Breakfast in Bed

Wake up to Tyler Florence's French Toast Waffles with Caramelized Apples and Bacon. Served with a mocha cappuccino whipped up with an immersion blender."

I found the above video and recipe while I was scoping out Macys department Store to purchase a new waffle iron. One of mine broke a week ago and I still haven't found a replacement that I like. I had two Toastmaster Belgium Waffle Bakers that I just loved.  Now I'm having trouble find the same waffle iron. I don't think they make it any more. I did see one on EBay. They referred to it as Vintage and it was used. I didn't want to take a chance.

My irons make a round Belgian waffle with deep indentations that fits perfectly onto our B&B china ware. If I buy a replacement that is not the same shape or does not have deep indentations on the grid, then we will not be serving uniform portions to our guests and that just wont do.

There are waffles, and then there are Belgian waffles. A regular waffle can run through a range of possible flavors and textures – from light and crispy, to hearty and filling – and can be any of a variety of shapes, according to the type of waffle iron that you own. A Belgian waffle is always light and it is always made in a deep waffle iron that maximizes the amount of batter exposed to the griddle for maximum crispness of the finished waffle. Their deep pockets are ideal for collecting syrup and butter, and while all types of waffles are good, there is nothing quite like a good Belgian waffle.

We need two because if we only have one it takes too long if we're making waffles for four or more guests having breakfast at the same time. If you've ever worked in a kitchen or restaurant, you know that keeping the food hot is a priority. And you have to be care with waffles. If you hold them in the oven too long they will dry out. You want them crusty on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Anyhow, after unsuccessfully scouring the web for a duplicate of the one working iron I have left, I came across this Cuisinart round waffle maker...Not sure I will purchase it as it is not a Belgian waffle maker...the indentations are not as deep on the grids and the waffle is not a thick as Belgian waffles, which are 6-7 inches thick. So I will keep looking...but I still think the recipe and the breakfast shown on the video above are interesting and look delicious.



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How to Cut A Mango

I absolutely love Mangoes but when I go to the fruit market, even though they always look delicious to me, I usually don't buy them. Why? Because I have so much trouble slicing and pitting them. I have a Mango sitting in my frig right now and have been reluctant to eat it...until today, that is. Today, I found this video. It makes slicing and pitting Mangoes look so easy, I'm going to slice and eat mine for breakfast tomorrow. Why don't you join me?
 


compliments of Just One More Bite

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Crispy Zucchini Sticks

Ingredients
Serves 4
3 tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt or garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 medium zucchini
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 475ºF. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, salt and black pepper in a shallow bowl.

Cut the zucchini lengthwise into eighths. Cut into 1 1/2- to 2-inch pieces.
Combine zucchini, vegetable oil and water in a resealable plastic bag.
Shake to coat zucchini. Remove zucchini from plastic bag.
Coat with the bread crumb mixture.
Arrange zucchini in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until tender and browned, about 7 minutes.
Serve immediately with warm spaghetti sauce, if desired.

Grandma's Secret Tip
The summertime flavor combination of zucchini and basil was one Grandma liked. So she often added 1/4 teaspoon dried basil to the bread crumb mixture before coating the zucchini with it. She sometimes set out a bowl of warm meatless spaghetti sauce for dipping the crisp zucchini sticks into. (recipe and tip from Grandmas’s Kitchen)
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Pear and CheddarGalette

Ingredients

Crust
pastry for single-crust pie
Filling
1/2 cup cheddar
 2 cups pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch slices
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Burnt Sugar Syrup Topping
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400-degrees.
Spray an 8-inch tart pan with oil and line with pie pastry. Sprinkle crust with cheese.

Combine pears, lemon juice, and nutmeg in a medium-size bowl; toss well. Add brown sugar and flour; toss gently. Mound fruit mixture on top of cheese. Fold edges of pastry up over the pear mixture. I sprinkled the top with nutmeg.

Bake at 400-degrees for 30 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
To prepare the burnt sugar syrup topping, in a small, heavy saucepan (cast iron is best), heat sugar until it
dissolves. Drizzle syrup over galette.

Burnt Sugar Syrup
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups water
Dump the sugar in a skillet on the stove. Turn the heat to medium-low. You don’t actually “burn” the sugar–you melt it. The sugar will just…melt. Seriously. Who knew? (Stop laughing. I’m from the suburbs.) Stir only occasionally. The less you stir, the better. If you can’t restrain yourself, walk away for five to ten minutes and come back. It will turn a golden brown color.

Now add the hot water, continuing with your heat on medium-low. (The online recipe instructed me to boil the water before adding it. This was not in sync with the old-time recipe and it’s not necessary. (Old church ladies know this stuff!) I made the burnt sugar twice, with each recipe, and I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to boil the water. Just use it hot right out of your tap. That’s good enough.

The melted sugar gets all excited when you add the water and it will bubble up. Then it will calm down and after another five to ten minutes (again, it doesn’t like to be stirred too much), it will look like pancake syrup.

Turn off the heat and set it aside to cool to room temperature while you start preparing the cake. The syrup is thin while it’s hot, but as it cools, it thickens. By the way, if you’re ever snowed in and have to have pancakes, this makes a pancake syrup in a pinch. Add a bit of maple flavoring if you have some on hand and it’s make-do maple syrup. Just remember, however much you want to make, use equal parts sugar and water. You know, if you’re snowed in and have to have pancakes. I wouldn’t want anyone to go without pancakes ever again. It’s an unnecessary tragedy.

Note: Using 1 1/3 cups sugar and 1 1/3 cups water, you’re going to end up with approximately 1 1/4 cups Burnt Sugar Syrup after it cooks down in the process. Your exact mileage may vary.




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Garlic Grilled Tomatoes

 This recipe was adapted from Steven Raichlen the BBQ king. I make these delicious tomatoes as a side dish frequently,  to serve with quiches and omelets. They're a great addition. They can be done on the grill or broiled in your toaster oven. This is a great summer recipe when tomatoes taste their best right off the vine.


Ingredients
4-6 ripe tomatoes
salt
fresh cracked pepper
crushed garlic
olive oil
thyme
grated parmesan cheese

Instructions
Cut your tomatoes in half crosswise, season with salt and pepper. In a small frying pan add crushed garlic, olive oil and fresh thyme, cook til golden, take off the heat and add in grated parmesan cheese. Place your tomato halves cut side down on and oiled grill until you get grill marks, then turn them over with tongs and spoon the garlic cheese mixture on top and continue cooking.

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Fabulous Pumpkin cream filled bread

I found this recipe on line at:  Sunday Baker.net. It's a wonderful site, filled with all sorts of yummy recipes. Below, Tanya the author of the site describes how she experimented with low cal. ingredients to come up with this amazing pumpkin bread. In fact, it turned out so well, she eat a whole loaf herself (Nancy)

Tanya's story: "So my goal here was to play around with a recipe to make it so I could still wolf it down like a glutton but not feel so guilty about it. Because I honestly believe that even though moderation is a wonderful thing in life, some things are meant to be exceptions. Chocolate is one. And a bread that I wait all year to make is the other.

So after tweaking some ingredients and getting rid of others altogether, this is what resulted. It's probably not as sweet as my favorite pumpkin bread (that can easily be fixed by adding more sugar which I don't want to do), but it was the perfect pumpkin texture and really quite good (especially the second day)! The ribbon of cream cheese is a tasty addition. There are about 79 calories per slice."

Pumpkin and Cream Bread

Yield: 2 loaves (14 slices each)

Batter:

1-1/2 c. pureed pumpkin

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

1 whole egg

3 egg whites

1 c. all-purpose flour

2/3 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. Stevia Cup For Cup sweetener

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

Cream filling

8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 T. all-purpose flour

2 egg whites

1 t. vanilla extract

1. For the Batter: With an electric mixer, beat the pumpkin, applesauce, egg, and egg whites on medium speed until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, Stevia, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Slowly mix the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture.

2. For the cream cheese filling: Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, egg whites and flour until creamy and smooth.

3. Grease 2 8x4x2" loaf pans. Divide half of the batter between the two pans. Pour half of the filling in one pan and the other half in the second pan and smooth with the back of a spoon. Top with the remaining batter.

4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Don't overbake or your bread will be dry on the edges. Cool and remove from pans. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Tanya's Confession: " I ate this entire loaf by myself, for real. Rich asked me "How is that pumpkin bread you made?" I lied and said, "It is OK, you wouldn't really like it." The truth was I had already finished it and didn't want him to know. I really do love pumpkin!"

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Another lemony dessert for summer

Lemon Brownies

The "Brownie" Batter

3/4 cup all-purpose flour {King Arthur All-Purpose Flour}

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt {Sea Salt}

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Tart Lemon Glaze

1 rounded cup powdered sugar

4 tablespoon lemon juice

8 teaspoons lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease/Spray an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with butter/cooking spray and set aside. 

Zest and juice two small/large lemons; set aside. {whatever you have}

In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the flour, sugar, salt, and softened butter until combined. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined. Pour into the flour mixture and beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. 

Pour into baking dish and bake for 23-25 minutes, or until just starting to turn golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before glazing.  Do not overbake, or the bars will be dry. {even with the yummy glaze}

When brownies are cooled completely, make the glaze...sift the powdered sugar, add lemon zest and juice, and whisk together all three ingredients. Spread 1/2 the glaze over the brownies with a rubber spatula.  Let glaze set.  Spread the remaining glaze over the bars, and let it set.  This glaze does not harden like most.  Cut into bars, and serve!

Found on Bakergirl, originally from Rita May's Recipes

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