Versatile Choux – Cream Puffs, Profiteroles or Mini Eclairs

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brunch, choux, cream puffs, dessert, desserts, eclairs, French baking, French cooking, French pastry, gourmet, gourmet brunch, mini food, postaday2011, profiteroles, sweets, sweets table, treats

Nanny’s Cream Puffs
Hubster loves sweets, I enjoy them too. We don’t always agree on the same treats though, except for this one. I decided to whip up a batch and everyone could choose their own filling. This recipe comes from a yellowed recipe card in my grandmother’s rusty recipe box, but I’m not sure of the original origins. I’ve made a few minor modifications, but not enough to call it my own.

Cream Puffs

Choux Ingredients:
6 Tbsp. butter softened, 1 c. warm water, 3/4 c. flour, 1/4 c. 10x sugar, 3 eggs, 1/2 tsp. almond extract, pinch of fresh ground sea salt (omit if using salted butter), 5 oz. finely grated dark chocolate

Choux Directions:
Preheat oven 400°F. Grease and flour two baking sheets. Sift flour and set aside. Beat eggs and set aside. In a small saucepan bring butter and water to a boil. Add flour, extract, sugar and salt to saucepan and beat until mixture pulled away from the sides. Remove from heat allow to cool a bit (you don’t want scrambled eggs in your choux)  and beat in half the eggs, slowly add in remaining eggs until dough becomes smooth (you might not need all the eggs). Drop by the tablespoonful on trays (next time I might roll them into balls). Bake for 30 minutes or until the are golden and puffed. Use a bamboo skewer to prick each puff and place bake in the oven for about 10 more minutes. Cool puffs on wire rack. Use an icing press to fill with pudding or whipped cream, cut a slit  and use a melon-baller to fill with ice cream. Melt chocolate in double boiler and dip the tops of puff. Keep refrigerated or frozen.

For Profiteroles: Fill with ice-cream

For Eclair Puffs: Fill with vanilla pudding

For Cream Puffs: Fill with fresh whipped cream (try adding a pinch of nutmeg to cram before filling

Mine taste great, but the don’t look perfect, but I don’t think they turned out badly for a first attempt.

Do you prefer profiteroles, eclairs or cream puffs?

Grilled Pound Cake with Crème Fraîche, Tangerine & Pomegranate

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autumn breakfast, autumn brunch, beverage, beverage recipe, breakfast, brunch, brunch recipe, chinese apple, comfort food, crème fraîche, crème fraîche substitute, dessert, easy meal, fall breakfast, fall brunch, favorite foods, food, foodie, gourmet brunch, grilles, grilling, holiday breakfast, holiday brunch, meal, mimosa, pomegranate, pomegranate seeds, postaday2011, pound cake, recipe, seasonal food, tangerine, tangerine pomegranate, vegetarian recipe, winter breakfast, winter brunch

Grilled Pound Cake with Crème Fraîche, Tangerines & Pomegranate

Yesterday morning we started off our New Year with something sweet… grilled pound cake. We only consumed one loaf, so today I wanted to play around with a new idea and use part of the other loaf. Use butter rum pound cake recipe or almond pound cake recipe. Crème fraîche is impossible to get here and when it is available, it cost a fortune. I however didn’t have time to make crème fraîche, so I made a quick and easy substitute.

Ingredients:
butter rum pound cake, crème fraîche, 3 tangerines, 1 pomegranate

Directions:
Heat grill pan over medium heat. Use a bread knife to slice the pound cake. Lightly butter each side of cake, place on hot pan and grill  for about 30 seconds before flipping. Remove promptly from heat. Spread crème fraîche on one slice of pound cake and top with another slice. Peal tangerines and break into segments, remove any seeds. Add 1/2 a tangerine to each plate and sprinkle on the pomegranate seeds.

Crème Fraîche Substitute:
Whip together 1/2 c. sour cream and 1/2 a c. of sweet whipped cream (homemade, not out of a tub or can). You’re supposed to let it stand just like you would making true crème fraîche, but then it’s not any faster. Make and let it sit awhile with you mix the pound cake batter.

*Garnish with a sprinkle of confectioner’s sugar if desired.

Yesterday Hubster walked to the store to get orange juice and instead returned with an orange, pineapple, apple… I thought this would be a tasty variation for a mimosa…

What was on your breakfast plate?

Cherry Chocolate Almond Pancakes

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almond, breakfast, breakfast in bed, brunch, cherries, chocolate, chocolate chip, dried cherries, food, gourmet, gourmet breakfast, gourmet brunch, gourmet pancakes, pancakes, recipe, tart cherries, white chocolate

Now that my 12 Days of Christmas Gifts are over, I feels strange to post food again.

Try this variation the next time you make pancakes. This is a perfect dish for a holiday brunch or a great breakfast in bed surprise. Hubster & Pumpkin both loved these.

Cherry Chocolate Almond Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 c. flour, 2 Tbsp. baking powder, 1 tsp fresh ground sea salt, 1 egg, 1 c. milk, 2 Tbs. vegetable oil, 1 Tbs. almond extract, 1/4 c. grated white chocolate, 1/4 c. chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips, 1/3 c. dried tart cherries

Directions:
Set aside chocolate chips and cherries. Mix together all dry ingredients, add wet ingredients and stir until batter is smooth. Stir in grated white chocolate. Place griddle on medium heat and lightly oil. For each pancake, pour about 1/4 c. of batter on hot griddle, evenly sprinkle cherries and chocolate chips. Flip pancakes when small bubbles appear. Cook on other side until golden brown, quickly remove from heat. Enjoy!

If you wish, drizzle with real maple syrup or serve them à la mode. Serve with sausage links and a cup of English tea.

What’s for breakfast?

Apple, Caramel, Pecan Pancakes

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apple, breakfast, brunch, caramel, caramel apple, carmel, carmel apple, gourmet breakfast, gourmet brunch, gourmet pancakes, pancakes, pecan, recipe

Mmmmm…

Hubster is trying to cut back on carbs, not eliminate them, just cut back. He loves pancakes, but I wanted to make them a little healthier and satisfy his appetite, while giving him less carbs. There are a few things I did to cut back on carbs, calories and portion size. 1) I made smaller pancakes, portion control. 2) I served them on salad plates, just to trick his brain a bit. 3) I added protein, mmm… pecans. 4) I added fiber, in the form of apple chunks. 5) I swapped out the traditional butter and syrup for drizzled caramel. It had 1/2 the calories of the syrup alone, it stretched further, and not to mention those calories saved from omitting the butter.

Apple, Caramel, Pecan Pancakes

Recipe:
I whipped up a batch of pancakes, adding 1/2 c. ground pecans and a little melted caramel to the batter. I also swapped the in almond extract instead of the vanilla extract and cooked as usual. I topped the hot pancakes with fresh chopped Golden Delicious apples, hot roasted pecans and gooey drippy caramel.

The result? It tasted like a caramel covered apple. Hubster said this was one of his favorite things I’ve ever made by far… Happy Hubster in the morning = A good and productive day!

Mmmmm…

What is your favorite pancake topping?

Brunch Dishes

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biscotti, breakfast, breakfast recipes, brunch, brunch eggs, brunch recipes, brunch salad, chicken broccoli crepes, eggs benedict, eggs lorraine, fruit cup, gourmet, gourmet breakfast, gourmet brunch, jam, monte cristo sandwich, pumpkin waffles, quiche, recipes, turkey sausage

Hubster and I tried to go out for breakfast at 10am. All three places we tried to stop, were not open for Sunday breakfast (one thing I miss about living somewhere less rural).  So after dreaming of yummy breakfast I came home and made myself Eggs Lorraine… then I decided to blog about brunch.

I love making brunch, Hubster used to be confused when I’d serve him “eggs and salad” (as he says) at the same time. The first time I had made him brunch, he was hesitant, but then loved it!! Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, however I don’t have time to make gourmet things in the morning before work. I sometimes daydream of running a B&B.  I complied several of my favorite brunch recipes together to share the list/recipes with my readers.

Brunch Salad – Mixed greens topped with walnuts, pear slices, mandarin oranges and a raspberry vinaigrette.  I change it up seasonally. Spring: asparagus spears, violets. Summer: cherry tomatoes, fresh cherries, blue berries, raspberries. Autumn: pomegranate seeds, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes. Winter: roasted butternut squash seeds, dried cranberries, tangerines.

Fruit Cup – Mix together fresh raspberries, sliced star fruit, cubed cantaloupe, cubed pineapple, slice strawberries, crumbled blue cheese. Mix together chopped fresh basil, 2 Tbs. honey, 2 Tbs. olive oil and a splash of orange juice. Toss fruit with dressing and garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Brunch Eggs – Coat four small Pyrex ramekins with olive oil. Mix fresh basil with diced tomatoes and divide mixture into each ramekin. Make a small well in the tomato mixture and then crack an egg into each well. Bake the ramekins until eggs are done to your preference (350°F for about 25 minutes). Turn off the oven, top each ramekin with a slice of provolone cheese, and place back in the oven for two minutes. Right before serving, flip ramekin over a toasted english muffin. Garnish with a fresh basil leaf and a sprinkle of grated provolone.

Eggs Benedict – This classic is made with asparagus instead of Canadian bacon in my household (sometimes I use turkey ham). I layer a toasted english muffin with a poached egg, the asparagus and then top it off with the Hollandaise sauce (find my recipe Hollandaise sauce recipe here).

Pumpkin Waffles – Autumn Brunch Favorite! Serve warm with fresh churned cinnamon or vanilla ice cream, fresh whipped cream or fresh whipped butter.  *Serve with fresh apple cider & brunch salad.

Eggs Lorraine – Coat a 8″x8″ baking dish with EVOO. Line with turkey ham or turkey bacon, then with Swiss cheese. Break nine eggs over the cheese (in a 3 by 3 array). In a small bowl mix 5 Tbs. sour cream (or plain yogurt), fresh cracked black pepper and fresh ground sea salt, then dollop over the eggs. Bake at 350°F for about 25 minutes. Garnish with fresh chives.

Monte Cristo Sandwich – Mix together your favorite french toast batter (I use 2 eggs, 1 c. of milk, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and a splash of vanilla). Slice a loaf of fresh french bread and make a sandwich, adding a slice of Swiss cheese and smoked turkey. Dip the sandwich into the french toast mixture and cook of a hot griddle until golden brown on each side. For Hubster I load up the sandwich with, turkey, ham, Swiss and Provolone. My son likes turkey with Swiss and Provolone. Some people like to serve with jam, mustard,or powdered sugar. I like to use maple syrup for brunch (gourmet champagne dill mustard for lunch).

Pecan Caramel Apple Pancakes – Caramel and almond extract in the batter, hot pancakes topped with Golden Delicious apples, caramel sauce, and pecans? Mmm… Ge the how to here.

Quiché – Always a brunch favorite, can be made with any combination of veggies, cheese and meats you choose. Try my crustless Quiché.

Chicken Broccoli Crepes – First, I make savory crepes. Then, I sauté the chicken and broccoli and make a white cheddar sauce to top it off with.

Turkey Sausage – Remember to add the fennel when your use this turkey sausage recipe.

Serve biscotti with coffee, tea and hot cocoa. Prepare Jam with fresh scones.