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Dutch Baby with Peaches

By on August 11, 2010 in Breakfast, Desserts

I don’t do a lot of baking. I find all the, well, precision to be a bit fussy for me. I like throwing stuff into a pot, adding a sprinkle of this and a dash of that, and not having to worry about my concotion not having the proper chemical reaction. But sometimes I come across a recipe I can’t pass up, and this was one of those times.

I admit I laughed a little when I read “Dutch Baby” in one of my favorite cookbooks ever, The Bread Bible. I imagine Rose Levy Beranbaum wrote that with a straight face, but I couldn’t keep from giggling. Once I got past the funny name, though, the Dutch Baby started to look like a pretty worthwhile endeavor.

It’s basically a giant popover in which you add a fruit filling. Or I guess any other kind of filling you want, but I feel like the fruit balances out the gratuitous use of butter in the Dutch Baby batter (for some reason, I feel compelled to capitalize “Dutch Baby” each time I write it). Never mind that there’s also a generous amount of butter used when you sautee the fruit. It’s still fruit, darn it. It’s not like you’re sauteeing doughnuts in butter for the filling.

Anyway, the original recipe calls for apples, but, faced with a growing mound of peaches in my fridge, I used those instead with divine results. I also want to mention that if you have a food scale, weigh your flour rather than measure it – you’ll always get better results because the measurement is more accurate. If you don’t have a food scale, just scoop the flour into the measuring cup with a spoon, then level.

Dutch Baby with Peaches (from The Bread Bible)

Batter
5 oz all-purpose flour (about 1.5 cups)
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 cup milk
2 large eggs plus 2 large egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract

Peach Filling
4.5 tbsp unsalted butter
2 lbs peaches, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 in. thick
2 tsp lemon juice
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

In a food processor or using a mixer, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add 2 tbsp melted butter and process until it’s the size of tiny peas, about 20 seconds. Scrape the sides of the container. Add milk, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla and process about 20 seconds, until batter is smooth. Let the batter sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Melt the remaining 2 tbsp of butter in an 11-inch cast iron skillet on the stovetop, until butter bubbles. Coat the inside of the pan with the butter. Pour batter into pan, place in oven, and bake 15 minutes. Lower heat to 350 and continue baking for 30 minutes, until puffed around the edges above the sides of the pan and golden brown. About 15 minutes before the end of the baking time, open the oven and quickly make 3 slits in the center of the Dutch Baby to release steam and allow the center to dry more.

While it’s baking, prepare the filling. In a large frying pan, melt butter over medium heat until bubbling. Add peaches and sprinkle with lemon juice, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Saute peaches, stirring occasionally, for 12-15 minutes, until slices are glazed and tender.

When the Dutch Baby is finished, pour peaches into the center. Serve warm.

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Egg Casserole with Roasted Peppers, Roasted Tomatoes, and Feta

By on July 23, 2010 in Breakfast, Gluten-free

Do you ever get in a breakfast rut? I do, often. In fact, it’s the meal at which I’m most likely to repeat the same foods over and over again. We’re talking months in a row of oatmeal. It gets old.

This casserole will add some variety to your breakfast routine. Roasted peppers and tomatoes combine with oregano and feta cheese for a combination of flavors not usually found on the breakfast table. Try this casserole on a weekend, as it takes a little while to prepare. It would be a great addition to a brunch spread. I made this one on a Sunday evening and reheated portions throughout the week.

Egg Casserole with Roasted Peppers, Roasted Tomatoes, and Feta (adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen)

2 cups sweet peppers, such as banana or bell, cut into strips or sliced into rings
2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1 cup diced fresh tomatoes (or halved cherry tomatoes)
1/2 bunch garlic chives or green onions, chopped
3/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese
10 eggs
1 tsp. lemon pepper
salt to taste

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 375 degrees. Spray a square baking dish with nonstick spray, or rub with olive oil.

Place peppers into baking dish, sprinkle with oregano, and roast for 10 minutes.

Break eggs into a bowl and beat until egg yolks and whites are well combined. Season eggs with lemon pepper and salt, and stir in chives.

After peppers roast for 10 minutes, add tomatoes and stir to combine. Put dish back in oven and roast 15 minutes more, or until tomatoes start to look slightly shriveled.

Sprinkle feta cheese over roasted peppers and tomatoes, then pour beaten eggs over. Return pan to oven and cook for 25-28 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and eggs are set. (It will puff up a bit when it cooks, but after it cools for a few minutes the casserole will settle.) Serve hot.

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Green Onion and Cheddar Biscuits

By on March 28, 2010 in Breakfast

We’ve gotten a lot of green onion lately, so I was glad to come across this recipe, which uses an entire bunch (if you use both the green and white parts) and helped me make a big dent in my stash. Green onions are often used as an accent, but here, they’re the star.

I’ve made a few small adjustments for readability and to lighten it a bit (like using low-fat buttermilk instead of full-fat buttermilk). You can easily sub green garlic or baby leeks if you want. These guys were light as air, which I suspect is a result of the combination of self-rising flour and cake flour. Self-rising flour has added salt and baking powder, and recipes that use it don’t usually call for baking powder, but this one does — probably another contributing factor to the biscuits’ airy texture.

Green Onion and Cheddar Biscuits (from Food Network)

  • 1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
  • 3/4 cup cake flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, bench flour
  • 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

Sift together the self-rising flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, squish the butter pieces into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the buttermilk, cheese, and green onions and stir just until the buttermilk and flour come together to form a dough, being careful not to overmix. You’ll know you are there when there’s no more loose flour in your bowl.

Lightly flour a work surface with the all-purpose flour (I just line my counter with wax paper, parchment paper, or foil). Turn out the dough onto the surface and press into a disk about 1/2-inch thick and 8 inches in diameter. The dough will be very sticky, so flour your hands as necessary. Using a 3-inch round cutter dusted in flour, cut into rounds. (Be sure to press straight and downward when cutting the dough — a twisting motion will prevent the dough from rising.) I dust my cutter by simply dipping it into my flour container. Do this each time you cut a biscuit.

Reform the scraps in order to make nine biscuits*. Place on a baking sheet greased with cooking spray (or on a baking sheet lined with a silicone liner like Silpat) and bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

*The original recipe made seven biscuits, but I must be more efficient than Emeril because I got nine out of the dough.

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Sweet Potato Biscuits

By on March 18, 2010 in Breakfast

Since living in Texas, I’ve been attempting to try as many Southern foods as possible. Some we loved, like the Popcorn Okra or the Corn Saute with Fried Okra, and some just didn’t work (like the creamed collards experiment). Sweet potato biscuits have been on my radar for a while, and these turned out to be one of those Southern foods we couldn’t get enough of.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

These were light and fluffy, a bit sweet, and had a ton of flavor. I was worried that they would be greasy (I fully admit that I am a shortening n00b and haven’t entirely figured out its properties yet), but these weren’t at all. They were quick to make and the dough is super easy to roll out. It’s also a great way to use leftover sweet potatoes (though if they’re mashed and you’ve added sugar, I’d decrease the amount of sugar in the biscuit recipe accordingly).

Mine didn’t puff up much after baking, and the final biscuit was about 3/4″ thick. Despite the fact that the recipe instructs to roll the dough out to 1/2″ thick, I think I might go a bit thicker next time.

From All Recipes

Ingredients:

  • 1 c. flour
  • 3 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 tsp. white sugar
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 Tbsp. shortening
  • 3/4 c. mashed sweet potatoes (To bake sweet potatoes quickly, put them in a casserole dish with a bit of water, cover with saran wrap, and microwave for 12-15 minutes, depending on how large the potatoes are.)
  • 1/4 c. milk

Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  • Stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
  • Cut in the shortening until pieces of shortening are pea-sized or smaller.
  • Mix in the sweet potatoes and enough of the milk (I needed the full 1/4 c.) to make a soft dough.
  • Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and roll or pat out to 1/2″ thickness (see note above).
  • Cut into circles using a biscuit cutter or a drinking glass.
  • Place biscuits 1 inch apart onto a greased baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.
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Carrot Spice Muffins

By on February 11, 2010 in Breakfast

I had originally made these last year, and I loved them! The texture was perfectly muffin-like, yet tasted like carrot cake. When we got all those carrots in our Local Box last week, I knew I had to make them again.

Adapted from Baked Alaska

Ingredients:

  • 2 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. baking powder
  • 1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/3 c. packed light brown sugar
  • 2/3 c. vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 c. milk (I used skim, but the original recipe called for whole. Skim was fine.)
  • 1/4 c. maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 c. shredded carrots (about 3)
  • 2/3 c. chopped walnuts (The original recipe toasted them, but I was lazy.)
  • Pam spray

Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar.
  • In another bowl, mix the oil, eggs, milk, maple syrup, and vanilla.
  • Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and fold together to combine.
  • Stir in the carrots and nuts.
  • Lightly grease the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan with Pam spray and divide the batter evenly among the muffin molds.


I like oversized muffins (the tops are the best part!), so I fill each muffin mold pretty high with batter. Consequently, the recipe only made 11 muffins.

  • Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.
  • Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.


See? HUGE muffin tops. Yum.

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