Bell Pepper and Goat Cheese Strata

I can't decide why I love brunch so much. Maybe it's because if left to my own devices I could easily sleep well past breakfast on the weekend. Or maybe it's the relaxed, lingering nature of the meal. Or maybe it's because the options are endless in that you can mix traditional breakfast items with non-breakfast fare. Then there's the whole thing about cocktails and dessert being allowed. Whichever way you slice and dice it, I love brunch.

Lately, I've found myself flagging lots of brunch inspiring recipes, particularly frittatas, tarts and stratas, so I thought it was about time I got to trying a few. 

I made this on a recent Sunday and it saw me through a couple of lunches and dinners the following week. A simple reheat in the microwave and it was good to go. To add a little green I served it with a little arugula with a simple lemon and olive oil vinaigrette from Ina Garten. 

Bell Pepper and Goat Cheese Strata

From Self Magazine

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional for brushing pan

8 eggs

1 cup 2 percent milk

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

8 oz whole-wheat baguette, preferably day-old, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)

1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled

Fresh thyme sprigs for garnish (optional)

Brush a 9" x 9" pan* with oil. In a bowl, beat eggs, milk, Parmesan and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and black pepper. Add bread; toss until coated; transfer to pan; let sit. Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large nonstick pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Saute bell pepper, onion, thyme and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper until onion begins to brown, approximately 10 minutes. Add bell pepper mixture to pan; spread evenly over bread mixture; dot with goat cheese. Bake until top is puffed and browned and center is firm, approximately 25 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes. Garnish with thyme, if desired.

Note: I baked my strata in my 15" x 8.75" casserole with lid from Crate & Barrel. Worked perfect, and was nice to have the lid ready to pop on for easy storage in the fridge. 

Images are my own.

Doughnut Muffins

This is what happens when I get a little sweet tooth...

I take a spin around my Pinterest page, perusing for a recipe, find something that causes a little mouth watering (keep reading, what I'm about to share is worth it), do a little baking, then end up with way more sweet than one girl needs. Add to the equation that I was down a roommate this past weekend, and we're talking way more doughnut muffins than should be allowed in this apartment at any given time.

That said, they are tasty. Real tasty. The hint of nutmeg in each bite really makes you feel like you're biting into a doughnut, minus that whole deep fried, I-feel-a-little-bad-about-what-I-just-ate feeling.

Luckily, I had an Easter brunch to go to yesterday, so the superfluous doughnut muffins didn't stick around for long. I mean, I could have made a solid dinner of them tonight. It's definitely more fun to share though.

Doughnut Muffins
Adapted from Alejandro of Always Order Dessert via Ramshackle Glam
Yield: About 30 muffins

For the muffins
Baking spray
3 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated white sugar
5 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

For dipping the muffins
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup granulated white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon, mixed together in a small bowl

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly spray muffin tins with the baking spray and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

Using an electric stand mixer or hand-held mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light, fluffy, and doubled in volume (about 7 to 10 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary to make sure it is all incorporated fully.

Add the eggs, one at a time, waiting until each one is fully incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to mix in the flour and buttermilk, alternating a bit of each until it's all in and fully incorporated and smooth.

Use a tablespoon or ice cream scoop to scoop an equal portion of batter into each tin - filling it no more than half way. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let sit in the tins for 5 minutes before unmolding. Use a pairing knife to gently loosen the muffins from the tin, as needed. Refrigerate the batter that hasn't made its way to the muffin tin in between batches.

While the muffins are still warm, brush the top with melted butter then dip in the bowl of cinnamon sugar, also rolling the muffin around to slightly coat the sides and bottom.

A few notes:

• I substituted 1 1/4 cups of regular milk soured with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice for the 1 1/4 cups of buttermilk. Works great in a pinch or if you hate getting stuck with buttermilk that won't get used up before going bad (like me!).    
• This batter has a tendency to stick. To save myself from a little headache and ruined muffins, I cut out circular pieces of parchment paper and placed them at the bottom of each muffin cup. I thoroughly sprayed each cup with baking spray before placing the parchment down, and then gave the parchment a quick spray after it was in place. With just a little loosening with a pairing knife around the edges, the muffins should come right out!

Images are my own.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

I love to cook, but I love to cook when I have time to enjoy it. A lazy Sunday filled with trying a new recipe for dinner or cooking for the week is my kind of day. And starting off the week knowing that I'm going to have something delicious to come home to after working late or hitting the gym is a good feeling. Recently, it was tortilla soup.

I don't know how this happened given my affinity for Mexican food and soup, but apparently I failed to ever try tortilla soup before giving this recipe a go. After just a bit of chopping and 45 minutes or so "brewing", I had a tasty soup that was waiting for me when I came home the next few nights. The garnish is key with this one, with the cheddar, cilantro, avocado and sour cream really rounding things out nicely. Also, if you're looking for a way to use up the rest of the tortillas, a simple cheese quesadilla goes well on the side.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
Adapted from The Kitchy Kitchen
Yield: 2 quarts

1/4 cup olive oil
3 corn tortillas, chopped
2 cups onions, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 quart vegetable stock
1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz.)
Salt and pepper to taste

For garnish:
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cilantro
Sour cream
2 avocados, cubed

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add tortillas and fry 3 to 4 minutes, or until crispy. Add onions, cumin, chili powder, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Add stock and tomatoes and cook 45 minutes to 1 hour. Puree in food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot and add garnish as desired.

Images are my own.

Hot Cocoa Cookies

Some people head to the bar on St. Patrick's Day...others head to the kitchen.

I didn't really feel like joining the madness here in South Boston yesterday, and if you're not down for joining it, you better plan on spending the day indoors. So, I took it as an opportunity to quench a chocolate craving and try a new recipe.

I first spotted these chocolate treats on Pastry Affair. If you have a sweet tooth, love channeling your inner baker or just drool over beautiful food photography, you should check it out. I'm hooked!

Anyway, back to the cookies. Kristin at Pastry Affair was inspired by Rachel Ray, and I was inspired by Kristin's beautiful photography and a warm nostalgic memory of sipping cocoa during the winter as a kid. These will certainly quench a chocolate craving, and they're pretty darn cute too.

Hot Cocoa Cookies
Adapted from Rachel Ray, as seen on Pastry Affair
Yield: About 3 dozen 2-inch cookies

1 stick of butter
12 ounces (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus 2-3 additional chips per cookie
1 cup brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (about 2 packets) hot cocoa mix
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
18 large marshmallows, cut in half
Chocolate shavings, optional

In a small saucepan, melt together butter and chocolate chips over low heat. Stir until smooth and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together brown sugar and eggs. Add vanilla extract. Slowly incorporate flour, hot cocoa mix, baking powder, and salt. Mix in melted chocolate. Refrigerate cookie dough for 1 hour to solidify (a must!).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Using a spoon or cookie scoop, scoop cookie dough and spread out evenly onto a baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes, or until cookie tops begin to crack. Pull cookies out from oven and delicately place 3 chocolate chips on each cookie. Place a marshmallow half on top of the chocolate chips, cut side down. Bake cookies for an additional 4-5 minutes, or until marshmallows are softened. Sprinkle chocolate shavings on top (optional).

Serve warm or room temperature, with a tall glass of milk. I recommend heating the cookies in the microwave for 5-7 seconds so the marshmallow is warm and gooey. 

Seeing as tomorrow is going to be one of those extra special snowy March days - because, yes, they are extra "special" in March - I might just have to enjoy my hot cocoa cookies with actual hot cocoa. There are worse things in life than too much chocolate!

Images are my own.

Sour Cream Pound Cake with Strawberries

I love cooking for other people. Seeing as I'm usually just cooking for me, when I'm having people over it's nice to be able to try a new recipe without feeling like I'm going to be living off of leftovers for a week. For a while I was getting myself in the habit of trying all the fancy, somewhat complicated recipes in my "need to try" file, which often resulted in me stuck in the kitchen while my friends were already over and hanging out in the living room. The other week I had three of my girlfriends over for dinner and decided to keep things a little simple so I could spend more time socializing vs. cooking.

Growing up, one of my mom's simple, go to desserts was pound cake with fruit and whipped cream. Simple, yet tasty - and versatile. She always had fruit around, even in the off-season. Frozen peaches never tasted so good!

I decided to take a page out of her book and do the same. The combination of sour cream and vanilla in this recipe from Paula Dean creates a tasty cake. I served it with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream (just heavy whipping cream whipped until firm with sugar added to your liking).

This recipe would be great paired with any sort of fruit or with vanilla ice cream and a berry puree.


Sour Cream Pound Cake
From Paula Dean
Yield: 6-8 Servings

1 stick of butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the sour cream and mix until incorporated. Sift the baking soda and flour together. Add to the creamed mixture alternating with eggs, beating in each egg 1 at a time. Add vanilla.

Pour the mixture into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

***

Oh, and today is day one of blogging with photos from my new DSLR. Still a lot to learn, but really excited to dive in!

Images are my own.