We visited our family in Vermont recently - a visit made even more special since our grandson, Gray, was home from college in Los Angeles. On the day we were leaving, he got up really early to make us his special breakfast sandwich. If you are a growing boy who surfs, rides a bicycle 4 miles each way to school every day, snowboards and is otherwise very active, you could probably eat this once or twice a week. The rest of us will just have to enjoy it as on occasional special treat!
Gray's Breakfast Sandwich
Two servingsTwo bagels, sliced 6 slices very sharp cheddar cheese, or enough to cover one half of a bagel 2 eggs, slightly beaten 3 slices bacon, cooked until crisp 6 slices ripe avocado
Place both halves on the bagel on a baking sheets and toast until done and cheese has melted.
Meantime, cook the eggs in the same skillet you cooked the bacon in, having drained the excess fat, in egg rings until just done. You may flip them over towards the end of cooking if desired.
Place the bagel halves on a serving dish, top the cheese half with the egg, bacon and avocado slices. Top with remaining bagel halves and enjoy!
If you want to zip this up a little, try adding a little hot sauce to the eggs before cooking or add a little salsa when you are assembling the sandwiches. WATCH OUR VIDEO:
I first tasted this lovely torte at my friend Flora's house. It's a
recipe that has been around for ages and was originally made with
Italian prune plums cut in half. I have changed it a bit, replacing
some of the flour with almond flour, adding almond extract and using
sliced peaches in place of the plums. Of course the original is good
too! You can also use any plum, sliced, or pears. In the winter, I
have used canned apricot halves well drained and placed on paper towels
to dry further.
Note: If you cannot find almond flour, simply place 1/4 cup of
sliced almonds in a food processor with the sugar and process until
finely ground. Otherwise, just use an additional 1/4 cup of plain
flour. I particularly like the texture the almond flour gives.
¾ cup (145g) plus 1 or 2 tablespoons sugar
1 stick (112g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (120g) unbleached flour
¼ cup (20g) almond flour
1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon (5g) almond extract
Pinch of salt
2 or 3 ripe peaches
sliced almonds
Arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°.
In a large bowl, cream the ¾ cup sugar and butter.
Add the flour,
almond flour, baking powder, eggs, and salt and beat to mix well. Place
in a 9 ungreased cake pan lined with parchment paper. Cover the top
with the sliced peaches.
Mix the sliced almonds with the remaining 1 or
2 tablespoons of sugar and sprinkle over the top.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the center tests done with a
toothpick. Remove and cool to room temperature or serve warm. Serve
plain or with vanilla ice cream.
Note: Cake freezes well. To serve, return to room temperature and reheat at 300° until warm.
Variations: I have made this with Italian plums cut in half or
regular plums cut in quarters omitting the sliced almonds and
substituting a teaspoon of cinnamon. Canned apricots very well drained
also work as do canned pears. This recipe will also make two 6” cakes.
It has happened to all of us: you are
driving on a highway and have to get something to each. Your choices
are leaving the highway and taking goodness know how long to find a
restaurant or stop at Mickey D‘s. We were faced with that choice
recently and didn’t want to add an hour or more to our journey so we
opted for McDonalds thinking a small hamburger would tide us over. We
were surprised to find a new option on the menu: a Fresh Wrap. We
ordered it and were even more surprised to find it was quite good. Of
course, immodestly, I felt I could made a better version at home.
Freshly grilled chicken and some slices of ripe avocado make this a
lunch I would happily serve to guests.
1 thin chicken cutlet, lightly rubbed with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 cup lettuce, finely shredded
1 medium tomato, chopped
¼ cup sharp cheddar, shredded
4 slices crisp bacon
8 slices avocado
2 flour tortillas
Dressing:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Grill the chicken breast until done. Lightly grill tortillas to soften. Slice chicken into thin strips.
Mix lettuce and tomato with dressing.
Place ½ of lettuce and
tomato on each tortilla. Top with ½ each of cheese, bacon, avocado and
chicken. Roll up tightly and enjoy!
Quiche Lorraine - essentially a fancy sounding French name for what the Brits would call a bacon and egg pie! Still, the combination does produce an elegant dish that is at home for brunch, lunch or supper. Even better - you can make it ahead and even freeze it. Doesn't get much more versatile than that.
Ingredients:
1 prebaked pie shell, 9 to 10 inches 4 slices bacon cooked till quite crisp and crumbled 1 large onion, sliced about 1/4" inch thick and cooked until softened in bacon fat 4 ounces Swiss or Gruyere cheese, shredded 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks 2 cups heavy cream a few gratings of nutmeg
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine eggs and cream either in a food processor or mix well with a whisk. Put onion, drained of fat, in bottom of pie crust, top with bacon pieces. Add cheese and pour in egg/cream mixture. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, lower temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 15 minutes or until pie seems fairly firm when shaken.
Variations:
Cooked broccoli and cheddar cheese Smoked salmon, Swiss cheese and asparagus.
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A lovely Mother's Day message from a viewer....
My mother use to cook like you cook...many years
ago...wish I could roll back the years and visit her just one more time
on this Mothers day...I can't wish my mother a happy Mothers day, so I
will wish you a happy Mothers day instead!!!
Barbecue season has finally arrived! In preparation, I have made a
double batch of my favorite rub. It's great on pork and chicken and I'm
thinking I'll use it next time I grill some salmon. Just rub it on
whatever you are planning to grill an hour or two ahead of time to let
the flavors seep in.
Tip
for today: If you own a potato ricer, it is the best tool for
squeezing the liquid out of defrosted frozen spinach! It gets it
absolutely dry and saves lots of time.
I recently invited some friends for a "proper" Afternoon Tea. I served
the obligatory cucumber sandwiches and smoked salmon sandwiches along
with shrimp salad rolls, scones with butter and raspberry jam, mini
lemon meringue tarts, fresh fruit and Brandy Snaps. I don't think any
of the women there had tasted Brandy Snaps before and they were the hit
of the afternoon. I'm happy to share the recipe with you.
Brandy Snaps
Ingredients:
¼ cup light corn syrup ¼ cup molasses ½ cup butter 1 cup flour ⅔ cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon ground ginger 2 teaspoons brandy
Preheat oven to 300°.
Heat the syrup and molasses to boiling. Remove from heat and add butter.
Combine the flour, sugar and ginger. Add gradually, while stirring to molasses mixture. Mix well. Add brandy.
Drop by half-teaspoonfuls three inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake ten minutes or until large bubbles have subsided.
Remove from oven, loosen one cookie at a time and roll over handle
of a wooden spoon. Slip off carefully. Serve filled with whipped cream.
Variation: Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets for cookie "baskets".
Use a large cookie sheet and make two at a time. Bake at 325° for 10 to
12 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to set for a moment or two and drape
over inverted custard cups. Let sit until crisp.
Cautions: Do not attempt to make these on a humid day!
Do not fill with cream until an hour or so before you are ready to serve - they will dissolve.
I’m often asked if I cook at home every night… NO! We enjoy eating out at restaurants and at the homes of friends. When I have a really busy day or am just out of ideas, my go to meal is Chinese takeout!
Invariably, I have leftover rice and being of the “waste not, want not” school - I use that to make fried rice. You can pretty much use any leftover protein to go into it along with some onions, peas, eggs and scallions.
Here is my favorite combination:
Ingredients:
2 cups of cold leftover rice 2 eggs, beaten ½ an onion, roughly chopped ½ cup frozen peas, defrosted ½ cup chopped ham 1 cup chopped raw shrimp 2 or 3 scallions, roughly chopped 2 or 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 or 2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-Lightly oil a large skillet and pour in the beaten eggs. Swirl to make a thin “pancake”. Cook for a minute or two just until eggs are set. Turn out onto a cutting board and cut into shreds.
2-Add about a tablespoon of oil to the skillet, add the onions and cook for a few minutes until they start to soften. Push to one side and add the shrimp. Cook just until they turn pink. Remove the shrimp to a clean bowl and reserve.
3-Add the remaining oil to the skillet and add the rice. Stir to mix well with the onions.
4-Add the remaining ingredients and toss well until heated through.
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