Paulette Bakery

As I mentioned in my last post, we are in the midst of selling our house and moving into a loft downtown. The process of selling with showings and inspections has us in and out of the house at all hours. And the process of setting up a new place has us sitting around a practically empty space waiting for deliveries. This morning we had to be at the new place for an early morning mattress delivery and then stay out of the old house until afternoon while the prospective new owner looks at buying some of our furniture. I have to say it is all getting a little old and it was a struggle to get up at 6am this morning to head out. Luckily, the site of the Paulette Bakery truck in our new neighborhood made my day.

Oh yes, fresh baked French pastries and hot Peace coffee waiting for me on the corner! I think I practically ran to it.

I deserve to forget the diet for one morning and sink my teeth into this beautiful chocolate croissant. It was so light and SO buttery. You can really taste the quality of the butter used. Two soft, dark ribbons of chocolate run through the inside making it even more decadent. Best of all, she is in our neighborhood twice a week, plenty of time for us to try the almond and savory versions.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2013 Kathy Lewinski

Easy Kanelsnegle

We have our fair share of good bakeries in the Twin Cities. One of them, Patisserie 46, was recently called one of the best patisseries in the world! But none of the ones we've tried have the Austrian-style pastries we had gotten just a little addicted to in Denmark. In particular, I find myself craving a kanelsnegle around 4:00 in the afternoon.

(Kanelsnegle at a Copenhagen bakery.)

So, it was time to make my own. Kanelsnegle is a cinnamon roll, but unlike the bready rolls we tend to see here in the states, these are flaky, like a danish. Now, I could make my own butter laminated bread like I did for the Daring Bakers Danish Braid Challenge, but I wanted something that I could make quickly in the morning for fika in the afternoon. This called for that time saver, frozen puff pastry.

What an easy way to whip up a fresh batch of light, flaky cinnamon rolls. Are they exactly like what we got in Copenhagen? No, of course not, but they were close enough to satisfy. Plus, since they were much smaller, they don't feel like such a huge indulgence.

Easy Kanelsnegle (flaky cinnamon rolls)

1/2 package of frozen puff pastry (1 sheet), thawed
unsalted room temperature butter
1 T sugar
cinnamon
1 egg
powdered sugar
milk

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Place a silicone mat on a baking sheet. Unfold or roll the puff pastry out on top of the mat. Spread with a light coat of butter, leaving about 1/2 inch on one short side unbuttered. Sprinkle on the sugar and a generous amount of cinnamon (I didn't measure the cinnamon, I just sprinkled until it looked well covered.)

Whisk the egg together with about 1 tablespoon of water. Roll the pastry up with the unbuttered side being last. Put a little of the egg and water mixture on that unbuttered end to seal the roll.

Slice the roll into 1/2 - 3/4 inch discs. Place flat side down on the baking sheet. I pressed them down slightly. Brush with the egg and water mixture.

Bake for 15 minutes or until risen and brown. Move to a rack to cool.

Make a glaze by stirring a little milk into some powdered sugar. Just a couple tablespoons of sugar should be enough. You want a thick glaze and will need much less milk than you think. Start with 1/4 teaspoon and add more as needed. Spoon the glaze on top of the cooled rolls and let harden.

I think these rolls are best served at room temperature.

Makes 8 small rolls. (I actually only used 1/2 of a sheet of puff pastry which made 4 rolls which were the perfect sweet with coffee for Matt and I.)

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2012 Kathy Lewinski

More Ideas for Garlic Scape Pesto

We continue to work on way through the 3 cups of garlic scape pesto we made last week...

First there was pizza. This one was topped with the pesto then chopped cottage bacon (oh, so amazing on pizza, not quite bacon, not quite ham), mozzarella and fresh tomatoes. The fresh, mild garlic flavor of the pesto infuses every bite.

But this, this is what garlic scape pesto is made for, Green Eggs and Hash. The hash here is just a mix of seasonal vegetables, radishes, potatoes, onions and cottage bacon. The eggs though are the star. Matt took a heathy spoonful of the pesto and about 1 oz of cream cheese and mixed it in with 4 eggs. Then he just soft scrambled them. These eggs are as light as air with a heavenly garlic flavor and just the slightest tartness from the cream cheese. The were so good we had them again later in the week without the hash.

We still have about a cup of the pesto left, any other good ideas out there?

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2012 Kathy Lewinski

Pancakes with Brie and Cloudberries

Yesterday was Pancake Day, so Matt made me pancakes for dinner. Well, actually we had planned to have these pancakes this week before we realized it was Pancake Day, we just got lucky.

We were just looking for a good vehicle for the cloudberry jam we brought back from Sweden.

Cloudberries are a tart fruit similar to raspberries and blackberries that are typically found in the Nordic and Baltic countries as well as parts of Canada. We've never been able to find them in the states, so we were excited to bring some home. We really like there flavor, but they are quite seedy, even more so than raspberries.

Ok, back to the pancakes. Matt thought it would be good to add a savory element to them, so he picked up a local soft cheese that was quite similar to a brie. The tangy, funkiness of the cheese was a perfect pairing with fruit. We put a layer of cheese between to hot pancakes making the cheese all melty and runny and then topped it with the jam. It was a great brinner, but would also be wonderful for a brunch.

No other recipe here, but I'll share Matt's tricks for making a tastier, fluffier pancakes with Bisquick. He adds one more egg than the recipe calls for and uses buttermilk instead of milk. He stirs in the eggs first and then adds the buttermilk until it reaches his desired consistency. He adds a touch of vanilla for a little more flavor. Finally, he lets the batter sit for 10 minutes before using, he says the batter even rises a little in the bowl while resting.

Hope you all had some great pancakes yesterday too!

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2012 Kathy Lewinski

Eggs and Kale in Puff Pastry

Last week we were getting ready to leave town for Christmas, so I didn't want to buy any groceries. That meant I had to get creative with what we had in the house. Luckily, I think I keep a pretty well stocked freezer and pantry. I had a couple eggs and some cheese in the fridge plus bacon, puff pastry and blanched kale in the freezer. The resulting meal was good enough that you would have thought I had planned it.

Actually, this turned out even better than I expected. The kale was a last minute addition (in an attempted to get more green veggies in us) and really turned it into a more substantial dish. The think that really made this so good though was the bacon, that flavor of smoky, saltiness in each bite made it sing. I almost used breakfast sausage instead and am so glad I didn't. It was a great brinner (breakfast for dinner), but would also make for a lovely breakfast or brunch.

Eggs and Kale in Puff Pastry

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 strip bacon, chopped
1/2 - 3/4 c grated cheddar
4 oz kale, blanched and chopped
4 eggs
salt
pepper
parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Cut the sheet of puff pastry into 4 squares. Using a sharp knife score a line 1/2" border on each square, be careful not to cut all the way through (if you do when you fill it the egg will leak through). With a fork poke the inner square, also without going all the way through. Put in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crispy. Remove to a paper towel to drain. Put the kale into the same skillet and sauté a few minutes until completely wilted.

When the pastry is done chilling, divide the bacon and cheese between the four pastries, placing them in the inner square only. Bake for 8 minutes.

Remove from the oven. Press the center squares down to flatten them, leaving the boarders puffed up. Divide the kale between the four pastries. Then top each with an egg. Season with a little salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Finally, sprinkle a little parmesan on top. Bake for another 6 - 7 minutes until the whites of the eggs are set. We like it with a soft yoke, but you can cook them as hard as you wish. (You may want to put them under the broiler for a minute.

Makes 4 (We each at two as our whole meal, but with a salad you could serve people one each.)

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Biscuits with Sausage and Coffee Gravy

Sun Street Bread had buttermilk biscuits at the farmers market on Sunday, so we decided to pick some up and make biscuits and gravy for dinner. Yes, yes, I can make my own biscuits, but with such fantastic ones easily on hand there is no need to.

Ok, there is really no pretty way to photograph this dish, believe me I tried, but what it lacks in looks it totally makes up for in taste.

Sausage gravy is really pretty basic, sausage, milk, flour and lots of pepper. Matt thought we should add one more ingredient to give it an extra kick, instant espresso. Coffee is the secret ingredient in my grandmother's recipe for Swedish meatball gravy, so it made perfect sense to me. What you end up with is a dark rich gravy with a hint of coffee flavor. I loved it. Matt thought there was a little bitterness from the espresso, but I didn't notice it at all.

Biscuits with Sausage and Coffee Gravy
Do not skimp on the pepper in this gravy!

1/2 lb bulk Italian sausage
olive oil, if needed
2 T all-purpose flour
1 c milk
1/2 t instant espresso or coffee
30 grinds fresh pepper
salt
3 biscuits

In a large skillet, sauté the sausage over medium heat until cooked through. If your sausage is lean and doesn't release much fat add about 1/2 T olive oil. Sprinkle with the flour. Stir while cooking for 1 minute.

Mix the espresso into the milk. Stir slowly into the sausage. Cook while stirring until thick and creamy. If it is too thick stir in a little more milk. Stir in the pepper. Taste and add salt as needed.

Cut biscuits in half and top with sausage and gravy.

Makes 3 servings.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Blueberry Lime Donuts

Since I got my donut pan I've been thinking about making blueberry donuts. It's been so hot though I haven't wanted to turn on the oven even for a little bit. Yesterday though, the heat and humidity dropped, so I had my chance.

The thing that got me thinking about blueberry donuts was this Swedish Blueberry Drink Concentrate I had picked up at Ikea.

We'd used it to make blueberry soda in our Soda Stream and have ideas for cocktails, but I thought it might be a good baking ingredient too. I went back and forth about whether to make a citrus donut with blueberry glaze or a blueberry donut with a citrus glaze. Since I had fresh blueberry from the farmers market I thought I'd mix it up and put whole blueberries in a citrus donut with a blueberry glaze.

I would say the results are about 80% there. The donut tasted lot like a blueberry muffin, though it was a little denser. Matt really liked them. One of them had way too many blueberries in it and sort of fell apart. I was planning on doing lemon as my citrus, but had a lime in the fridge so went with that. It was a little old, so the zest was kind of dried out and didn't give the flavor kick I had hoped for. The glaze was stunning, but watch out that blueberry concentrate will stain anything!

I share the recipe as I made it as a starting point for someone else who might be interested in trying it or improving on it.

Blueberry Lime Donuts

3/4 c flour
1/4 c sugar
3/4 t baking powder
pinch of salt
2 T fresh lime juice
zest from half a lime
2 - 3 T milk
1/2 t vanilla
1 egg
1 t shortening
handful of frozen blueberries (just enough for a couple per donut) (I think you could also use fresh)
1/3 c powdered sugar
3 T blueberry drink concentrate

Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease three mold in a donut pan.

In a small bowl stir to together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in the lime zest, lime juice, 2 tablespoons of milk, vanilla, egg and shortening. Combine until just blended. If it seems dry add the rest of the milk. Fold in the blueberries.

Fill the donut molds about 3/4 full. Bake for 11 - 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a donut comes out clean (They will probably cook quicker if you use fresh instead of frozen blueberries). Let cool in the pan for a few minutes and then move to a rack to finish cooling.

Mix the powdered sugar and blueberry concentrate together until smooth in a shallow bowl. Dip the cooled donuts in the glaze. Put back on the rack for a few minutes to let the glaze dry. I recommend putting a paper towel or something until the rack to catch the drips of glaze.

Makes 3 donuts

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Glazed Beet Donuts

When I mentioned on Facebook that I was going to try making beet donuts today, Amy from Green Your Plate told me I was "talking crazy talk." But you see, I think beets, especially roasted beets, have a mild sweetness that makes them perfect for this type of application. And let's not forget about the color they add. Last summer, we made a Vanilla Beet Gelato that we really enjoyed so, it wasn't so crazy for us.

This was my first go at making real cake donuts (the shortcake ones from yesterday don't count) and I wasn't sure what to expect from the texture. I have to say, they were surprisingly close to what you'd buy at a donut shop, firm and springy but, not too dry. I have a feeling they are best eaten the day made but, that isn't a big deal since you could mix these up and bake then in about 15 - 20 minutes.

Of course, you want to know how they taste. They were very good, sweet but, not too sweet, with hints of vanilla and cinnamon. The beet flavor is there but it is subtle, perfectly balanced with the other flavors. If you served these to someone without telling them they were made with beets, I'm betting they would have a hard time putting a finger on what the flavor is. I should mention Matt thought the cake could be sweeter but, I thought it was totally sweet enough, especially with the glaze.

Glazed Beet Donuts
adapted from the recipe on the Norpro Donut Pan package

3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c sugar
3/4 t baking powder
pinch salt
pinch cinnamon
pinch cayenne
1/4 c chopped, roasted beets
1/4 c milk
3/4 t vanilla
1 egg
1 t shortening

Glaze
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 T milk

Preheat oven to 325 F. Lightly grease three donut forms in a donut baking pan.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cayenne.

In a small food processor or chopped, purée the beets with the milk. It won't be smooth. Mix into the flour mixture. Stir in the vanilla, egg and shortening. Divide between the three greased donut forms.

Bake for 8 - 11 minutes (mine took all 11) until the donuts spring back when touched. Let cook for a few minutes in the donut pan before removing to a rack to finish cooling.

Once cool, make the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar and milk in a bowl you can easily dip the donuts into. I like to start with the water and add the sugar a little at a time until I get a thickness I like. You may need more or less sugar. Dip the cool donuts carefully into the glaze. Remove to a rack where the glaze can drip off. Let set for a few minutes to harden.

Makes 3 donuts.

Now, how's that for a way to get some more vegetables into your kids?

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Transatlantique Kriek Caramel and Caramel Rolls

This is a story of beer for dessert and beer for breakfast...about a month ago, we were contacted by Foodbuzz to see if we'd be interested in either making a dish or pairing a dish with any of the beers from New Belgium Brewing*. Since New Belgium is probably one of Matt's favorite breweries, we jumped at the chance. Then came the hard part, deciding which beer to use and what to do with it. Our local liquor store has a great selection of New Belgium beers including their Lips of Faith series. We were both immediately drawn to the Transatlantique Kriek a spontaneously fermented lambic ale from Belgium made with Polish cherries then mixed with a New Belgium lager. It has the flavors we loved in the fruit beers while in Belgium last year, fruity but slightly sour instead of sweet. Then came the debate about what to make. Everything seemed boring or done and then Matt said, "let's make a caramel sauce" and our path was set.

I'm surprised I agreed so quickly as making caramel has always scared me and I've failed at it many times but, this was surprisingly easy. I used the basic recipe from Joy of Cooking (the bible) except replaced the water with beer. Wanting to make sure the beer and cherry flavor was quite strong in the finished caramel we reduced the beer from 1 pint, 6 ounces down to 3/4 cup. What we ended up with was a caramel sauce that had that caramelized sugar flavor as well as the maltiness of the beer, the sour tang that we loved in the beer and the fruity cherry flavor. It was amazing over some vanilla ice cream with chocolate chunks.


Transatlantique Kriek Caramel Sauce
1 bottle Transatlantique Kriek (1 pt 6 oz)
1 c white sugar

Pour the Kriek into a large heavy sauce pan. Let simmer until reduce until about 3/4 cup, about 1 hour.

Pour the reduced beer out of the pan. Add in the sugar & 6 tablespoons of the reduced beer. Turn the heat to medium-high. Stir gently until the sugar is melted. Turn the heat to high & bring to a boil. Cover & let boil for 2 minutes. Remove the cover & let boil until the sides start to turn brown & the carmel darkens to a dark amber color, another minute or two. The caramel will be really foamed up so it will be hard to see the color. I stirred it down from time to time to check.

Remove from heat. Carefully pour in the remaining beer, it will sputter & foam up. Stir until smooth. It will seem a little thin but as it cools it should thicken to about a thick honey texture.

If it is still too thin bring to a boil for another 30 - 60 seconds. Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Makes about 1 cup.

Next we wanted to do more with the sauce than just serve it over ice cream (though it certainly would have been easy to eat it all that way). I thought about a sauce for bread pudding or perhaps drizzled on a cheesecake but, once again, Matt came up with the answer, caramel rolls.

Seriously, look at how decadent those look (especially since we had them for a Wednesday morning breakfast).

I made up the recipe for the dough after looking at lots of different versions online and in cookbooks. It comes together quickly and after rising is easy to roll out and work. Once baked it is surprisingly light which is good since it's covered in caramel. You can make these the day you plan to serve them or, even better, make them the day before then, refrigerate after the second rise. In the morning, you only need to cook them for 20 minutes and you have a special treat for breakfast. Sticky, sweet, just a touch of sour,  crunchy from the almonds...heavenly.


Transatlantique Kriek Caramel Rolls
(This recipe doesn't take a lot of hands on time but it does have two rises of an hour each.)

1 1/2 t yeast
2 T milk
2 T water
2 T sugar
1/2 t kosher salt
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 T unsalted butter, softened
1 egg white

Put the yeast in a bowl. Mix the milk & water together in a small microwavable bowl. Heat until warm but not hot (took about 20 seconds on high in my microwave). Pour over the yeast & let sit for 5 minutes. Mix in the sugar, salt & 1 cup of flour. Add the butter & egg white. Knead in the remaining flour, a little at a time until the dough is no longer sticky. Cover with a clean dish towel & let rise until double in size, about 1 hour.

1 T unsalted butter melted
sugar
cinnamon
slivered almonds
1/3 c Transatlantique Kriek Caramel Sauce

Roll the dough out into a 10" x 8" rectangle on a floured board. Brush with the melted butter. Sprinkle generously with sugar & cinnamon. Sprinkle with slivered almonds.

Roll the rectangle up so, it is 8" long (you are rolling up from the short side). Use a bread knife & cut into 6 rolls.

Spread the caramel sauce in the bottom of a small baking dish, ours is about 6" x 9". Place the rolls on top cut-side down, evenly spaced. Make sure to leave a little room because they will rise to fill the space.

Cover with a kitchen towel & let rise until doubled in size again, about an hour. At this point you can bake or cover with plastic wrap & place in the fridge to bake later.

Preheat oven to 325 F. Bake the rolls for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown. Quickly turn out of the pan onto a serving dish. Best served hot or warm.

Makes 6 rolls (but the recipe can be easily doubled & baked in a larger pan so why not whip up a batch for Easter brunch!)

*Discloser: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program we were given a stipend from New Belgium to cover the ingredients to create this dish.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Sweet Potato Hash

When Matt's parents were here back in October we took them to Corner Table for his dad's birthday dinner. We all had fabulous meals but the one dish that everyone kept talking about afterwards was the sweet potato hash so we knew we had to try making it at home.

We made it right away that weekend as a side dish for our Big Easy Chicken. It was a hit with everyone that night but I wasn't completely happy with the texture of the sweet potatoes. I had parboiled them & then fried them up with the onions & pepper. Instead of getting nice & crispy they kind of fell apart. Well, Matt's mom went home & tried making it only this time she roasted the sweet potato first. That was the trick! The roasted sweet potato gets brown & crispy on the outside & then gets added to the onions & peppers at the end.

I decided to make this as my dinner the other night. This time I added some bacon to the hash & served a poached egg on top. What an amazing brinner. All the flavors in the hash work together perfectly needing only salt & pepper for seasoning, then you mix in the richness of the egg yolk...too good. Like a little spice? Add a chopped jalapeno to the peppers.

Sweet Potato Hash
This recipe makes one serving but can easily doubled, tripled & so on...

7 oz sweet potato, peeled & cut into 1/2" cubes (we prefer white sweet potatoes but yellow or orange will work just as well.)
olive oil
1 slice bacon, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped, about 1/4 c or so
1 small poblano pepper, seeded & chopped, 1/4 - 1/2 c
salt & pepper
1 egg, poached (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Put the sweet potato cubes into a small roasting pan. Drizzle generously with olive oil making sure all the cubes are coated. Roast for about 20 minutes until the cubes are starting to get crispy & brown yet soft in the center. Stir occasionally while roasting.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon to a paper towel to drain leaving as much of the fat as possible in the pan. Add the onions & peppers to the pan. Cook until they are tender & the onion is starting to brown a little. Stir in the bacon & roasted sweet potatoes. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

If desired, poach an egg leaving the yolk a little soft & serve on top of the hot hash.

1 serving.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

When I was a kid I went through a kick where my favorite after school snack was a banana & chunky peanut butter. I would sit with the jar of peanut butter on my lap & spread each bite of the banana with it. I don't know what made me think of that lately but it inspired these muffins.

These were certainly a hit around our house, Matt had eaten two before I even knew it. The balance of the banana & peanut butter flavor is just right without one overpowering the other. I like them best a little warm, maybe with a touch of good butter, yum.

I didn't have chunky peanut butter in the house so I used creamy & them just added some chopped peanuts for the texture. If you have chunky go ahead & leave the peanuts out.

Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

1/2 c + 2 T all-purpose flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
2 ripe bananas, mashed
6 T peanut butter
1/2 c brown sugar
2 T honey
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/4 c chopped peanuts

Preheat oven to 375 F. Prepare 8 or 9 muffin tins with papers or by greasing them.

Stir the flours, baking powder, baking soda & salt together in a bowl & set aside.

Mix the banana, peanut butter, brown sugar, honey, vanilla & egg together in another bowl. I found heating the peanut butter in the microwave for a few minutes made it easier to stir in.

Mix the wet mixture into the dry & stir until just combined. Fold in the peanuts.

FIll the muffin tins 3/4 fill. Bake for about 22 minutes until golden brown & a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Makes 8 - 9 muffins

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

Indian-Spiced Parsnip Muffins

It always surprises me when people say they don't like parsnips, I figure they really must not have tried them because this vegetable is a certainly a treat in my book. Right now you can get over-wintered parsnips in the farmer's market. These parsnips have had the winter to build up sugars & are at their sweetest & tastiest making them perfect for baked goods. (They're also great roasted or mashed.)

I was inspired to make these parsnip muffins after we had the parsnip cake for dessert at our Pork Belly class Wednesday. Then Mr. Orph over at Mr. Orph's Kitchen posted a carrot cake that he flavored with a chai spice blend. I thought that was a brilliant idea & decided to use garam masala to flavor mine. Ok, we absolutely loved the favor it added to the these. Then I added pistachios for a good crunch & some raisins for a little sweetness. These muffins rose beautifully & were quite light compared to a lot of other carrot-type muffins I've had. We seriously loved these muffins!

I went back & forth about whether to call these muffins or cupcakes. Matt thought they were a little more of a muffin but topped with a little Devonshire cream like we did last night (or perhaps some cream cheese frosting) these make a really tasty dessert. Plain they were perfect with our scrambled eggs for breakfast. Next time someone tells me they don't like parsnips I'm going to give them one of these muffins without telling them what's in it & watch the conversion begin.

***Update 4/28: there was originally a mistake in the recipe with the amount of flour. It has been corrected.

Indian-Spiced Parsnip Muffins

3/4 c + 2 T all-purpose flour
1/4 c sugar
1/4 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 t garam marsala
6 T milk
1 t white vinegar
1 egg yolk
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 c grated parsnip
2 T chopped pistachios
2 T golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a medium bowl stir the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda & garam marsala together to blend. Set aside.

In a small bowl whisk the milk, vinegar, egg yolk & vanilla together. Pour into the flour mixture & stir until just blended. Fold in the parsnips, pistachios & raisins.

Prepare 6 muffin cups either with muffin papers or by buttering & flouring them. Fill the cups 3/4 full with the batter. Bake for 21 - 23 minutes until the muffins are golden brown & a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool completely on a rack before adding frosting.

Makes 6 cupcakes.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

Holiday Traditions - Breakfast Casserole

Most people have foods that our traditional to have at Christmas. For my family there is a traditional breakfast. It basically must include two items, Sara Lee coffee cake & this breakfast casserole.

The casserole is prepared ahead of time, usually on Christmas Eve, & is ready to pop in the oven Christmas morning. We get up, coffee is made & the casserole is put in the oven. Then we open our stocking gifts. When the stockings are empty its time for this hearty, hot breakfast before tackling the gifts under the tree.

This casserole is dead simple to make, basically is a bread pudding with sausage in it, but it just tastes so good. Make a big pan of it because everyone will be going back for "just one more slice."

Breakfast Casserole

1 lb bulk sausage
6 eggs
2 c milk
1 t salt
1 t dry mustard
6 slices bread, broken
1 1/2 c grated cheddar
4 oz mushrooms, sliced (optional, my brother won't eat them so we always leave them out)

Brown the sausage, drain any fat & cool.

Beat eggs & milk. Add the salt & mustard & beat again. Add the bread and stir until it softens. Stir in cheese, mushrooms & sausage. Pour into a greased 9" x 13" pan. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Bake the casserole for 40 - 45 minutes until golden brown & set.

Serves 6 - 8

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski

Weekly Menu 6/22 - 6/27 and Parsnip Muffins

A week or so ago we were watching Good Eats & it was all about using parsnips in recipes kids would like. Now we love parsnips, roasted, mashed and in soups & stews, but I was really intrigued by the idea of using them in muffins.

Actually, it was almost like an "Ah ha" moment, of course parsnips would be good in a muffin, just like carrots are, especially overwintered parsnips. Apparently, overwintering parsnips increases the natural sugars in parsnips making them perfect for this type of application. Since we had friends in town it seemed like the perfect time to make muffins. They were a big hit even with the Englishman who doesn't like parsnips (or vegetables for that matter).

I made a few changes to this recipe. It originally called for whole milk yogurt, I used non-fat because its what I had & it seemed to work just fine. I changed the seasoning a little too since I thought this recipe would only be improved by the addition of cinnamon. I halved the initial called for amount of nutmeg. The flavor & texture of this muffin are great though I'd add more cinnamon next time & have marked that in the recipe. Now I'm wondering what a parsnip cake would be like.

Parsnip Muffins
(adapted from Alton Brown)

1 oz sliced almonds
8 1/2 oz all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda
1/4 t grated nutmeg
1/4 - 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t kosher salt
3 eggs
3/4 c plain non-fat yogurt
1/4 c olive oil
8 oz sugar
10 oz grated parsnips ( about 3 parsnips)

Heat the oven to 375 F. Place the almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet & allow to toast while the oven is heating. Keep & eye to not let them burn.

Spray 12 muffin tins with a non-stick spray or use paper liners.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon & salt together. Mix well.

In a large bowl whisk the eggs yogurt, olive oil & sugar together. Add the flour & parsnips & fold until just blended. Do not over mix. Divide among the muffin tins, they will be quite full. Sprinkle the toasted almonds on top. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown. Remove to a rack & allow to cool.

Makes 12 muffins

On to Menu Planning Monday...

Chicken Salad

Lamb Lettuce Wraps

Radish Tortilla - This is a real experiment, hope it works out

Spinach Tart

Barbecued Chicken with Garlic Scape Pesto

Saturday we're kind of playing by ear as we aren't sure if we have guests or not yet.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski

Homemade Ricotta & Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

You might remember about a month ago we made homemade mozzarella & we were really surprised with how easy it was. Well, when I saw that this month's Recipe to Rival Challenge was to make homemade ricotta I was thrilled because I knew I could easily do it.

The nice thing about making homemade ricotta is that you don't need any special chemical & the only special equipment is a thermometer & a bit of patience.

Fresh Ricotta
(per Lauren at I'll Eat You, who hosted this month's event)

1 gallon milk, you can use 1 percent on up, remember that the more fat in the milk, the more cheese it will yield
1 quart buttermilk
-cheesecloth,a good, tightly woven one, not the kind you buy at the supermarket - If you don't have one of these, you can get by with a slotted spoon, but you may lose some of the cheese. ( I used supermarket cheesecloth & just doubled it. That worked just fine.)
-a thermometer
- A collander

Place buttermilk and milk in a pot, heat on med-low heat until it reaches 185 F.

It will begin to separate into curds and whey. Be sure to stir occasionally to make sure no curds stick to the bottom and burn. You will see that as the temperature approaches 185, the whey becomes clearer as the curds coagulate more.

Pour the curds into a cheesecloth lined collander. Tie the ends of the chesecloth together and hang for 10-15 minutes. Remove from cheesecloth and place in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week..

This recipe will give you about a pound of cheese. I made 1/4 of it & got 6 oz.

We then had to make something with the ricotta. I had some fabulous Lemon Ricotta Pancakes at Hell's Kitchen a few weeks ago so I decided to try them at home.

They had a wonderful light texture but Matt felt the ricotta should have been broken up finer. I added 1 T more sugar than the recipe called for because a lot of people commented it was too tart. We felt like they actually needed to either be more lemony or sweeter. We served them with thawed frozen raspberries & they wouldn't have been as good without them.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
(from Bobby Flay)

3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t salt
2 T sugar (we used 3)
1 c ricotta cheese (1/4 the above cheese recipe made exactly 1 cup cheese)
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
1 lemon, zested & juiced
raspberries
powdered sugar
butter for the griddle

Whisk together the cheese, eggs, milk, lemon zest & juice. Stir in the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt & sugar just until combined. Melt a little butter on a hot griddle. Pour 1/4 c of batter on the griddle for each pancake. Cook until brown on both sides, flipping once.

Top pancakes with raspberries & a little powdered sugar.

Makes 10 pancakes.

Weekly Menu 1/5 - 1/10/09

This week's menu is an attempt to use a lot of the leftovers we have from the holidays. In that vein, when I saw this post for Eggnog Pancakes on Eat Real Saturday I instantly knew what to make for breakfast. She makes her pancakes from scratch. I was feeling a little lazy so I just used the Bisquick (I know not everyone likes Bisquick but its what I grew up with & I like it).

I had to play a bit with the amount of eggnog added to these pancakes because the its so much thicker than milk. If you make these I would add less eggnog than called for & add more until you get the right consistency. These turned out light & fluffy with that rich eggnog flavor plus it used all the leftover eggnog.

Eggnog Pancakes
inspired by Eat Real

1 c Bisquick (we use the heart smart)
3/4 + c eggnog
2 T beaten egg or egg substitute
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of grated nutmeg

Mix everything together. Add more eggnog if too thick. Cook pancakes on a lightly greased griddle.

Makes about 8 pancakes.

On to Menu Planning Monday...

Ham & Bean Soup
Curried Vegetables - I never got around to making this last week
Ham, Cheese & Onion Paninis

Swedish Meatballs - Matt told me to buy some at Ikea, he was joking but I didn't realize so now we have a bag of them!
Greek Chicken Pitas with Roasted Sunchokes
Crab & Corn Chowder or Crab Cakes - We are still debating which to do

I think its time to get back to the cupcakes too & since there is some Bailey's in the fridge, this week's cupcake will be coffee with Bailey's. We also might take a stab at our first batch of ice cream.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Yesterday I made Matt a Sunday morning breakfast of Sweet Potato Pancakes using our Sweet Potato Butter. The pancakes came out light & fluffy with a wonderful sweet potato flavor. I found them to be a little richer than our banana pancakes. Matt really liked them with cinnamon infused maple syrup.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

1 1/2 c Bisquick

1/2 t cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

1 c Sweet Potato Butter (get the recipe here)

1 egg

3/4 - 1 c buttermilk

1/4 t vanilla

In a medium bowl whisk the Bisquick, cinnamon & nutmeg together.

In another bowl mix together the sweet potato butter, egg, 3/4 c buttermilk & vanilla. Stir this wet mixture into the dry mixture until just blended. If the batter seems to thick add more buttermilk 1 T at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Makes 12 pancakes

More ways to use Sweet Potato Butter

Sweet Potato Butter

Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Goat Cheese & Honey Frosting

Sweet Potato, Oatmeal & Chocolate Muffins

Sweet Potato, Oatmeal & Chocolate Muffins

It seems Matt got inspired to use the Sweet Potato Butter in baking too since he disappeared into the kitchen last night & suddenly there were these amazing smells wafting out. What finally appeared from the oven were these golden brown muffins.

He remembered a Banana, Oatmeal & Chocolate Muffin that his mom used to make & thought the Sweet Potato Butter would make a good substitute for the banana. He couldn't find a recipe that was exactly what he was looking for so he adapted this one from Cookbook Junkie.

The sweet potato was a good substitute for the banana though the flavor is much more subtle (it may have been a little overpowered by the chocolate but the chocolate is oh so good). The batter was quite heavy & Matt expected a much denser muffin but these actually came out relatively light & fluffy. These muffins were super yummy & its such treat for me to have Matt cook up a sweet.

Sweet Potato, Oatmeal & Chocolate Muffins

1/2 c all-purpose flour
2/3 c oats
2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/8 t cinnamon
1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips
2 1/2 T vegetable oil
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 c sweet potato butter (get the recipe here)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Prepare 6 muffin tins with either cupcake papers or by greasing them.

In a medium bowl mix the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon & chocolate chips.

In another bowl whisk together the oil, sugar, brown sugar, egg & sweet potato butter.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture & stir until just combined. Divide between 6 muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown & a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool on a rack.

Makes 6 muffins

I think we may have a Sweet Potato Butter series starting here...
Sweet Potato Butter
Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Goat Cheese & Honey Frosting