Aaaah!  The aroma of baking puffed pastry, scrambled eggs and garlic spinach cream.  It's sweet smell of redemption.   My Egg SNAFU last week was beyond rescue, so I feel relieved to carry out this recipe pretty smoothly.  (Click here to read more about Egg Snafu).  Amazing what you can get done when you don't try and do 5 things all at once and just focus on the task at hand.  Whew!

This savory and filling breakfast is a creation of the Rabbit Hill Inn located in Lower Waterford, Vermont.  It's a simple, quick and elegant recipe that would  make a perfect savory pairing with the heart shaped strawberry stuffed French toast for romantic Valentine's Day breakfast in bed.

And speaking of romance and Rabbit Hill Inn, Peter Greenburg said, "Your room could act as an aphrodisiac,"  and Cooking Light Magazine stated they had, "sensual amenities to set the mood."  Whoa.  And I was just considering going up for just a plain ole cooking class.  I'm such a kitchen dork.  But then again ... a cooking class could be hot!

If you haven't yet made Valentine's Day plans, here's a way you can bring one of Travel & Leisure Best 100 Hotels Worldwide into you're own home.

Let's start with the puffed pastry.   Yes, this is what my groggy eyes at 6 am mistook for pie crust when I created an Egg Snafu.  So here it is in all it's glory ... Puffed Pastry.  You can find it in your frozen foods section at your local grocer.  Just don't mistakenly pick up pie crust.

Start with a dozen eggs scrambled with about a 1/2 cup of heavy cream.  If you've never had scrambled eggs made this way ... taste a little bite.  You'll never make them without heavy cream again.  Ever.  It's the secret to making them creamy, fluffy and light.  BUT ... not light on the calories.

And "Cooking Light" wrote about Rabbit Hill?  How do they make these delish recipes without some serious calories!?

Cook them until they're set ... but still a little wet.  You're going to bake them too and don't want them to dry out.

Spoon your scrambled eggs into the center of a puffed pastry sheet.  This pastry sheet seemed a little small for a dozen eggs, so next time I'll either cut the recipe in half or make two strudels.

Cover in shredded cheddar cheese.

Roll the pastry into a cylinder.  I had imagined that this would come out more like a spiral of puffed pastry rather than a burrito shape.  Perhaps I need a longer pastry sheet for that effect.

Take a pastry brush and "glue" the edges together with just a touch of water.

Then brush with melted butter and set in the oven to bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Next ... the spinach.

When we tried this with the Egg Snafu, I wrote down the recipe.  I should have printed it because I missed one vital word ... blanched.  Now, I must admit, I didn't quite know what "blanched" meant.  So I googled it.  I google everything I make in the kitchen.  I found this lovely step-by-step instructions on blanched spinach.

And then I blanched my own ...

Start with boiling water.  Add a whole bag of spinach.  Yes, I said a whole bag.  It dwindles down to nothing when you're done.

After the spinach has turned a bright green, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, remove the spinach with a slotted spoon and add to an ice bath.

Sounds fancy and pampered to give food a bath, doesn't it?  Well, maybe "tortured" spinach is a better description.  This whole process reminded of my last ski strip to Steamboat Springs, CO, where we did some of hot-tubbin and snow-dippin.  That's when we've had one or two beers in the hot tub and think its smart to run out and dip our bathing suit clad bodies in freezing cold snow.  Or similar to sitting in a bath tub full of ice and water after a 22 mile run.  I can only imagine the spinach wants to yell and scream profanities as loudly as I did.

Remove the spinach from the ice bath with clean hands and squeeze all the water out until you are left with a ball of spinach.

Add the blanched spinach to a food processor with 1 cup of heavy cream.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  I also added a pressed garlic clove.

Blend.

Add the puree to a sauce pan on medium heat and reduce by 1/3 of it's volume.

The strudel bakes to golden perfection during the time it takes to whip up the Spinach Cream.

Slice and serve.  Mmm.

Now, about those cooking lessons with Chef Matthew ...

--Rachelle

Cheddar Egg Strudel with Spinach Cream

from the Rabbit Hill Inn, Lower Waterford, VT

Ingredients

1 sheet puffed pastry, room temp

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup heavy cream

12 eggs beaten with 1/2 cup heavy cream

2  tbls melted butter

1 cup blanched spinach

salt & pepper to taste

For the Strudel

1) Preheat oven to 350 (convection oven) or 400 (standard oven.

2) Heat 1/4 cup canola oil in a large non-stick saute pan.

3) Cook eggs over medium high heat scrambling them until barely set.

4) On a small sheet or cookie pan lay out puff pastry.

5) Place eggs straight along center of pastry sheet.

6) Top with cheese and roll pastry into a cylinder.

7) Brush with butter and bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

For the Spinach Cream

1) Puree 1 cup of spinach with 1 cup of heavy cream.

2) Add salt and pepper to taste.

3) In a sauce pan, reduce by 1/3 the original volume.

4) Serve over strudel.

###

If you ever wanted dessert for breakfast, and felt a little guilty popping a single Dove's Promise's Dark Chocolate piece to melt on your tongue with your morning coffee ... then I have wicked solution for you.  A muffin.  Because even though it's chocolate, the fact that it's a muffin still makes it breakfast.  And since the stores are filled with pink hearts, chocolates and forget-me-not's, I thought this treat would make the perfect cupid's arrow  ... either for your Valentine's heart or your own.

I have a full list of ingredients and directions at the end of the post ... but the main stars of this event are ripe red raspberries, dark chocolate chips and pink muffin cups to make them cute and girlie.

Sift together your flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.  Then sift the cocoa.

I should have sifted the sugar in with the flour ... but making these snow topped cocoa mountains was more fun.  I like to play with my food.

Add the brown sugar, then whisk/stir it all together.

Next start adding your wet ingredients.  Whisk your eggs together in a separate bowl.

Milk.

Chocolate chips.

Might I add that I almost had to run out to the store to buy another bag as Jim, the photographer, could not stop eating these.  What makes that even funnier is that he doesn't like sweets!  Liar.  These are bittersweet ... so I give him that credit at least.

My recommendation ... get an extra bag of chocolate and an extra package of raspberries for munching.

Here's a few facts that will take away the guilt ... raspberries are loaded with vitamin C ... chocolate is full of antioxidants and polyphenols ... eggs and milk give you protein and calcium.  Ignore the sugar and flour. They don't exist except to carry this wholesome nutrition into your body.  (wink)

Mix in the chocolate chips before the raspberries.  They're a little tougher, so you can really mix them in well.

Raspberries are fragile, so be careful when folding them in.  These were fresh, but I might even recommend freezing them for an hour so that they hold up better to mixing.

Serve on a platter for breakfast ...

Or as a single tasty treat with coffee or tea ...

Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

(recipe modified from Inn at The Park's Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe Below)

2 Cups all purpose flour
2/3 Cup cocoa
1/3 Cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 Cup milk
1/2 Cup melted butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 package of chocolate chips
1 package of fresh raspberries

1) Preheat oven to 350 and grease muffin pan or line with paper cups.

2) In a large bowl, whisk or sift together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and salt.

3) Beat eggs in a separate bowl, then add all wet ingredients to flour/cocoa mixture.

4) Fold in chocolate chips. Next add the raspberries and spoon batter into muffin cups.

5) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool then dust with confectioners sugar and serve.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

from the Inn At The Park Bed & Breakfast, Louisville, Kentucky

2 Cups all purpose flour

1/3 Cup packed light brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 Cup milk

1/2 Cup melted butter

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 package of chocolate chips

1) Preheat oven to 350 and grease muffin pan or line with paper cups.

2) In a large bowl, whisk or sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

3) Beat eggs in a separate bowl, then add all wet ingredients until well blended..

4) Fold in chocolate chips. Next add walnuts and spoon batter into muffin cups.

5) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.

###

Kah KOW!  It sounds like a cartoon, "pah POW," doesn't it?   As if it should be in a little white cloud star burst in a comic strip when all hell is breaking loose.   I think I'll add it to my repertoire of socially acceptable expletives.  I could have used it during our last kitchen Egg Snafu.  Instead of yelling something profane, I'll really just be screaming CHOCOLATE!   And since chocolate is a great comfort food, it will only enhance using it as a silky comforting expletive slipping across my tongue.

The irony is that my kitchen Egg Snafu was a simple 6 ingredient recipe.  One that I had done before perfectly, and then really Kah KOW'd it up this last time.  Turned it into some crappy scrambled eggs.  Then I dove into this 20- ingredient-multi-step-hard-to-find-spices-recipe and it turned out great.  Go figure?!  I guess because some of the ingredients (like Harissa and Hungarian Paprika) were not in my spice rack or immediate awareness ... and the fact that I'd be combining chocolate with tomatoes ... maybe that gave me pause and I paid more attention to what I was doing.

I found the word Kah KOW when I looked up the origins of chocolate ... the phonetic spelling of cacao.  It just jumped off the page at me.  Originally, hot chocolate was not sweet at all, but very spicy.    This recipe from Chestnut Street Inn really does it justice.  Chocolate in it's most original form ...

Savory and Spicy.

Make this as an appetizer to spice up your Valentine's Day dinner... while it's not as dramatic as my Egg Snafu ... it definitely has all the trappings of a good LifeTime or Hallmark movie.  Watch and learn ...

The character you love to hate, but still can't resist ... Harissa.  She's a spicy one.

I had a heck of a time finding Harissa.  I looked all over the supermarket.  But for you men out there, this isn't the type of character you can discover the old fashioned way.  As in  ... shopping ... physically ... in an actual store.  This one is global and high tech.  I thought I'd find it at Marx Foods.   But nope.  No Harissa.  Googled it  ... found a bunch!  And I even found a recipe to make Harissa.  Now ... I wish I would have done that BEFORE making the soup.

Enter stage left ... the stand in ...

In my creative zen at the grocery store, since Harissa was described as a North African Chili Paste, I figured some tomato paste and chili powder sounded about the same.  And while it tasted great ... it's not really the same thing.  So here are some references for you ...

Harissa Shopping Online

Recipe:  How to make Harissa

After reading the description of some of these as "hot" and "pain is good" ... I'm kinda glad I went with my homemade thought up version.  I like the taste of a little kick, but so spicy that I can't feel my tongue is no good.

And as for character development, this is the bitch in the story ... and while I have found substitute words like "kah KOW" and "Shut The Front Door" ... I haven't found an adequate replacement for the noun referenced above.  If you have a cute one, please let me know!

My fake Harissa ...

Heat oil and butter in a stock pot over medium heat ... this is the plot.

Add chopped onion and saute until translucent.  Get out the Kleenex ... chopped onion is a sure tear jerker.  What kind of Hallmark/Lifetime movie would it be without a few weepy eye moments?

Now the Italian favorite comes in and makes a squishy, but well scented, mess of things ...

3 garlic cloves.

A little spa action with the skin peel.

And now all the characters are getting thrown together in the same plot ... I mean ... pot.

Here comes the heroine of the soup story.

Hungarian Paprika.

She's also a bit spicy and mysterious ... but words like "pain" are not associated with this spice.

Add a little wine to the moment and the plot thickens.

Funny tangent ... I was cooking at my friend Beth's house and had called and asked her if that Magnum of chardonnay I saw in her fridge only a couple of days ago had about a 1/2 cup left in it that I could cook with.

Nope.

Lush.

I told her I'd bring over a fresh bottle ... she said she'd drink that too!

The plot thickens ...

Add the rest of the ingredients listed in the recipe and let it simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.

And then gets whipped and turned around a bit so you have no idea where it's headed!

Side note/Sub-plot ... I actually had to blend twice ... the volume of the soup was too big for the blender.  So while you may SEE one blender shot ... know that it took two.  And ... because it was hot it sort of exploded (just a little) and got bits of red soup all over the place.  Told you there was drama.

Add the blended soup back to you stock pot ... add the greens ...

then add the hero ...

kah KOW!

Chocolate.

He's smooth and rich, and while a bit bitter, he still absolutely melts with the other characters.

Add a little honey to sweeten it up and cut the acidity.

Sprinkle on the cheese for a nice happy finish!

The End!

CREDITS

Spicy Tomato & Chocolate Soup

from Chestnut Street Inn, Sheffield IL

Yields: Approx. 6-8 Servings

2 Tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbl Unsalted Butter

1 Onion, Diced

3 Cloves Garlic, Minced

2 Carrots, Peeled and Diced

2 Celery Stalks, Diced

1 Cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Sliced

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to Taste

3 Tbl Harissa (North African Chili Paste)

2 tsps Hungarian Paprika

2 tsps ground Cumin

1 tsp ground Coriander

½-3/4 cup Dry Sherry or White Wine

1-28 oz Can Diced Tomatoes

4 Cups Chicken Broth

¼ Cup Cilantro, Chopped

¼ Cup Italian Parsley, Chopped

3-4 oz Bittersweet Chocolate

2 Tbl Honey or to Taste

Queso Fresco, Goat Cheese or Crème Fraiche to Garnish

1) Heat oil and butter in a stock pot over medium high heat until butter melts.

2) Add onion and sauté until translucent, approx. 5 mins. Add garlic, carrots, celery and sun dried tomatoes.

3) Season with salt, pepper, harissa, paprika, cumin and coriander. Saute for a couple of minute to toast spices and soften vegetables.

4) Add wine and continue cooking on high until all of the liquid has evaporated. Add tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 45 mins or until the vegetables are tender.

5) Pass soup through a food mill to puree (I used a blender) and remove any large particles. Return soup to pot and place over low heat.

6) Add parsley and cilantro. Add chocolate and enough honey to balance acidity. Adjust seasoning to taste.

7) Serve hot, garnished with queso fresco, fresh goat cheese or crème fraiche.

###

French Toast was probably my favorite breakfast growing up and recently I've been receiving lots of different variations of this popular morning food.  Some with different fruits and spices, some stuffed, some layered, the classic single slice and family casserole style.  It made me wonder, why do we call it "French" toast anyway?  I know it's not really French, or is it?

Wikipedia's etymology says the earliest use of the term was in 1660 and was bread fried with wine, orange juice and sugar.  I'll have to give that recipe a try!  After doing a little more digging through Google, I discovered in French it is actually called "pain perdu" which translates into "lost bread."  It was a popular recipe in many countries, not just France, as a way of making stale bread palatable.  The English call it "gyspy bread" and I think I'd like to adopt that term from now on ... sounds like breakfast with an adventurous edge!

While there are many different adaptations, the basics remain the same.  A simple batter of eggs and milk.  And I like to add a dash of vanilla, the way my Mom always made it.

This recipe comes from Diane Kenniston Hill Inn Bed & Breakfast in Maine. She likes to make her French Toast with shell or heart shaped homemade biscuits.  In lieu of biscuits I used some Texas sized bread.

Here's what you'll need:

The basics ... milk, eggs, bread, butter

Add to that a dash of vanilla, some sugar, walnuts, strawberries, and maple syrup.

You can do this same recipe with whole slices of bread instead of heart shapes.  Or, if you're like me, next time you walk through the baking section of your store and see all the cookie molds you'll dream of French Toast in the shape of flowers, butterflies, kittens, birds, musical notes and the State of California.  (That last one was random, I know)

If' you're going to make it into a shape, cut your bread first ...

Then add the milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla to a large bowl and mix well.

Pour mixed batter into a shallow bowl for dipping.

Then start layering into a 13x9 inch baking dish.

Slice your strawberries and layer on top of the bread.  Isn't this starting to look like a lovely Valentine's Day breakfast?

Next, put a layer of bread on top of the strawberries, sort of like a sandwich.

I poured the extra batter over top to fully soak them in eggy goodness.

Sprinkle with walnuts and add a dab of butter to the top of each toast.

Bake at 325 for about half an hour.

And you'll have plenty of left over crust to make bread pudding ... or feed the ducks.

When they're finished, slice around the edge of the hearts with a knife and serve individually with strawberries and maple syrup.

Doesn't it look like it's sticking it's tongue out?

That is, if French Toast could sass back and actually had a  tongue.

Mmm.  Delish.

Heart Shaped Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

It's the little things that make a meal special.  For breakfast, sometimes it's as simple as the perfect cup of coffee.  But some innkeepers put in a little extra love and effort to make breakfast memorable.  Crisp ironed linens, fresh flowers and fine china.  I always get nervous when they serve on fine china because I'm usually kind of a clumsy sleepy head and not feeling all that fancy in the first half of the day.

Andrew Inn & Cottages in Key West adds that extra  touch my making their own flavored butter.  Strawberry Mango Honey Butter.  What a way to liven up a plain piece of toast. On my busy mornings, I sometimes only have time for coffee and an English muffin.  But this recipe makes my boring busy morning breakfast into a treat.

I couldn't find fresh mangos anywhere this time of year, so I just used strawberries since they are in season.  It will make a great extra little touch for a Valentine's Day breakfast.  Now if I could only find a heart shaped butter mold.

Simple ingredients ... butter, strawberries, honey and preserves.

I chopped up the butter to make it easier to mix once it softened.

These strawberries were really ripe and sweet, so they were kind of hard to "chop" without creating a bit pile of red mush.  It was also hard to not want to eat them all!

First whip the softened butter, then blend in the rest of the ingredients.

Butter is almost too rich to lick the bowl ... but it's tempting!

It melts perfectly into all the nooks and crannies of a hot English muffin.

“Unbuttered toast is a substance half complete, and to be forced to eat it in that state is necessarily to feel deprived.” -John Thorne

Strawberry Mango Honey-Butter

from Andrews Inn, Key West Florida

1lb of butter
4 large strawberries
1/2 mango
1/2 cup of honey
3 large tbs of strawberry preserves

1) Let butter soften to room temperature in a large bowl, then whip the butter until it reaches a smooth creamy consistency.

2) Finely chop the strawberries and mango and add to the bowl.

3) Add half a cup of honey and the strawberry preserves and once again whip until it reaches a smooth consistency.

4) Spoon into three medium containers keep one in the refrigerator, and freeze the rest until needed. Will stay fresh in the refrigerator for about two weeks.

###

I'm so glad I finished all of my holiday shopping ... ah em ... I wouldn't say "early" ... but at least it's now Christmas Eve and I'm able to spend the day relaxing at home, baking and getting ready for family and friends tomorrow.

This recipe is perfect for enjoying with a cup of hot chocolate and warming up on a cold day.  And, oddly enough, it actually comes from a bed & breakfast in the warm tropical island of Key West, the Grand Guest House.  If you'd like to warm up even more on this cold winter morning, transport yourself to Key West with these two awesome videos by Vanessa ... Grand Guest House Video, and Scott's Sunset ...

On with the bread!

I love to bake.  It's one thing I actually do pretty well.  It also gives me a chance to use my clay baking stoneware which makes me feel more down to earth/natural/eco-friendly in a really weird way.  Especially since the only organic thing I used in this recipe was Cinnamon.  But I digress.  Must have too much Baileys in my hot chocolate this morning.

Here's what you'll need to make a Spiced Apple Walnut Bread ...

Let the butter soften to room temperature and then slice up to make for easy blending.

Add the flour ...

Some cinnamon ... well ... actually ... A  LOT of cinnamon ...

"Mt" Cinnamon ... they don't call it "spiced" bread for nothin!

Little free plug for Arm & Hammer.  Really ... do they have any competition?

Must be nice.  Don't notice any other baking soda's at the grocery store.

Pinch of salt.

Tangent: Now, when I made the breakfast pizza, I asked my boyfriend to pick up a wad of pizza dough from our local pizzeria and he looked at me like I had two heads.  A couple of nights ago, I asked him to put a dollop of sour cream on my chili and, again, he looked at me like I had two heads.

A pinch, a dollop and a wad are all perfectly acceptable units of measure to me.

Pour in the applesauce ...

"Technically" the directions say to pulse this all in a food processor.  My food processor is only big enough to make a small bowl of pesto ... definitely not big enough for bread dough!  Don't know how that changes things.  Maybe it wont rise or be as fluffy.  Still tasted pretty darn good though.

Blend ... breathe in the scent of cinnamon and apples ... Mmm ...

Scrape the bowl to make sure you get all the chunky bits ...

Add the walnuts ...

Blend again ...

Lick the beater, the spoon, the spatula, the bowl, your fingers ...

Dress up your bread pan with some oil, flour and sugar.  A bit more than a pinch, more like a dollop.  Except sugar really doesn't dollop ... so it's more like a large sprinkling.  Again, an acceptable unit of measure.

Another free plug for Dixie Crystals.  See ... this is why I usually pour out all the ingredients in dishes first!  But I was feeling a little lazy today.

Tangent: I had a cat named Dixie Crystals once.  A pretty white Siamese with blue eyes.  I was working in marketing for agriculture at the time and had a meeting with some sugar farmers.  She was a little kitten they had on the farm that jumped in my lap at the meeting, so they thought I should take her home.  My apartment at the time didn't allow me to keep her, so my parents adopted her.  After climbing curtains, bookcases, tv stands, and human legs ... she's been re-named Punky.  I shall start my own brand of sugar one day with a cool cat logo and call it Punky in her honor.

On with the bread ...

Make sure your pan is well sugared ... it creates nice sweet crispy bits on the crust.

Once your bread pan/stone is nice and sugared-up, fill it with your batter and bake at 375 for an hour.

Yes, that is a polka-dot apron and knee-high striped socks that you see on the left.  I guess I was just having a "Punky" kind of a day ... not normal for me at all.  I'm usually more of a conservative kinda gal.

Mmm ... warm, butter-meltin, spiced applesauce walnut bread.

Spiced Applesauce Nut Bread

from the Grand Guest House, Key West

Ingredients

1/2 cup safflower oil OR 1 stick unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1 1/4  cups applesauce

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

4 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp allspice

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup walnuts

Directions

1) Place rack in center of the oven and preheat to 375.  Grease and sugar 6 1/4 cup (1.5 L) loaf pan.

2) Process all ingredients in food processor for 5 seconds.  Scrape work bowl and pulse to combine 1 or two times.  Do not over process.

3) Transfer to prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes.  Leave in pan for 5 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

###

Flour ... Butter ... Eggs ... Milk ... Sugar ... Oh, how I love thee.  Let me count the ways ...

It never ceases to amaze me how many different things can be baked from just tweaking a combination of the above ingredients.  I'll have to have a marathon-list-making post of all the different creations.

For this morning, I'm going to make a traditional chilly-morning-gooey-cozy-comfort-food favorite ... cinnamon rolls.  I have to confess, I usually make these by popping open a cylinder can with a certain giggly dough boy gracing the label.  The orange icing was my favorite.  Artificial ... yes, I know.  But quick and easy.

This recipe is not a quick one.  But it is easy.  Nothing artificial here.  And they taste soooo much better with the added ingredients of time and love.

There are a lot of different variations of recipes for cinnamon rolls, but this one in particular comes from Anchor Inn on the Lake in Branson.

Here's what you'll need ...

The magnificent 5 ... flour, sugar, milk, butter, eggs ... with cinnamon, brown sugar and yeast.  I know, yeast is the only one that doesn't sound yummy.  It makes them big and soft and gooey though.

Add the yeast to a mixing bowl with just a little bit of water, about a 1/2 cup.  As the yeast dissolved into the water, you may need to mix it up just a bit to make sure there are no big clumps of yeast.

Scald the mild and melt the butter into it.  Do NOT boil.  This is on low to medium heat.

Break the egg into a separate bowl and beat with a whisk.  Sounds a little like punishment for the egg, doesn't it?

My friend Jim gave me another reason/need to break the egg into a separate dish ... it is so that you don't ruin your whole recipe in case the egg is bad.  Luckily I've never encountered a bad egg.

Add the eggs to the milk/butter mixture and mix.  Then add the milk/butter/egg mixture to the yeast absorbed in water and mix.  Then add the flour and white sugar to the wet mixture and lightly mix with a spoon, just so that all the flour/sugar is wet.  Cover with a towel and put it in a warm place (I place it on top of my heating oven) to let the dough rise for an hour.

In the recipe, Dee suggests turning the dough out onto a floured surface and kneading for 5 minutes, THEN setting it aside to rise.  I followed this instruction making my first batch of cinnamon rolls, and the dough never rose.  But I'm pretty sure that had a lot to do with the fact that it was a hot humid sticky sauna outside that day.  Even in my second batch, it did rise, but it didn't double in size.  As much satisfaction as I would have received from punching down the dough, I didn't want to fight mother nature.

Plop the dough out onto a floured surface.  (I probably have a little too much flour there!) Also flour your hands up pretty good, work into a ball and then roll it into a rectangular shape.

Spread on melted butter ... about  3/4 of a stick, and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Roll into a tight roll and pinch the edge together at the end.  Some cinnamon sugar gooeyness might ooze out.  That's okay.

Then slice into 1 inch think rolls and place onto a greased/floured cookie sheet or baking dish.

Mm

Next batch, I think I'm going to try adding the orange glaze from The Old Hen  Bed & Breakfast.  Then I'll have the full homemade version of my dough boy childhood favorite.

Try leaving a batch of these for Santa instead of cookies ... I'm sure he/she will be pleased!

Cinnamon Rolls

from Anchor Inn on the Lake

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Water

1 tbsp Active Dry Yeast

1 Cup Milk

1/2 Cup Butter

1 tsp Salt

1 Egg

4 1/2 Cups Flour

1 Cup Sugar

Filling

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1 tbsp Cinnamon

2 tbsp Butter

Directions

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 Cup warm water in a large mixing bowl.

Scald mild and melt butter in it.  Add sugar and salt to milk mixture.  Let cool to 120 degrees and add beaten egg to milk mixture.

Add mild mixture to yeast and mix well, then add flour.  Let dough rise until double.

Punch down dough and roll out into 9x13 rectangle

Spread butter or margarine across rolled out dough

Cover with brown sugar and cinnamon

Roll up dough lengthwise into tight roll.

Slice dough into 1 inch slices

Place slices cut side up on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

###

I love everything and anything orange.  It's my favorite color.  My favorite flavor.  My favorite scent.  I love it so much so that I can even be found popping up in an orange juice commercial for about 3 seconds.  If you see an ad for Florida's Orange Juice, don't blink, you'll see me!

So, when I opened up Pioneer Woman's new cookbook and found Marmalade Muffins, I nearly fell off the bar stool in my kitchen I was so excited.  Pairing my favorite flavor with a sweet morning breakfast treat ... now THAT's a happy moment.  Pioneer Woman is pretty much a household name in any food bloggie's world, but for those of you that have not yet had the delightful opportunity, click here for an introduction.  PW is one of the first blogs I ever read (if not THE first blog) and I always find her writing makes me smile.  I had the awesome opportunity to meet her live and in person at the BlogHer Food party in San Fran during our recent trip to the west coast.  Her new cookbook was a gift to attendees and between BlogHer and driving through Napa my waistline has grown at least an inch since that trip.  Good thing I've got  marathon training to slim it down again!

What was I saying before that long tangent and reminiscing about San Fran?  Ah ha!  Back to the orange muffins ... I was all ready to make them that very instant until I read an ingredient that I never keep in the house ... buttermilk.  I had a bad experience with it as a child.  When I was a little girl, I used to love drinking my grandmother's coffee cream.   She would keep it in a little tin creamer jar in the refrigerator and I would always sneak in a sip or two off the refreshing cold spout.  That is ... until she discovered what I was doing and realized my little 4 year old lips had inadvertently graced every single cup of coffee poured in the house!  Then she started putting the little tin creamer just out of my reach.  I thought I had outsmarted her once when I found what I thought was cream, but then took a big swig of buttermilk.  BLAAAAH!   After that, until I out grew my cream addiction, I only drank cream from the individual plastic thimble-sized versions in restaurants.

So, needless to say, buttermilk has never been a staple item in my refrigerator.  Now, Ree includes instructions for how to "make" buttermilk, or a substitute if you don't have it.  But I thought it was time I made amends.  Besides, I needed to get some fresh oranges.

Florida navel oranges are what's in season, and if you've never had a navel orange allow me to introduce you.

Some have "innies"

Some have "outties"

(And this one has a honker of one for sure.)

And that's why they call them "navel."

You'll notice that they're a little blemished.  Florida oranges usually are.  But what they lack in exterior skin perfection on the outside compared to their California cousins, they more than make up for inside with juicy sweetness.

While my grandmother was over at my house teaching me how to make Rhubarb Jam, we made a batch of these muffins too.

Here we go, starting with blending together the butter and sugar.  Nearly all of  PW's recipes have butter in them.  Quite frankly, I don't know how she stays so fit and trim.  But she does  live on a ranch and has 4 kids to raise ... so I imagine there is a lot of calorie burning opportunities there.

Now, just because they're described as "mini" muffins doesn't mean I had to pull out such a small bowl.  I probably just pulled it out of the cabinet because it was orange.  Sheesh. Have to transfer to something larger.  My grandmother is shaking her head giggling at me at this point and mouthing off some thing in French I can't understand.  :oP

We mixed together the dry ingredients ...

Added the buttermilk and other wet ingredients ...

Zested up some navels ...

And WOOOOOOW.

I've never worked with batter so "fluffy" before.  It's light and whipped and soft and creamy.  I'll have to try buttermilk in place of regular milk in some other recipes now too!

My grandmother couldn't help taking a taste ... caught orange handed!

Now, since PW made mini muffins, I thought I'd try out a new iron pan that my mom gave me over a YEAR ago!  Now so new, huh?

They look delish, but my grandmother shook her head and said, "Rachelle, there is too much in those."  I thought, how could a tablespoon of batter possibly be "too much?"  She was right though.  They sort of exploded into a gigantic pancake completely covering the pan and dripping over onto the bottom of my stove.  Thank goodness I had a cookie sheet there to catch the drippings!

So, we poured another batch in regular muffin cups and THOSE turned out delish!

Drizzled on top is a quick and easy topping of orange juice and brown sugar.  Next time though, I think I'll try this  citrus glaze that I used on scones before.  After all, you can never have enough orange!

In case you were wondering if you've ever seen me blip across your tube in an OJ commercial ... here's photographic evidence!  Just please don't associate me with flu season.  LOL!

This is me with Dave.  And yes, he's a real live bonafide Florida citrus grower.  SERIOUSLY!

And there's me.  In my orange shirt.  Told you I love the color.  But if I ever dye my hair carrot red/orange please tie me up and smack me silly.

Here's the scoop for PW's Marmalade Muffins!  I cant' wait to try the other comfort food yummies she has in her book. Yum!

Marmalade Muffin's from Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients

2 oranges

2 sticks of butter, sorftened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Directions

1) Grate the zest from both oranges.

2) Mix the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until creamy.

3) Crack in the eggs and mix until well combined.

4) Sift and add your flour into the bowl and stir together using as few strokes as possible so the muffins aren't tough.

5) In a small cup or bowl, combine the buttermilk and baking soda.

6) Add the buttermilk mixture to the muffin batter and mix until just combined.

7) Add the zest and mix until combined.

8) Grease 24 mini muffin tins (or 12 regular muffin tins) and fill 2/3's full with muffin batter.

9) Make for 12 to 17 minutes until golden brown.

10) While muffins are baking, prepare the glaze.  Juice the 2 oranges and add to the brown sugar in a medium bowl.  Stir until combined but don't worry about dissolving the sugar completely so that it will give it a grainy texture.

11) Drizzle the glaze over the muffins as soon as they're done.

Oooh and Aaaah.

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I just recently made this cheesecake on Daytime ... in under 4 minutes!  (In case you missed it, a link to the video will be posted soon!)

Now, that being said,  I don't recommend making this in 4 minutes ... you actually need about 45 minutes to put it all together and another hour to bake it.  But, if you've never made cheesecake before, don't be intimidated.  It's actually quite easy.  The hardest part is not eating all the creamy pumpkin-y batter right out of the bowl!

Chef Jim from the Mount Dora Historic Inn gave me a few extra little tips that gives it a little extra panache.  Follow along and I'll make you the star of your Thanksgiving dinner table.

Here's what you'll need ...

As long as you have the right pan, every thing else is a piece of cake.  Pun intended.  If you've made cheesecake before, skip down a bit. If this is your first time, then let me introduce you to the springform pan.

This nifty little inexpensive  dishware can be found at most large-we-sell-anything-and-everything-superstores.  You might also be able to find it at your local grocer.  "What exactly does it do?" you ask.  Well, it has a nice little hinge on the side that, when opened, releases the sides of the pan allowing you to display your cheesecake as a nice perfect whole cake rather than trying to dig it out with spoon.  (Not that I've ever done that ... ah em.)

Here are the rest of the bits you'll need (full recipe and measurements at the end of the post.)

Some cream cheese, softened to room temperature.  And I do mean room temperature.  If you have a sunny little spot on your counter top, let it sit there awhile and catch some rays while you pull everything else out of your cabinets and refrigerator.  It may take a good hour for it to warm up.

warmed up room temperature cream cheese = easy + creamy cheesecake

cold cream cheese = chunky cheesecake + frustrated baker with sticky bits clogging up their mixer

Catchin my math here?

In addition to cream cheese, you'll need graham cracker crumbs, ginger snaps, butter, eggs, pumpkin pie spices, brown sugar, sour cream, a pinch of salt, and some BOURBON.  (You have to say that last ingredient with your best Southern accent, as if you've taken a swig or two) BOOOOOURBON.

*In my best fake Southern accent*

"Did I say BOURBON?  Why, yes, yes I did say Bourbon.  Pass me some whisk-eh!"

Cooking is always fun in my kitchen.  And while I may laugh and play with my fake Southern accent (as if you could hear me?) I do have a confession.  I don't drink whiskey.  I'm a wine girl.  So walking out of the liquor store with a brown paper bag wrapped around this teeny bottle had me blushing in the same way I did when I was 13 years old and running to the cash register hoping no one saw me buy my first box of "monthly supplies."  Girls, you understand.  Guys, you'll never know, so don't ask.

So, yes, I was blushing and looking over my shoulder to see if any of my small town neighbors would catch me buying whiskey before noon and start spreading rumors that I'd become a "drinkah."

But inviting Jack Daniels into my home for some Thanksgiving baking was the BEST decision I've made this week.  Just WAIT until you taste it.

Now that my confession is over with ... onto the good stuff!  Let's start with the crust, shall we?

For cheesecake, it's really easy.  Just 3 simple ingredients.  Graham cracker crumbs, pinch of brown sugar, and some butter.  Chef Jim suggested a little bonus ingredient. Ginger Snaps.  You can crumble up handful of these spicy cookies in your little food processor.

If you don't have a food processor, you can throw 5 or 6 cookies into a large zip lock bag and crush them with a wooden spoon to make some crumbs.

Now, I have to warn you, if you decide to go this route I will suggest you put the whiskey away.  Unless you want your family to find you in your kitchen with a bottle of bourbon smacking cookies with a spoon.

Just sayin.

Mix them all together ...

Thenn press the crumb mixture firmly into the bottom of the springform pan and up to the sides.  Pop it into the oven at 350 for 10 minutes and then let it cool on a wire rack while you mix the filling.

Step 1 is done.  See, wasn't that easy?

Now on to the fall ingredient that makes this cheesecake extra special ... pumpkin.

Pumkin actually holds A LOT of water.  So, if you want to keep your cheesecake firm, you'll need to soak up some of that water.  Chef Jim gave me a little tip for how to do that ... spreading it out on paper towels.  Simple white un-printed plain ole paper towels.  Fancy, huh?

Spread the pumpkin out onto a layer of 6 to 8 paper towels using a spatula.

When you've got it spread over the paper towel like icing, add another couple of layers of paper towels and press softly to absorb more of the moisture.

Next you want to mix or "cream" together the cream cheese and brown sugar.  Then add the pumpkin and mix some more.

Add your eggs, vanilla and spices and you've got your filling!

When it's all mixed together, scrape the edge of the bowl with a spatula ...

don't lick it ...

not yet anyway... and blend some more until it's nice and creamy.

Then, spread it out onto your baked graham and ginger crust.

Then bake at 350  for 45 minutes to an hour.

TIP! In other cheesecake recipes I've done, it usually calls for a "water bath" in which you wrap the bottom of the springform pan with tinfoil and place the cheesecake in a pan half filled with water while baking.  This is a little precarious because it's heavy ... and it's extremely hot water.

The purpose of the water bath is to keep the cheesecake moist and prevent it from getting dried out around the edges.

Well Jim said I could just stick a pan or bowl in separately and have the same effect.  He does this with his cheesecake as well as his souffles.  Well hallelluah!  I (we) don't have to fret over pulling a gigantic heavy hot "water bath" out of the oven.  Just let the pan/bowl full of water cool before removing.  Brilliant!  Wish I would have known this little short cut last time I made cheesecake.

Step 2 is done.  See ... easy!

Now the final step.

BOOOOURBON.

After the cheesecake is done baking, you'll need to let it cool for an hour and then place it in the refrigerator to chill (overnight or for a couple of hours)

These 3 ingredients will be your topping. A container of sour cream. (Why did I go "lite" on the sour cream, I don't know. Nothing else about his recipe is "lite" and the 20 calories I saved in using this one didn't make a lick of difference I'm sure. Thanksgiving is not for diets, after all. That's what New Years Resolutions are for.)

Add to the sour cream about 2 to 3 cap fulls of Bourbon and a whole lot of shug-ah.

Mix.

Taste.

Mmm.

What is this travesty!?! I have NO FINAL PICTURE of the cheesecake. We sliced it up and gave it to the crew of Daytime. Guess I'll just have to link to the video here soon so you can see it live and in color. Or just make another cheesecake and not devour it before taking photographic evidence.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Bourbon Cream

(from the Mount Dora Historic Inn)

CRUST

Mix together the following ingredients:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cups finely ground ginger snaps

1 tablespoon brown sugar

4 - 5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

PREHEAT oven to 350°F.

Press crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.  Bake for 6 to 8 minutes (do not allow to brown). Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

CHEESECAKE FILLING

2 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened and at room temperature

3 large eggs

1 can pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

Note for Pumpkin:  Pumpkin holds a lot of water, so in order to make the cheesecake more firm you need to drain some of that water. One quick and easy way to do this is to layer 6 or 7 plain white paper towels and spread the pumpkin over the paper towels.  Next, layer 6 to 7 towels on  top of that and press firmly.  Once the paper towels are soaked through, remove top layer of towels and scrape pumpkin off the bottom layer with a spatula.

Filling: After draining the pumpkin, beat together cream cheese and sugar in large mixer bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs and pumpkin then add spices, salt and vanilla.

P our your filling on top of crust.  In order to keep the oven "moist" fill a separate cake pan or bowl half way with water and place on the bottom rack of your oven.  BAKE for 55 to 60 minutes or until edge is set.  Let cool for 1 hour, then cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.

BOURBON CREAM TOPPING

1 container (16 oz.) sour cream
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon bourbon (can also use vanilla in place of bourbon)

Beat together sour cream and sugar.  Then add teaspoon of bourbon.  Spread over top of cheesecake or serve on the side.

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I had lunch with my friend Jimmy recently where we were both talking about our marathon/half-marathon training schedules.  I made the decision to make running a habit when I started baking and re-creating these fabulous (but sometimes fattening) breakfast recipes from Inns.  Jimmy decided to start running when his roommate moved in. You see, she's an aspiring pastry chef.  The girl can do things with fondant that I could only DREAM of trying out for pretend with playdoh. Oh, yeah, and she can make her own peanut butter cups ... from scratch!

Jimmy shared some of her fabulous photos (click here) with me and I invited her to write a guest post for Inn The Kitchen.  Something breakfasty, fall-related, and easy to make.

She sent me the following recipe and photo nibbles for her Apple Crostata.

ENJOY!

Yvie's Apple Crostata

Ingredients:

Dough

1 Cup All Purpose Flour

2 Tbsp Granualted Sugar

¼ Fine Grain Salt

1 Stick Cold Unsalted Butter – Cubed

2 Tbsp Ice Water (possibly)

Filling

2 Large Apples (whatever you have on hand or prefer)

¼ tsp Orange or Lemon Zest

¼ Cup Flour

¼ Granulated Sugar (I used Vanilla Sugar that I’ve made)

¼ Fine Grain Salt

¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon

Dash of Allspice

Freshly Ground Nutmeg

4 Tbsp ( ½ stick) of Cold Unsalted Butter – Cubed

*1 Egg beaten w/ a tbsp of water for egg wash

Directions (For the Dough)

Place the flour, sugar, and salt in food processor and pulse until combined. Once mixed add cubed butter and pulse until the butter is combined and the dough resembles peas.

SLOWLY add the Iced Water – you may not need both tbsp.

Use just enough to bring the dough together.

Once mixed, turn dough out unto a floured surface and form into a disc.

Cover and refrigerate until firm (at least 1hour).

Once the dough has become firm, roll out into a 10 or 11-inch disc. Place this on parchment paper in a shallow sheet pan.

Directions (For the Filling & Crumb Topping)

While the dough is chilling – make your filling and crumb topping. Dice the apples and toss with the zest – place in refrigerator until ready to use.

In the food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg until all mixed. Once mixed, add the butter and pulse until just crumbly. Place the bowl in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Once the dough has become firm, roll out into a 10 or 11-inch disc. Place this on parchment paper in a shallow sheet pan. Place the apple/zest filling in the center while leaving a 1 ½ - 2-inch border (this can be smaller or larger depending how thick you like your crust).

Top with crumb topping.  Fold crust over -- it's okay if some of this covers the apples at the edge. Brush the crust with the egg wash and then bake the crostata in a 450° oven for 20-25 minutes – just until the crust is golden brown.

You can serve the crostata as is or drizzle with a glaze – I drizzled some slices with a vanilla bean glaze and others with homemade caramel sauce. Yummy!!!

Check out more of Yvie's Treats here.

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