Rosemary and Goat Cheese Scones

July 12, 2013 - Elspeth 2 Comments

It’s never easy to find recipes that work well for large groups, are easy to throw together, and make everyone do the happy nom noms dance. There’s always a person who doesn’t like eggplant, some weirdo fruitarian, or a living-in-denial, “I don’t eat carbs” lame-o.

In my quest to find meal ideas for our larger-than-life, week-long family fiesta for the 4th, I stumbled across some savory scones that did the tricksy. Served with salad, they were the perfect lunch that didn’t require too much fuss and pleased the masses. I set out to create one that was more my fancy and settled on some goat cheese, rosemary, gruyere, and apricot magic. Deeeelightful.

After a couple of tries, I think I found a happy balance between the flavors. The flour-butter-milk base can be used with your own favorite combination of flavors, so I encourage the adventurers out there to swap out my choices and go crazy with some pancetta, figs, blue cheese, etc etc.

Rosemary and Goat Cheese Scones

1/2 c yellow onion, diced fine
1 t olive oil
1 t rosemary, chopped
3/4 apricots, chopped fine (I used dried apricots and rehydrated them in warm water for about an hour)
3/4 c goat cheese, crumbled
3/4 c gruyere, shredded
3 c flour
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
6 T butter, softened and cut into 1/2″ chunks
2 T shortening
1 c milk, plus 1-2 T

Heat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium pan over medium heat, add the olive oil. When hot, add the onion and saute over low until brown, 5-10 minutes. Add a bit of water if the pan gets dry. Cool slightly. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, powder, and salt. With a pastry blender, two knives, or a fork, mix in the butter and shortening so that your mixture is coarse and about the size of peas. I find a fork easier than knives, since you have more control and can press the chunks of butter against the side of the bowl. When you have a consistent mixture, slowly add the milk while stirring with a spatula. If needed, add additional milk about 1 T at a time. The mixture should be fairly dry– don’t add too much milk. Add the onion, rosemary, apricots, and cheeses. Knead on a floured surface for a couple of minutes and then form into a disc on your baking sheet. Flatten into a circle that is about 1 1/2″ thick and bake for 30 minutes, or until brown. Let cool and serve.

Baked Eggs in Crispy Hash Brown Nests

June 22, 2013 - Elspeth 2 Comments

Here I am again with potatoes. My old friend. Loyal. Beautiful. Delicious. It’s hard to say no to something this sexy.

Am I right? Can I get an AMEN?

And what better friend to pair with potatoes than an egg? There is no partnership in the universe that can top this dynamic duo (although Bert and Ernie do a damn fine job of trying).

A crispy bed of hash browns, cheesy filling, and soft baked eggs make this a wonderfully indulgent breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, etc. The filling is really the key here– it nicely ties together the egg and hash browns with a salty kick from the Gruyere and a sweet slap in the face from the caramelized shallots.

Be sure to wring out your potatoes well to get out as much moisture as possible, or else you’ll have soggy nests. Yum. Soggy. A great word to use when describing food.

Baked Eggs in Crispy Hash Brown Nests
1.5 lbs Russet potatoes
4 T melted butter
4 oz cream cheese
1 c shredded Gruyere
1/3 c milk
6 shallots, diced fine
1 T butter
12 -15 eggs
1/4 c cream
Pepper
Red pepper flakes
Chives

You can either make this recipe into 18 egg nests or 12 nests and 1 small ramekin, about 6″ diameter (I chose the latter). Grease your pan of choice.

In a skillet over medium-low heat, melt the 1 T butter. When hot, add the diced shallots and reduce heat to low after 2 minutes. Continue cooking slowly over low heat for about 45 minutes, or until very soft and brown. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425. Scrub and peel the potatoes, then shred them in a food processor or with a box grater. You should have about 4-5 cups. Place into a dishtowel or cheese cloth and wring out over your sink. This is best done in smaller batches, to maximize the moisture expulsion. Mix the shredded potatoes with melted butter and press into your greased pans so that you have an even wall of potatoes up the sides and on the bottom of your nests. Bake at 425 for 30-35 minutes or until brown.

Reduce the oven temperature to 375. When the shallots are good and caramelized, place them in a bowl with the cream cheese, red pepper flakes, pepper, milk, and Gruyere. Mix thoroughly. Spoon a tablespoon of the mixture onto the baked nests and smoosh down to flatten (for the larger ramekin I used about 1/2 c). Crack an egg into each nest (2-3 for the ramekin), spoon about a teaspoon of cream onto each one, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the eggs are set (ie, they don’t jiggle when you shake the pan). Cool for 5 minutes, run a knife around the edge of each one, and then lift carefully onto plates. Sprinkle with more pepper and the chives, then serve immediately.

Banana Pancakes

March 10, 2013March 22, 2013 - Elspeth 1 Comment

This isn’t just pancake batter that you throw bananas into. It’s pancake batter made mostly out of the bananas themselves.

BOOM. Just blew your minds.

Since I’ve gone mostly gluten free and vegetarian (now and then you just NEED a burger. Am I wrong? That’s not a “like to have”, it’s a “need to have” kind of food), I’ve been combing Pinterest for recipes that will fit both bills. A lot of vegetarians rely on bread, pasta, etc to fill the void left behind by chickens and other beasts, but the GF thing gets in the way. I’m finding creative recipes and substitutions all over the wonder-webz and this beauty takes the cake for the weekend.

There are two ingredients. That’s right. TWO.

1 banana
2 eggs

Most people have those hanging around, so you can keep your sweatpants on (I know I did) and not worry about having to run to the store first thing on a lazy Sunday morning.

The other beautiful thing, aside from the fact that they are tasty, have a good texture, and take 2 seconds to make, is that you can make them sweet OR savory.

It’s as if Moses has traipsed down that mountain again to deliver me golden tablets etched with delightful recipes. Thanks, friend.

I added a teaspoon of almond extract and a shake of cinnamon to give mine a little personality, but I think these combos would be great, as well:

Chocolate and peanut butter chips (duh)
Cinnamon pecan
Scallion and shredded cheddar
Caper and bacon chunks (one of my favorite combinations ever)

And the list goes on and on.

To get yourself moving, preheat a pan to med-high or 375 degrees if you’re working with a griddle. Mash the banana in a bowl (really make sure it’s smooth) and then beat in the two eggs, one at a time. Mix in any additionals. When the pan is hot and you’ve greased it up with butter or oil, pour a slow stream of batter for a couple of seconds, until you have a nice sized disc. It will spread fairly quickly and be runny, so it’s easy to know when to stop pouring.

Warning: these stick to the pan when they are not cooked enough on one side, so make sure you wait 3-4 minutes before attempting to flip. Make them fairly small so you don’t have to worry about leaving behind an edge as your spatula comes off the surface of the pan. I slid mine around under the pancakes to make sure I had loosened the whole thing up before I attempted to flip. A few edges were lost in the shuffle. I cried. The pancakes mourned.

But then I ate them and it was magical, so all of the sadness was forgotten! I doused mine with some maple syrup and a bit of buttah, and died a little happy joyful heavenly death of wonder.