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Christmas Ale Cinnamon Rolls

December 13, 2016 by rachelle 27 Comments

Christmas Ale Beer Cinnamon Rolls are a fun treat made from Christmas Ale full of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and honey and a very vanilla bourbon finish.

 

We’ve been hitting the home brew Christmas Ale pretty hard over here lately.

Christmas Ale Beer Cinnamon Rolls are a fun treat made from Christmas Ale full of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and honey and a very vanilla bourbon finish .

 

While I do love to drink some Christmas Ale during the holidays, I especially have fun including it in recipes that really highlight what’s special about it.

 

Christmas Ale Beer Cinnamon Rolls are a fun treat made from Christmas Ale full of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and honey and a very vanilla bourbon finish .

Speaking of what’s special, it occurred to me the other day that I shared some Christmas Ale Caramels, but didn’t really elaborate on the details of my beer.

Christmas Ale Beer Cinnamon Rolls are a fun treat made from Christmas Ale full of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and honey and a very vanilla bourbon finish .

My Christmas Ale is a lightly hopped amber colored malty brew with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and  a hint of clove.  It’s very vanilla forward because when I add vanilla to my beer, I don’t mess around.  Some people like an accent of vanilla, but I prefer to be smacked in the face with it.  So I soaked a few vanilla beans in a Mason Jar full of bourbon and oak chips then added the whole thing to the beer when we kegged it.

Christmas Ale Beer Cinnamon Rolls are a fun treat made from Christmas Ale full of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and honey and a very vanilla bourbon finish .

I know.

So one of the first things I thought of that would highlight all things wonderful about this Christmas Ale is some cinnamon rolls.

Christmas Ale Beer Cinnamon Rolls are a fun treat made from Christmas Ale full of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and honey and a very vanilla bourbon finish .

I was right.

P.S. You can use any craft beer you want, but I’d try to stick to something with similar flavors.  You’re always welcome to stop by and share some of mine!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Ale Beer Cinnamon Rolls are a fun treat made from Christmas Ale full of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and honey and a very vanilla bourbon finish .
Print

Christmas Ale Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

For the Dough

  • 1/2 cup Christmas Ale
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 stick butter plus another 1/2 tablespoon to coat 2 cake pans
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 packets active dry yeast
  • 3 - 3 1/2 cups flour

For the Cinnamon Sugar

  • 1/4 cup butter melted
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon

For the Glaze

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 tablespoons milk

Instructions

  1. Combine beer, milk, butter, sugar, and salt in a sauce pan and warm over low heat
  2. Remove milk mixture from heat, add yeast, and set aside for 10 minutes
  3. Add 2 cups of the flour to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook
  4. Add milk mixture and eggs and turn mixer on low
  5. Gradually add the rest of the flour and let the mixer knead it for another 8 - 10 minutes, until somewhat smooth and elastic
  6. Turn out into a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball
  7. Transfer to a lightly oiled or buttered bowl, turn dough to coat, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size
  8. Punch dough down and divide in half, set aside and let rest for 10 - 15 minutes
  9. Roll one of the halves into a (approximate) 15 x 8 rectangle
  10. Brush 1/2 of the melted butter over the entire rectangle
  11. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle half over entire rectangle
  12. Roll up fairly tightly from the long side and turn so seam is on the bottom
  13. With a sharp knife or a piece of string slice into 15 equally sized pieces
  14. Transfer to buttered 9 in cake pan
  15. Repeat with other half of dough, butter, and cinnamon sugar
  16. Cover pans and let rise in a warm place for 30 - 45 minutes or until double in size
  17. While rolls are rising, preheat oven to 375
  18. Bake 20 - 25 minutes
  19. Combine powdered sugar and milk to make a glaze and pour over cinnamon rolls
  20. Serve warm or at room temperature

NOTES:

  1. When making the glaze add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you have it as thick or as thin as you want.  I like a thick glaze, but if you want to thin it out just keep adding milk until you get it where you want it to be – if so, you’ll need more than 4 tablespoons.
  2. These cinnamon rolls can be made ahead of time and kept in the freezer.  I would recommend adding the glaze after they are reheated.
Christmas Ale Beer Cinnamon Rolls are a fun treat made from Christmas Ale full of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and honey and a very vanilla bourbon finish .

Christmas Ale Beer Cinnamon Rolls are a fun treat made from Christmas Ale full of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and honey and a very vanilla bourbon finish | Beer Girl Cooks

Christmas Ale Cinnamon Rolls

Christmas Ale Cinnamon Rolls

Filed Under: Sweets Tagged With: beer, beer cinnamon rolls, breakfast, brunch, buns, Christmas, christmas ale, christmas ale cinnamon rolls, cinnamon rolls, homemade, homemade cinnamon rolls

Peach Ale Peaches and Cream Donuts

July 18, 2016 by rachelle 20 Comments

Mondays should always start with beer and donuts.

Peach Ale Peaches and Cream Donuts

And glaze.  Lots and lots of glaze.

Peach Ale Peaches and Cream Donuts

It’s peach season after all, so shouldn’t we be living it up?  We’re putting peaches in everything over here. I know you probably have an expectation of ice cream or popsicles in just about every post coming your way because that’s just the way I roll.  And it’s summer and it’s dang hot, but we need some variety up in here, don’t we?  So I bring you beer, and peaches, and donuts, (I gave up on the proper spelling because I’m a SEO ho), so Peach Ale Peaches and Cream Donuts are the star of this show!

Peach Ale Peaches and Cream Donuts

You can go wrong with that, right?  Beer makes everything better.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Peach Ale Peaches and Cream Donuts

Sorry, y’all!  I was so distracted by peach beer and donuts, I forgot to ask how your weekend was and what in tarnation you have been up to?  We had a week of relaxation of the stay-cation then sadly, we had to return to real life.  Fortunately, we followed that work week up with a weekend filled with fun and some down time.  And now it’s Monday again.  I vote that we switch things around and the work week is 2 days and the weekend is 5!  Who’s with me?

Peach Ale Peaches and Cream Donuts

If only I ruled the world.  Things would totally be different.

Peach Ale Peaches and Cream Donuts

Have a fantastic week, friends!  I hope your week is filled with beer, donuts, peaches, and all things delicious and fun!

Peach Ale Peaches and Cream Donuts

And glaze.  Lots and lots of glaze!

Peach Ale Peaches and Cream Donuts
Print

Peach Ale Peaches and Cream Donuts

Ingredients

For the Donuts

  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  • 1 large egg room temperature and lightly beaten
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup peach ale
  • 2 tablespoons butter melted
  • 8 ounce cream cheese softened
  • 2 - 3 peaches peeled and very small diced

For the Glaze

  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 - 4 teaspoons vanilla bean paste according to taste
  • 1/2 cup whole milk - start with 1/4 cup then add 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency - this can be halved because I love a lot of glaze

Instructions

For the Donuts

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, milk, butter, vanilla bean paste, peach ale
  4. Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry, then stir in the cream cheese - cream cheese may be lumpy, but it's ok
  5. Coat donut pans with cooking spray
  6. Spoon batter into donut pans almost all the way full - evenly sprinkle in peach pieces into the batter in the pan - NOTE: I did it before and after adding the batter and it made no difference
  7. Bake 23 - 26 minutes
  8. Cool for 5 minutes or so on a wire rack then turn out on rack to cool completely

For the Glaze

  1. Add sugar to a bowl and stir in vanilla bean paste and 1/4 cup milk
  2. Continue adding milk 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached
  3. Pour over donuts

Peach Ale Peaches and Cream Donuts

Filed Under: Sweets Tagged With: ale, breakfast, brunch, cram, donuts, doughnuts, Peach, peach ale donuts, peaches and cream

National Doughnut Day Doughnut Recipe Roundup

June 1, 2016 by rachelle 27 Comments

National Doughnut Day Doughnut Recipe Roundup

National Doughnut Day

Well, what do you know?  It turns out that this Friday, June 3rd is National Doughnut Day. Whaaat?!?!

Karrie with Tasty Ever After and I wanted to celebrate this delicious carby holiday so we put together a recipe roundup of some of the most yummy doughnuts by our favorite Bloggers.  So go grab some doughnut making ingredients and help us celebrate National Doughnut Day!!

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Before we move on to this delicious doughnut recipe roundup, I have a very important question: doughnut or donut?  I’m very well aware that I’ve asked this question before, but it seems appropriate to revisit the question of why in tarnation there could possibly be two different spellings for one single magical creation.

When we last discussed this difference in spelling, I shared with you the results of my Google research. For those of you who missed it, you can read about it here and here, but the gist of it is that the dictionary-approved spelling is doughnut and the shortened version became popular in the late 20th century as part of  a Dunkin’ Donuts marketing campaign.

Now, for some more interesting reading about the evolution of the actual doughnut, head over to Karrie’s website for a totally interesting history lesson.

Now, about those doughnuts/donuts!

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Tasty Ever After Carrot Cake Donuts with Brandy Candied Walnuts  (pictured above & photo credit)

How Sweet It Is  Strawberry Buttermilk Sprinkle Donuts

Feast and West  Baked Birthday Cake Donuts

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Me  Cara Cara Orange White Chocolate Glazed Doughnuts  (pictured above & photo credit)

Club Narwhal  Baked Dark Chocolate Strawberry Donuts

Cook with Kushi  Banana Doughnut Holes

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No Spoon Necessary  Raspberry Vanilla Baked Donuts with White Chocolate Glaze  (pictured above & photo credit)

Mon Petit Four  Jelly Doughnuts

Ciao Chow Bambina  Baked Strawberry Doughnuts with Fresh Strawberry Glaze

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The Beach House Kitchen  Key Lime Pie Donuts  (pictured above & photo credit)

Havoc in the Kitchen  Baileys Cake Donuts 

Sally’s Baking Addiction  How to Make Homemade Glazed Doughnut

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Spiced Blog  Baked Samoa Doughnuts  (pictured above & photo credit)

Sugar Love Spices  Baked Doughnut Delights

GiGi Eats Celebrities  Healthy Doughnuts

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Martha Stewart  Espresso Glazed Doughnuts  (pictured above & photo credit)

Brown Eyed Baker  Vanilla Cream Filled Doughnuts

Handle the Heat  Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts

Bakingdom  French Toast Doughnuts

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Love & Custard  Sugared Pumpkin Doughnuts  (pictured above & photo credit)

Cooking Classy  Baked Nutella Doughnuts with Nutella Glaze

Beyond the Chicken Coop  Apple Fritters

 

Have a very happy National Doughnut Day, y’all! 🙂

Filed Under: Archives Tagged With: breakfast, brunch, cake, donut, doughnut, sweet

Mother’s Day Recipe Roundup

May 5, 2016 by rachelle 15 Comments

Mother’s Day Recipe Roundup

 

Mother's Day Recipe Roundup (2)

 

It’s Mother’s Day this weekend.  I don’t know about y’all, but it kind of surprised me.  If you’re in the same boat as me, I’ve got your back with anything and everything that can please Mom this weekend! Let’s do this!

First and Most Important – COCKTAILS!

 

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Preserved Lemon Martini with Spicy Olives – Tasty Ever After (recipe and photo credit)

 

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Strawberry Lime Frozen Margaritas – Beer Girl Cooks

 

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White Chocolate Covered Strawberry Boozy Milkshake – No Spoon Necessary (recipe and photo credit)

 

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Butterscotch Martini with Bailey’s Irish Whipped Cream – Beer Girl Cooks

 

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Jalapeno Margarita – Spiced Blog (recipe and photo credit)

 

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Patio Passion Martini – Beer Girl Cooks

 

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Creme Brulee Stout Ice Cream Float – Beer Girl Cooks

 

Now that we’ve had sufficient amount of booze to get us started, it’s time for breakfast and brunch recipes!

BREAKFAST AND BRUNCH RECIPES

 

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Candied Ginger and Rhubarb Crumb Coffee Cake – No Spoon Necessary (recipe and photo credit)

 

Strawberry Banana Muffins – Pumpkin ‘n Spice

Banana Nutella Stuffed Cardamom Maple Toast – My Garlic Ginger Kitchen

 

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Eggs Benedict Crostini with Roasted Asparagus, Bacon, and Easy Hollandaise – Beer Girl Cooks

 

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Goat Cheese Brie Souffle – Tasty Ever After (recipe and photo credit)

 

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Spinach and Tomato Breakfast Flatbread – Hungry Healthy Happy (recipe and photo credit)

 

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Breakfast Casserole – Beer Girl Cooks

 

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Strawberry Chia Jam Recipe – Show Me The Yummy (recipe and photo credit)

 

DOUGHNUTS V. DONUTS

Let’s be real.  No matter how you spell the word, the masterpiece deserves its own category.

 

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Key Lime Pie Donuts – The Beach House Kitchen (recipe and photo credit)

 

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Baked Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Donuts – Veganosity (recipe and photo credit)

 

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Brown Sugar and Pecan Baked Cake Donuts with Bourbon Maple Glaze – No Spoon Necessary (recipe and photo credit)

 

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Baked Lemon Doughnuts – Spiced Blog (recipe and photo credit)

 

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Cara Cara Orange and White Chocolate Glazed Baked Doughnuts – Beer Girl Cooks

 

How about some lunch ideas?

 

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Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Apricots, and Pistachios – Tasty Ever After (recipe and photo credit)

 

Mediterranean Cucumber Salad – The Beach House Kitchen

Southwestern Orzo Salad – Family Food On The Table

Cesar Salad with Grilled Asparagus and Quail Eggs – Cooking LSL

Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad – Beyond The Chicken Coop

 

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Baja Shrimp Ceviche Tostadas – No Spoon Necessary (recipe and photo credit)

 

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Southside Weiss with Pan Steamed Mussels with Roasted Lemon and Toasted Baguette – Beer Girl Cooks

 

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Salmon Burger with a Creamy Lime and Basil Sauce – Hungry Healthy Happy (recipe and photo credit)

 

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Lamb Burger with Tzatziki Sauce – Beer Girl Cooks

 

Going fancy pants and need some dinner ideas?

 

DINNER RECIPES

 

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Garganelli alla Vodka – Ciao Chow Bambaina (recipe and photo credit)

 

Tender Beef Kebobs with Tangy Barbaque Sauce – Cooking LSL

Thai Yellow Curry Turkey Meatballs – Fashionable Foods

 

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Grilled Coconut Lime Shrimp – Spiced Blog (recipe and photo credit)

 

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Belgian Tripel Beer Marinated Stuffed Pork Loin with Plum Sauce – Beer Girl Cooks

 

And finally.  We started with booze and we’ll finish with some awesome desserts.

 

DESSERTS RECIPES!

 

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Spumoni Cake – Beer Girl Cooks

 

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Vegan Lime Tarts with Meringue – Veganosity (recipe and photo credit)

 

Banana Sheet Cake – Cook With Manali

No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Mousse – Baked By An Introvert

Blackberry Ginger Cupcakes – Just About Baked

 

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Mixed Berry Pavlova with Blueberry Sauce – Beer Girl Cooks

 

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Vegan No-Bake Biscoff Tartletts – Whisk and Shout (recipe and photo credit)

 

I wish all of you a Happy Mother’s Day.  Whether you have little people, if you’re empty nesters, have grands, a bun in the oven, have a mom, or your a mom to a fur baby, I truly wish you a wonderful day of food, family, and of course, booze.   Cheers!

Filed Under: Archives Tagged With: booze, breakfast, brunch, cake, cocktails, desserts, dinner, holiday, lunch, margarita, martini, mother's day, vegan

Eggs Benedict Crostini with Roasted Asparagus, Bacon, and Easy Hollandaise

January 21, 2016 by rachelle 23 Comments

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Happy almost weekend, y’all!  It’s early for these winter weather shenanigans in the Carolinas, but believe it or not, it snowed!  Again!  I know!  I know!  My northern friends are laughing at me right now because we get a few flurries and a little dusting and we call it snow.  I’m serious as a train wreck when I tell you that when we get exactly 2.5487 flurries of snow in Charlotte everyone loses their mind and forgets how to drive.  A similar situation happens when it rains.

 

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Now, I have no idea what in tarnation makes people freak out and decide they need to clear the Harris Teeter and Publix shelves of all things bread and milk.  That makes zero sense to me.  Who need bread and milk when there is one half of a flake of snow left floating in the air.  And I gotta be honest, when we are expecting serious weather, you know, the kind that brings 2.4783 inches of snow that lands on 54 degree ground and lasts for exactly 4.286 hours before melting?  I don’t know about you, but man, I stock up on beer and wine.  Who needs bread and milk?

 

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Oh!  And vodka.  And Bloody Mary mix.  These are essentials for a snow day.  Or a Sunday.  Or a Saturday.  Don’t judge me.  I’m just keeping things real around here.

 

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Regardless of whether you have your Bloody Mary on a snow day, Sunday, or Sunday.  Or jeeze!  If it blows your dress up, have it on Monday.  There are no judgments here.  This is a safe zone.  My point is that if you are having a Bloody Mary, (at least at my house) you might be having breakfast or if you’re more civilized it would probably be brunch.  Either way, you should totally try these Eggs Benedict Crostini with Asparagus, Bacon, and Easy Hollandaise.  They’re the perfect addition to any breakfast or brunch.

 

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I sincerely hope you (and I) get a snow day, but you don’t have to wait for one to try some delicious breakfast crostini.  If you do, don’t forget to pick up the vodka.facebookadAnd don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

 

Print

Eggs Benedict Crostini with Roasted Asparagus, Bacon, and Easy Hollandaise

Ingredients

  • 12 -16 asparagus spears tough ends discarded
  • splash of olive oil
  • pinch of garlic powder
  • pinch of salt
  • pinch of pepper
  • 6 pieces of cooked and crispy bacon
  • 6 slices of baguette about 1/2 inch thick
  • 6 eggs
  • chopped parsley for garnish optional

For the Hollandaise Sauce

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon dried sage
  • 8 tablespoons 1 stick/1/2 cup butter

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400
  2. In a bowl, toss together asparagus, olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper, transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and roast for 5-7 minutes (depending on size - mine were skinny), set aside
  3. Change oven setting to broil
  4. Arrange baguette slices on another parchment lined baking sheet and broil 5 minutes, or until toasted
  5. In a blender,combine egg yolks, lemon juice, and sage then blend a couple of seconds to combine
  6. Melt butter in microwave or on the stove in a pan
  7. With the blender running, slowly stream butter into the egg yolks and blend until combined and kind of fluffy
  8. Bring a small saucepan of water to a simmer
  9. Crack an egg into a small container
  10. Slowly dip the container with the egg into the water and let the water go into the container with the egg for a couple of seconds then slowly let the egg slide out into the water
  11. Let the egg cook about 2 minutes in the simmering water
  12. Remove egg with a slotted spoon and drain with the egg still in the spoon onto a paper towel lined plate
  13. Repeat with remaining eggs
  14. To assemble, start with the toast, add one slice of bacon, 2-3 asparagus pieces, carefully top with poached egg, spoon a generous amount of hollandaise sauce over the whole thing, garnish with parsley, if using
  15. Serve immediately

Hollandaise Sauce adapted slightly from Giada De Laurentiis

Note:  I didn’t add salt to the hollandaise sauce because there is bacon and I accidentally bought salted butter (which I NEVER do) so if you’re using unsalted butter you may want to adjust the seasonings.

 

 

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Filed Under: Archives Tagged With: asparagus, Bacon, breakfast, brunch, crostini, eggs, eggs benedict

Holiday Breakfast Casserole

December 18, 2015 by rachelle 33 Comments

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Can y’all believe that Christmas is next week?  Where did the time go?

 

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I just want to take a minute to say a huge thank you to all of you, my friends, for your kindness and support while we are in this crisis with Chris’ dad.  It’s an ongoing challenge and we’re hopeful because we’re seeing improvement.  He’s such a big teddy bear sweetheart and it’s been so heartbreaking to see him in this condition.  Chris and I are working on things every single day to get him the help he needs. It’s an exhausting process, but totally worth it because things are improving. We so appreciate all of you, your positive thoughts, and your kind words. We’re hopeful for a Christmas miracle and the positive steps we are seeing right now is enough to bring me to tears.

 

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Moving onward.  Happy Holidays!  We were invited to our friends’ Hanukkah celebration last weekend and it was so much fun!  The food was awesome and I had matzo ball soup for the first time ever and loved it!  There were delicious latkes too!  And did I mention that my friends are chefs?  Lucky us!  It was a really nice evening spent with some really terrific friends. The laughs we had were both needed and priceless.

 

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Now we’re moving on to Christmas.  Chris’ mom always made this delicious breakfast casserole for Christmas morning.  Neither of us ever thought to get the recipe from her so the other day we talking about it and the kids and Christmases of the past when the kids were little and we were younger….

 

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And sleigh bells were ringing outside, presents were wrapped (for the most part), and cookies were set out for Santa.

 

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Jeeze!  Can somebody stop me?  Or bring me some wine?  Beer?  Bourbon?  This trip down memory lane is too much!

 

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Let’s talk breakfast casserole.  You can’t go wrong with shredded potatoes, cheese, and sausage.  I confess.  There’s cream of mushroom soup from a can in here.

 

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We’re feeling nostalgic and cream of mushroom soup in a can casserole is totally retro.  Don’t judge me.

 

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Happy Holidays, y’all!

 

P.S. I totally thought I had this scheduled to publish yesterday as my regular Thursday post, but here we are a day late and I’ve been so busy I didn’t even notice.  It’s happened before and I’m fairly certain it will happen again.  Happy Friday!

 

Print

Holiday Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

  • 1 pound bag frozen hash brown shredded potatoes thawed
  • 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 onion diced very small
  • 12 sausage links cooked and broken into pieces
  • 8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Add potatoes, soup, sour cream, onion, sausage and 3/4 of the cheese in a mixing bowl and stir until combined
  3. Transfer to a casserole dish coated with cooking spray
  4. Top with remaining cheddar cheese
  5. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until top is golden brown and bubbly
  6. Let cool for 10 - 15 minutes before serving

Add New

Filed Under: Archives Tagged With: breakfast, brunch, brunch casserole, casserole, cheese, eggs, holiday, holiday breakfast, holiday breakfast casserole, sausage

Honey Roasted Grape Mascarpone French Toast Crostini

September 28, 2015 by rachelle 33 Comments

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Sometimes my ridiculousness even amazes me.

 

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I have no idea what in tarnation made me want to make some kind of roasted grape mascarpone French toast crostini business.

Honestly, I’m not even sure I got the capitalization right.  Is it French Toast or is the toast French? Beats me.

 

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So, anyhoo —

I’m keeping things short today because I have some lawyer stuff to do for a family situation.  Wish me luck!

 

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I hope you like it and I hope you make it!

I’m sure glad I did.

 

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I hope you do too!

 

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Print

Honey Roasted Grape Mascarpone French Toast Crostini

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds red and white seedless grapes
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt plus a few pinches more for finishing
  • 12 slices baguette or french bread about 1/2 -3/4 inch thick
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
  • 8 ounces mascarpone
  • 1/4 - 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425
  2. Combine grapes, olive oil, honey, and 1/4 teaspoon salt
  3. Spread out in an even layer on a parchment covered baking sheet
  4. Roast 10 - 12 minutes, until some of the grapes begin to burst and the juices run out, careful not to burn the juices
  5. Reduce heat to 200
  6. Heat a griddle to 400 or a skillet on the stove to high
  7. Whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla bean paste
  8. Soak the pieces of bread in the egg mixture and transfer to griddle or skillet, cook 3-4 minutes each side, working in batches and move them to a foil or parchment lined baking sheet into the 200 degree oven to keep warm
  9. Divide marscapone evenly among the cooked french toast slices, spoon a few grapes with juice on top, then almond slices and a pinch of salt
  10. Serve immediately

Filed Under: Archives Tagged With: almonds, breakfast, brunch, french toast, grapes, honey, mascarpone, toast

Panzanella

September 17, 2015 by rachelle 18 Comments

Have you noticed that everything seems different?  Does it feel like fall where you are?

 

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I woke up Sunday morning and it just felt different.  I mentioned to Chris that it feels like fall and he agreed.  I don’t know if it’s this cold front that started moving in or if we reached a turning point. It feels like there is a chill and a crispness in the air.  Even the sunlight is different and there are leaves falling in my yard.

 

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But I still have tomatoes!  And more are on the way!  I don’t think I’m going to give up on summer until October.  It’s official.  Queen Rachelle has declared summer is extended.  Who cares if school started and football kicked off last weekend?  I am putting my foot down and stopping this gateway to winter and all things dark and cold and snowy and gloomy.  Well, except for Christmas where everything is happy and sparkly and shiny.  And I’m not really stopping it – it’s more of a denial and delay, but I’ll take it.

 

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Because I’m lucky enough to live in the south where summer lasts almost until winter.

 

Print

Panzanella

Ingredients

  • 15 - 20 to matoes of combined variety chopped into bite size pieces
  • 1/2 of a day old baguette sliced and torn into bite size pieces
  • 4 garlic cloves pressed or minced
  • 1 sweet onion thinly sliced
  • 12 or so basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup chopped chives
  • 1/4 cup chopped tarragon leaves
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar plus 2-3 tablespoons more for finishing
  • 1/4 cup olive oil plus 2-3 tablespoons more for finishing
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Put the onion slices in a bowl, cover with water and soak for 10-15 minutes
  2. Add tomatoes, garlic, bread, onions, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper to a large bowl. Use hands to toss and combine.
  3. Set aside for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours at room temperature, tossing occasionally
  4. Add the herbs 15-20 minutes before serving
  5. Taste and adjust seasonings, finish with remaining red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper
  6. This salad is best on the same day it's made

 

Note: The bread should be hard and dry.  If it isn’t, you can dry it out in the oven on a baking sheet at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes.  You do not want it to be toasted or brown.

Note: This is more of a guideline for panzanella, rather than a recipe.  You can use some or all of the herbs or add different ones.  The longer the salad sits, the more liquid gets absorbed into the bread, so you will want to taste it and adjust the dressing and seasonings prior to serving.  Also, keep kind of a rule of thumb that the bread should be 1/3 ratio to the rest of the salad.  Feel free to use up any fruits and vegetables in your fridge, such as cucumbers and bell peppers.

Filed Under: Archives Tagged With: Basil, Bread, brunch, dressing, herbs, lunch, panzanella, panzanella salad, salad, sides, summer, tomato

Honey Roasted Peaches with Mascarpone

September 14, 2015 by rachelle 39 Comments

Happy Monday, friends!  I’ve missed you!

 

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I’m sorry I didn’t warn you about my staycation.  I actually fully intended to continue posting on this here blog during my vacay, but I changed my mind because I was in serious need of some good ole R&R.

 

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Corporate America kicked my butt in the weeks leading up to my vacation and my fellow blogger friends know that blogging is also a full time job.

 

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Don’t get me wrong – I’m totally not complaining here.  I LOVE this here website and I LOVE LOVE LOVE all of you!

 

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Sometimes you just need to take a break from life, right?

 

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While I would not refuse another week of paid vacation, I am feeling rested, refreshed, and recharged.  I almost completely disengaged from all things internet and work related.  I finally saw Fargo in its entirety, went to a party, hosted a dinner party, took a nap, slept in, and saw Van Halen in concert.

 

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I also went for a bike ride without injury – those of you that have followed this here website know that’s a miracle in and of itself and worthy of a vacation.

 

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My vacation may be over and the transition to fall is becoming more obvious, but I’m hanging on to vacation mentality and the spirit of summer for a little while longer.  We have delicious summer peaches, my tomato plants are troopers and still producing new fruit (we are in the south afterall!), even though my pumpkin patch is growing out of control – we are the epitome of contrasts and contradictions over here.

 

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Cheers to taking time to center yourself when needed and to a fantastic week ahead!

 

Print

Roasted Peaches with Mascarpone

Ingredients

  • 4 peaches halved and pitted, cut a little more out from where the pit was to make room for more mascarpone
  • 8 ounces mascarpone at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 5 tablespoons melted butter
  • Fresh tarragon and chopped pistachios for garnish optional

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Stir together mascarpone, vanilla bean paste and cinnamon and refrigerate at least 30 minutes
  3. Brush a baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter and arrange peaches in the baking dish cut side up - you can slice of a small piece of the back for them to sit flat in the dish
  4. Whisk together honey and butter and pour over the peaches, use a pastry brush to make sure they are covered all over
  5. Roast until softened and somewhat browned, 25 - 30 minutes
  6. Fill each of the peach halves with the mascarpone mixture
  7. Garnish with chopped tarragon leaves and pistachios, if using
  8. Serve immediately

Adapted from Bobby Flay

Filed Under: Archives Tagged With: brunch, cheese, honey, mascarpone, Peach, pistachio, roasted peaches, tarragon

Chicken and Waffles

August 28, 2015 by rachelle 26 Comments

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Here in the south we have something we like to call chicken ‘n waffles.  Traditionally it’s fried chicken on a waffle.  I don’t really get it.   Where is the gravy?  Or the syrup?  I need some liquid going on up in here.  I don’t mean to be hating on my southern peeps, but a piece of fried chicken sitting on top of a waffle just isn’t my jam.

 

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I’m more of a chicken ‘n dumplings with gravy kind of girl.  So, this is my version of chicken ‘n waffles inspired by chicken ‘n dumplings – but with a twist.

 

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Full disclosure:  I pulled these waffles out of my freezer, but I DID NOT LEGGO MY EGGO! These are leftover from Father’s Day and I stuck them in the freezer for a rainy day.

 

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It rained.

 

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And isn’t that the ugliest waffle you’ve ever seen? 🙂  Have a great weekend, y’all!

 

Print

Chicken and Waffles

Ingredients

For the Waffles

  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 eggs separated
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla paste
  • 4 tablespoons butter melted
  • 2 cups milk

For the Chicken

  • 1 whole 5-6 lb chicken neck, etc. removed
  • 1 head garlic halved
  • 1 lemon halved
  • 1 onion halved
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Thyme
  • 4 tablespoons butter melted

For the Eggs

  • 2 eggs

Instructions

For the Waffles

  1. Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer directions - use or do not use cooking spray if directions indicate
  2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bow.
  3. In a second bowl beat or whisk egg yolks and sugar until sugar is dissolved, it will be a pale yellow
  4. Add vanilla bean paste, butter, milk and whisk to combine
  5. Combine the liquid mixture with the flour mixture and stir to combine - careful not to over mix
  6. Beat together (third bowl) egg whites until peaks form - about 1 minute
  7. Gently fold egg white mixture into the batter
  8. Add batter and cook waffles according to manufacturer's directions
  9. Set aside or keep warm in 200 degree oven

For the Chicken

  1. Preheat oven to 425
  2. Stuff onion, garlic, lemon, salt, pepper, and thyme in chicken
  3. Rub outer skin with melted butter, add a bit of salt and pepper to taste
  4. Transfer to a rack coated with cooking spray in a baking dish, breast side down
  5. Roast for 1 1/2 hours or until juices run clear
  6. Remove from oven, let cool to handle, shred
  7. Transfer to Dutch oven over high heat
  8. Add 4 cups of chicken stock and heat to a high simmer
  9. In a measuring cup combine 1 tablespoon corn starch with 1/3 cup water
  10. Add cornstarch mixture about 1 tablespoon at a time until desired thickness is reached for a gravy

Fry an Egg

  1. Heat a skillet over high heat and add 2 eggs
  2. Cook for 2 minutes, cover, turn off heat and let cook until desired texture of egg is reached - I like mine more on the done side, so I let them go about 5 minutes

Assembly

  1. Arrange waffle on a plate, cover with shredded chicken and gravy, top with egg, salt and pepper and parsley or chives, if desired

 

Update: Jennifer decided that there should be a 17.5 instruction to add a bunch of salt.  I do not like a lot of salt and I caution you to be careful if you are not using low sodium chicken stock.  My philosophy is to adjust seasonings according to your taste.  Jennifer is a total pain in my ass.

 

Filed Under: Archives Tagged With: breakfast, brunch, chicken, chicken and waffles, eggs, waffles

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I’m Rachelle, an attorney by day with a passion for home brewing and cooking with craft beer.

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