Chocolate Hazelnut French Toast

I've never been a big breakfast person, usually I skip it (yea, I know! Bad) or have something quick. I don't especially like sweet things for breakfast either so you can probably guess that French toast is not my favorite thing.  I do love cooking breakfast for others though, and french toast is one of my husbands favorites. 

Ever since Thanksgiving I've been on the lookout for a good loaf of brioche bread, you can special order if from Whole Foods bakery, but really, I'll never plan that far in advance. I saw these rolls and decided they would have to do for now.  After dinner, there were still 4 leftover and the though of having them again, wasn't really appealing to me so I decided to get creative. The french toast recipe can be used with any bread or topping you want, this is what we had.

Chocolate Hazelnut French Toast

Ingredients:
2/3 cup skim milk
2 large eggs
2 tbl agave nectar or honey
salt
2 Brioche Rolls, cut in half

Butter
Chocolate hazelnut spread (I used Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter, check them out! I use their Honey Almond butter on my oats in the morning)

Process:
Mix together milk, eggs, agave nectar and add a small pinch of salt. (I like to make this the night before, somehow I feel like it comes out way better when I do this)
When ready to cook, dip the bread into the mixture & soak for about 30 seconds on each side then let sit (on a plate or cooling rack) for minute or two to absorb the mixture completely.

Heat a saute pan over medium low heat and melt about a tablespoon of butter. Put two pieces of bread in the pan at a time & cook 3 min on each side (needed a bit longer since it was thick bread).

Serve with Chocolate Hazelnut spread, I sliced mine in half again and spread the nut butter in there. It got all nice and melty.

I think if this keeps up, I might become a breakfast convert!

Broccoli Meatballs

Growing up in a large Italian family, Spaghetti and Meatballs is pretty much a staple food. Since the switch to a vegetarian diet, meatballs has been something I had yet to find a great replacement for. This started off as a recipe for more of a broccoli ball, (think risotto balls) for an appetizer, but when the came out of the oven, inspiration hit! I served them up with a big pot of penne and red sauce.

Broccoli Meatballs

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup broccoli, steamed & chopped
1 egg
water if necessary

Process:
Preheat oven to 450°
Cook broccoli and chop into small pieces. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together. If the mixture is too dry to form, add a bit of water. Using your hands, form into golf ball size meatballs and place on a foil lined baking sheet.
Bake at 450° for 5 minutes, flip and bake another 3 minutes. Serve with your favorite pasta and sauce combination!

Warm, gooey delicious breakfast :) (Honey Almond Oats)

It's snowing... Alot! I woke up nice and early to call and see if work was closed. Yay! Snow day!! Unfortunately husband works for a company that doesn't happened to believe in snow days, so I got up and made him a yummy hot breakfast and sandwich for lunch, then crawled back into bed :) Which I expected to be the end of my morning. About an hour later, my phone rang.. "ok I'm stuck, can you come out and help me?" oh yay! Hah so out of bed, and into my boots I went. He had already shoveled out the driveway but was getting stuck getting out into the street. About 30 minutes, one neighbor and two cops later we finally got the car free. I promptly went inside and made myself a nice warm bowl of oats!

Honey Almond Oats

1 cup water
1/3 cup Scottish oats
Splash of milk
1 egg white
2 tbl almond butter
Almonds
Crasins
Honey
Cinnamon

Boil water in a small sauce pan, whisk in oats. Cook for 2 minutes, add milk. Cook another minute and whisk in egg white. Cook another minute or two and turn off the heat. Add tbl of honey and sprinkle of cinnamon. Put the oats in a bowl, top with almonds, almond butter and Crasins. Enjoy!

This was definitely the highlight of my morning!!

Spicy Latkes with Chipotle Sour Cream

Way back when... I dated a boy that was Jewish and his mother taught me how to make Potato Latkes.... I hope she's not reading this ;) I may not remember her recipe, but I think I like my version better!

Spicy Potato & Corn Latkes

Ingredients:
2 Large Potatoes
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup flour
1 can corn (11 oz)
1 cup milk
2 tsp franks hot sauce
Veg/Canola Oil

Process:
Shred potatoes into a large bowl then squeeze excess liquid out. Add the corn & all dry ingredients, mix to combine. Add milk and hot sauce, stir into a batter. (usually I would have used an egg or two, but I was out)
Heat Oil in a skillet, drop heaping spoonfuls into the oil and flatten into a patty with the back of the spoon. Fry until crispy and flip carefully. Once cooked through, remove from the oil and drain. (I like to use paper bags, but paper towels work well too)

Chipotle Sour Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup Sour Cream
1 tbl chipotle mayonnaise (or 1 tsp of adobo sauce)

Process:
Combine ingredients in a bowl and serve with the latkes.

Wow... I threw these together one night because I had far too many potatoes in the house and needed to do something with them. I will definitely be playing with this recipe in the future... Hmm, maybe zucchini and corn latkes instead of potato?

ENJOY! <3

Artichoke Bruschetta

One of the things I tell people that always makes them look at me a bit funny is that growing up I thought about going to culinary school. Normal so far, Right? The part that makes them scratch their head is that I think the main thing that stopped me from going down that life path was tomatoes :) Strange I know, but I HATE tomatoes; weird skin, slimy insides, bleh. For the first few years I dated my husband, if he wanted tomatoes on a sandwich, he had to cut them himself. I've since gotten past that stage, but I still shy away from eating them as the main component in a dish. And so, this has quickly become one of my favorite substitution recipes for the popular Italian tomato based dish, Bruschetta.


One quick note: USE FRESH RICOTTA! It's amazing, it definatly makes this dish.  I happend to find mine in the cheese section of Whole Foods, but I believe you can get it in other food stores with the Fresh Mozzarella.


Ok two quick notes: Please excuse my photo's until I get my flash fixed! On camera flash and natural light only :(



Artichoke Bruschetta

Ingredients:

4-5 garlic cloves
Whole Wheat Baguette
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Jar of Marinated Arthichoke hearts, drained
a cup fresh ricotta cheese
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Parmesan cheese


Process:

Preheat oven to 350°

Slice Whole Wheat Baguette into about ½ inch slices and place on a baking sheet, put into preheated oven until crispy. Remove & set aside.

Heat tablespoon of evoo in a skillet over medium high heat. Chop two garlic cloves and drain artichoke hearts. Add to heated oil and sauté about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and place in a bowl. With the back of a fork, mash the mixture until the pieces are uniform.

Take the cooled bread slices and rub the remaining garlic cloves on the crispy bread (easier to do when the garlic clove is whole)

Season ricotta cheese with fresh cracked pepper and salt, mix together. Spread a layer of the fresh ricotta on the bread then top with the artichoke mixture. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and drizzle with evoo.

Let the grilling begin!

Erin over at Domestic Adventure got me thinking about grilling pizza again. I haven't done it since last year, but her pictures had my mouth watering! I though I'd share some of my favorite grilled pizza combinations in anticipation of this weekend (because I MUST try the pesto as a sauce now!)

Grilled Pizzas

- Fresh Mozzarella, Asparagus, Alfredo or plain garlic butter sauce (I don't like a red sauce with the Asparagus, but feel free to try it if you like)
- Artichoke & Carmelized Onions (any sort of sauce is good here)
-Chicken, Roasted Garlic & Broccoli (I'm thinking about using Quorn's Chik'n Tenders this summer, good size for pizza!) with red sauce & shredded Mozzarella


Best Pizza Ever.....
This is a mashup of two different pizza's I've had. The first is from Dominick's Pizza in Blairstown, NJ (a BLT Pizza made with a mayonaise sauce) and the second is the Chicken Caesar Pizza from Corner Grille in Worcester, MA. It's a white pizza with cheese, chopped tomatoes & diced chicken, that comes with a side Caesar salad that you add to the pizza. Salad on Pizza is my new favorite thing. So here's what I do to make my own variation

- Shredded Mozzarella
- Seeded Diced tomatoes (NO SEEDS) bleh
- Bacon (of the veggie variety now please) :P
- any other small diced veggies you want to add (this summer I'm thinking, zucchini & red onions)

So you add that to the pizza, (i make mine sans sauce) & grill it up. In the meantime, chop some lettuce & make a garlic mayonaise sauce.

To make the sauce I add some milk to mayo to thin it out a bit. Then smash some garlic with some salt to make a paste & mix that in with some pepper and a splash of lemon juice. Any other seasonings you want to add are a'ok. The consistency should be more like a salad dressing than mayo.

Once the pizza is grilled, top with the chopped lettuce & drizzle with the garlic mayo. Fold (to keep the lettuce in check) and eat!

I think I will definatly be making this over the weekend, pictures and a more exact recipe to follow ;)

Tomato Mozzarella & Cucumber Salad

This is deliciousness on a plate! Fresh Motzarella & Balsamic has to be my favorite combination of flavors ever!

Ingredients:
Vinaigrette:

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano, or 1/4 teaspoon dry
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 3 garlic cloves, finely minced

Salad:

• 1 cucumber, peeled & sliced thin.
• 1 package fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 1 ripe tomatoes, cut into 1" thick wedges

Process:
Place garlic in the vinegar to soak for 10-15 minutes.
Slice tomatoes into wedges & cucumbers into thin slices. Place into a bowl and set aside.
Combine vinaigrette ingredients in a cruet or blender with the garlic & vinegar from above. (if a blender is used, there is no need to chop the basil or garlic in advance.)

Pour vinaigrette over the vegetables & stir to coat. Place in the fridge for a few minutes (not more than an hour)

Slice mozzarella & place a few pieces per plate. Remove the tomatoes & cucumbers from the fridge & season with black pepper. Top each plate with a mound of the mixture & leftover basil.

Scallop & Pea Risotto

This was a dinner I cooked for the family. For a vegetarian version, simply omit the scallops. The Risotto itself is vegetarian.

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh peas, cooked (I used petite frozen peas, to thaw, just run under warm water)
8 cups vegetarian stock (I used Imagine's No Chicken Broth), heated
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 pound diver scallops (optional)

Process:
Add stock to a pot & place over medium heat. (This will stay on the burner until you are done with your risotto, so I usually place it on the burner behind where I'll make the risotto.)
Put 1 cup peas and 1/3 cup stock into a blender and blend until smooth; set aside. Place a large, deep skillet over medium heat and pour in 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add celery and shallots and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in rice, making sure to coat all the rice grains with the oil. Add wine and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Ladle in 1 cup of hot stock. Using a spoon (not metal), stir gently until most of the stock has been absorbed. Keep adding stock, a cup at a time, and stirring. After about 10 to 15 minutes, test the rice. It should be cooked and creamy but still have a slight bite to it. (You may not need all of the stock. I still had about 2 cups left over) Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the butter and Parmesan. Gently fold in the pea puree and remaining 1 cup whole peas. Taste for seasoning. Remove from the heat and cover while you sear the scallops.

Set a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Pat the scallops with paper towels to make sure they are very dry. Season on both sides with salt and pepper. Add scallops to pan, making sure not to overcrowd, and cook until they are nicely browned on both sides, about 4 to 8 minutes depending on the size of your scallops.

Check the risotto and add a bit more stock if it has gotten too thick. In a shallow bowl or plate, make a nice mound of risotto and top with 3 or 4 scallops (optional). Garnish with the Parmesan, and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve immediately.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi in a Butter Sage Sauce

It's not often that I pull a recipe, follow the instructions & end up with the mess I ended up with this night... but what fun would a blog be if I only put the good things in it?


This is the Sweet Potato Gnocchi I made this weekend; I couldn't have been more excited for this! Sweet Potatoes, Sage Butter Sauce?! Gnocchi! What could possibly be better?!!! I was pretty sorely disappointed.

At first everything looked pretty promising! The gnocchi dough, though much more sticky than anything I had ever worked with, rolled out ok, smelled great and actually looked like gnocchi (once I figured out the rolling over the fork thing)  The only changes made were substituting, whole milk ricotta for part skim ricotta (which is what I always have on hand) and white flour for whole wheat flour... I read online in a review of the recipe that the ricotta should have been drained to reduce the moisture.. not sure how much that would have helped.

I noticed I might be in trouble at the cooking stage... boiling them did nothing to firm up the dough at all. The butter sauce (which smelled AMAZING) gave them a pretty shine, so I sucked it up, put them in a bowl and served them to my family.

My biggest gripe is that the taste is just not there, I barely get a hint of sweet potato, but they're 80% made out of them! boo... the sauce didn't help much. Overall, just disappointing. Edible.. but not enjoyable.

Here's the recipe...

Ingredients

For the Gnocchi:
2 pounds sweet potatoes
2/3 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/3 cup for the work surface

For the Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter:
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
20 fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

For the Gnocchi: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Pierce the sweet potato with a fork. Bake the sweet potatoes until tender and fully cooked, between 40 to 55 minutes depending on size. Cool slightly. Cut in half and scoop the flesh into a large bowl. Mash the sweet potatoes and transfer to a large measuring cup to make sure the sweet potatoes measure about 2 cups. Transfer the mashed sweet potatoes back to the large bowl. Add the ricotta cheese, salt, cinnamon, and pepper and blend until well mixed. Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough forms. Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough in a ball on the work surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal balls. Roll out each ball into a 1-inch wide rope. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces. Roll the gnocchi over the tines of a fork. Transfer the formed gnocchi to a large baking sheet. Continue with the remaining gnocchi.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the gnocchi in 3 batches and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the gnocchi using a slotted spoon onto a baking sheet. Tent with foil to keep warm and continue with the remaining gnocchi.

For the Brown Butter sauce: While the gnocchi are cooking melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted add the sage leaves. Continue to cook, swirling the butter occasionally, until the foam subsides and the milk solids begin to brown. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the cinnamon, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Careful, the mixture will bubble up. Gently stir the mixture. When the bubbles subside, toss the cooked gnocchi in the brown butter. Transfer the gnocchi to a serving dish and serve immediately

Ordinary vs. Favorites

Ordinary

I work 9-5:30 Monday thru Friday at a desk job (that generally I enjoy!) so in order to keep from having to sit all day, I try to hit the gym at lunch (we have two gym’s onsite at work). It gives me an opportunity to get away from the work, clutter & stress of my desk and move around for a good 30-45 minutes.


This also means that I have to either bring my lunch or pick something up from the café at work on my way back from the Gym. Two issues here… 1) I never get up early enough to pack a lunch, and never remember to make one the night before and 2) eating vegetarian at the cafe doesn’t offer too many options. Salad or a Veggie sandwich. (unless they happen to have a vegetarian based soup, which doesn’t happen very often)

I go through phases, some weeks they have good bread (multigrain or whole wheat rolls) and I’ll have a portabella or other grilled veggie sandwich. Others, nothing looks good and I eat salad every day. Neither of these options is terrible, but really… it gets quite boring.

Favorite


When we have people from other countries visiting the office (I do work for a pretty worldwide company) or someone leaving or coming back to work, our group is pretty quick to have a group lunch outside of the office. With most of the options in town, (especially the popular ones) I usually end up eating a Caesar salad or some other variation of a lettuce based lunch.

I was pleasantly surprised a few months ago when I happened across this amazing (not quite healthy, I’ll admit) lunch option at one of my favorite pre-vegetarian days restaurant.

It’s called the 3 Grilled Cheese and it’s pretty delicious!

Inside, 3 different cheeses melted together with ribbons of basil & honey smeared on the sourdough bread. On the side is a creamy Tomato Basil soup (that I’m pretty sure has some ricotta cheese mixed in to give it a different texture)

I’m sad to report, I believe they have since taken it off their menu... though I can’t imagine why!

I’m working on perfecting it at home... stay tuned! ;)

~ Sammie

Post Super Bowl Nachos

I came home from work tonight and didn't much feel like cooking so I threw this together from ingredients collected for the Superbowl last weekend. It's super easy and I can feed it to non-vegetarians and they don't even know they're not even eating meat!

I'll apologize in advance, I've never been one for recipes... Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

1/2 a small onion chopped

1 tbl butter or butter alternative (I use Brummel & Brown Spread)

Quorn Meatless & Soy-Free Grounds

Frozen corn kernels

Salsa (the ONLY one I'll use is Newmans Own - Hot!)

1/2 medium tomato chopped

Jalapeno Mash (optional)

Tortilla Chips

Mexican Shredded Cheese

Sour Cream (optional on the side)

Guacamole (optional on the side)

Chop half an onion and cook in a skillet over medium heat with 1/2 tablespoon of butter until they start to soften.  Add the meatless grounds and the rest of the butter, cook a few minutes and then add the frozen corn. I use pretty equal parts of grounds & corn but I realllly like corn - so you can adjust accordingly. I added 3 shakes of salsa just to flavor the filling and moisten it up a bit. Lastly, the chopped tomato and a teaspoon of Jalapenomash for extra spiceyness. Cover the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish with a single layer of tortilla chips then top wth filling & shredded cheese. Repeat with another layer of chips, filling & cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is melted and serve with any fixings you like! I prefer guac & sour cream. Hubby adds more salsa and extra Jalapenomash.

What is Jalapenomash you ask? One of the many many amazing items made by Dr. Gonzos Uncommon Condiments. Delish!

Enjoy ~ Sammie