A couple years ago we went camping with another couple.  We were sharing cooking responsibilities for the weekend to make it easier for everyone.  We offered to make Sunday breakfast, and were excited about the menu:  buttermilk blueberry pancakes, bacon, warm buttery maple syrup and pipping hot coffee.  You have no idea how excited we were about this meal, it was sure to “wow” everyone not to mention filling our bellies with hot breakfast grub.

Sleepy eyed, the next morning, we went to the car to get the bag of ingredients to start cooking.  We had been talking about this meal the night before, and everyone was hungry.  We could barely wait to start cooking and eating.  It was odd as I reached for the hatch at the back of the car;  it was slightly un-done.  Who got into the car late at night?   As I put my hand into the bag, grabbing around for the mix, something did not feel right.  Where was the mix? Did we really drink that much wine the night before that we did not remember where the breakfast goods went?  Crap!  Slowly as I looked down at the ground, I saw a trail of pancake mix going into the woods ……..  Breakfast was not going to be happening as someone/something had already eaten breakfast.

When preparing for a recent camping trip it was decided that we would try to recreate this special breakfast but for two.  Instead of buying a prepared package of pancake mix, I wanted to make our own.  Our friend Evelyn makes amazing cornmeal pancakes. No, I mean amazing as in REALLY OMG Amazing.  Dollar sized, texture rich pancakes smothered in butter and maple syrup. They have become a camping staple for us.  Served with crispy and smokey bacon and hot bourbon syrup, they make the perfect camping companion.  I changed around her recipe and came up with a great cornmeal pancake mix that is easy to transport and easy to use.  I mix the dry ingredients in a large mason jar and keep it on hand for when we decide we want a little breakfast treat or if we are going camping I add the jar to our camping gear.  Easy to mix up with the addition of a little milk, an egg and some melted butter. We like to serve the pancakes with fresh blueberries and hot bourbon maple syrup.

Now you can stop buying that pre-made pancake mix and whip up a batch of this delicious mix to have on hand.  It is simple to do, lighter on your wallet and delicious to eat.

Recipe:  Cornmeal Griddle Cake Mix

• 3/4 cup corn meal, we like medium grain
• 1 1/4 cup ap flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

In a large mason jar or other storage container, add all of the dry ingredients.  Close the lid.  Shake to mix.  Make pancakes. Serve.  Eat.

Recipe:  Griddle Cakes

* serves 4 hungry people, or 2 really hungry people

• 1 cup mix
• 1 1/8 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled

In a mixing bowl add the dry mix.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg and butter.  Add to the dry ingredients and stir, just to combine.  If you like a thinner pancake add a little more milk.  Heat your griddle over medium heat, coat with a thin amount of butter, add a 1/4 cup pancake mix.  Once bubbles have formed, flip the pancake over, continue to cook until golden brown;  about 2 minutes.  Continue making pancakes until the mix is gone.  Serve.  Eat.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2011. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Breakfast and Brunch, Cornmeal, Griddle Cakes, Pancakes

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The inspiration for this recipe came after spending the day, with my friend, Danielle.  You may know of her from the food blog, Bon Viviant.  She is working on her new site, Beyond the Plate, where she is taking an approach to really learn where our local food comes from.  There are over a million food blogs out there, writing about food, and even claiming that they “know” where their food comes from.  Do they really?  Pretty pictures are nice, and all;  but, her stories will leave you wanting to learn more;  do better.  Danielle is getting down, and dirty, with local-food providers, to learn about their personal journey.  From gluten-free bakeries, all the way down to cattle ranchers, she is spending the time to get to know them, document them with photos, and then write about it.  Her post are gorgeously written, and stunning to look at.  Last Tuesday, she invited me to tag along with you during one of her journalist interviews and photography sessions, she was interviewing a French yogurt maker;  Saint Benoit.

It was a gorgeous spring morning.  Crisp.  Dewy.  Sunny.  The birds were chirping, and we were heading north with cameras, and coffees in hand.  The drive to Saint. Benoit, lead us through green pastures, past wild turkeys, and fields of Jersey cows, mooing.  Perfect.

I am not going to tell you about Saint Benoit.  You will have to wait for Danielle’s voice.  I will say;  I was impressed. Beniot’s business reminded me so much of how Dominique Chapolard runs’ his pig farm in Gascony.  The only difference was the animal, and the end product;  delicious, French-inspired, creamy yogurt made with the finest ingredients in the Bay Area.  After my experience there, I could not stop thinking about the yogurt, and that first silky taste that kissed my lips.  Wallet in hand, I headed out to find it in my neighborhood.

After gobbling down a couple containers of their Meyer Lemon yogurt, I thought it would be the perfect addition to my blueberry recipe.  While I like my recipe, I thought it could use a little spring refreshing.  In addition to the citrus scented yogurt, I added extra lemon zest, some vanilla paste, a pinch of fresh thyme, and an abundance of fresh blueberries.  The muffins came out so moist, and so flavorful.  Deep citrus undertones, with a little freshest from the thyme.  I have to say, they were even better the next day.  Still moist, and flavorful.  Perfect for your next weekend brunch or Easter.

Speaking of Easter.  If you are a regular reader, you know I have a thing for cake plates (I have to many of them). Yes, that would be a new cake plate in the photo.  The newest addition over at Chez Us is so adorable.  Creamy white, with slightly ruffled edges that are lightly tinted blue. Don’t you think it made the muffins look even tastier?

Recipe:  Lemon and Thyme Scented Blueberry Muffins

What you need:

© Denise for Chez Us, 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Blueberry, Breakfast and Brunch, Brunch, East, Lemon, Meyer Lemon, Muffins, Recipe, Saint Benoit, Sur La Table, Thyme, Yogurt

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I do not care for over-sized, thick pancakes;  that sit in your gut for a better part of the day.  I prefer my pancakes to be small, light, and fluffy.  These pancakes were made with yogurt, as well as buttermilk, which gave them a nice tangy taste.  I used vanilla yogurt, which lightly scented the pancakes;  they smelled amazing while cooking on a hot griddle.  They were incredibly light as well as fluffy.  Since, I felt a luncheon deserved an adult beverage to accompany the meal, I served these Tahitian scented pancakes with warm, homemade butter and Bourbon syrup;  sinfully sweet, and perfect for lunch.

If you have not tried Bourbon Syrup;   you need too.  I am in LOVE with it.  It is a lusty deep caramelized honey color, with spicy undertones, and bit of sweet vanilla.  Perfect pairing with the fluffy little bites.

What is your favorite pancake;  sweet or savory?

Recipe:  Vanilla Yogurt Pancakes

What you need:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tablepoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tabelspoons melted butter

What you need to do:

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.  Add the yogurt, buttermilk, milk, and egg.  With a folk, mix the ingrdients together, just until wet;  pancake batter will still be lumpy.  Add the melted butter, stir.  Heat a large griddle or frying pan over a low medium heat, a 4 on our stove, lightly butter the cooking surface, and ladle about a 1/4 cup of batter on the cooking surface.  Cook until there are bubbles forming, and the under side is golden brown.  Flip, and continue to cook, until golden.  Pass the butter, and syrup.  Serve.  Eat.

Be sure to see what pancakes, other #LetsLunch folks are noshing on:

A Tiger in the Kitchen

Blog Well Done

A Cow Girl Chef

Geo Fooding

Show Food Chef

Hot Curries and Cold Beer

Free Range Cookies

Kitchen Dreamer

Cooking the Fruit Bowl

Can It You Nit

Beyond the Plate

Caitlin Shetterly

© Denise for Chez Us, 2011. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bourbon, Bourbon Syrup, Breakfast and Brunch, Fluffly, Let's Lunch, Pancakes, Recipe, St. Beniot, Vanilla Yogurt

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I have been keeping a BIG secret from everyone, including my family.  I apologize for that.  Now, I am letting you in on it….

January 28.  Wet.  Cold.  Grey.  Another wintry morning in San Francisco.  Nothing out of the ordinary. Worked out, got ready for work, made a latte, and sat down to enjoy the last moments of solitude before my day began.  I really cherish those 30 minutes of “me time”.  Sipping coffee, watching the day unfold, and reading a few emails.  Normally, I glance through my in-box, delete the crap, and put the email with names of people I know aside, so I can answer them once I get into the office.  This day, January 28, was a little different.

Helen.  This name really caught my eye, because, I don’t normally meet many Helens.  As well it was my grandmother’s name.  I glanced at the name for awhile, processing, who it could be.  I didn’t really pay attention to the subject line.  It was all slow motion.  Like opening a letter, one would receive in the mail.  Slowly, opening the envelop, as not to rip it.  Removing the folded piece of paper.  Unfolding it, and reading the words.  It was rather surreal.  Why?  This was an ordinary morning, after all.  I pondered on the name, and once I realized I did not know a “Helen”, I read the subject line, The SAVEUR Sandwich Photo Contest.  I thought about it.  Then I unfolded the piece of paper, and read the words that Helen wrote to me.

Dear Denise,

Thanks so much for submitting a picture of your absolutely extraordinary breakfast sandwich to the SAVEUR Sandwich Photo Contest – I’m very excited to let you know that you’ve won!

It was a near-unanimous vote – you really bowled the edit team over with that egg yolk-stuffed pork patty. Per the terms of the contest, your photo will be featured in the April issue of the magazine with full credit – but if you’re interested, we’d like to take it a step further and run the recipe for the sandwich alongside the picture. Would you be willing to share it with us?

Thanks so much – and congratulations again!
All the best,

Helen

It took a good 30 seconds to really hit me.  Then crowing like a morning rooster;  I bellowed, “OMG!”  As I ran through the apartment, to share the news with Lenny.

“I won.”

” I won.”

I am sure he was wondering, what the hell is she yelling about at this hour.  Won?  Won, what?   I plopped on the bed, and re-read the sweet words, and then it all made sense to him.  I was excited.  I wanted to tell everyone.  But …..

I took a step back.  To pinch myself.  Was I dreaming?  I have always dreamt of this from the first day I held a camera.  The only difference, was, that I thought my photos would include travels to far away places, shooting people, and animals (I read too many National Geographic issues as a kid).  This was the next best thing, sort of the National Geographic of food.

The next 48 hours were a blur.  I could not stop smiling.  Or re-reading that email.  I know, a bit corny, but, I was proud.  It was one thing that the photo was picked.  Another, that they wanted to print the recipe.  My photo.  Our recipe.

Once reality took hold, it was all clear.  Deadlines needed to be met.  We had to perfect this recipe, write it out, and get it back to Helen.  By Monday!  This recipe was in our heads.  Nothing had been written about it;  we had never shared it, except with the lucky few who got to put it into their bellies.  We had work to do.

A bit about the “breakfast sandwich”.  This was Lenny’s creation, as he has a deep love for all runny eggs. Wouldn’t it be fun to put a runny egg in the middle of a burger?  No one is doing it.  Sure, people are stuffing them with cheese;  but a runny egg?  The premise behind the “breakfast sandwich” deliciousness, was to create a sausage patty, with the egg hidden inside.  Topped with some hollandaise sauce to create a mixed up Eggs Benedict.  We had the flavors down.  The pork was to be simply seasoned.  The hollandaise buttery, and tart.  The English muffin was to be pan grilled, not just toasted.  And the egg.  It had to be nestled inside, and cooked just enough to still be runny.  A surprise, when you cut through the hollandaise drenched patty.

We spent the next 48 hours, playing with 8 pounds of pork, three dozen eggs, 2 avocados, 6 Meyer lemons, 1/2 pound of spinach, and a dozen English muffins.  The hardest part was getting the thickness of the patty, just right.  You want it to cook, but not over cook the egg.  We used cookie cutters to stabilize it.  We covered it.  We baked it.  We pan-fried it.  Stove-top grilled it.  You name it;  we probably did it.  Finally, after two days of cooking, and eating pork, we had it.  It was ready for the final taste test from our trusty taste tester, Ella.  The patty was perfect, crispy sides, slightly spicy, slightly salty.  The hollandaise was tart, and buttery.  The muffin was crispy.  The sauteed spinach and creamy avocado wrapped it all together.  And the surprise egg in the middle …………. was runny.  WE had done it, not only created the perfect breakfast sandwich, but, also the perfect photo to capture the moment.

I would like to thank a few people who made all possible:

Lenny. Thank you for being creative.  You may not be hands on in the kitchen, but the ideas are always flowing, and I love that about you.  Thank you for always being supportive and for putting up with me, while I chase these wildly, crazy dreams.  Thank you for believing in me, that means the world to me.

Ella. Thank you for being the best 7 year old taste-taster ever.  I admire your adventure, at such a young age, and hope the curiosity for new and exciting food lives with you forever.  Thank you for getting me to try crispy pig’s ears, which were delicious!

Penny. Thank you for lighting the fire, that had been put to sleep, some years ago.  Your words of experience have resonated in me.  The impossible is only impossible, if we don’t reach for it.  I am reaching.

Helen, and the team at Saveur.  This would have never happened, without all of you.  I am forever grateful and appreciative.  THANK YOU for this wonderful opportunity, and the recognition.  Humbling.

Tim. Thank You for your constructive criticism, and pushing me to keep at it, all the way from across the pond.  You are an inspiring mentor, and becoming a great friend.  I look forward to what lies ahead.  Thank You.

We both thank you, our readers, for your continued readership!  Let us know when you try this recipe, and what you think.

Check out the piece on the Saveur site as well.

Recipe: April Issue of Saveur, page 90.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2011. | Permalink | 36 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Breakfast and Brunch, Breakfast Sandwich, Eggs, Hollandaise, Photo Contest, Pork, Recipe, Sandwich, Saveur, Saveur Sandwich Photo Contest

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We are not big breakfast eaters.  Yes, we both know, it is the most important meal of the day.  We just don’t have time, during the week.  Yes, we both know, we should make the time.  Sometimes, we just don’t do the things we should do or the things that we know are good for us.  A reminder to slow down.  Right?

When we do make time for breakfast at home, it is usually a weekend, and for some reason, we have time;  no errands, nowhere to be, no bike rides schedules.  Time to linger in bed, drinking coffee, reading the news, maybe watching a little TV, maybe …. (okay, keeping it clean;  but, real).  We get a little itching for some waffles or eggs, and make it happen.  Simple.

Last Sunday, it was rainy out, cold, and we had nowhere to be, until later in the day.  There were hot lattes to be made, and sipped.  There was a big, orange, sweet potato sitting on the counter next to her little cousin, Russet, and there was some left over corned beef in the fridge.  Only one thing was left to do …. fire up the frying pan.

I have had hash on the brain for awhile now.  After, two recent, and delicious brunches at Serpentine, where I had lip smacking hash.  Then last weekend, my friend Cheryl, wowed me with a home cooked brunch of brown butter waffles, blood orange salad, and homemade hash with poached eggs.  Oh, and, I cannot forget the insanely delicious bacon.  Cheryl, recipe????

I have never made a hash, so I decided to wing it;  after all, I had time.  I cut up the leftover corned beef, and cooked it long and slow with some onions, and garlic, until everything was slightly crispy, and caramelized.  While this was smelling up the kitchen, in a good way, I plunged Russet, and his cousin Sweet Potato to their death.  It was perfect.  Really it was.  It was raining, slightly chilly out (did I say that already), and the coffee was going down all too well.  I was feeling creative, so I kept the recipe going.  Cheryl served her hash with baked kale, which added a nice crunch to her recipe.  Since, I did not have the time to do this, I just chopped up a hand-full and tossed it into the hash.  The colors were great.  Vibrant, and delicious.  The finishing touch was perfectly poached eggs, a sprinkle of grey salt, and a dash of fresh cracked black pepper.  Now, this is how a Sunday should be; long, and slow cooked.

If you are vegetarian, leave out the corned beef.  This recipe will make a sweet potato hash, with the addition of a little more sweet and russet potatoes.

Recipe: Hash and Perfectly Poached Eggs
* serves 4

What you need:

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into fourths
• 1 medium russet, peeled and cut into fourths
• 1/3 cup corned beef, cut into small dice
• 1 small yellow onion, cut into small dice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• drizzle of olive oil, about 2 tablespoons
• kale, handful, cut into small pieces
• kosher salt to taste
• fresh black pepper, to taste
• grey salt and black pepper, garnish
• perfectly poached eggs, 1 egg per serving

What you need to do:

Heat oven to 325. In a large dutch oven, add the potatoes, cover with water, and bring to a boil. While this is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the corned beef, and onion; cook over medium heat, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic. Continue to cook, until the beef is slightly crispy, and the onions and garlic are slightly caramelized. While this is cooking, remove the potatoes from the heat. They will be slightly soft, but still firm. Drain. Cool down with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. Cut into small dice. Add to the corned beef and onion mixture. Continue cooking, stirring very often, for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Put into individual, oven proof, dishes. Slide into the oven. Poach the eggs. Remove the dishes from the oven, and top each one with an egg. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Serve. Eat.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2011. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Breakfast and Brunch, Corned Beef, Eggs, Hash, How to Poach an Egg, Perfectly Poached Eggs, poached egg, Recipe, Russet Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Vegetables

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To our American readers – Happy Thanksgiving, may your day be filled with love, warmth, family, friends and delicious food.

A few months ago, I was having a twitter session with John, Jennifer and Tamar about scones.  Everyone was eager to make scones together, sort of a virtual bake-off.  Unfortunately, I was not able to play along for a couple reason:  1)  I thought it would be too time consuming and 2) life over-took me once again.  Ever since I have had scones on my mind and have been tossing around different versions to make.  The big question was, sweet or savory?

Back in October, I had some free time one morning and decided to tackle the scone challenge.  I ran to the store, picked up some good Irish butter, some flour, pecans and pumpkin.  Then I made a cup of coffee, turned on a little music and began. I wanted a scone that would be sweet, but not overly sweet as well I wanted it to smell of autumn;  a little nutty, a bit spicy and comforting.  Pumpkin and pecans would be perfect.

Most of the recipes I found, had me mixing the dough by hand as well asked for cake flour in addition to ap flour.  I wanted the recipe to be simple, so I started with only ap flour.  As well I used a food processor;  I don’t like sticky hands.  The dough came together really nicely, it was light and very flavorful;  very easy to work with.  One of the reasons I was so hesitiate on baking scones was the rolling of the dough into a square and then cutting.  Why?  I don’t know but I was.  Instead I rolled the dough into a circle and cut it like a pie.  Easy.  I was so excited at this point, that I started a list of all the different flavors I wanted to start making.

The smell of pumpkin and cardamon, mixed perfectly with the pecans and butter while they were baking.  Even though the scones were stand-up on their own, I decided after a couple bites, to make a sweet maple glaze.  This was the perfect final touch, while drizzled over the tops of the scones while they are still warm.  Not only would this recipe make for a perfectly light breakfast, but, it went well with a nice cup of hot chai tea as an afternoon snack.

What is your favorite scone;  sweet or savory?

Recipe:  Pumpkin Scones with Maple Glaze

2 cups ap flour
1/4 cup sugar, we use unprocessed raw sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspooon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamon
6 tablespoons irish butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup heavy cream
Preheat oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet with silpat.  In a food processor combine all the dry ingredients, give a whirl to mix.  With the food processor running, at pieces of the butter, a couple at a time and pulse until pea sized.  Continue adding the butter until it is used up.  Add the puree and the heavy cream.  Pulse until the dough comes together, not any longer.  Scrape the dough out onto a floured surface, lightly knead and then bring together into a circle, about 3/4 inch thick.  Cut into triangles, I made 8 but you could make them a bit smaller or larger.  Place onto the baking sheet, so that they do not touch.  Bake for about 15 minutes.  They will be light brown on the bottoms and the tops.  Remove from oven.  Drizzle with the maple glaze.  Serve.  Eat.

*disclaimer I made these a couple times and they come out much better when I used Irish butter instead of regular unsalted butter

Recipe:  Maple Glaze

1/2 powdered sugar
3 – 6 tablespoons pure maple syrup, depends on the consistency you want

Mix in a small bowl until you reach the consistency you are after. Drizzle over warm scones.

If you enjoyed this dish, you may enjoy these others as well:

Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Glaze

Pumpkin Scones

Pumpkin and Ginger Scones

© Denise for Chez Us, 2010. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baking, Breakfast and Brunch, irish butter, maple glaze, Pecans, Pumpkin, Recipe, Scones

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The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

This year has flown by without many Daring Baker’s Challenges.  There are a few reasons but the number one being time.  We have been overwhelmed this year and unfortunately time has not been on our sides.  I was listening (reading, spying) to some chit-chat among some of my favorite European Foodies the other morning and they were busy kneading, baking, enjoying sweet smells from the oven.  I was intrigued and butted in their conversations – what was going on and how could I be part of it. Jamie, was the first to gently nod me by saying it was the Daring Bakers challenge and it was doughnuts this month.

I love doughnuts.  I love all sorts, yeast ones, cake ones, sweet, a little savory, all of them!  I have yet to find the perfect one in the bay area.  I am not actively searching but when I run across a doughnut shop, I sometimes sneak in and grab one.  My biggest doughnut time is when we were in Boston.  Yes, I am a huge fan of the coconut cake doughnut holes at Dunkin Doughnuts.  It is a quilty pleasure.  But, I really prefer a nice fluffy yeasty doughnut with a little glaze.

After reading the challenge instructions I decided to go with Alton Brown’s yeast doughnut recipe.  Easy and it would not take up my entire day.  I did make a few changes – used half buttermilk in place of whole milk and used freshly grated black cardamon instead of nutmeg.  The recipe is really simple and it rises perfectly.  Even frying them was simple – even though I did over do it by a few minutes.  I finished the recipe off with a warm apple cider glaze, which was perfectly light and not overly gooey.  I loved the recipe as it was easy;  but, you have to eat them right away.  You cannot save them until the next day or the next, just not that great.  They are meant to be eaten hot, warm and fluffy!  The recipe is easy enough to start early in the morning, just in time to have warm fluffy doughnuts on the table by a proper brunch time.

Recipe:  Black Cardamon Doughnuts with Warm Apple Cider
Glaze

*inspired by Alton Brown

3/4 cups milk
3/4 cups buttermilk
1/3 cup butter
2 packages instant yeast
1/3 cup warm water (95 to 105 degrees F)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground cardamon
23 ounces all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting surface
Canola oil, for frying (1 to 1/2 gallons, depending on fryer)

Place the milk, buttermilk and butter  in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm enough to the butter.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk mixture, first making sure it has cooled to lukewarm. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, cardamon, and half of the flour. Using the paddle attachment, combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined. Add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium and beat well. Change to the dough hook attachment of the mixer and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 3/8-inch thick. Cut out dough using a 2 1/2-inch doughnut cutter.   Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with flour sack towel and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oil in a deep fryer, dutch oven or deep frying pan to 365 degrees F. Gently place the doughnuts into the oil, 3 to 4 at a time. Cook for 1 minute per side. Transfer to a cooling rack placed in baking pan. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes prior to glazing, if desired.

Dip doughnut into glaze, place on a cooling rack, glaze side up and let sit about 10 minutes.  Serve.  Eat.

Recipe:  Warm Apple Cider Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup apple cider

Heat apple cider in a small saucepan until warm. Sift powdered sugar into a medium mixing bowl. Add the warm cider. Whisk until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Be sure to check out the Daring Baker’s blogroll, I am sure they will fatten you up really well!

If you enjoyed this dish, you may enjoy these others as well:

Sophisticated Gourmet Homemade Glazed Doughnuts

Shutterbean Baked Caramel Apple Doughnuts

Eating Outloud Buttermilk Doughnuts

© Denise for Chez Us, 2010. | Permalink | 16 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Apple Cider, Breakfast and Brunch, Cardamon, Cider, Daring Bakers, Doughnuts, Food Blog Event, Yeast Doughnuts

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CONGRATULATIONS!!  We have two winners

Cate from Budget Confessions

Tamar from Starving Off The Land

please email me your mailing addresses asap – denise@chezus.com

You may only think we eat dinner around here as I seldom write about breakfast;  but, we cannot live on dinner alone.  Breakfast is a big part of our day.  If it was not for that first cup of steaming espresso with frothed milk and a bite to eat, we would never make it through a morning of calls, emails or that weekend bike ride (or market run in my case).  Now don’t get me wrong, there is an occasional slip up, where we don’t get a bite first thing and those are the mornings where we both sit in our office, staring blankly at a computer screen and grumpy.  As well it usually means we will over indulge rest of the day.  Breakfast really helps make our day a better one.

Keep reading this long post … something fun at the end!

One of our goals for the new year was to make sure we had breakfast every day.  Since there are times where we don’t have time before catching the train or jumping on the scooter, we decided to keep Quaker Oats at the office.  It makes not missing breakfast even easier.  We just bring a basket of berries or a little container of pumpkin puree or an apple to mix in with the oatmeal.  When we are at home we like to have a little more fun with our oatmeal by mixing the oatmeal packet with warm milk and hot water and then tossing in fruit, nuts, pumpkin puree, or fresh berries.  A drizzle of honey and an extra drizzle of warm milk is also a great addition.

Quaker recently contacted us and asked us to participate in a fun event about how we start our day.  By doing so, they also introduced us to their new digital application CrEATe Your Day.  You have to check it out as it really is fun.  You get the choice to CrEATe a bowl of oatmeal for yourself or for a loved one.  The application will walk you through a series of fun questions in order to CrEATe Your Day.  At the end the site will give you a recipe idea as well as a coupon for a $1.00 off.  You can then share your day with a friend or even on FaceBook.  I love the site as it is easy to use, it is bright and cheery and the animated steam rolling off the bowl of oatmeal makes me hungry.  To sweeten our breakfast morning Quaker sent us an oatmeal starter kit that includes Quaker Oatmeal and a place setting for our breakfast table.  The best parts of this program is that Quaker will donate $1 to Share Our Strength (SOS) for each Oatmeal Creation to help fight childhood hunger. The original goal was to raise $25,000, which they exceeded, so Quaker has upped the donation to $50,000.

So how do you CrEATe Your Day with Quaker Oatmeal?

Quaker is also providing two oatmeal starter kits for us to giveaway to two randomly selected readers.  They (as well as us) want to help inspire you to make your own breakfast creations in your kitchen (or  your office).  The kits include Quaker Oatmeal and a place setting for your breakfast table.

The CrEATe Your Day Rules:

• Leave a comment on this post telling us what your favorite way to prepare oatmeal is?  Do you like to add anything to it?  Or eat it plain?  Comment on THIS post by 11:59 pm PST March 28, 2010
• 2 random winners will be announced March 29, 2010
• Open to US and Canada residents only.

Extra Entries: Additional entries can be earned by doing any of the following.  There is no limit to how many times you can do either of the extras.  Leave a separate comment on this post for each of your entries.

• Go to quakeroats.com/createyourday and make a custom creation. In the comments tell us what the creation was.
• Tweet about this giveaway. Include @chezus and a link to the giveaway in your tweet. Leave the link to your Twitter post in a comment on this post.

Recipe:  Pick Me Up and Get Me Out the Door Oatmeal

* 1 serving

2 packets Quaker Oatmeal Maple Brown Sugar

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup warm milk

1 banana

handful fresh blackberries

handful of pecans, crushed

Use two packets for each serving.  Follow the directions on the packet of oatmeal using 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup milk.  Thinly slice banana over the oatmeal.  Sprinkle the blackberries and pecans over the top.  Drizzle a little warm milk over the top.  Serve. Eat.

* Disclosure:  TO PARTICIPATE IN THE QUAKER OATMEAL CREATE YOUR DAY PROGRAM, I WAS COMPENSATED FOR WRITING THIS POST REGARDING MY EXPERIENCE. I WAS NOT TOLD WHAT TYPE OF CREATIONS I SHOULD MAKE NOR DID QUAKER REQUIRE ME TO USE ANY SPECIFIC INGREDIENTS.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2010. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Banana, Blackberry, Breakfast and Brunch, CrEATe Your Day, Healthy, Oatmeal, Oats, Pecans, Quaker Oat Meal

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© Denise for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baking, Banana Bread, Bread, Breakfast and Brunch, Dessert, Wordless Wednesday

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An easy appetizer or addition to a light meal, classic pizza dough is rolled very thin, seasoned with very fresh herbs, sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil – deliciously summer.

A few of you may know Margaret of Away to Garden.  Away to Garden is a lovely site about … gardening.  Last summer she kicked off a food blogging event called Food Fest, along with  Deb Puchalla.  I enjoyed reading about it during the duration, unfortunately, I was only able to participate once with some outstanding corncakes.   Great news, the event is back and this time there is a new crew along with MargarChez Us › Add New Post — WordPresset:   Matt of Matt Bites,  Diane & Todd of White on Rice Couple and Jaden of the Steamy Kitchen.

The first week of Food Fest is all about herbs.  I keep a couple big pots on our deck, immediately by the kitchen door, these pots are full of:  chives, verbena, basil, rosemary, mint, spearmint, chocolate mint, lemon thyme and French Thyme.  I use them on a daily basis.  I try to only grow the herbs I use, you will hardly find many dried ones in our house.  I love the way they make the kitchen smell as well as how they make our food taste.  This week was all about cleaning out our fridge/freezer and what I found was a tub of pizza dough in the freezer.  After thawing it out, rolling it very thin, coating with some coarse cornmeal, I covered the top with lots shallots, thyme, and rosemary, finishing with a drizzle of good olive oil and sprinkle of sea salt.  It baked up golden and fragrant and was a wonderful addition to a bowl full of the “perfect” scrambled eggs with chives and white truffle oil.

Recipe:  Herbed Flat Bread

1 serving pizza dough

coarse cornmeal

handful fresh herbs, minced

2 shallots, sliced thinly

olive oil, drizzle

sea salt, sprinkle

Heat oven to 425.  Roll out pizza dough, very thinly,  on a table sprinkled with cornmeal.  Carefully move rolled out pizza dough to a parchment paper covered baking sheet.  Sprinkle shallots, herbs and sea salt over the top, drizzle with olive oil.  Bake for 8 – 10 minutes until golden and crisp.  Serve.  Eat.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baking, Breakfast and Brunch, Dinner, Eggs, Flat Bread, Food Blog Event, Food Fest 2009, Recipe, Scrambled Eggs

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Ciabatta is my go-to-bread for not only dipping in olive oil but for easy grilled cheese sandwiches.  Cinnamon rolls are favorite breakfast treat, who does not like “candy” for breakfast!

I am terribly behind on my BBA Challenge posts.  I am getting ready to work on the next challenge but felt guilty jumping ahead before telling you about these two wonderful challenges.  Ciabatta and Cinnamon Rolls don’t really go together but we did have the all in the same weekend.

Both recipes were very simple, especially the cinnamon rolls, I was able to whip them up in an afternoon.  The Ciabatta did require a little pre-planning (note to self, read recipe before getting ready to start) as the poolish and the biga need to sit overnight.

Ciabatta normally has an open crumb texture with lots of holes.  Notice the nice tight crumb of ours?  I am not sure what happened?  I used the poolish method and followed the instructions exactly.  I felt very optimistic about this bread, that is until I began cutting it open.  The flavor was delicious and as long as I just told people it was “bread”, they would have never known it was suppose to be Ciabatta.  Any insight would be appreciated??  I would love to master this recipe!

Cinnamon Buns are the ultimate breakfast treat and I decided to make them for an early morning coffee with my sister, Daniele and brother in-law, Shawn.  The recipe was very easy and flowed so smoothly, no hiccups.   I decided to flavor them with cardamon instead of cinnamon and a deep orange frosting – the two flavors were great together and definitely more of an “adult” cinnamon bun as the kids who tested did not care for them.  I made these a couple years ago and I definitely liked the end result of that recipe better.  These cinnamon buns deflated upon baking and looked more like disks.  I would try them again, though, before going back to my original attempt.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baking, BBA Challenge, Bread, Breakfast and Brunch, Ciabatta, Cinnamon Buns

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* I am entering this old post  in Gel’s Kitchen Blog event, NTTC July 2009 Egg Challenge.  This is a fantastic and easy salad to make for a light and quick dinner.

I completely forgot about Easter.  We have been so busy and all of the Catholic signs flew by us.  Not only until today,  did it cross my mind, when E & M stopped by flapping their Palms from Sunday Church.  Normally, I love Easter.  It is the beginning of all things Spring.  I am usually baking hot cross buns, making marmalade, starting the garden, baking Masa;  not, this year.  Since all the things we love about Easter, food wise, will have to wait this year, I decided we needed to do something remotedly related to the holiday.  In the middle of making breakfast it came to mind, why not pay tribute to the “egg”.

The first part will be the poached egg.  Now, as  regular reader, you know I am not a huge fan of eggs.  I must confess, I actually like them.  They just have to be done the right way, which is, my way.  Laudalino, on the other hand, will eat an egg any old way .. poached, fried, soft boiled, scrambled, hard boiled.  Not picky.  A few weeks ago I had an incredible poached egg served over a bed of curried chickpeas and lentils, it was fantastic and what was so fantastic was that the egg was perfect.  I have been attempting to make the perfect poached egg and I have finally mastered it.

Poached eggs don’t have to be only for breakfast.  They are also wonderful for brunch, think Egg’s Benedict, as well they are fantastic for dinner, such as on a Pizza, over mushrooms, or even on a salad.  One of our favorite ways to have a perfectly poached egg is the classic French salad, Frisee with Lardons (bacon).

Recipe: Perfectly Poached Egg

1 egg

2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon sea salt

water

Bring water to boil in a shallow frying pan, about 2 inches deep.  Crack egg into a small dish.  Lower the heat on the water to a simmer and slowly slide the egg into the simmering water.  Cover with a lid and let sit about 3 – 5 minutes depending on how soft you like the yolk.  Gently remove from the water, with a slotted spoon and lay on a double folded paper towel for about 1 minute.  Put into a serving bowl.  Sprinkle with salt and cracked pepper.  Serve.  Eat.

Recipe: Frisee with Lardons

1 head frisee, cleaned and torn into pieces

6 bacon slices – cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons red vinegar

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

1 small shallot, thinly sliced

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons bacon fat, left from browning bacon

salt, to taste

fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Cook bacon until golden and crispy.  Remove from pan and left set on folded paper towels.  Set aside

Combine vinegar, mustard, shallot, olive oil, bacon fat, salt and pepper in a jar, shake to combine.

Toss frisee with dressing and bacon bits.  Set aside.  Poached eggs using directions above.  To serve put a bed of lettuce on a plate and top with two poached eggs each.  Serve with a nicely warmed baguette.  Serve.  Eat.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bacon, Breakfast and Brunch, Dinner, Easter, Eggs, French, frisee salad, Gel's Kitchen Blog Event, How to Poach an Egg, lardons, light lunch, NTTC Challenge, perfect poached egg, poached egg, simple poached egg

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