I always thought, and still do believe, that brunch is a cheerful and sociable event that incites interesting conversations and puts you in a good mood. Eggs Benedict is traditionally a split English muffin, Canadian bacon, and a poached egg, but the real magic of an eggs Benedict is that creamy, rich Hollandaise sauce — one of the culinary “Mother Sauces”.
It’s surprisingly simple…whisked, warmed egg yolks, with lemon and butter. Yum! And in this recipe I’m going to help you get that oh-so-good sauce at home. This is a great brunch dish to use at Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, or any time after 10 a.m.! With baked ham and creamed spinach, this eggs Benedict will delight your whole crew.
This recipe serves 8 but can easily be multiplied or subtracted based on what suits your weekend.
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* Blender: Making your sauce in a blender makes it easy peezy so you’ve got more time for mimosas and company.
* Hollandaise sauce: If you’d rather skip this step all together, you can purchase pre-made Hollandaise from France by Christian Potier.
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8. Once cooked, remove eggs from water and let drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
If you want to poach your eggs ahead of time – a day before maybe – place poached eggs into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. To reheat before assembly, warm your eggs in hot water – approximately 125° F – for a couple of minutes. Drain and finish assembly of Benedict.
9. Prepare Benedict assembly pieces: Toast English muffin halves and hold warm. Warm baked ham or Canadian bacon slices, or cook bacon slices, in sauté pan and hold warm. Sauté veggies and hold warm.
Assembly line ready.
10. Assemble eggs Benedict in this order: English muffin, cheese, tomato, ham, spinach, poached egg, Hollandaise sauce, chives, and salt and pepper.
Brunch is served!
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Timbales may sound exotic or challenging, but they’re actually really easy and can be customized to your tastes and time. Think of timbales as a quiche baked in a ramekin without the crust. You can serve it at breakfast, brunch, or as a side. They can also be made ahead of time and reheated when you’re ready to serve. Make it your own and have fun!
Serves 6
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1 Preheat oven to 325° F.
2 Butter ramekins with softened butter. Coat the bottom and sides of each ramekin using a paper towel or tea towel for easy release.
3 Whisk eggs, cream, salt, scallions, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, cheese, and herbs together in a medium to large mixing bowl. Add pepper and sriracha to taste. Set aside.
4 Cook pasta by bringing water to a boil and then dropping pasta until cooked to al dente (firm to the bite). Rinse.
5 Add pasta to ramekins by equally dividing up the pasta and adding enough to cover the bottom of each ramekin. Top pasta with egg mixture from step three.
6 Boil water in kettle, tea pot, or on the stove top.
7 Place ramekins in large roasting pan equally distributed. Pull the rack out from your oven and place the roasting pan on the rack.
8 Fill roasting pan about halfway up the sides of the ramekins with boiling water. Carefully push rack into oven.
9 Bake 35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle of each timbale comes out clean. Once cooked, remove from roasting pan and place on rack to cool until you can unmold.
10 Unmold each ramekin by running a knife around the rim. Tap the bottom of the the ramekin to a cutting board and give it a good shake to get it out of the ramekin.
11 Plate timbales on top of 2-3 oz. marinara sauce and serve.
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I always try to include as many healthy, nutritious products into my diet as I can, so recreating a salad as a sandwich is a great way to do that, while still getting the gluten some of us still desire ;).
This cobb “sammy” (my daughter’s word for sandwiches when she was little) is always a winner when you’re building a sandwich board or platter for a crowd. Have you ever seen those boring deli trays? …assorted processed cheese and meat slices, with mundane salad-type accompaniments, and don’t forget about the gooey wonder bread!
…Give me a break, we can do better than that and the best part is it’s really easy to impress your guests and your taste buds when you use fresh, quality ingredients. Feel free to make this recipe your own and try it with other salads for the perfect hand-held lunch.
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* Pan: If you’re making a lot of sandwiches you’re going to need a lot of bacon. Use a foiled or papered baking sheet to cook a larger amount of strips in less time. Lay your bacon on the sheet without overcrowding and cook for 20-30 minutes at 350° F – turning strips once during the cooking process. Remove from oven once cooked to your desired crispness and lay on paper towels to cool before handling.
* Artisanal bread: You can find fabulous artisanal bread at any major grocery store or bakery. Pick one that looks good to you keeping in mind the texture and taste. When making a sandwich board or platter you want to mix textures and flavors for a dynamic overall dish. I like whole grain bread for this recipe because of it’s rustic flavor and chewy crust.
* MarBlue Monterey Jack cheese: If you can’t find this blue jack cheese improvise with your favorite crumbed blue and Monterey Jack cheese.
* Bacon: Bacon is bacon is bacon, and it’s all delicious. Thick or thin, applewood, hickory, or peppered…they’re all great, so choose what looks good to you.
* Aioli: Mix mayonnaise with a wee bit of pureed garlic and lemon juice together. Add in some chopped scallion for an extra zip.
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The taste of Madrange french ham, with triple cream brie, and a little surprise of thin slices of sweet golden delicious apples, sandwiched between yummy artisanal farmhouse bread is divine.
I swear the flavor and aroma would shatter the fast of a Buddhist Monk…well, maybe the Pope.
Serves 4
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* Artisan Farmhouse bread crust is crispy and chewy. The interior is airy and aromatic and the flavor is full and lingering to support the flavor of the ham and cheese. Sourdough, Italian Semolina, Rye, or any whole grain would be great.
* Madrange ham is a French ham with a superior mild flavor. French spices are used in the brining process without any nitrates. Three Little Pigs, a charcuterie house of gourmet meats, has a wonderful Madrange ham.
* Triple cream brie is basically butter mixed with whipped cream-it yields, it melts, it runs, and so rich to the taste in a soft rind/bloom cheese. Belletoile is an excellent brand. Put into the freezer for a bit for easier slicing.
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1 Mise en place my friends! Meaning, get all ingredients portioned out and equipment ready to go first when you are sandwich making. You may have to eyeball the cheese to make sure you get the portions needed.
2 Preheat oven to 450° F, or heat panini press to manufacture instructions.
3 Make an assembly line by laying out matching bread slices. Spread one side of bread slices with a small, thin amount of butter. Then do the same with mustard on the match side of each bread slice.
4 Layer 2 slices of ham, one slice on each slice of bread. Then top ham with 1 slice of brie and follow with 3 slices of apple per sandwich. Position opened matching sandwiches on foiled lined sheet pan and place on middle rack of oven.
Layering of bread, ham, cheese, and apple.
5 Toast open sandwiches for a few minutes or until cheese has softened. Remove from oven. Close up sandwiches.
Toast sandwiches to melt cheese and apples onto ham.
6 Slice and enjoy the gooey, yumminess of the sandwich.
Slice and enjoy!
]]>Check out the different spice combination in this Whoop Ass by the Teeny Tiny Spice Company. The best blended spices ever!
Start with Deviled Eggs My Way and proceed to hook up with that cowboy taste and showdown on your next picnic or buffet, that’s a five out of seven egg -a – licious throw down.
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Scotch eggs are a common picnic food in the United Kingdom. You can see why: they’re filling, delicious and easy to pack! They originated in Yorkshire England, in the 19th century.
Just imagine a hard or soft boiled egg wrapped and snuggled in your favorite breakfast sausage, covered in breadcrumbs, and then fried or baked…Yummy!
What to serve with Scotch Eggs? Pair Scotch Eggs with pickled red onions, Cabot cloth-bound cheddar, and French grainy mustard.
Place a raw egg in a glass of cold water: if it sinks, it’s fresh; if it rises, it’s stale.
The flatter the egg lies on the bottom of the glass, the fresher it is.
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Check out *Chef Gerrie’s Notes* to some flavor affinities that work with each other when it comes to the Deviled Egg.
Brighten flavors with the use of acids and layer ingredients to magnify more of a flavor punch .
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