From Denny: Whether it's the holidays, a busy summer when the kids are out of school or company came to visit, we all need something fast and simple to put together that's a crowd pleaser. This simple easy to assemble breakfast casserole fits that bill!
All the ingredients required are a loaf of good French bread, a full 8 ounces of your favorite brand of cream cheese, milk, maple syrup, butter, sugar and eggs. Add fresh fruit to serve and it's that easy!
Usually when a recipe calls for sugar I often substitute agave syrup or brown rice syrup or even molasses. If you don't like or can enjoy cow's milk why not substitute almond milk? When butter is in a recipe I choose to clarify it just because we love the extra boost of flavor at our house from browning and filtering out the milk solids - as well as the added health benefits. You could use margarine in this recipe as a substitute too. And, to gild the lily, why not add a few shakes of nutmeg and/or cinnamon, some chopped pecans or walnuts before baking? Yeah, Flavor Town is the name at our house...
A blue abstract background with bold lettering declaring your love of the sport from Louisiana artist Denny Lyon. Available in twin and king sizes and on other products too!
From Denny: Here's a fun little recipe from a bed and breakfast down in Florida. It includes coconut and pineapple for a sweet moist muffin of sheer delight. It's also very easy to make because it employs a yellow cake mix. If you don't have any rum extract you can easily substitute vanilla extract in its place.
*** Remember to support small business in your area and when you travel. Why stay at a Big Business hotel as you travel when you can stay in a more home like atmosphere of a bed and breakfast inn? The prices are comparable, the people friendlier and your stay will be memorable.
1 lb box of yellow or butter cake mix 1 tsp. pure coconut extract 1 tsp. pure rum extract 1 cup flaked coconut 1/2-1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake batter according to package directions. Add remaining ingredients and mix for 1 minute. (Do not over mix.) Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.
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From Denny: While researching for an article concerning women's issues I ran across this site called BellaOnline and they also had a wonderful food section.
From: Sandie Jarrett, Cajun and Creole Editor @ BellaOnline.com
I'm not much of a meatloaf fan but most of the males I know sure are. I adapted this recipe from one I came upon in an old Cajun cookbook. Although somewhat different, (less hot pepper, more garlic, olive oil instead of butter, stock instead of canned milk, no ketchup), the flavors are all there – fresh meat, a little heat, and of course a classic Trinity.
Remember to season to taste. If you enjoy a hot and spicy dish, then you will probably want to double up on the cayenne pepper or even add your favorite Cajun seasoning blend.
Serve with garlic mashed potatoes or my Cajun Roasted Potatoes for a new twist on a Classic American Dish. Serve with gravy or a thin, tangy BBQ sauce.
Makes 6 – 8 servings
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
3 tablespoons finely chopped Italian Parsley
3 cloves minced garlic (about 4 teaspoons) or to taste
Preheat the oven to 350º. Position the oven rack in the middle of the oven.
Combine the seasoning mix in a bowl and set aside.
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, onion, and bell pepper and cook until they begin to soften. Add the green onions, parsley, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and the seasonings. Sauté 5 - 6 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the saucepan frequently. Don't let the vegetables and seasonings burn!
Stir in the stock and tomato paste. Continue cooking for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow mixture to return to room temperature.
Place the ground beef in a large bowl and add the eggs, the cooked vegetable mixture (don't forget to remove the bay leaves) and the bread crumbs. Mix by hand until thoroughly combined. If the mixture is too moist, add a few additional tablespoons of bread crumbs (too many bread crumbs and the meatloaf will be too dry).
Turn out the meatloaf mixture into the center of a 13X9X2 baking pan and shape into a loaf that is about 2" high, 6" wide and 10 -12" long.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, then raise the heat to 400 degrees and continue cooking until done, about 20 - 25 minutes longer or until the internal temperature of the meatloaf is 180 degrees F. Check internal temperature with an instant read meat thermometer at 40 minutes and again at 50 minutes, etc. until it reaches the desired internal temperature.
Remove the cooked meatloaf from the oven and allow to rest for about 5 minutes before slicing into 1/2 inch slices.
Tangy Meatloaf Sauce
Although not Cajun, I make a tangy sauce:
1 cup balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon Creole mustard a little tomato paste a drizzle of honey a squeeze of lemon juice 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and a pinch of cayenne pepper
I whisk it all together in a saucepan and simmer over medium heat until the sauce has been reduced by 1/3. Everything is added to taste – so adjust as necessary.
Cook's Notes
*** Sandy likes the meat finely ground – so she uses her food processor to blend in the ingredients. Work in batches because if the processor bowl is too full, the meat won't grind evenly.
Add about 1/4 of the meat, breadcrumbs, cooked vegetables, and eggs to the bowl of a standard size food processor that has been fitted with the chopping blade. Pulse a few times to distribute ingredients evenly and to grind the meat a bit more. Avoid over processing (mixture will turn to paste!).
Transfer processed mixture to a bowl and continue processing the remaining 3 batches. When all of the mixture has been processed, combine the batches together (hands work great for this), turn out into a 13X9X3 baking pan and continue as directed above.
*** Sandy uses tomato paste but ketchup can be used.
From Denny: Here are a couple of other good recipes! The following meatloaf is made with ground turkey, basil and mozzarella cheese.
From Denny: OK, yum! We Southerners love our biscuits which to the uninitiated or folks in Britain, Australia, India and the like, these are little breads not the sweet cookies you call biscuits. What a confusion! :)
Usually, they are basically a baking powder-risen (though some versions are risen by yeast) quick bread cut into 3-inch rounds. They are a close cousin of the scone and can take anything on them but most often it is butter and jam of choice. At our house we even enjoy them with lemon curd!
Southern biscuits are the stuff of legends in many an eatery across the Southeast of America. Few homes make them any more so most people go out to eat them at breakfast with a side of ham or sausage and over-easy fried eggs.
Well, I do know how to make them and quite well. No one else in the family ever got the hang of it. This recipe is a bit different than what I use because I don't use lard but rather clarified butter or canola oil for the cholesterol benefit. But lard, well, it tastes divine and you ought to try the original version at least once in your life! :)
When I make them I often pop the unbaked extras into the freezer. They live to feed us the Divine for another day, baking up beautifully from freezer to oven!
The bonus in this recipe too is that it teaches how to make your own baking powder - which is a first for me, cool!
Kneading Note from Denny: Since he does not mention here, and I rarely see it in biscuit recipes, is a trick I learned a long time ago. When making this bread you don't want it to be too tough but rather light and fluffy. To achieve that, when kneading the dough, slowly and carefully flipping it over, gathering it up and folding down onto itself, make sure you don't allow but a sprinkle of flour to be found inside that fold.
Many people put too much flour into the fold and then wonder why their biscuits are hard as rocks and tasteless. Less is definitely more! I don't use a rolling pin either, too much work, just use my hands like most cooks as it gives you that tactile awareness of how the dough is developing and when to stop working the dough.
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution they offer a version closer to the historical. Here's Scott Peacock's comments from the article: "Biscuits are the stuff of legend. The mere mention of them conjures images of hearth and home, kindly grandmothers and good-smelling kitchens. A particularly well-made biscuit has been known to inspire proposals of marriage.
People love eating biscuits. They love talking about biscuits. But when it comes to making them, the sad truth is that many people, even Southerners, are often too afraid to try ... Experience has taught me that, in the end, a good biscuit really boils down to a few basics: mainly a hot oven, cold fat and a gentle but knowing hand.
But it’s the details that make a great biscuit, and simple as they are, they are important and should be followed closely. To my taste, a biscuit should be crusty and golden brown on the top — and even lightly browned on the bottom — with an interior that is soft, light and tender but not too fluffy. It should be slightly moist, but not so moist that it becomes gummy when you eat it, and dry enough to absorb a pat of good butter as it melts. It should be flavorful and well-seasoned, with a slight buttermilk tang, pleasing on its own but an excellent vehicle for other flavors as well.
Ratio of crusty exterior to soft interior is important, and I’m no fan of those big, Hollywood-pumped-up-on-steroids-looking biscuits. I prefer a biscuit no larger than three inches or so in diameter and not much more than an inch in height."
Hot, Crusty Buttermilk Biscuits
From: Scott Peacock
Hands on time: 10 minutes
Total time: 22 minutes
Serves: 15
Ingredients:
5 cups sifted White Lily flour (measured after sifting)
1 3/4 cups chilled buttermilk, plus a few tablespoons more if needed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions:
Preheat over to 500 degrees. Put the flour, homemade baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk well to thoroughly blend. Add the lard and, working quickly, coat in flour and rub between your fingertips until about half the lard is coarsely blended and the other half remains in large pieces about 1/2 inch in size.
Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk. Stir quickly, just until the dough is blended and begins to mass. The dough should be soft and a bit sticky and there should not be large amounts of unincorporated flour in the bowl. If dough is too dry, add a few tablespoons more buttermilk.
Turn the dough immediately onto a generously floured surface, and with floured hands knead briskly 8 to 10 times until a cohesive dough is formed.
Gently flatten the dough with your hands so it is of an even thickness. Then, using a floured rolling pin, roll it out to a uniform thickness of 1/2 inch. (If the dough begins to stick to your rolling pin, dust the pin — not the dough — with flour. Flouring the dough at this point will result in dusty-looking biscuits.) With a dinner fork dipped in flour, pierce the dough completely through at 1/2-inch intervals.
Lightly flour a 2 1/2- or 3-inch biscuit cutter and stamp out rounds. (Do not twist the cutter when stamping out biscuits.) Cut the biscuits from the dough as close together as you can for a maximum yield. Arrange cut biscuits on a heavy, ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheet so that they almost touch. Do not re-roll the scraps. Just bake as is and enjoy as a treat.
Bake in upper third of the oven for 8 to 12 minutes until crusty golden brown. (Check about 6 minutes into baking and rotate the pan if needed to ensure even cooking.) Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter. Serve hot.
Notes:
Homemade baking powder recipe: Sift together three times 1/4 cup cream of tartar and 2 tablespoons baking soda. Transfer to a clean, dry, tight-sealing jar. Store at room temperature, away from direct sunlight, for up to four weeks. Use in any recipe calling for commercial baking powder.
This lady uses a shot of whiskey in her batter in place of the vanilla extract. She also suggest many different kinds of toppings like candied apples or rhubarb. She uses challah bread instead of traditional French bread. Take a look!
Add this mixture to the bread in large mixing bowl and let soak for 20 minutes.
Fold in the white chocolate and walnuts.
Put into a 13” x 9” casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Check for doneness by placing a toothpick into the center of the dish. If it pulls out clean, the bread pudding is done. Serves 8-10.
To make croutons, butter both sides of each piece of French bread and season with salt and pepper. Toast in a 350° oven until crisp.
Mix breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese in a small bowl and reserve. Reduce cream by ½ over medium-high heat in a heavy saucepot. Stir in rosemary and shallots and reduce sauce until it thickens a bit. Strain to remove shallots and rosemary. Ladle cream into an oven-safe skillet and bring to a boil.
Add oysters and season to taste with salt and white pepper. Be careful not to over-salt the dish! Remember, the oysters are somewhat salty. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the ends of the oysters start to curl, then remove from heat. Sprinkle breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese over oysters. Broil in a 350° oven until breadcrumbs are toasted and golden brown.
To serve, place a French bread crouton in the center of each serving plate. Spoon oysters and sauce around crouton. Spear rosemary sprig through crouton and sprinkle dish with parsley.
At the Palace Café this signature dish is served in individual 4 oz. French pans. For this pan roast presentation without all of the pans, serve Oyster Pan Roast family style from a cast iron skillet.
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