciabatta, Carrot Cake Pancakes, Buttermilk Drop Biscuits, and Dorie Greenspan's Blueberry Crumb Cake, chosen by Sihan of Befuddlement (click for recipe). 

Unfortunately, my family likes simple foods.  "Meat and Potatoes" (pronounced Puhtaytahs) as my father likes to call it. I say this because if I try to cook anything "weird" (meaning anything with more than 3 ingredients and those ingredients are anything but a combinatio steak, tomato sauce, rice, chicken, or hamburgers) my father makes a face and chews his food like a five year old (you know, when the chewed food is slightly sticking out between the lips because the person eating it just "can't get it down").

So whenever I try to cook for my family, I overcompensate. They say that quantity does not outdo quality.  Well, since my family likes simple foods, I always try to make everything, because what fun is it otherwise? 

I know, I know. Well if you are making eggs, they should be the best damn eggs you've ever had.

This is true. But I'll just try to make the best eggs, the best pancakes, the best chicken potato hash, the best sausage, the best bacon and the best blueberry crumbcake you ever did see!  And then I'll buy some bagels from the best bagel store on Long Island! 

I always - ALWAYS - bite off more than I can chew.

"Hey, it's simple, I'm just making eggs and pancakes" turns into me yelling at my boyfriend for not measuring flour correctly (he scoops directly from the bag!!!), bowls filled with flours, sugar, eggs, butter, and whatever else is needed for my mise en place scattered throughout the house (there is no kitchen big enough for me), me cursing the lack of cooking equipment at my parents house (what do you MEAN you don't have a mandolin? How do you expect me to cook without a spice grinder? These knives don't cut ANYTHING!), me scrambling like a madwoman while people are arriving, and by the time the food all reaches the table, it is somehow cold. 

I must say, the breakfast did turn out well, despite the eggs being ice cold (people need to sit down faster!) and slightly coagulated (why, oh why, do people own electric stoves?).  But what was the one shining star of this breakfast?

Well, the pancakes. I'll post the recipe later this week. They are phenomenal.

But what was the second most popular part of the breakfast?

That is right! The blueberry crumb cake! This cooked up beautifully. The cake itself was extremely tall and light and the crumbs on top were pure perfection. I actually thought the cake part itself was quite bland, and the next time I make this, I will add some nutmeg and cinnamon right to the batter and add more orange zest, because it really would have added a very nice dimension to this.  

And for my next brunch, maybe I'll pare it down a little bit.

But probably not.

Click here for more TWD Crumb Cakes!

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Note to self: Ricotta does not photograph well.  There is no way to make it NOT look like popcorn.

I first learned about the wonders of fresh ricotta cheese after attempting a scrambled egg recipe in Bon Appetit Magazine that called for the egg to be cooked at a very low heat, scrambling constantly, and finished off with a tablespoon of fresh ricotta cheese.  

I was confused.  Eggs and ricotta cheese? Really?  I had to try it.  But it was imperative that I get fresh ricotta cheese.  So I headed over to the Dupont Circle Farmers Market in Washington, DC and in search of my cheese.  Luckily, I was able to have a taste at the stand.

It was a whole new world. I never knew that ricotta cheese was not lumpy, curdled, watered-down goopy goo!  It was light! And creamy! And probably could work in scrambled eggs!

I went home and immediately attempted the recipe.  It was everything I dreamed it would be, and more.  I am a big breakfast person, and rarely go a morning without eating some sort of scrambled egg whites (with 1/4 yolk) or egg white omelet.  When I was staying with family in Italy, they looked at me as if I were crazy.  "What about the cholesterol?" they would ask. "Pish Posh!" I'd say! "I do not fear cholesterol!" (But really, didn't they know that cholesterol is in the yolks?)

Since that day, I have longed to attempt making ricotta cheese at home. Well, that day has arrived, my friends.  And, as Borat would say, it was a "great success" (I'm sorry, I just bought us back to 2006).  This recipe is effortless, and produces a lovely cheese with a light curd.  Looks like there will be lots of cheesiness in my household, and now it's not just in my blog posts! Huzzah!

Click here for the ricotta cheese recipe.  Just note that, at least for me, I could not see the cheese curdles, but they were there, at the bottom.  So make sure not to overcook, or else it will be scorched! 

And click here for the most wonderful scrambled egg recipe.  Your mornings will be better for it.

TWD: French Yogurt Cake - Springtime Afternoon Delight

Angels singing

The French Gods (you've probably never heard of them, but they are like the Greek Gods and Roman Gods, except instead of holding things like lightning bolts, scepters, and bows and arrows, they hold whisks, rolling pins, and Kitchen Aid Stand Mixers) have delivered to us another amazing recipe.  

This French Yogurt Cake, chosen by Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction (click for recipe), may have been one of the easiest recipes to throw together.  In France, all of the ingredients are measured by using a single yogurt container. (I sometimes envy the French's ability to create the most beautiful and elegant things, and make it look so effortless).  

Since I heard about all of the glorious wonders of the French Yogurt Cake, I wanted to make it as the recipe called for, but topped it with an orange glaze rather than lemon. And wow, did this live up to all of the praise.  Light with a tender crumb.  A hint of lemon.  Moist. Scrum-diddly-umptious.

Then, I wanted to play around a bit.  I made it again, but decided to make muffins filled with an orange mousse.  I baked them for 14 minutes in standard muffin pans, and as they cooled, I searched far and wide for a good orange mousse recipe. 

I'm still searching.

Why are there no orange mousse recipes online? Does this orange mousse not exist? I don't think I'm reinventing the wheel here. So I found a recipe for lemon mousse and used orange juice instead of lemon juice.

It turned out to be more of an orange whipped cream, rather than an orange mousse, but it went so well in the muffins.  I hollowed out the top, piped in a bit of orange cream, replaced the top, and brushed it with the orange marmalade glaze.

I bit into the cake and was greeted by billowy, orange delight in a muffin.  This muffin was skyrockets in flight. It was my baby and I was gonna hold it tight. Thinkin' of it was gonna work up my appetite. 

Oh yes, my friends.  This muffin was Afternoon Delight. 

I brought these in to work, and my co-worker (who has an amazing way with words and is a fantastic writer) came over to my desk and said, "This is really lovely. It's like biting into springtime."

Hells yeah it is!  Springtime Afternoon Delight! 

Check out TWD for more of this amazing cake! 

Orange Mousse Recipe adapted from Epicurious.com

• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3/4 cup fresh orange
• 6 large egg yolks
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange peel
• 2 cups chilled whipping cream  
•   
• Combine 1 cup sugar, lemon juice, 6 egg yolks, 2 whole eggs and grated lemon peel in large metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bowl to touch water). Whisk until mixture thickens and thermometer inserted into mixture registers 160°F. Transfer lemon curd to another large bowl. Chill until cool, whisking occasionally. 
•   
• Using electric mixer, beat 11/2 cups cream in medium bowl until medium-firm peaks form. Fold 1/3 of whipped cream into lemon curd to lighten, then fold in remaining whipped cream. 
•   

My dog, Remy, wanted a piece.  I don't blame her.