coffeecake in a mug

i was in the mood for some sort of breakfast baked good this morning.  couldn't really decide what though. i has some applesauce in the fridge and was bound and determined to use it.  don't know why, but it was a requirement :P 

anyway, i found a recipe for coffeecake in a mug online at prudent baby, and i sounded promising...  the website was great too, step-by-step directions with pix.  very helpful.  so i gave it a whirl.  buuuut, i did some tinkering, cause we all know that's how i roll ;)

so, if you want to replicate my creation, follow prudent baby's directions with the following tweaks:

substitute the egg with 2 tbsp of unsweetened applesauce

double the baking powder

at the end of the cake portion, add in a tbsp of dried fruit (i used blueberries) and 3 crushed walnuts

add a tbsp of shredded coconut to the crumble topping recipe

i ended up baking mine for 1.5 minutes

and, i also made a topping.  i had a vanilla pudding snack pack cup in the cupboard, so i mixed that with a few drops of maple extract and tossed it on top when it was done cooling.  just enough for a little pudding sauce with each bite

the pudding sauce is on the left, finished cake on the right

one delicious bite :)

it's quiche!

whoa, a productive morning. i got up, read a chapter of my book, made brunch for my roommates, and scrubbed the kitchen floor. since then i have watched 1 chic flick and taught my roommate's girlfriend how to crochet. not too bad, if i do say so myself.

here you can see the fruits of my labor: a delicious brie and asparagus quiche. i do have to give props to my bff for inspiring me with this quichey-combo, but i generated the recipe mostly on my own. i googled a couple of recipes, but i ended up going with my instincts (and oh how right they were). i randomly chose to put in some cream cheese, and i think that really made the recipe. mm-mmm!

so the cute stalk pattern was more spoke-like (think a bicycle wheel) before i baked it... slightly skewed in the baking process...recipe --

pastry shell (just enough for the bottom)
4-6 slices of bacon (fried and crumbled)
4oz of cream cheese
4 eggs
1 cup of milk
4oz of brie (rind removed and cubed)
6-10 stalks of asparagus (blanched and cut into 4" stalks)
pre-heat oven to 400 F

1) sprinkle bacon into the pie crust and push them into it slightly
2) put cream cheese, brie, milk, and eggs into a blender. blend until smooth
3) pour egg mixture over the bacon sprinkles
4) arrange blanched asparagus stalks in a pretty pattern
5) bake for 35-40 minutes (look for a golden brown crust and sniff for a delicious scent)
6) let cool for at least 10-15 minutes, cut and serve (also good at room temperature several hours after brunch :P )

perhaps i'm too nice for my own good

when my bananas get gross and brown, i stick them in the freezer. my roommate complain about this, because they "look gross" to them. apparently dave and raf saw two particularly "frightening" bananas in the freezer the other night and put an "expiration date" on them. basically i had to use them or lose them within one week.

well, no one told me about this, and without knowing, i baked a batch of oatmeal banana muffins with cream cheese frosting for the roommate for breakfast that weekend. i told them all to eat-up when they eventually woke up (in the middle of the afternoon), and raf seemed particularly suspicious. why was i being so nice? was this because of what he and dave were discussing? i had to get mike to decode for me. cryptic boys, they are (in yoda style).

anyway, sometimes they just don't deserve me and my culinary wonders.

i'll pan your cake...

so blueberries were on sale at the store this week - super cheap - and who doesn't love blueberries? no one, that's what i thought. anyways, i made a batch of almond blueberry cookies (thanks giada) but forgot to photograph them - i know, i've been a slacker. but it did occur to me to photograph the blueberry - white chocolate chip pancakes i made this morning. i ended up making about 3 batches, until i ran out of blueberries. rave reviews overall :)

a standard batch took 2 cups of jiffy mix, 1.25 cups of milk, 1/3 cup of white chocolate chips, and 2 generous handfuls of blueberries.

next you have to get the pan really hot, but not too hot. i set the dial to just above medium, and then i spray a good coating of cooking spray on the pan. makes for a nice smooth flip.

when the bubbles start to pop, flip the pancake. should be a nice golden brown.

my roommate gave them a definite thumbs up. and i hear orange marmalade is an excellent topping. and really, all you need is a little butter. the white chocolate chips make the pancakes pretty sweet. i think maple syrup would be over kill (not that i like maple syrup anyway - but that is another story altogether).

brunchiness

easter came around, four days after my birthday, and i was feelin' festive. so, i decided to invite a few peeps over to the 402 for a brunch. i pulled out all the stops. we had mimosas, bloody marys, pumpkins scones, mini fritattas, roasted herb poatoes, and banana nut muffins with cream cheese frosting. there was also a bowl of dark chocolate peanut m&m's, a basket of banana chip with cream cheese dip, baked french toast (from linds), and birthday cake (also linds) on the spread. needless to say, i had some very happy and very full guests :)

bloody mary accessories. celery salt is key.

scones.

ham and swiss, bacon cheddar, and spinach-tomato-parmesan
fritattas!

taters, precious.

the banana chips were a fun additive.
mmmm... muffins!

if you want recipes, comment or something. all were altered somewhat, but mostly from food network and of course, martha.

benedict - breakfest of champions!

i was so impressed by my breakfast skillz, i had to photograph and post. granted, i made this dish weeks ago... give a girl a break, huh! anyhoo - two poached eggs, a slice of ham (microwaved for convenience), a couple of slices of dark german wheat toast, and some fresh hollandaise sauce makes for a tasty morning treat. i can't remember where i got the recipe for the hollandaise though - but it was super easy! couple of eggs yolks, pinch of cayenne pepper, dried mustard, some lemon juice, and i think some butter and salt whisked together in a double broiler completed this dish. even michael said it was delicious - not that he is ever hard to please...

cookin' with laura. way better than julia.

i went to nyc this past weekend to visit some friends. i stayed with ms. laura (a friend from my cornell days) in her new brooklyn apartment. her boy was gone for the weekend (how dare his work send him to las vegas???), so we had a lovely girls' weekend. we slept in on saturday morning, and then i offered to make brunch (are you really surprised?). laura hit up the grocery store while i showered, and the following is a photo-documentary of our process.

laura turned out to be an excellent sous-chef. here you can see her removing the shells from the eggs i asked her to beat...

laura's grocery run landed us some fresh scallions. the whites were sauteed and the greens were added in the end for color.

our workspace.

sauteed scallions and ham. mmm.

after beating the eggs (with water rather than milk - a cooking tip provided once upon a time to me by the brother) laura added a some fresh ground pepper.

i added the eggs to the sauteed ham and scallions, threw in some shredded cheddar, and sprinkled a bit more pepper - and a little salt.

the eggs were paired nicely with a couple of croissants laura picked up (croissants that went delightfully with the raspberry jam and honey set out).

and here you can see how the greens of the scallions add a flash of color to the dish. perfect meal to start the day.

the great american quiche off?

grr... i have been trying to post this several different times! so you are getting an abbreviated version. sorry, the first was much wittier - but i don't have it left in me! to sum it up - the brother and i cooked breakfast sunday morning for my full apartment (he was visiting from beantown).

my quiche: bacon and cheddar (with a layer of tomatoes and onions sauted in bacon grease mixed in)

the brother's version included brie, asparagus, and an italian 5 cheese blend

here is the coffee cake. it is a slightly altered version of martha's sour cream coffee cake (i didn't have nuts, so i used the praline crunchies you put on ice cream sundays, and i added dried cranberries).