Breakfast For Dinner

Breakfast is absolutely my favorite meal of the day.  Be it something as simple as eggs and toast or a weekend brunch consisting of coconut pancakes topped with sauteed pears in butter and cinnamon and warm maple syrup.  I would be content to eat breakfast for all three meals.  My current breakfast is a bowl of oatmeal cooked over the stove with vanilla almond milk, walnuts or almonds, golden raisins or fresh fruit, and a lot of cinnamon.  However, I'm sure as the weather starts to warm up I will go back to having eggs and toast with peanut butter.  Just the other night I was in the mood for eggs and there was also the fact I was running low on food.  I scanned the pantry and refrigerator and pulled out a jar of tomato sauce, whole wheat bread, spinach, and eggs.  My creation...poached eggs in tomato sauce and sauteed spinach served over toast.

I've seen this dish created by others but had never tried it myself.  I was a little hesitant to poach the eggs in the tomato sauce but it was easier than I expected and they turned out perfect.  Here is my take on eggs in tomato sauce for my breakfast for dinner.  Enjoy!

Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Spinach

Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Spinach

Ingredients:

• 1-2 slices whole wheat bread
• 1 garlic clove
• Tomato Sauce (I used Dave's Gourmet Organic Roasted Garlic & Basil Pasta Sauce)
• 1-2 eggs
• Fresh or Frozen Spinach 
• Optional Toppings: Red Pepper Flakes, Shaved Parmesan Cheese, or fresh basil

Directions:

1. Warm sauce in a saute pan over medium high heat.   Once it comes to a simmer add spinach to sauce and let cook down for a minute.
2. Crack 1 egg at a time into small bowl then gently transfer to the saucepan.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover and let cook 4-6 minutes.  (I like my poached eggs soft in the middle so I don't go more than 5 minutes.) Once they're done remove the pan from the heat and let sit for 2-3 minutes.
3. While the eggs are cooking toast your bread.  Once done take the toast and rub the toast with the garlic clove.  (This way you get that garlicky flavor without it being overpowering).
4. Gently transfer the eggs and sauce onto the toast.  Finish with toppings as desired.

Chocolate is a Girl's Best Friend

Usually in the afternoon, when I need something to get me through the rest of the day I always reach for something chocolaty.  Most days it's a piece of Dove dark chocolate or dark Hershey kisses but occasionally I like to have something extra special.  This past weekend I decided to try a recipe from my latest issue of Bon Appétit, Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts.  Growing up brownies were another go to dessert in our house.  My mom and I loved making them together, her taking care of washing the dishes and me licking the bowl and spoon, despite the fact there were raw eggs in the batter.  This particular recipe is rich and fudgy and are best enjoyed with a large scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.  I'm sure this recipe would be great as is but I decided to make a couple of changes.  I really like brown sugar so I substituted some of the granulated sugar with brown and I thought I would try out whole wheat pastry flour in place of AP flour.  They turned out amazing and I will be making these again, maybe even next time spreading them with chocolate or peanut butter frosting to make them extra rich.  Enjoy!

Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts
From Bon Appétit Magazine – February 2011

Makes 16 Servings

Ingredients:

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 1/4 cups sugar (I cut back on the sugar and used ¾ cup granulated sugar and ¼ cup light brown sugar)
• 3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (spooned into cup to measure, then leveled)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, chilled
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour (I substituted whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1 cup walnut pieces (I used 2/3 cup walnuts)

Directions:

1. Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325°F. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 2-inch overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray.
2. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons water, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt. Stir to blend. Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot). Add eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Stir in nuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
3. Bake brownies until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs attached), about 25 minutes. (I took mine out after 20 minutes)  Cool in pan on rack. Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Cut into 4 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 4 brownies.

It's Peanut Butter Time!

For as long as I can remember I have loved peanut butter.  Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, peanut butter and bananas, peanut butter on toast, Reese's peanut butter cups, peanut butter right out of the jar, and of course peanut butter cookies.  Growing up I didn't do as much baking as I did cooking with my dad but when we did, it was usually something from a box or bag of cookie or cake mix.  Normally I am not a fan of cookie mixes but there was one that my dad and I made that not only tasted delicious but were fun to make.  Our cookie mix of choice was Betty Crocker's Peanut Butter Cookie Mix.  They were fairly easy to make, just add oil, water, an egg, and mix until combined.  You'll have homemade cookies ready in 20 minutes.  My favorite part was creating the crisscross pattern in the cookies.  They were not complete until that final step.  As we pulled them out of the oven it was hard not to eat them straight off the pan but we let them cool slightly and shared them with a tall glass of milk.

Recently when looking for a new dessert recipe to bring over to a friend's dinner party I found this recipe on Joy the Baker's website...Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies.  It was a new twist on the traditional peanut butter cookie and it reminded me of the cookies I had when I was a child.  They turned out to be a great hit and it was hard to stop at just one.  I think the next time around I will change it up with mixing in chocolate chips to the filling or maybe even strawberry jam to make it like a p&j sandwich.  However you choose to prepare these cookies I know they will be a big hit!

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
     from Joy the Baker
     makes about 30 sandwich cookies


Ingredients:

For the Cookies:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Filling:

• 2 cups crunchy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
•  1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Optional Coating:

• 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup honey roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat.  Grease with butter or cooking spray. (Skip this part if you're using a Silpat mat.)
2. Using a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and peanut butter on medium speed until well combined.  Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add the egg and beat on medium speed for 1 minute.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and beat on low until just combined.  Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.  
4. Scoop out a level tablespoon of dough, roll into a ball, place on cookie sheet about 1 1/2-inches apart.  Use the tines of a fork to press the cookies flat.  (I found that dipping the fork in water after every other cookie prevented the fork from getting stuck to the cookies.)  Bake for 7-10 minutes until the cookies are a deep golden brown along the edges. (Mine were ready after 8 minutes.) 
5. To make the filling:  Use a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment to beat the butter, peanut butter and heavy cream together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add the powdered sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, salt and beat on medium speed until combined.  
6. To make the coating:  Melt the chocolate pieces in the microwave, or over a double boiler.
7. To assemble the cookies:  Use a spatula or small knife to spread generous amounts of the filling onto the flat bottom of a cookie.  Top with another cookie, ridge side up.  Set a wire rack on top of a sheet of waxed paper to catch the chocolate drips if you choose to dip your cookies in chocolate.  Sprinkle the chocolate with chopped nuts immediately after dipping so they stick.  Let stand for 1 hour to harden, or pop them in the fridge for a few minutes.  
8. The cookies last up to 3 days in an airtight container, or 2 weeks in a container in the fridge.

 

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies dipped in dark chocolate and honey roasted peanut

 

 ***On another note I took a trip to Charleston with a few good friends last weekend and we ate at an amazing french restaurant downtown called 39 Rue De Jean.  I highly recommend stopping by for dinner the next time you're in town.