Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes

Last week I started my final semester of college before I go to culinary school. Having a routine and schedule has been nice, and has left me more time to cook, which has been a treat. I decided to make pancakes for breakfast one morning. I picked on this recipe for two reasons; I love lemons and I love poppyseeds. These turned out better that I could have expected. They are perfectly fluffy and light, with the perfect sweetness. I would suggest topping them off with fresh fruit and a bit of hot syrup (nothing ruins pancakes like COLD syrup...ugh). I used blueberries, and it was delectable.

ENJOY.

INGREDIENTS:

// 2 C flour

// 1 t baking powder

// 1/2 t baking soda

// 1/3 C sugar

// pinch of salt

// 1/3 C poppy seeds

//zest of 4 lemons

// 2 C buttermilk

// 2 large eggs

// 2 T butter --- melted

DIRECTIONS: 

I. Mix dry ingredients together.

II. In separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and butter. Add poppy seeds and zest.

III. Pour buttermilk mixture into flour mixture. Stir just until combined --- don't overmix!!

IV. Heat skillet over medium heat. Brush with butter. pour 1/3 C scoops of batter into the center of the skillet.

V. Place pancakes that are done on a baking sheet and place in oven heated to 'warm' until you have used up all the batter.

Vi. Remove pancakes from over and serve.

TIPS&TRICKS:

         :: Poppy seeds go rancid quickly, so store them in your freezer.

         :: Heat store bought syrup for about 30 seconds in the microwave and pour over warm pancakes immediately before serving.

Crepes {with Sweet Yogurt and Blueberries}

Okay, so if you haven't gotten the not-so-subtle hint, I love breakfast. This past Sunday, I decided to take on, what i thought was a brave endeavor to make crepes, without a crepe pan. I found a recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, and decided to try it, seeing that the batter was fairly simple to make. The only thing I was nervous about was how to cook them, in a regular non-stick skillet. Well, upon making my first crepe, this fear completely disappeared. Seriously, crepes are SO fantastically easy to make, and you can fill them with just about anything. And I liked the idea of filling it with a Greek yogurt mixture :-) They turned out SO yummy, and I definitely will be making them more often! Just keep in mind, the batter has to sit for 20 minutes before you start to cook the crepes.  This allows the flour particles to expand and absorb more water. :-) But the filling seriously rocks. Its like a perfectly sweet and tangy light cloud of heavenly goodness. 

INGREDIENTS:

~ 3 large eggs

~1 1/4 C milk

~ pinch of salt

~ 3 T unsalted butter; melted

~ 1 C flour

~ 1 1/2 C plain greek yogurt

~ 3 T brown sugar

~ 1/2 t pure vanilla

~ Maple Syrup (for drizzling)

~ Blueberries

DIRECTIONS:

1. In medium bowl, mix eggs and 1/4 C milk and salt until blended. Whisk in the flour until well blended. Then  whisk in remaining cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of the butter. Let batter stand @ room temp for 20 minutes

2. In another bowl, mix the yogurt with the brown sugar and vanilla. Place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

3. Heat non-stickk skillet over moderate heat. Brush the pan with some of the melted butter. Pour in a scant 1/3 C of the crepe batter and immediately rotate the pan to evenly coat the bottom. (I ended up using quite a bit less than 1/3 cup for each crepe, it makes them thinner)

4. Cook the crepe until lightly browned (45 seconds). Flip and cook until brown spots appear on the other side, about 15 seconds.

5. Transfer the crepe to a large baking pan covered with parchment paper.

6. Spoon 3 T of yogurt onto each crepe and toll them up. Top with maple syrup and berries. Sift powdered sugar over prepared crepes.

bon appetit! 

xo

B

and of course i had to take a picture of the best cooking partner :-)

yes we do have matching ears. they were $1 at Target, so obviously I was compelled to make the purchase! :-)

Herbed Quiche {with blue cheese}

I love blue cheese. Honestly it ranks up there with avocado for me. Yesterday while looking through recipes, I got so excited when I spotted this one; a quiche with blue cheese as one of the ingredients. I've never made a quiche before, and I was kind of nervous about it. I don't really know why i felt apprehensive, I guess just the name makes it sound hard to make. (Plus my mom makes the most amazing quiches in the world, so I have quite large shoes to fill.) But i'm so glad that I did it! I really like this recipe because its flavorful and uber creamy. 

Although this recipe is quite easy, it is moderately time consuming, so keep that in mind. Also keep in mind that many of the dairy ingredients need to reach room temperature before you whisk them up, and the dough needs to chill for at least an hour before you bake it, so plan time accordingly. 

The final product is super yummy, and I definitely will be making this again!

Herbed Quiche With Blue Chesse

I N G R E D I E N T S:

~ 1 savory pie crust (recipe posted below)

~ 6 oz. cream cheese at room temperature

~ 2 oz blue cheese at room temperature

~ 2 T butter at room temperature

~ 3 eggs

~ 1 C heavy cream

~ 1 C whole milk

~1/2 t salt

~ 1/4 t pepper

~ 3 T chopped fresh herbs (such as: parsley, thyme, tarragon, chives and/or oregano)

D I R E C T I O N S:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness to fit and 8 inch tart or pie pan. Fill pan with dough, easing the dough up against the sides.

3. Line the pastry shell with parchment paper and fill it with ceramic pie weights or dried beans. Place on baking sheet and bake for 9 minutes. Place on wire rack to cool. Remove parchment paper and weights.

4.Lower the oven to 375. In medium bowl, whisk together cream cheese, butter and blue cheese. Whisk in eggs until blended. Stir in cream, milk salt, pepper and herbs. Pour filling into partially baked pie shell. Place on baking sheet and bake, rotating halfway through, until it is puffed and golden brown; about 25 minutes. Quiche is done when knife inserted into the center comes out clean. 

5. Let cool at least 5 minutes before slicing.

tips&&tricks;

     ~Using a pie pan works just fine, as most are 9 inches in diameter. I used one because I don't have a tart pan yet. (insert super sad face here)

     ~I used dried herbs (the ones you buy from the store in glass bottles) because thats all I had, and it worked just fine! I mixed together large amounts of oregano, parsley and thyme, with smaller amounts of basil, rosemary and chives. It still tasted great, but I'm sure fresh herbs will just be that much better.

SAVORY PIE CRUST

I N G R E D I E N T S:

~ 1 1/4 C all purpose flour

~ 1 t salt

~ 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

~ 8 T cold butter, cut into pieces

~ 3- 4 T ice water

D I R E C T I O N S:

1. Place flour, salt and pepper in bowl of food processor to combine. Add butter and process until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. While machine is still running, gradually drizzle in the water, processing until the dough becomes a ball.

2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a flat disk. wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.

enjoy

xo

B

Blueberry {crumble} Muffins

Brunch is my favorite meal. I love to make it and i LOVE to eat it. I think just the whole concept of it displays decadence. Sleeping in. Eating buttery, creamy, fresh foods. Drinking ice cold juices and warm, flavorful teas.  And just the whole creative world to explore while decorating. Its like a tea party you can attend wearing pajamas. I could go on, and on, but I digress. 

One of my favorite breakfast brunch foods is blueberry muffins. For the past couple months I've searched for that perfect muffin recipe. The one that even before you make it, you know its the one. Well ladies and gentlemen, I have found the one.

The past 5 days or so I've been sick and my appetite is minimal. This morning I woke up planning on making blueberry buttermilk pancakes, but as I walked into the kitchen, i just wasn't feeling it! So i hopped on my computer and Googled around and came upon a recipe for blueberry muffins. I further browsed the website and observed that this would be my "these are the best muffins EVER" muffin recipe. Anything with the word 'crumble' in the title is a winner. Crumble cake. yum. crumble topping on a muffin. double yum. So i whipped these suckers up and BAM. I had my long lost muffin recipe. Seriously, these pictures don't do them justice.
They're a m a z i n g. For real. 

{recipe is courtesy of this young lady's blog found here}

I N G R E D I E N T S

{for the muffins}

~ 1 1/2 C all purose flour

~ 1/2 C white sugar

~ 1/2 teaspoon salt

~ 2 teaspoons baking powder

~ 1/4 C vegetable oil

~ 1 egg

~ 1/3 C milk

~ 1 C fresh blueberries

----------------------------------------------

{for the crumble topping}

~1/2 C white sugar

~1/3 C all purpose flour

~ 1/4 C butter, melted

~ 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

D I R E C T I O N S

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin tin or line with baking cups.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir until combined.

3. Add vegetable oil, egg and milk into flour mixture. Mix.

4. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top.

5. To make crumble topping, with a fork, mix together: flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon. Sprinkle over muffins before baking.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until done.

tips&&tricks; 

     ~use fresh blueberries, they're better 

     ~sprinkle the crumb topping over the muffins generously. (I completely covered the muffin mixture underneath)

      ~ this recipe made me 9 very large muffins, so if you're considering making these for entertaining double or triple the batch as needed. The muffins are very filling tho. 

Right out of the oven. mmmmm.

The finished product.

Excuse my gingerbread men baking liners, it was all i had left!

Enjoy!

XO

B