Posts Tagged ‘breakfast’

SHEET PAN EGGS

Posted: August 27, 2017 in breakfast, Food, Recipes, sausage
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When you’ve got 20 people showing up at your house for breakfast the morning after hosting a 165-person party the night before, you want to make it all as easy as possible for yourself. Sheet pan eggs are the answer!

I pre-cook everything but the eggs the day before…I caramelized some onions, cooked sausage patties and cut them into small cubes, and wilted a couple of handfuls of spinach…then kept them in the fridge, ready to use. Grating or crumbling some cheese–cheddar or feta–is also a good idea.

2 dozen eggs, scrambled
12 sausage patties, pre-cooked
2 large handfuls of spinach, wilted in a pan with some olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced, and sautéed until caramelized in a little olive oil
cheddar cheese or feta, optional
milk or cream, optional
butter
olive oil

 

The next morning, I get a large bowl out and scramble 2 dozen eggs. A touch of milk or cream is optional. Then I add all the pre-cooked ingredients, stirring well.

The secret to successful sheet pan eggs is to make sure the pan is greased really well. Using a cube of butter, I cover every inch of the sheet pan thoroughly. Then, I pour a small amount of extra virgin olive oil in the pan, and spread that around with my fingers.

Once the pan is nicely greased, I carefully pour the contents of the bowl into the sheet pan and place in a 300-degree oven.

Let the sheet pan eggs bake at this temperature, resisting to hurry the process by cranking the heat up. Higher temperatures will burn the bottom before the top is properly cooked.  Eventually, you’ll see the bottom of the pan solidify while the top is still a bit runny. Be patient! When the top is cooked to your liking, remove it from the oven and let it cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing it into squares.

To serve, either go the sandwich route by toasting some fresh slider buns. Or simply serve a square on a plate, garnishing as you like, a little Tabasco on the side.

 

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BLUEBERRY CORNMEAL BUTTERMILK PANCAKES WITH LEMON ZEST (NOW GF!)

Posted: May 24, 2017 in breakfast, buttermilk, Food, pancakes, Recipes
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This is our family’s favorite pancake recipe, but the need to go gluten-free for my wife meant a change in the ingredients. Fortunately, my favorite go-to all-purpose flour, “Cup 4 Cup,” worked so well in this recipe, there was no difference in taste or texture. Now this is the only way we make ’em and no one notices the difference!
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1 cup all-purpose flour (or Cup 4 Cup original multi-purpose flour)
1 1/2 cups stone-ground yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk (or 1 1/2 cups milk and the juice of 1 large lemon)
zest of 1 organic lemon
1 large egg
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, slightly cooled
1–2 teaspoons avocado oil
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, preferably wild, rinsed and dried
Whisk the flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl
to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, lemon zest, and melted butter into the buttermilk to combine.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients in the bowl. Pour in the milk mixture and
whisk very gently until just combined. Do not over mix. A few lumps are OK.
Heat non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of oil and use a brush to coat the skillet
bottom evenly. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into 3 spots on the skillet. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the
blueberries over each pancake. Cook the pancakes until large bubbles begin to appear,
about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Using a thin, wide spatula, flip the pancakes and cook until they’re golden
brown on the other side, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer.
Chow down immediately!
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PANCAKES MADE WITH FRESH RICOTTA

Posted: January 7, 2017 in breakfast, curds, Food, Iron Chefs, New York City, pancakes, Recipes, restaurants, Uncategorized
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These pancakes, based on a recipe from chef April Bloomfield (The Spotted Pig and The Breslin in NYC), are made from fresh homemade ricotta cheese. Light as air…and really delicious! I’ve made a few batches of fresh ricotta cheese in my day, but when the family has a craving for these pancakes at the last minute, a good-quality store-bought ricotta cheese will do.

 

 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I use Cup4Cup GF flour if I want to make these gluten-free)
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups milk
2 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup fresh ricotta

 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In another large bowl, whisk together the milk, ricotta,  and egg yolks. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

In a large stainless steel bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are stiff, but not dry. Fold gently into the batter.

Spray a non-stick griddle with a little cooking spray and drop about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes per side, until golden and fluffy.

pancake

OVERNIGHT OATS

Posted: September 9, 2015 in breakfast, Food, Recipes
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I wake up at 4AM to go to work every day, so to have something really tasty and healthy already waiting for me, next to my carafe of iced coffee in my fridge, is awesome.

The original recipe called for almond milk. But most almond milk has little or no nutritional value (or almonds, for that matter.) And I’m not a fan of soy, especially non-organic soy that’s usually grown with Monsanto’s Roundup-ready products. So I go for organic grass-fed no-fat milk. The chia seeds add anti-oxidants and omega-3’s. Cinnamon has some health benefits, too, but it’s mainly here for flavor. And I use frozen organic blueberries in this recipe, but any frozen or fresh berries will work.

IMG_7103

 

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup organic blueberries or other berries
3/4 cup organic no-fat milk
1 teaspoon chia seeds
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine the ingredients in a Mason jar and refrigerate overnight. Eat cold or warm the next morning.

BLUEBERRY CORNMEAL BUTTERMILK PANCAKES WITH LEMON ZEST (NOW GF!)

Posted: August 27, 2015 in breakfast, buttermilk, Food, pancakes, Recipes
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
0
This is our family’s favorite pancake recipe, but the need to go gluten-free for my wife meant a change in the ingredients. Fortunately, my favorite go-to all-purpose flour, “Cup 4 Cup,” worked so well in this recipe, there was no difference in taste or texture.
 image
1 cup all-purpose flour (or Cup 4 Cup original multi-purpose flour)
1 1/2 cups stone-ground yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk (or 1 1/2 cups milk and the juice of 1 large lemon)
zest of 1 organic lemon
1 large egg
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, slightly cooled
1–2 teaspoons avocado oil
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, preferably wild, rinsed and dried
Whisk the flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl
to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, lemon zest, and melted butter into the buttermilk to combine.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients in the bowl. Pour in the milk mixture and
whisk very gently until just combined. Do not over mix. A few lumps are OK.
Heat non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of oil and use a brush to coat the skillet
bottom evenly. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into 3 spots on the skillet. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the
blueberries over each pancake. Cook the pancakes until large bubbles begin to appear,
about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Using a thin, wide spatula, flip the pancakes and cook until they’re golden
brown on the other side, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer.
Chow down immediately!
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CHICKEN AVOCADO BURGER

Posted: May 14, 2015 in bacon, chicken, Food, frying, Recipes
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I love avocado, and I’m always trying to find new ways of using it. This recipe is simple, low-carb, gluten-free, and really delicious. I prefer using ground chicken over ground turkey, which can dry out.

chicken2

1 lb. ground chicken
1 ripe avocado, sliced into small cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

chicken1

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly but carefully so that you don’t squash the cubes of avocado. Form the meat into burger patties. It will be sticky, but just make sure you get the avocado evenly distributed. Chill the patties in the freezer for about 10 minutes before cooking to firm them up.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat a little oil in an ovenproof pan, and place the burgers in it when hot. Let the burgers sear on one side, then flip them. Place the pan in the oven to finish cooking.

Serve with a slice of bacon and Awesomesauce! (http://wp.me/p1c1Nl-gT)

It also makes a great breakfast sandwich: bacon, lettuce, tomato, a fried egg, and the chicken avocado burger!

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BITE THE BULLETPROOF COFFEE

Posted: April 20, 2015 in breakfast, drink recipes, Drinks, espresso, Food, Recipes, Uncategorized
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One of the new all-the-rage health drinks is something called Bulletproof Coffee. Bulletproof is a brand name for a coffee that has had “toxins removed” through a special process, according to its creator. (According to my friend, Lee, a PhD in chemistry, that’s a load of crap.)

To make the drink, you combine Bulletproof Upgraded coffee blend, grass-fed butter or ghee (a clarified butter commonly used in Indian cooking,) and their special Bulletproof “Brain Octane Oil.” (The Octane Oil is another product that claims to have beneficial properties far beyond coconut oil. Again…I have my doubts.)

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They claim this coffee combination gives you a lasting lift, not a spike that many caffeine drinks can, and the good fats in the drink keep your brain and body satisfied all morning long.

Rather than buy all the expensive Bulletproof products, my friends Doug and Jenn here at the radio station decided to make their own version of this drink. Besides tasting incredibly awesome, it definitely feels like it does some good…for a much more reasonable price.

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It may sound bizarre at first, but you add a tablespoon of grass-fed unsalted butter or ghee (again, unsalted) to a blender. Then you add a tablespoon of coconut oil (replacing the expensive “Brain Octane Oil.”) Brew your favorite coffee (8 to 12 oz.) and add the hot coffee to the blender. Then turn the blender on and let it rip until all the ingredients have been thoroughly blended.

You need to use hot coffee for this so the fats melt and you get a nice mouth-feel. That’s it. Now drink! No cream or sugar needed.

The premise is that your body is starved for healthy fats. This drink supplies some. I’ll be trying this drink for a few weeks to see if it makes any difference in how I feel.

Just remember: just any butter won’t do. It has to be butter from grass-fed cows. (Many Irish brands are grass-fed…just make sure it’s unsalted.) If you can’t find it, ghee is a good substitute.

EASIEST BREAKFAST SAUSAGE EVER

Posted: April 17, 2015 in Carnivore!, Food, frying, pork, Recipes
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Sausage is something most home cooks don’t even try because of the amount of work it needs. You need to grind meat in perfect proportions. You need to keep everything on ice. You need to stuff the sausage meat into casings. It’s a big hassle, requiring some special equipment and a lot of time. And the clean-up is a pain.

Here’s an easy method I can slap together in minutes. I use ground pastured Berkshire pork for this, but any good quality ground pork will do.

FullSizeRender (1)

1 lb. ground pork
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 egg
avocado oil or pork fat

 

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Place the bowl in the fridge for at least 15 minutes to let the meat rest.

If you’re not sure of the seasonings, break a little piece of the sausage off and fry it in a pan to taste it. If you like what you have, fry away. If not, season the meat before making patties.

Heat a pan over medium-high heat and swirl a little oil or pork fat to coat. Form the sausage meat into 2-inch patties and place them in the pan, cooking them all the way through, about 4 minutes a side, until they’re golden brown on both sides.

BLUEBERRY CORNMEAL BUTTERMILK PANCAKES WITH LEMON ZEST

Posted: January 28, 2015 in breakfast, buttermilk, Food, pancakes, Recipes
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January 28th is National Blueberry Pancake Day! And this is my favorite pancake recipe by far.
All it takes to make this recipe gluten-free is to substitute the cup of all-purpose flour with gluten-free flour.
 image
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups stone-ground yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 large egg
3 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter, slightly cooled
1–2 teaspoons avocado oil
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, preferably wild, rinsed and dried
Whisk the flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl
to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, lemon zest, and melted butter into the buttermilk to combine.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients in the bowl. Pour in the milk mixture and
whisk very gently until just combined. Do not over mix. A few lumps are OK.
Heat non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of oil and use a brush to coat the skillet
bottom evenly. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into 3 spots on the skillet. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the
blueberries over each pancake. Cook the pancakes until large bubbles begin to appear,
about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Using a thin, wide spatula, flip the pancakes and cook until they’re golden
brown on the other side, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer.
Chow down immediately!
image

PANCAKES MADE WITH FRESH RICOTTA

Posted: February 4, 2014 in breakfast, curds, Food, Iron Chefs, New York City, pancakes, Recipes, restaurants, Uncategorized
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These pancakes, based on a recipe from chef April Bloomfield (The Spotted Pig and The Breslin in NYC), are made from fresh homemade ricotta cheese. Light as air…and really delicious! I made my first-ever batch of homemade ricotta cheese the other day, following a recipe from Iron Chef Michael Symon. He used lemon juice and zest in the recipe, which gave the cheese a stronger lemon profile than I had hoped for. But once I realized I could use that ricotta in a pancake, the lemon flavor really took the pancakes to a whole new level.

I use raw milk for my ricotta cheese. It’s not available here in Rhode Island, but it is in neighboring Massachusetts. If you can’t find raw milk, use organic milk. Just avoid anything that is ultra-pasteurized.

milk

Ingredients:

1.2 gallon of raw milk

juice and zest of 8 small organic lemons

salt

sugar

Always have top-notch assistants at your side to make sure you're doing it right!

Always have top-notch assistants at your side to make sure you’re doing it right!

In a saucepan, heat the milk to 180 degrees. Remove from the heat. Add lemon juice and zest, salt and sugar. Stir once and then let it sit for 5 minutes.

Pour the curds (solids) and whey (liquid) into a strainer lined with cheesecloth over a bowl. Discard the whey, if you choose, then place the remaining cheese in the fridge overnight to further continue drippage.

The next morning, the ricotta is ready to use!

Homemade ricotta cheese

Homemade ricotta cheese

Once you have the fresh ricotta, it’s time to put these beautiful rustic pancakes together…

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups milk

2 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup fresh ricotta

 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In another large bowl, whisk together the milk, ricotta,  and egg yolks. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

In a large stainless steel bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are stiff, but not dry. Fold gently into the batter.

Spray a non-stick griddle with a little cooking spray and drop about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes per side, until golden and fluffy.

pancake

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