Tag Archive for 'Breakfast'

Daring Bakers: Danish braid with spicy strawberries and Lillet

Published
by
marc
on June 29, 2008
in Baked, Breakfast, Fruit and Uncategorized
. 39 Comments

The thought of making a laminated dough has always terrified me which is why I have a handful of bakeries I like to frequent for buttery flaky baked goods such as croissants and danish pastries. So when I logged in to check out the June Challenge, I was a bit concerned.

It’s a bit time consuming but after last month’s hazing, this was a piece of cake. I may even try this again (albeit with a different recipe for the dough).

For the filling I used a bag of wild strawberries I’d frozen for just such an occasion and cooked it with Lillet and a bit of black pepper to give it a little kick. I didn’t actually have time to run out to get tapioca starch (which is my preferred thickener for fruit fillings), so I cheated and used pearl tapioca which was a BIG mistake. Even after cooking it for 30 minutes the pearls refused to soften (probably because there wasn’t enough liquid), so I was left with slightly chewy balls of tapica in my filling. It wasn’t bad… just a bit odd.

This month’s challenge is being hosted by Kelly of Sass & Veracity, and Ben of What’s Cookin’. Thanks to both of them for organizing this and for the jaunt outside my comfort zone.

Oh and the best part was that this made enough dough to make 2 braids so I threw half the dough in the fridge and made these chocolate croissants for breakfast this morning:-)

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Cheesy fried green tomatoes

Published
by
marc
on June 10, 2008
in Breakfast, Brunch, Vegetable and Vegetarian
. 23 Comments

I picked these green tomatoes up at the farmer’s market this weekend with every intention of turning them into a nice light tomato mint sorbet. Instead, I woke up Sunday morning with a hankerin’ fer some fried green ta’maters.

I guess I should have known this was going to happen when I bought them, and bought some extras. Hopefully they’ll still have some more this week so I can make my sorbet. Roasted green tomatoes also make fantastic salsa, and I love green tomato chutney’s and jams.

Given the big fuss over raw tomatoes, I guess it’s only appropriate that I deep fried the little bastards. Though in all fairness to these Lycopene rich fruits, I’m guessing the salmonella outbreaks are a result of bad farming and people/restaurants not properly washing the tomatoes.

Because they’re not fully ripe, green tomatoes are tart, dense and perfect for frying as they have less moisture and hold their shape. This recipe will yield fragrant disks with thick savory crusts and a tart, tender interior. They’re fantastic with a soft poached egg on top, and if you want to go for the full heart attack, make a cream and sausage gravy to pour on top (I call this Southern Eggs Benedict).
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Red miso soup

Published
by
marc
on March 15, 2008
in Japanese and Soups & Stews
. 1 Comment

Red miso soup with mushrooms and fried tofu

Miso soup is a staple of the Japanese table eaten with meals from breakfast to dinner. Depending on the region of Japan you’re in, you might find yourself starring down at a steaming bowl of white miso soup with okra and taro, or a heady bowl of dark miso soup with deep fried tofu, bamboo and wild mushrooms. Growing up in California, I always looked forward to Saturday morning breakfasts because it meant my mom was making Japanese food for the two of us and western food for my sister and step-father.

As I mentioned in my last post, the dashi (stock) that you use to make miso soup is what makes or breaks the soup. There’s a recipe below for the dashi, or you can opt to use one of the 2 kinds of instant dashi.

I vary the ingredients based on what I have in my fridge, but you can put just about any veggie into this soup from carrots, to potatoes, to cabbage to bean sprouts.

For Dashi
2 C water
10 niboshi with heads removed
1 3″ long piece of dried konbu

For Soup
1 Tbs + 1 Tsp red miso paste
1 Tsp Mirin
Handful of Nameko mushrooms (or Enoki)
2″ x 2″ piece of Abura Age (deep fried tofu) cut into small squares
1 scallion sliced thin

mitsuba (optional garnish)

For the dashi, simmer the ingredients over low heat for 10-15 minutes. If you have a teaball, or disposable tea bags, I like putting the niboshi in one so they’re easier to retrieve when the stock is done. Make sure it does not boil as this could make the soup cloudy or bitter. Taste it… it should be deep, slightly smoky and full of umami. Now just fetch all the floaties and your done with the dashi (you might need to run it through a strainer).

To make the soup, put the miso and mirin in a bowl and add some dashi to help disolve the miso. Put this mixture into the pot and bring it to a light simmer. Make sure it does not boil as this will make the miso separate.

Add the Aburaage (pronounced Abura-a-ge the middle “a” sounds like the “a” in “amish” and the “ge” sounds like the “ga” in “Gary”) and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle the scallions in at the very end just before you serve the soup.

Once it’s in the bowls you can add some Mitsuba. It’s a bit hard to find (you’ll have to go to a japanese grocery store), and there isn’t really a suitable replacement, but it adds a wonderful cedar aroma to the soup that carries you away to a misty evergreen forest.

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