Croissant Bread Pudding

3 Comments April 29, 2014 Chef Sarah

The poll results for what I should blog next……Croissant Bread Pudding…sorry Ben, grits are next I promise.I love bread pudding…..with no raisins:) I love all food without raisins. I am that girl in restaurants that always asks “does your bread pudding have raisins in it?” Sadly, the answer is usually yes, except in New Orleans. Best response I ever got to my annoying question “no darlin’ we don’t do that down here” I remember my mom and I both squealing with glee, although we may have been drunk…. we were on a culinary cocktail tour after all.

I’ve messed with plenty of bread pudding recipes, most are too sweet and or too dry. This one I’m sharing with you is over the top rich, but moist and nourishing. Tons of eggs, buttery croissants, not too much sugar…..prefect. Could be breakfast with coffee or for dessert, just add a sticky sweet bourbon sauce.

Here is what you’ll need.

3 extra large whole eggs
8 extra large egg yolks
5 cups half n half
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 large croissants or 20 mini croissants, chopped in 2 inch chunks

Not everyone has croissants laying around needing to be used up. I bake off tons each morning at work and sometimes they get burned…..yes it happens to all of us. So I trim off the dark bottoms and save them up. This recipe definitely benefits from day old croissants, or two days old…even better. Ready? Pre heat your oven to 375°This is the 3 whole eggs and and the 8 yolks. If using large eggs add 2 extra yolks.add the half n half, vanilla and salt, whisk until well incorporated. set asideChop your croissants (these are the minis I used) larges one chop in cubes.Fill your baking dishes with the chopped croissant. I used one 2 qt casserole dish, two 16 oz ramekins and 2 smaller 7 oz ramekins. Break it down for your needs, one big casserole for a party, lots of minis for take to the office treats.Fill each baking dish with the egg half n half mixture, let it soak for about 15 minutes, making sure to push the croissants down into the liquid. The mixture will puff up during cooking so do not overfill your baking dishes.Ready some bain maries or water baths for your ramekins/casseroles. Each one needs to be in a larger baking dish with boiling water added half way up the ramekin. Bake for 45 minutes. The smaller dishes should be done, larger dishes will take another 20 minutes. Bake until the mixture is set and slightly browned in top. Cool and eat slightly warm or chill and eat, tasty both ways. Add some fresh chopped strawberries too. I’d like to share a comment I got on this recipe, “all bread pudding should taste like this” Phil N. Seattle, WA.

“Grown Up” Chocolate Chip Pancakes

10 Comments March 25, 2014 Chef Sarah

You would think I get enough of pancakes since I make these at work everyday. This pancake is a grown up version of the chocolate chip pancakes that kids love, but with a gourmet twist. I’m guessing it won’t be sweet enough for the kids so that means more for you:) This basic pancake recipe below is very cool, adding in the cornstarch really makes them fluffy and light. I almost always use kefir when a recipe calls for buttermilk, cause thats what I have in my fridge. Cocoa nibs are rad. get some. Ready?Here what you’ll need.

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
½  cup cornstarch
2 Tablespoons sugar
2  teaspoons baking powder
½  teaspoon baking soda
1  teaspoon kosher salt
2  cups plain kefir or buttermilk
3  Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1  large egg, beaten
½ cup Cocoa Nibs
Grapeseed oil for griddle
Maldon salt for finishing
Orange zest for finishing
Extra Virgin Olive Oil for finishing
Warm REAL Maple Syrup
Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowlWhisk wet ingredients together in small bowlWhisk wet into dry gently until just combined. add cocoa nibs, fold in carefully. rest for 30 minutes. don’t short cut on this. I’m serious, don’t be lazy, plan ahead and do it right….or else.Get your griddle or pan HOT, cast iron is the best for pancakes, you get those crispy browned edges:) any pan will work of course. I use grapeseed oil for high heat cooking, but I was thinking coconut oil would probably be great for these pancakes, someone try it and let me know how it went. K here’s the cool grown up part…..serve these with a drizzle of really good extra virgin olive oil instead of butter, warm maple syrup, sprinkling of cocoa nibs, maldon salt and orange zest! I personally love the chocolate orange combo….unlike my friend Amy aka Mighty Mouse….sooooo Amy tell me… how would you serve these up?….called you out girl. bring it….

First blog post from my new mini kitchen, worked out pretty well if I say so myself. How about some comment love people?!?!?!

Pancakes with Bacon and Chili

4 Comments March 6, 2013 Chef Sarah

Yes you read that right…Pancakes, Bacon and Chilies OH MY!Look at these! So pretty all stacked up with salty bacon on top, glistening with syrup and a sprinkling of pequin chilies. I was alone when I made these and I was seriously talking out loud to myself about how f*cking great they tasted. The sweet, salty, spicy blend was perfect! They really are more like crepes, but April calls them pancakes. I’ve made crepes for my son Ben his whole life, he is going to flip his lid when he tries these! I kind of feel like James and the goat cheese souffle….where have these been all my life? I LOVE the stacked and slice it like a pie way to serve it. Genius April!

Here is what you will need

For the Batter

1/2 pound of all-purpose flour (1 3/4 cup)

kosher salt

4 large eggs

1 3/4 cups milk

3/4 cup water

4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

For the Pancakes

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and bit more for finishing

12 slices of bacon

maple syrup

dried pequin chilies

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl with the salt. Make a well and crack the eggs into the well.Slowly add the milk and water, whisk until smooth. Add 4 tablespoons melted butter and whisk again. Batter will be liquidy.Melt the remaining butter and set aside. Ready your pan, I used a 6″ non stick saute pan, April called for an 8″ pan, use whatever you have, non stick is key. Add a scant teaspoon of the melted butter to your hot pan, add about 2 tablespoons of the batter and quickly swirl it around so it covers the bottom of the pan like a crepe. The pan should be hot enough so the batter cooks up quickly and browns the edges within a minute or so. When you see browned edges, flip it over. There are two ways to do this, flip it in the pan with a quick jerk of your wrist while tossing it up and back to catch it. Or you can grab the edge of the pancake and flip it with your hands or use a spatula. Do whatever works for you, once you get your groove going, you’ll start kicking them out pretty fast. Add new melted butter each time you make a new one. Repeat until all the batter is gone. It was hard to photo this part, since I was alone, so the pictures don’t really show the detail I’m trying to share. I hope I am explaining this well and I wish you luck. Don’t get discouraged, keep at it, you will want to eat these. This is color you’re looking for on the pancake.This is the thinness you’re looking for. Stack them on a plate and keep warm in the oven. While all your pretty cooked pancakes stay warm in the oven, cook up the bacon.Cut the stacked pancakes like a pie and serve with real maple syrup, bacon and chopped pequin chilies. Oh My God! you’ll die these are so dang good!

Goat Cheese Souffle

1 Comment March 5, 2013 Chef Sarah

Recipe 14 of 103

Souffle’s are decadently light and airy, like eating a cloud of cheese. Souffles can be very tricky to make. It’s the balance of perfectly folded egg whites into a smooth creamy mixture of flour, butter, milk, yolks and cheese for a savory souffle or sugar for a sweet souffle. You will achieve success with this souffle, I promise…if you do what I say via April’s brilliant recipe. This dish can be treated as a starch side dish instead of potatoes or polenta. It also shines on its own as a main dish served with a side salad. My husband James had one comment for this souffle “where has this been all my life?” 🙂 He really enjoyed it!

Here is what you will need

Preheat oven to 350°

1/2 cup unsalted marcona almonds or regular blanched almonds

4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temp plus more for the baking dish

2 cups whole milk – YES whole milk

1 teaspoon finely grated garlic, preferably with a microplane (about 3 cloves)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 cup AP flour

1/2 pound fresh goat cheese

4 large eggs, yolks and whites separated

Toast the almonds in a small saute pan over medium heat until golden brown, let them cool. I used regular blanched almonds.Finely grind the almonds in a food processorGenerously butter your casserole baking dish (2 qt with at least 2″sides) and coat with the ground almonds, making sure to get all the sides and bottom evenly. Set aside.Grate the garlic like this. In a sauce pot add the milk, garlic, salt and bring to a boil.Don’t be a spazz like me and let your milk boil over…ugh! I hate it when this happens. As soon as the milk mixture boils, remove from heat right away and pour into a heat proof measuring cup.In a nice clean pot, melt butter until frothy and add flour.Whisk together until fully incorporated, cooking on a low heat for about 3 to 4 minutes. This is called a roux.On a low heat add 1/2 cup at a time of the hot milk mixture to the roux, whisking vigorously to incorporate. It will thicken right away and lump up a bit, don’t worry, get to whisking and it will smooth out. Cook for about 5 minutes, add half the goat cheese and stir until melted. Set aside and let cool. Add the yolks to the cooled cheesy mixture Whip the whites to stiff peaksFold the whites into your smooth cheesy mixture, very carefully. Try your best not to deflate all that air you whipped into those whites. If there are bits of egg white still showing, no biggie, just go with it. Pour the batter into your prepared casserole dish and crumble the remaining goat cheese over the top. Ready a bain-marie, set the baking dish in a larger baking pan with a dish towel on the bottom and fill with boiling water half way up your casserole. Bake for 40 minutes to an hour or until its puffed up and golden brown.Like this!! Golden brown goodness! The best part for me is the crispy nutty almond crust. So good! I made this early in the day, let it cool completely, wrapped in plastic and chilled in fridge. I reheated for dinner in a 325° oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, it puffed right back up and it was amazingly perfect.

Ginger Cake

3 Comments February 24, 2013 Chef Sarah

Recipe 9 of 103

Gingerbread is a childhood memory for me. Every summer my Mom and I would go to the Del Mar Fair. There were two things we always did every year, eat gingerbread and take pictures in the photo booth.

My Mom would sing this song on our way to the little pink gingerbread hut. Actually anytime gingerbread was on a menu, served at a party, seen on TV or anywhere it was mentioned we would both start singing the gingerbread song. I thought it was a song my Mom made up, she has a serious silly gene that she has so lovingly passed on to my kid and me. About a month ago I made gingerbread cupcakes for her birthday and she set out to find the original song so here it is for you all to enjoy.

Now on to April’s Ginger Cake, it’s a spicy, moist, rich treat for sure. The kicker is tons of fresh ginger and to seal the deal……tons of whoop cream!

Here is what you will need.

Serves 8-10

1 stick unsalted butter at room temp, a bit more for the pan

2 1/2 cups AP flour

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 cup unsulfured light molasses, not blackstrap

1 teaspoon backing soda

1 packed cup of dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup freshly grated ginger

Preheat oven to 325° position rack in the middle of your oven

Butter a 8 inch springform pan that is at least 3 inches deepCut an 8″ circle of parchment paper and line the bottom of the pan…like this.Measure and mix all the dry ingredients except the baking sodaMix the molasses, boiling water and baking soda until all are dissolved.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as you go, then add egg, mix until incorporated. Add the grated ginger….look at all that ginger!! I was seriously geeking out at this point. I love fresh ginger.Alternately add the dry mix and the molasses mixture until all combined.Fill your prepared pan and place on a baking sheet in the oven. Bake for an hour or until a toothpick or a wooden skewer comes out clean. Let the cake cool a bit in the pan before you remove the ring from the springform pan. Not too long though its lovely served warm.

Get your whoop cream ready and dollop it generously over a warm slice of ginger cake. Remember when I say whoop cream, I mean make it yourself, no canned crap. Whip heavy whipping cream with a little powdered sugar or no sugar until fluffy, maybe add a bit of vanilla extract and zest some orange rind over the whoop like this

I loved this recipe, very easy and it has forever changed my taste for “gingerbread” I’m sure I’ll partake at the little pink hut again in my life but I will make this cake forever to satisfy my ginger cake needs.

Asparagus with Parmesan Custard and Prosciutto

5 Comments February 12, 2013 Chef Sarah

Recipe 5 of 103
She had me at custard….sweet or savory I love custard. Creamy, silky, decadent custard, throw in some salty prosciutto, crispy asparagus on grilled bread. done 🙂

You can make the custard a day or two ahead, or make a ton and always have it in your fridge for a quick bite of lusciousness. Here is what you will need for the custard. This recipe will serve 4 for lunch or 8 for small bites3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup whole milk

2 spring garlic gloves or 1 small garlic clove, finely chopped

1 ounce freshly grated parmesan buy good parmesan reggiano and grate it yourself

1/2 teaspoon maldon salt

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

Preheat oven to 325˚

Combine the milk and cream, pour half into a small sauce pot, add garlic, parmesan and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute, take off heat and blend until smooth. I used an immersion blender for this step, right in the pan, you could just whisk it or get your blender out, do what works for you. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg yolk, whole egg and the remaining cold cream/milk mixture. Carefully whisk the hot into the cold, very slowly drizzle the hot mixture from the sauce pot into cold mixture in the mixing bowl, whisking vigorously so you don’t scramble your eggs. When both are combined pour into two 1 cup custard gratins or one 2 cup gratin, what ever you have will work. Ready a bain-marie aka water bath for baking, get some water boiling. Set a kitchen towel in a large baking casserole, place filled gratins in casserole and fill with boiling water about half way up the gratins like this.The kitchen towel prevents the gratins from vibrating and causing bubbles in the custard. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until custard has set, edges should be firm and the middle a bit wobbly. Let the custards cool in the bain-marie, they will continue to set up. At this point you can keep these covered in fridge for a day or two.

On to the next step, here is what you will need.

photo by Jenny

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

16 asparagus spears, the thickness of a pencil, woody bottoms discarded

maldon salt

10 to 12 small tender basil leaves

1/2 a lemon (optional)

6-8 this slices of prosciutto

grilled rustic bread or baguette

parmesan custard

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan, get it smoking hot, add asparagus and quickly toss to sear on all sides, sprinkle with maldon salt. Cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat, make sure not to over cook the asparagus, you want it to have a little crunch left in it.

photo by Jenny – check out my cool tattoo designed by my amazingly talented husband

Add basil leaves, making sure they get some time in the oil to crisp up.

photo by Jenny

When the basil has crisped up a bit, rest on top of the asparagus so it doesn’t wilt away to nothing. Slice up the bread of your choice and either grill or toast it.

photo by Jenny

Now its time to assemble this lovely little snack. I like the custard to be more room temp then super cold. Spread a spoonful of custard on your grilled bread, top with asparagus, prosciutto and basil.

photo by Jenny

Enjoy! All these elements together make for an amazing bite. The custard is so rich and decadent. The cheesy garlicky flavor is addictive, I will admit to snagging spoonfuls from the fridge several times a day while researching this post. Its all April’s fault! Thanks to Jenny for the food porn pics and thanks to April for introducing me to a new love, Parmesan Custard.

Duck Confit

4 Comments February 1, 2013 Chef Sarah

Recipe 3 of 103

Duck Confit was a revelation for me while in culinary school. First how easy it was to make and second how good it was fresh out of the duck fat. It’s rich, tender, crunchy, salty and delicious. Confit is something cooked in its own fat, duck legs cooked in duck fat, pork butt cooked pork fat aka carnitas – you get the idea right? Making it, is fairly easy and inexspensive. Duck leg/thighs are about $6 a pound (1 pound would be 2 leg/thighs) currently at whole paycheck, they are organic and air chilled, try to buy the best you can. They will have duck fat at most of their bigger stores too – if you didn’t already get some or buy on line. Like I said in the last post it will change your life. April’s recipe is encouraged in the book to go with her cassoulet. You cannot have cassoulet with out duck confit. Since I just did cassoulet for my birthday last month, I’m going to wait until much later in the year to show you guys her cassoulet. Which means I will be making duck confit again….yippee! Her duck confit is different from mine, I like her cooking method a lot. She serves the leg/thighs intact with super crispy skin, I prefer to pull the meat and crisp it up shredded.

Here is what you will need

2 duck leg/thighs with plenty of fatty skin

3 cups rendered duck fat:)

12 black peppercorns

12 juniper berries

4 dried pequin chilies

1/2 cinnamon stick

1 sprig of thyme, leaves only

4 cloves of garlic peeled

1/2 cup kosher salt

Place the peppercorns, juniper berries, chilies and cinnamon in a mortar. Crush them with the pestle to a corse consistency.Add the thyme leaves and the garlic and crush into a pasteAdd the salt and mix well. Put the duck on a plate and sprinkle with the spice/salt mixture, covering all sides and pat into legs gently.Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours up to 48 hours. I buy duck leg/thighs in bulk so I made a ton.These have been marinating for 48 hours. April does hers for 24 hours, I pushed it to 48, mostly because I couldn’t cook them the next day so they carried on for one more day in the fridge, not a big deal. Next rinse off all of the spice mixture and pat each leg dry.

Assemble them all in a single layer in the pan.Add the rendered duck fat so it just covers the duck legs.April is very casual about this next part, which I really enjoyed. In school we had to check the temp on the fat every 15 minutes to make sure the fat stayed at 200 F, we cooked it for 3 to 4 hours. April says keep it at a low simmer so you see a bubble here and there and cook for 2 1/2 hours or until the meat comes away from the bone with a twist of a fork. Her method does allow for the leg and thigh to stay a bit more intact, which is better for service as a whole piece. The meat is just as tender as the longer method I was taught in school. Both methods work great, choose the one that fits your final outcome for service. Your house will smell amazing, like Thanksgiving Day, seriously it does. When your legs are done, remove from the fat and drain on a cooling rack if you’re going to shred them. If you’re keeping them intact let them cool completely in the fat, store them this way for up to several weeks. To serve the legs whole and crispy, heat a small amount of duck fat in a saute pan and fry the legs skin side down until the skin is super crispy.I shredded mine. I freeze it in 2 portion servings, wrapped in foil then plastic. Thats why I make a ton at a time:) It’s always there for me, I love it. Looks like carnitas, right? So good!!!! To crisp up the shredded duck confit, same as the intact legs, small amount of duck fat in saute pan.I made a couple of salads, I love duck confit in a salad.Spinach, Dried Cherries, Stilton Cheese and Crispy Duck Confit with a Vanilla Bean & Roasted Shallot Dressing.The most over used culinary trend right now. Put an EGG on it! I call this the Breakfast Salad. Sliced romaine tossed with caramelized tangy onion dressing, slices of duck fat fried potatoes, pancetta chunks, poached egg and you guessed it…duck confit!

Thanks for reading, I promise I will shut up about duck for a while.

Cheers!

Fennel-Lemon Marmalade

6 Comments January 30, 2013 Chef Sarah

Recipe 1 of 103

James brought these home for me…Meyer Lemons…lots of them. I thought to myself…what to do with all these beautiful fragrant luscious lemons. At the time I was reading a girl and her pig, I received the book and the lemons on the same day. These two simple happenings brought me to this project.

Fennel Lemon Marmalade

What you will need.

7 to 8 large thick skinned lemons – wash well

5 1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons fennel pollen (find on line or at whole paycheck aka whole foods)

Assemble your clean lemons in a large pot of water, enough water to cover them while they bob around. Cover the lemons with a plate to keep the submerged. I used my deviled egg plate, worked perfectly.

Boil for about an hour, you want them soft but not bursting. Check water as the hour goes to see if it needs replenishing. With a blunt knife, check to see if you can easily pierce them, if so they’re good to go. Reserve 1 1/4 cup of the water. Take them out and let them cool until you can handle them comfortably. Cut them in half, they should look like this. Sorry this photo is blurry.Scoop out all the flesh into a bowl. Cut the rinds into flat pieces and scrape off the white pith.This is the point where I realized the thick skinned lemons would be much easier to work with. The meyer lemon skin is so thin and dainty, it really was like doing surgery, trying not to rip the rind to shreds. More on the final result with meyer lemons later. This step takes awhile be patient – make sure to remove the pith…… pith = bitter. Here is an after shotJulienne the rinds thinly like thisPlace your expertly sliced rinds in a pale pink Le Creuset ( jk, I know not everyone is lucky enough to own this beautiful piece of cookware, I still squeal with girly glee every time I use it, thanks Jennay ) or a 4 qt sauce pot with reserved water from the boiling of the lemons. Grab a chinois/strainer, you will need a medium mesh chinois/strainer, do not use a fine mesh, you won’t get enough of the pulp through. Push the pulp against the side of the chinois to get as much pulp through as possible. You want very little left in the strainer, like this.The sauce pot should have the lemon rinds, reserved lemon water from boiling 1 1/4 cups and all the pulp you could muscle through your chinois. Stir in 5 1/2 cups of sugar (if using meyer lemons do 5 cups of sugar) over a high heat, when the mixture begins to simmer, set your heat for a low simmer and cook for 1-2 hours, the mixture will darken as it cooks. Starting out like thisits getting close to done

to test if the mixture is done, spoon a small amount on to a plate, let it cool. If its sticky and gel like its done, if its loose and runny keep cooking a bit longer.when you nail the consistency, stir in the fennel pollen and let cool. At this point you could process them in jars and they’d keep for up to a year. If you’re going that route I would double the recipe.

This recipe will yield about 5 cups. It will keep in the fridge for a month. Slather all over toast and or scones. Add it to your next cheese plate instead of fig jam. The longer it sits the more bloomy it becomes and you can really taste the fennel pollen. I used it as a layer in some shortcakes with fresh strawberries on top. OMG it was so good. I have gifted a few friends with this lovely marmalade, hopefully they’ll comment and share their thoughts on it. This was my first adventure into Marmalade, there are several different methods on making it, I found April’s easy and the outcome was divine. I’ve made it with both meyer lemons and regular thick skinned lemons. The flavor is much sweeter and mild with meyer lemons, both were great tasting, if you want more of a tart twang use the regular lemons.

Try it and let me what you think.

Gluten Free Flax-Coconut Pancakes

5 Comments March 20, 2012 Chef Sarah

Pancakes haven’t always been my favorite breakfast and I love almost all things breakfast. Pancakes are fluffy and sweet but thats about it, no real nutritional value to keep you going to lunch. I found this recipe in Food and Wine magazine while searching for gluten free ideas, don’t get me wrong I have nothing against gluten, I love me some wheat…..but I was intrigued by this recipe..so we put these on one of our weekly menus and I gotta say I was blown away by how good they were, so I’m sharing them with you.

First off let’s talk alternative flours. This recipe call for 3 flours, 2 starches & flax meal. These are not your everyday grocery items, but easy to find and not too pricey. The gluten free food thing is huge right now, some people really thrive on not having wheat in their diet and some just do it because their neighbor is doing it. If you think you have a wheat allergy get it confirmed by your doctor, if you do, chances are avoiding wheat will change your life for the better. If you think you’ll get skinny by not eating wheat…..you will not.Bob’s Red Mill is a popular brand that you should be able to find in your local grocery store. You will for sure find all of these at your local health food store. Another option for the rice flours is to make them yourself, if you have a Vita Mix or a Blendtec blender or any other super bad *ss blender, take regular rice and blend until the rice becomes a fine powder…done! now you have rice flour…so cool. You can do the same with the flax seeds. Consult the recipe book or manual that came with your blender for details on settings and all that. All these flours combined, mimic the all purpose flour that would be used in regular pancake recipes.

Recipe makes 12 – 4″ pancakes

1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup white rice flour
1/4 sugar
3 tablespoons potato starch
3 tablespoons tapioca starch
3 tablespoons coconut flour
2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups milk, room temp
1/4 coconut oil, melted, plus more for the griddle
Fresh fruit and real maple syrup, for serving.

I love these pancakes so much I mixed all the flours together in the measurements above in separate bags so I always have this dry mix ready to go.In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients. In a smaller separate bowl mix all the wet ingredients. Add the wet to the dry and mix until just moistened, if the batter is too thick add small amounts of milk until it is just right. Preheat a griddle or a pan, grease with coconut oil and start making pancakes.Serve hot with REAL maple syrup and any fresh fruit you have on hand. These also keep well in the fridge for a few days and toast up nicely for a quick breakfast on the go. The flax meal & coconut flour add fiber, omega 3’s and minerals. YUM!! Enjoy!

Croutons and Eggs

6 Comments July 26, 2011 Chef Sarah

My Mom used to make me this yummy eggs and toast dish when I was a kid. She cut toast into small squares and topped it with soft boiled eggs. I love this breakfast and so does my son Ben. I’ve been thinking about how to swank it up a bit and this is what I came up with. Homemade croutons topped with poached eggs. Today I got all silly and added slices of bacon, roasted asparagus, fine chopped heirloom tomatoes and dusted it with Parmigiano Reggiano. Oh my YUM!

Ready to make it yourself ?

Here is what you will need.

4 Tablespoons good olive oil
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 baguette cut into small cubes, about 4 cups, day old is best
6-8 poached eggs, if you don’t know how to poach eggs, Julia Child is the best teacher, get her cook book
4 Tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano, grated fresh over the eggs while they’re HOT!
optional – slices of cooked bacon or chopped cooked sausage or crumbled cooked spicy chorizo, let your imagination go wild.
optional – roasted Asparagus or sauteed Kale or sauteed spinach, any greens that you like with eggs

To roast Asparagus, toss with a small amount of olive oil, salt and pepper. Line baking sheet with a single layer of asparagus and roast for 15 minutes at 375.

Make the croutons first, melt the butter with the olive oil until foamy and hot, add cubed bread and quickly toss so the bread absorbs all the butter and oil, season with salt and pepper. Toss in hot saute pan until bread is browned and crispy. Drain onto a baking sheet lined with paper towels. These will crisp up more as they cool.Now you can assemble your plate. Place some asparagus and bacon on your plate, top with croutons. Add hot poached eggs on top of croutons and grate fresh Parmigiano Reggiano over the top. Eat right away and enjoy!This is not a low cal meal, but it sure is good to eat and beautiful to serve up for guests. So far my recent guests have loved it. Try it out and let me know how it works out for you. Cheers!!