Cinnamon Apple Cake

Since Fall is upon us,  we decided to go apple and pumpkin picking with our friends and dogs - it's only the right thing to do in early October. We went to Melick's Orchard in Oldwick, NJ, all decked out in flannels. We got to pick all different types of apples, pumpkins, and gourds. My husband and I some how came home with 35 pounds of apples. In addition to eating an apple a day, I had to cook with them too... the first thing I made with them was apple cake. I almost think I like it better than apple pie, believe it or not, and it is way easier to make. Here's how it's done...

Ingredients: 9 inch pan (round or square is fine) - I made two, so I made one of each.

• 4 cups Apples, peeled and cut into cubes
• 2 Eggs
• 1 cup Canola Oil
• 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup White Granulated Sugar
• 3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon 
• Zest of 1/2 of a Lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 inch square or round pan.

Mix the eggs and oil in a bowl with an electric mixer or whisk by hand. 

Add the cinnamon, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest and mix well. 

Add in the flour, salt, baking soda and whisk until well-blended. 

Fold in the apples. The batter is very thick so you will need a heavy duty spatula or you can mix it by hand.

Pour the batter into your greased pan and bake for 45 minutes or until it is done. Stab it with a knife, if it comes out dry then it is done.

 Let cool for 15-20 minutes. Dust with confectioners sugar to decorate before serving.

Waffles from Scratch

So it's been more than a few months since my last recipe blog... Truth be told, I had a lot going on with buying a home, getting a little puppy, planning my wedding and honeymoon. My free time was allocated to doing all of those other important life things. Now that everything has settled down, I wanted to open up my blog posting again with something fabulous and comforting for the new Fall season. This morning we made homemade waffles, so I figured I should share this one first.
This recipe is from my mother-in-law's family recipe book. The waffles are super fluffy, tasty, and quick to make. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 8 Waffles

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 eggs, yolks and whites separated: yolks, beaten/whites, beaten until stiff and frothy
• 1/3 cups vegetable oil (I use canola oil)
• 1 1/2 cups milk (I use non-fat to make them lighter)
• Waffle maker!

Measure drying ingredients into large mixing bowl and whisk together.

Whisk egg whites in a separate bowl until they are fluffy and stiff. Use an electric mixer if you have one! 

Combine egg yolks, milk, and vegetable oil in another bowl. (3 bowls total).

Add the egg yolk mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk until all the chunks are gone.

Carefully fold in the fluffy egg whites.

 

The batter is now ready.

Pour 1/2 cup of batter into pre-heated griddle for each square.

Close and let them cook until ready. You can change the setting on the griddle to make them as dark or light as you please.

Vuala - homemade waffles in less than 20 minutes. 

Pulled Pork Hash and Eggs

I made Pulled Pork this weekend for Pulled Pork Sliders (recipe to follow), and there was A LOT of pork to go around. So, we decided to make a hash for breakfast. Umm.. YUM! I will explain the pulled pork process in a separate post, but basically I slow cooked pork butt for 12+ hours with salt, pepper, and a half can of root beer. However, you can make this hash with any left over meat, like steak, roast, corned beef, or you can even use bacon as a substitute! Today, we made this with eggs over-easy (a personal preference), but you can prepare your eggs as you please - poached (a close second favorite), fried, scrambled, or sunny side up.

Ingredients: For 2

• 2 Yukon Gold Potatoes, chopped into small cubes (one potato per person)
• 1-2 tbs diced Vidalia Onion
• 1 tbs Butter
• 3 Small Cherry Peppers, (the jarred kind) diced
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• Salt and Pepper to season
• 1/4 cup Water (or more as needed)
• Pulled Pork
• Eggs, prepared as you wish

In a large to medium skillet, heat up the butter. Then, add in the onions and sweat them out. Add the potatoes, and mix them in well with the onions. Season with salt, pepper and paprika.

Mix in the cherry peppers and water. Continue stirring so that the hash is mixed well. The water will assist the potatoes in cooking thoroughly. Let the potatoes cook with the lid on for about 10 minutes, or until fully cooked through. Stir occasionally so that it doesn't stick to the bottom. Add additional water as needed. Taste for salt/pepper, add more as needed.

Add in your pulled pork (or your substitute protein) and let cook together for another couple minutes.

Serve with your eggs!

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

Yes, my Fiance` and I ate these today for brunch. This is his favorite breakfast dish so every once in a blue moon I like to make these as a surprise for him.
I've posted about eggs benedict before but I used prosciutto last time. Our other favorite type eggs benedict is with Smoked Salmon. I'll admit this again - it isn't the easiest thing to make - I did ruin a few egg poachings when I first tried. But practice makes perfect! This dish is probably better suited for an experienced cook, but don't be intimidated - once you get the hang of it, you will feel so proud and want to make these as much as you can.

Hollandaise Sauce:

Separate the yolk from the whites of 2 eggs in a bowl. Whisk the yolks until mixture lightens in color and add in 1 tbs of fresh lemon juice. In a small pan on low heat, lowest possible setting, melt the butter. Add in the yolk/lemon juice mixture and continue whisking quickly so the eggs don't cook. If you can, the better method is to do this with a double boiler - less risky in cooking the eggs. Add a sprinkle of cayenne pepper and continue whisking until the sauce is frothy and thick. Turn off heat and serve right away or set aside on warm stove with a lid.

Eggs:
Poach your eggs.

Prepare:

Slice the English muffins and toast. Layer on 1 slice of salmon on each half. Carefully place a poached egg on top of the salmon. Top off with the hollandaise sauce.

Ingredients: For 2

• 4 poached eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 Hefty tablespoon of melted butter
• 2 whole wheat English muffins
• 4 organic smoked salmon
• Cayenne pepper
• Cracked black pepper on top

Low Fat Double Chocolate Pancakes

I can't be honest enough with this one - These pancakes became chocolate and low fat by mistake. But indeed I was happy to have a semi-guilt free breakfast. Originally I intended to make Red Velvet Pancakes from a recipe a coworker gave me but I added a bit too much cocoa powder that the red food coloring didn't show through and the bodega near me didn't have buttermilk, which the recipe called for. So, I decided to take a healthy spin on this recipe and used Skim milk instead. Thankfully, they came out light and delicious anyways.  Below is how I ended up making these pancakes... But I also listed the original red velvet version as well since it's close to Valentine's day and all. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 8 Pancakes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour                       
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda                 
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 tbs granulated sugar         
• 4-5 heaping tbs cocoa powder
• 2 large eggs                                   
• 1 1/2 cups skim milk
• 1/2 cup fat free sour cream                             
• 4 tsp vanilla extract                    
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• Buttery Spread (I use Smart Balance)
• Light Syrup (I use Aunt Jemimahttp://www.auntjemima.com/aj_products/syrups/lite.cfm)

Directions:

Mix all wet and dry ingredients in two separate mixing bowls. Add chocolate chips to dry ingredients.

Gently fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients - careful not to over mix the batter, which will make the pancakes tough. Let the batter rest for about 1 hour.

Combine

Heat lightly buttered non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Pour a ladle of batter for each pancake into skillet, and cook until tiny bubbles begin to develop, approximately three minutes. Flip pancakes, and cook for about two minutes more.  Poke them with a fork to see if  they are done - if no batter is on fork then they are ready.

Serve with buttery spread and light syrup.

  

Other Version: Chef John Keller’s Red Velvet Pancakes with Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Mix all wet and dry ingredients separately. Add chocolate chips to dry ingredients.
Gently fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients, being careful not to over mix the batter, which will make the pancakes tough. Let the batter rest for about 1 hour.
Heat lightly buttered non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Pour batter ½ a cup at a time into skillet, and cook until tiny bubbles begin to develop, approximately three minutes. Flip pancakes, and cook for two minutes more.
Transfer pancakes to a baking sheet and bake for 3-4 minutes, until pancakes are cooked through.
Serve with butter and agave syrup.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour                       
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda                 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar         
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 large eggs                                   
• 1-1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup sour cream                             
• 2 teaspoons red food coloring
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract                    
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Prosciutto Eggs Benedicto!

Good Morning, rise and shine from that hang over!! Ok, well if you have a hang over you probably don't want to be cooking this... but it will definitely make you feel better! Especially if you pair this with a spicy bloody mary!

So, one of my favorite hearty breakfasts is eggs Benedict. But who wants Canadian bacon when you have prosciutto??? I had some left over prosciutto from the last meal I made and you know how expensive it is, can't throw it away!

Ingredients: Breakfast for 2

• 4 poached eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 Hefty tablespoon of melted butter
• 2 whole wheat English muffins
• 4 slices of prosciutto di parma (substitute: organic smoked salmon)
• Salt
• Cayenne pepper
• Cracked black pepper

Poach 4 eggs. This isn't a cooking class so I won't go into how you poach an egg -- you can google this or click on this youtube link.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtZ14xEbgzg   :)

Hollandaise Sauce:
Separate the yolk from the whites of 2 eggs in a bowl. Whisk the yolks until mixture lightens in color and add in 1 tbs of fresh lemon juice. In a small pan on low heat, lowest possible setting, melt the butter. Add in the yolk/lemon juice mixture and continue whisking quickly so the eggs don't cook. Add in a pinch of salt and cayenne pepper and continue whisking until the sauce is frothy and thick. Turn off heat and serve right away or set aside on warm stove.

Slice the English muffins and toast. Layer on 1 slice of prosciutto on each half. Carefully place a poached egg on top of the prosciutto. Top off with the hollandaise sauce and cracked black pepper.

Enjoy!