Egg Cups – Breakfast for Dinner!

I recently watched an episode of Sara Moulton’s Weeknight Meals, and she made something called Eggs Baked in Ham with Sofrito.  This idea was so unique, I was excited to try is for dinner last night!

I simplified the recipe a bit – this is my take on breakfast for dinner!  I served my dish with a side of sweet potato pancakes. 

Egg Cups (serves 6)

• Cooking spray
• 6 slices of Black Forrest ham lunchmeat, sliced thin
• 1 package of frozen creamed spinach, thawed
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 T grated parmesan cheese
• Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray 6 cups of a muffin tin with cooking spray.  Gently mold a piece of ham in each of 6 cups, leaving edges to lay around the top. 

Add the nutmeg, 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper to the creamed spinach and combine well.  Fill the bottom of each cup with a spoonful of spinach, leaving an indentation in the center for the egg to sit.

Crack an egg in each cup.  Season with salt & pepper, then sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.

Bake in oven for about 15 minutes, until eggs are no longer runny.

Carefully remove each cup with a large spoon.

Enjoy!

Breakfast Pizzas

I was given a brunch cookbook by a food-loving friend of mine, Michele. I was looking through it recently and saw an idea for breakfast pizzas. The idea of breakfast pizzas excited me so much, I decided to try making them for the crew when we were up at the mountains over the 4th of July weekend.

I went to Trader Joe's and purchased two kinds of pizza dough (one of my favorite finds from TJ's!), regular and whole wheat. The whole wheat crust took longer to bake than the regular, so keep that in mind if you try making this recipe.

And, of course the little Preston Market at the mountains did not have exactly the bulk breakfast sausage I was looking for, so we opted for sweet Italian sausage that I just removed from the casing. It worked well, so in case you can't find bulk breakfast sausage (which is basically the sausage in one package - not in casings) that you can use that. Also, you can use ground pork and Penzey's Spices breakfast sausage seasoning.



Breakfast Pizzas (makes 4 to 5)

• 1 ball of pizza dough, room temperature (dough is much easier to roll out when it is not cold)
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
  
• 1 lb. bulk sausage
• 1 and 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
• 1 bunch of green onions (scallions), chopped
  
• Eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll out pizza dough and cut into 5x5 squares or 8" circles (they will taste the same no matter what shape you cut them *wink*). Sprinkle baking sheet with a good layer of cornmeal to prevent the dough from sticking before adding dough cutouts.

Brown sausage until fully cooked.

Make a circle of cheese on each pizza round, leaving room for an egg in the center. Top cheese with browned sausage.

Crack one egg in the center of each round. The egg will not run out if you have enough of a cheese & sausage border. Immediately put in oven.

Bake for 12-15 minutes (until eggs are cooked, a white film will develop over the yolk).

Sprinkle green onions over pizzas. Enjoy!




We also made home fries to add to the meal. To make:

• 10 small red potatoes
• 1-2 T vegetable oil
• Salt & pepper
  

Heat oil in pan over medium/medium-high heat.

Cut potatoes into quarters (or halves if they are small). Add to pan.

Saute for 10-15 minutes, until browned. If you stick a fork in one and it splits easily, they are done!

Remove from heat and sprinkle with salt & pepper, to taste.

My friend, James, and his cow serving up some whole-wheat breakfast pizza!

A Lotta Strata!

As promised, we have done a lot of cooking up here at the mountain house. After a stormy but restful night, I was up early and got a jump on breakfast. The general store up here was not plentiful in choices so I had to make some substitutions, but it was a hit!

Sausage, Fontina, and Bell Pepper Strata

• 6 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups sliced green onions
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup finely grated Romano cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound hot Italian sausages, casings removed
• 1 large red bell pepper, halved, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch wide-strips
• 1 1-pound loaf rustic French bread, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 2 cups (loosely packed) coarsely grated Fontina cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch ceramic or glass baking dish.

Whisk first 7 ingredients in large bowl; sprinkle generously with pepper. Set aside.

Place sausage in large nonstick skillet; push to 1 side. Add bell pepper to other side of skillet. Sauté over high heat, breaking up sausage with fork, until sausage is cooked through and bell peppers are brown in spots, about 7 minutes.

Arrange half of bread slices in prepared dish. Pour half of egg mixture over. Sprinkle with half of cheese, then half of sausage-pepper mixture.

Repeat layering. Let stand 20 minutes, occasionally pressing on bread to submerge.

Bake strata until puffed and brown, about 1 hour. Cool slightly.

Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit Magazine

Memorial Day Weekend

As I mentioned in an earlier post, every 3-day weekend in the summer for us usually means heading up to Elk Mountain to escape from the busy buzzing world of Philadelphia & the suburbs. These weekends usually mean a lot of menu planning... and a lot of food!

This Memorial Day weekend, we'll be doing just that. Ryan is planning on making his "signature dish" (one of the two things he makes *wink*), baked salmon and ravioli. I am in charge of breakfast - and I quickly decided that I will make the strata that was in this month's Bon Appetit magazine. Be sure to check in as I am sure we'll be taking lots of photos documenting our Memorial Day weekend food adventures!

What are your plans for this weekend? Going to a BBQ? Are you making anything special?

It's not quite breakfast, it's not quite lunch...

My favorite time of year is when winter has taken its exit and the warm yellow sun pulls me out of my blissful slumber. Weekends in the Spring are what I live for. That, and brunch. This past weekend, I pulled out my brunch cookbook (thank you Michele!) for inspiration, took a gander at my fridge, and came up with a menu.

My first idea - granola and yogurt. I had some yogurt in the fridge and a bag of home made granola from Maple Acres Farm. Secondly, for something a little more filling, I made a frittata. Served up with a side of ham, this menu covers all of the bases.

Frittata

• 1 T butter
• 2 leeks, diced into thin rings
• 1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes
• 8 large eggs
• 2 T milk
• 2 T of goat cheese
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Preheat broiler.

In an ovenproof skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add sliced leaks and cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Add goat cheese, salt & pepper and whisk for about 1 minute to incorporate.

Add tomatoes to skillet, then pour egg mixture over leaks and tomatoes. Turn heat up to medium-high and cook for apprx. 2 minutes until eggs are set but still runny on top. Put pan under broil until eggs are cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from oven and slide frittata onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges.

You can try any variation of ingredients - this would be great with asparagus & shallots instead of leeks. For a richer frittata, use heavy cream instead of milk. Try feta instead of goat cheese. Or try serving with sour cream dolloped on top. This would be ideal for lunch or a light dinner, also.

Breakfast of Champions

One thing I love.. and that's breakfast. Breakfast for dinner, Sunday brunch.. it's all very, very good.

Whenever a 3-day weekend arises, Ryan and I pack up the car and head up to his uncle's place in the Endless Mountains in Northern PA. Aside from the breath-taking beauty of the house sitting on a private lake surrounded by acres and acres of nature, we most look forward to the food! Before we leave, we excitedly plan a menu. We always like to cook at least one nice dinner for Uncle Tom to thank him for inviting us stay at his "summer camp for adults". Plus, it is nice just to experiment with new recipes and cook for fun!

Uncle Tom's girlfriend, Janet (who Ryan refers to as half nurse, half saint) descends from a lovely Swedish family. One morning, Janet made us all Swedish Pancakes. They were so good I made her give me the recipe. You must try these wonderful, crêpe-like pancakes!

I invite you all to post your favorite breakfast recipe & story!





Swedish Pancakes

• 2 eggs
• 2 c milk
• 1 c flour
• ½ tsp salt
• Butter for frying pan

Mix liquid together in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in dry ingredients.

Melt butter in frying pan over medium/medium-high heat. When pan is well heated and butter is melted, add one ladle of the batter into frying pan. Flip when bottom is golden-brown (1-2 minutes) and cook second side until golden-brown as well.

Serve with your favorite preserve or fruit & whipped cream. For the less adventurous folk, try with syrup but don't waste your efforts with anything but pure maple syrup!

*Note- flipping these pancakes is an artwork. 100% of the time, I have messed up the first pancake but get better as I go along. Have patience!

Next up... home made potato chips!


(Photo borrowed from toastskagen.com)