Good Morning –

For Some reason I LOVE fall mornings. There is just something about the cool crisp breeze, dew drenched grass, and the quiet stillness in the air that makes me want to wrap up in a warm blanket and watch the sunrise!

Another thing I love about fall mornings is the smell of cinnamon. I can’t think of a better smell in the morning and I can’t think of a better breakfast treat then some fresh homemade cinnamon rolls! There is just something about the smell of fresh homemade cinnamon rolls that gives me the sense of home. Maybe it’s because I always use to love it when my mom made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. While she usually made the ones that were from the can I can assure you when you’re younger there is no better breakfast in the world.

What I love about these cinnamon rolls is the fact that not only are they quick and simple to make the whiskey gives them a whole new flavor profile. As the whiskey caramelizes in the oven and burns off the alcohol your buns will come out in ewey gooey perfection! Perfect for wrapping up in a blanket and watching the sunrise…. Speaking of which….. I probably should get back to that!

Whiskey & Walnut Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

1 ball of bread dough (can be store bought)
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
½ oz whiskey

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl combine the Sugar and Cinnamon.
Roll your dough into a 9 x 11 in rectangle. Evenly spread the combined cinnamon and sugar over the dough.
Now roll the dough so you have an 11 inch long tube. Cut the tube into 1 inch sections and arrange in a round glass baking dish.
Using a pastry brush gently apply ½ oz whiskey coating.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown.

I am on a mission…..

And when I’m on a mission nothing can stand in my way. Not even the sacred traditions of what time certain meals are to be enjoyed.

Heck who am I kidding? I love to do breakfast for dinner all the time! Maybe it’s the kid in me but there is something about it that is comforting to me when you take a traditional breakfast meal and make it for dinner (like French toast).

But this week was a little different not only was this inspiration part kid it was also part MacGyver of me as I try to clean out my fridge (the very important mission).

Why is this such an important mission? Well in two weeks I will be taking a 1 week long vacation! I’m going to be heading north to Minnesota to stay at my family’s cabin in an effort to escape the heat of Texas.

Well I’m actually going because…well….I need a vacation…. Don’t we all?

As I was on this mission I noticed that a had an unusually large amount of Gruyere cheese left that desperately needed consuming (at least that’s what I told myself) as well as a couple dozen farm fresh eggs. Now when I say farm fresh eggs were talking strait from my parents neighbors farm where the chickens run free and peck at your feet as you collect your eggs fresh. I can’t even begin to tell you the difference these eggs make when you are baking (or in my case making Croque-Madames).

What I love about the Croque-Madame is the fact that it takes the already super delicious Croque-Monsieur and slams a fried egg on top to improve the already super nutritional meal. I can’t help but feel when the Croque-Madame was invented the very talented chef was on a mission to clean out his/her fridge as they were on their way to vacation.

I can even hear them in the kitchen going…. Gruyere…. Ham….Bread… well I could definitely do a Croque-Monsieur ….but what the heck am I going to do with all those eggs? I’m leaving for vacation in a week…. Hum… this gives me an idea!

To being our Croque-Madame we in fact start by creating a Croque-Monsieur. In a small saucepan melt some butter over low heat. Then add 2 tablespoons of flour and cook stirring for two minutes to create your (yup you guessed it) roux. What I love about a Roux is that all great sauces tend to begin with one!

Next we whisk in our milk and bring to a boil. The sauce will begin to thicken as we reduce the heat and allow to simmer for five minutes.

While the sauce is simmering shred a ½ cup Gruyere cheese. Add this and the mustard into the sauce and whisk until the cheese is melted.

Remove this form the heat and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. You now have a classic Mornay sauce (Which is one of the best parts of the Croque-Monsieur/Madame).

Now it’s time to build your sandwich. I know the recipe says to place the sauce on first but I find this difficult and confusing. Begin by buttering one side of our bread and placing it butter side down on a pan. Next spread 1 tablespoon Mornay sauce over your slices.

Stack your sandwich high with ham and some moderately thick slices of Gruyere. Don’t go skimping on the Gruyere here (you’ll thank me later).

Butter the remaining slices of bread and place them butter side up on top of the Gruyere. Allow these to cook on your skillet for a few minutes on each side until each side is a golden brown.

Spread the remaining Mornay sauce and place these in a broiling pan. If you don’t have a broiling pan don’t panic as it’s not really necessary here as this will not need to drain anything. Broil your sandwiches until the Mornay sauce begins to brown (about 2 minutes). While these are browning quickly fry up some eggs to place on top. When the Croque-Monsieurs come out of the oven allow to cool for 10 seconds and then make them Croque-Madames by placing the fried eggs on top. Bon Appetite!

Croque-Madame
A slightly altered recipe from The Gourmet Cookbook

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
6 ounces thinly sliced Gruyere
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste
8 slices firm white sandwich bread, crusts discarded
¼ pound thinly sliced ham

Directions:

Make the Sauce:

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small heavy sauce pan over moderately low heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to make a roux. Whisk in milk and bringto a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop enough cheese to measure ½ cup. Whisk chopped cheese and mustard into sauce, then whisk until cheese is melted. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with nutmeg. Cover with wax paper placed directly on surface to keep warm.

Make The Sandwich:

Lay 4 slices bread on work surface. Divide ham and remaining cheese slices among them. Spread 1 tablespoon Mornay sauce evenly on each of remaining bread slices and invert over ham and cheese. Spread half of remaining butter evenly on top of sandwiches and transfer, buttered sides down, to an oven proof 12 inch skillet. Spread remaining butter on top of sandwiches. Cook over low heat, turning ounces, until both sides are golden, 6 to 8 minutes total.

Preheat broiler. Leaving sandwiches in skillet, spread tops of sandwiches evenly with remaining Mornay sauce. Broil 5 to 6 inches from heat until sauce is bubbling and golden in patches, about 2 minutes. Transfer sandwiches to plates.

To continue this week’s Mother’s Day Brunch recap I bring you the second recipe I prepared for that special day. A frittata is a type of Italian omelette, the main difference between the traditional omelette as many American’s know and the frittata is the way in which it is prepared.

A frittata was originally prepared by partially cooking on the stove and was finished on the grill. While this may produce a slightly better tasting outcome, now a days it is significantly easier to prepare fully on the stove. A frittata pan can be found at many retailers throughout the country; however, they are generally extremely expensive.

The difference between a frittata pan and a regular pan is the fact that it has two pans on top of each other which have been locked in the back on a hinge to make it easier to flip without spilling. I personally do not own one of these pans as I don’t feel that shelling out $150 on a pan that has only one purpose is a great idea. I like to take two pans (that are of the same size) and put them over each other. This is fully capable of yielding you the same final results only less expensive as you can see above.

I found this recipe a while back on the Williams-Sonoma website while I was doing a little online shopping for my kitchen. I made some slight adjustments and produced a result that anyone’s mother would adore! I decided to make this recipe for two reasons. The first being that asparagus is currently in season, and the second being that you can easily add or subtract ingredients within a frittata to create completely different flavor combinations without significantly changing the structured output. Experimenting is highly encouraged!

The first step in creating a frittata is preparing your egg mixture. For this particular frittata we used eggs, chives, tarragon and pancetta (oh how I love pancetta; the saltiness of this meat really adds great character to the dish!)

Once the eggs have been mixed thoroughly we add the goat cheese and asparagus. Adding this now instead of the step before will keep the goat cheese from becoming dissolved in the mixture as you beat the eggs and will give you small spots of cheesy gooeyness! You will then put this in your improvised frittata pan and cook for 8 minutes. Flip, and cook for another 10 minutes, then flip again…..

Place your fully cooked frittata on a serving platter and let it cool. Your frittata, or fancy omelette as my wife refers to them as, will be perfectly prepared and ready to devour. Bon appetite!

Asparagus & Goat Cheese Frittata
Adjusted slightly from Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients:

• 12 eggs
• 3 Tbs. finely chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 tsp. finely chopped fresh tarragon
• 3 oz. cubed pancetta
• 1/2 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 6 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 lb. asparagus, tough ends trimmed, spears steamed until just tender and cooled
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 leek, thinly sliced and rinsed well

Directions:

1. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, chives, tarragon, pancetta, the 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper. Stir in 4 oz. of the cheese. Cut enough asparagus ends into 1/4-inch lengths to measure 3/4 cup and add to the egg mixture. Reserve the remaining asparagus spears.
2. In the deep half of a frittata pan over medium heat, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter. Add the leek and salt and cook until the leek is tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer to the egg mixture.
3. In the deep half of the frittata pan over medium heat, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter. Add the egg mixture and cook, scraping the sides and bottom of the pan with a rubber spatula to allow the uncooked eggs to flow underneath, 3 to 4 minutes. Place the shallow pan upside down on top of the deep pan and cook for 6 to 8 minutes more.
4. Remove from the heat, uncover the deep pan and arrange the reserved asparagus spears on top of the frittata in a spoke formation. Meanwhile, set the shallow half of the pan over medium heat and melt the remaining 1 Tbs. butter.
5. Place the shallow pan upside down on top of the deep pan and flip the frittata into the shallow pan. Cook, covered, for 10 to 12 minutes. Flip the frittata back into the deep pan, then slide the frittata onto a serving plate. Let stand for 5 minutes. Top the frittata with the remaining cheese and serve.

For Mother’s Day this year I wanted to do something special for a mother, who to me, is completely amazing. She has always been kind hearted and loving even to those who sometimes didn’t deserve it. My mother is one who everyone should steal a page from. She has taught me many lessons in my life and has done it in a way that commands my utmost respect and admiration. So when my mother asked that we do a brunch to celebrate her day celebrating her I immediately pulled out all the stops!

What I love most about Apple Cinnamon Baked French Toast is the simplicity in which it can be prepared and the awesome cinnamony (it’s a word now) goodness that makes you feel all warm and loved inside (similar to that of a warm hug from your mother on a bad day).

The first step in making this delectable dish is to whisk together your egg whites, honey, vanilla and salt in a large bowl.

Next, trim the crusts off 8 bread slices and set aside. These will be used to top your French toast a little later on.

After you have your slices it’s time to go to work on the rest of the loaf. Cup the remaining bread slices into 1 inch cubes and toss together with dried apples, raisings, cinnamon and nutmeg (oh yeah baby). The smell of this will cause you to salivate (if it doesn’t you really should get that checked out).

Then in a 9”x13” pan coated with cooking spray pour your egg mixture on top of your bread mixture. Don’t use all of the mixture immediately. You will want to place your 8 crust-less bread slices over top and then finish pouring the remaining egg mixture.

Firmly press down the bread using the back of a large wooden spoon to make sure everything is evenly soaked in eggy goodness (this is so good you’ll start to make up words too!). Now the hard part comes. You have to put this in the fridge for at least 8 hours. This allows your bread to soak up all the flavors!

While you are waiting it’s time to whip up some praline mixture. Mix two sticks of butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup chopped pecans, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg in a bowl. Eating some of this with a spoon while you wait is perfectly okay (just as long as you know that if you eat it all you will have to make some more).

Finally, after all your waiting, it’s time to top your dish with some dried apple slices and your praline mixture. You are officially ready for the oven! Doesn’t that just look fantastic!?!

After baking for 45 minutes at 350 degrees the top of your Apple Cinnamon Baked French Toast should be golden brown and crusty. Your house will also smell of cinnamon and nutmeg (perfect for raising the zombies out of bed on a Sunday morning). Let this stand for about 10 minutes; then drizzle on some maple syrup. I can assure you this tastes as good as it looks! Happy Mother’s Day!

Apple Cinnamon Baked French Toast

Ingredients:

• 3 cups nonfat milk
• 2 cups pasteurized liquid egg whites (such as Egg Beaters)
• 3 tblsp Honey
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 sliced Honey Whole Wheet loaf of bread
• 1 cup chopped dried apple rings (3 oz)
• ½ cup raisins
• 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg

Praline Mixture:

• 2 sticks butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Whisk milk, egg whites, honey, vanilla and salt in a large bowl
2. Trim crusts off of 8 bread slices and set aside. Cut the crusts and the remaining bread slices into cubes. Gently toss the cubed bread, dried apples, raisins, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl.
3. Coat a 9”x13” pan with cooking spray. Pour the bread mixture into the pan. Lay the 8 crust-less bread slices over top of the casserole evenly. Whisk the milk mixture one more time and then pour over top of the bread mixture. Firmly press down the bread with the back of a wooden spoon to make sure everything is evenly soaked.
4. Cover with parchment paper, then foil and refrigerate for at least 8 hours…up to 24 hours.
5. Combine all of the praline mixture ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well.
6. Uncover the refrigerated bread and egg dish and top with some apple slices and praline mixture before baking.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and crusty. Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving and serve with maple syrup.