The Art of Food: breakfast

Showing posts with label breakfast. Show all posts

Tomato and Basil Basted Breakfast Eggs

Tomato and Basil Basted Breakfast Eggs This recipe makes basting eggs a breeze. Our fresh basil pesto is like using fresh grown basil from the garden on your farm fresh eggs. Enjoy with country bacon and a crispy ciabatta toasts.

Ingredients: 1 tablespoon Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
1 tablespoon Fresh Basil Pesto
2 tablespoon grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 teaspoon Mediterranean Tangerine Aromatic Oil
1 teaspoon Fresh chopped basil leaves
2 whole eggs

Directions:
In individual serving ovenproof baking dish or ramekin, break eggs carefully side by side. Add tomatoes and basil pesto . Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with Tangerine Oil. Bake in 350° oven until edges are bubbly and yolk is cooked to your desire.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese and fresh basil. Serve while hot with applewood smoked bacon .

Cranberry Preserved Orange Almond Muffins

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

2 tbsp. Almond paste

2 whole eggs

1 tsp. Pure vanilla

½ tsp. Lemon juice

½ cup buttermilk

1 tsp. Baking powder

pinch baking soda

pinch kosher salt

2 cups flour, all-purpose unbleached

1 cup Preserved oranges and kumquats, seeds removed and chopped coarsely

1 cup Cranberry Conserve

In food processor, break up sugars and almond paste until finely ground. In mixer, cream butter with sugar and almond paste mixture until light in color and texture. Add eggs one at a time until blended. Add vanilla and lemon juice, mixing just until blended. Sift dry ingredients. With mixer on low speed, alternately add dry ingredients and buttermilk in two parts just until incorporated. Do not overmix. Fold in oranges and kumquats, then cranberries . Spoon in muffin cups or greased muffin tin. Bake in a preheated 350 (degree) oven until done (about 20-30 minutes) or until a toothpick comes clean when pierced in the center of the muffin.

Makes 10-12 Muffins

Cranberry Apple Almond Muffins

1 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup brown sugar 2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons almond paste 1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup butter, softened 1/8 teaspoon baking soda & kosher salt

2 whole eggs 1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup Cranberry Apple Sauce

In food processor, break up sugars and almond paste until finely ground. In mixer,

cream butter with sugar and almond paste mixture until light in color. Add eggs,

vanilla and lemon juice, mixing just until blended. Sift in dry ingredients and add

buttermilk alternately until incorporated. Fold in cranberry apple sauce. Spoon in muffin cups or greased muffin tin. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until toothpick comes clean when pierced in the center of the muffin (about 20-30 minutes). Makes 10 - 12 muffins.

Celebrate with an extra Green Brunch this weekend! Spinach Artichoke Breakfast Frittata

Saturday brunch is extra GREEN this week, thanks to Saint Patrick’s Day! This Bella recipe pairs perfectly with corned beef and cabbage, or bangers and mash!

Spinach and Artichoke Frittata with Balsamic peppers

Tart dough:

1 ½ cup flour

1 tsp. Salt

2 Tablespoons Parmesean cheese

12 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 Tablespoons cold water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a food processor add the flour, salt and cheese. Pulse mixture until combined. With motor running , add butter in pieces until mixture is crumbly. Add water until process just until dough comes together, about 10 seconds.

Turn out dough onto floured surface. Cut dough into thirds. Roll two pieces of dough into 12 inch cylinders and line side of 9 inch removeable fluted tart pan.Press in dough until sides are about ¼ inch thick. With a sharp knife, scrap off any excess dough from edge of tart pan. Place last piece of dough in center of tart pan, With heel of hand, press in dough from center to edges until bottom is evenly covered about ¼ inch thick. Prick bottom of dough with fork and bake in oven for 10-12 minutes or until dough is lightly golden in color. Remove from oven until ready to use.

Tart filling:

6 eggs

11 oz. fresh ricotta, recipe follows

1- 12 oz. jar of Bella Cucina Spinach and Artichoke Bruschetta Spread*

2 Tablespoons Parmesean cheese

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1 jar Bella Cucina Roasted Sweet Balsamic Peppers, sliced

In medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, ricotta, bruschetta spread, salt and pepper until smooth. Pour the spinach artichoke mixture into prepared tart shell. Be careful not to overfill. Bake until top of tart is brown and bubbly, about 20-25 minutes. Tart will continue to cook when removed from oven.

Cool slightly and serve in wedges topped with sliced sweet peppers.

Serves 8-10

* you can also substitute Spinach Artichoke Bruschetta with Artichoke Lemon Pesto.

To make fresh Ricotta:

1 half gallon whole milk {use the best quality milk you can buy}

1-1/2 cups cream {see above}

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

In a large saucepan, heat the milk and cream over medium heat until the temperature reaches 180 degrees. Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and let sit covered for 15 minutes.

Remove the curds from the liquid with a sieve or small slotted spoon into a bowl layered with cheese cloth. Tie up the ends of the cheese cloth and hang it over the bowl so it can drain any remaining liquid from the curd. Let sit for about 2 hours.

Makes about 4 cups.

Breakfast in Bed

There's nothing more decadent, and endearing, than to have breakfast brought to you in bed.
I can't remember the last time I had breakfast in bed, but the notion of it is still a romantic possibility. {Maybe it was when I was down with the flu. Pretty unromantic timing, not to mention I had absolutely no appetite!}.

But who REALLY wants breakfast in bed anyway? It can be awkward juggling a tray full of plates + cups, trying to keep it steady on bumpy knees or lumpy covers. It's always messy. Something inevitably gets spilled onto the duvet. Sticky syrup, green tea, runny egg yolks. You might even mistake your bed sheet for a napkin to wipe off that deliciously smoked {and greasy} bacon. hmmmmm......

As much as breakfast in bed sounds like something I should envy, I'd rather stick with our current Sunday morning breakfast ritual. It's at the table, reading the NY Times, drinking tea or coffee, having conversations from the kitchen, easy music humming from the speakers, and breakfast beautifully laid out on plates that sit squarely on a solid surface. That kind of romancing works deliciously well for me.

Sunday Breakfast Ritual

I love Sunday mornings.
They are a sacred ritual at my home. The morning begins with Benton's applewood smoked bacon sizzling on the stovetop, waking me gently and deliciously up and out of bed. Organic eggs are not far behind. The coffee is already simmering in the french press and the local and NY Times Sunday edition papers have arrived from the grocer around the corner. It is cold out today, prompting an oakwood fire in my studio fireplace to warm it up for the next few hours, where I will spend the rest of the afternoon.

Today we are having one of my favorite Sunday breakfast dishes, Baked Organic Eggs with Sugo a la Peperonata. A light and flavorful tomato sauce with golden and red peppers and carmelized onions layered with fresh spinach, cracked whole eggs with brilliant sunny yolks and a dusting of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. This dish is deceitfully easy and deliciously elegant, so whether fixing it as breakfast for two or a brunch for a crowd, it can be made with little fuss and lots of fluff.

The last of the season's spinach; made it through two snowfalls!

Baked Organic Eggs with Sugo a la Peperonata and Sauteed Fresh Spinach

1 Cup Bella Cucina Sugo a la Peperonata* {or your favorite tomato sauce}
1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves { or arugula} cut into ribbons
4 fresh, organic eggs
Salt & pepper to taste.
2 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

You make this dish either in the oven or on the stovetop.
In the overn:
Heat oven at 350 degrees. In ovenproof cassarole dish, spoon sugo tomato sauce and spread to cover bottom of pan. Place in oven for 5-10 minutes, or until sauce is warm. Remove pan from oven and layer spinach leaves over sauce. Crack eggs one at a time and gently place over spinach. Season with salt and pepper. Place egg dish back in oven and baked until eggs are cooked to your liking, about 5-8 minutes should do it. Remove from oven and sprinkly with Parmesan cheese.
Serve warm from oven to table or spoon out on individual plates. You can also cook in individual ramekins.

If you don't have an oven {its possible!} you can cook on the stovetop over medium heat. Simply cook over medium heat, following same directions for the oven. You will love how easy it is!

Don't forget the bacon!
We love the bacon from a Tennessee family, Benton Hams.
If you can't find it at your local specialty grocer, you can order from their website. http://www.bentonshams.com.

* Bella Cucina's Sugo a la peperonata can be purchased at www.bellacucina.com

Buon appetito!
copyright 2008 Alisa Barry